[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 22, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7875-S7876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CREATING IMPROVED DELIVERY OF CHILD CARE: AFFORDABLE, RELIABLE, AND 
                   EDUCATIONAL ACT OF 1997 (CIDCARE)

 Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my strong 
support for S. 1037, the Creating Improved Delivery of Child Care: 
Affordable, Reliable, and Educational Act of 1997--better known as the 
CIDCARE Act. I want to commend my colleague from Vermont, Senator 
Jeffords, for his steady work on this important measure and for his 
commitment to enhancing the quality of child care throughout the 
Nation. I firmly believe that Senator Jeffords

[[Page S7876]]

has crafted a measure that would stimulate the demand for higher 
quality child care and I am proud to join Senator Dodd as an original 
cosponsor of this bill.
  Our society has braved a storm of changes during the last five 
decades. Our Nation's work environment has changed, too, with the 
introduction of personal computers, high-speed modems, cellular phones, 
pagers, and fax machines. American suburbanization has created a need 
for audio and video conferencing, satellite offices, and most 
importantly, telecommuting. In addition, there has been an influx of 
women into our nation's work force. According to the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, 76 percent of mothers now work. Moreover, 63 percent of two 
parent households now see both parents working outside of the home. 
While the number of working women in our country continues to rise, so 
has the number of children enrolled in child care. Unfortunately, the 
quality of this care has not risen to match the rapid increase in 
enrollment. That is why we must modernize the way we provide child care 
assistance by allocating our scarce resources more efficiently. By 
doing so, our children will benefit. That is clearly an investment in 
our Nation's future. Congress must legislate with the times to provide 
opportunities for our Nation's parents and child care providers to make 
that investment.
  It is often the case with a lot of families that one parent works to 
pay the bills while the other one works to pay the taxes. A lot of 
people are working two jobs just to make ends meet, and often, both 
parents are working two jobs. The resulting increase in the number of 
employed women in the work force has dramatically expanded the number 
of child care providers. This expansion is truly beneficial to parents 
who need available child care, but the ratio of children to providers 
and the ensuing reduction in the quality of that care when staff and 
resources are stretched is still troubling. A recent nationwide study 
indicates that 40 percent of the child care provided to infants poses a 
potential risk of injury. Moreover, 15 percent of the care at center-
based providers is so deficient that a child's health and safety are 
threatened.
  In Wyoming, the quality of the care provided to our children is taken 
very seriously. Child care providers licensed by the State of Wyoming 
must have 12 credit hours in education, CPR training, meet fire marshal 
standards, and have a minimum amount of floor space for the children 
entrusted to their care. The State ensures that all licensed providers 
comply with these requirements and would continue to do so if this bill 
is passed --but they would do so much more effectively. This 
legislation would provide a $260 million competitive grant program to 
assist States in improving the quality of care we provide our children. 
States must use at least 30 percent of the grant funds awarded to 
establish a subsidy program to provide salary increases to licensed 
child care providers. The remainder of the grant funds awarded could be 
channeled toward establishing a scholarship program to help child care 
providers meet the costs of education and training; expanding State-
based child care training and technical assistance activities; 
improving consumer education efforts including the expansion of 
resource and referral services and child care complaint systems; 
providing increased rates of reimbursement provided under Federal or 
State child care assistance for children with special-needs; or even 
for purchasing special supplies, equipment, or meeting other expenses 
necessary for the care of special needs children. Moreover, this 
legislation would further expand the Community Development Block Grant 
to States to help renovate existing child care facilities.
  Equitable distribution of resources based on the percentage of income 
a family uses to meet child care expenses must be represented in any 
change to the current system. This legislation reduces, but does not 
eliminate, the dependent care tax credit for upper income taxpayers by 
changing the way the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is 
administered. The income level for the receipt of the highest 
percentage of employment-related child care costs would be increased 
from $10,000 to $20,000. The percentage would be decreased at a rate of 
1 percent for each additional $2,500 in adjusted gross income and a 
minimum percentage of 10 percent would be set for incomes of $70,000 
and above. Employers would be allowed to contribute more to a dependent 
care assistance plan account. Moreover, families who qualify for the 
earned income tax credit [EITC] would receive a refund of the child 
care tax credit on a quarterly basis. The EITC was originally geared to 
assist families with dependent children--not couples without any kids 
at all. Clearly, changes are in order.
  Small businesses are fighting an uphill battle in meeting the child 
care needs of their employees. Having played the small business owner 
role for over 25 years, I can appreciate the need for giving such 
employers a break. This legislation creates a tax credit for employers 
providing, or otherwise supporting, child care arrangements for their 
employees. Fifty percent of the expenses incurred by a business to meet 
the child care needs of employees would be credited toward the 
business' Federal tax liability. Included in this provision are startup 
costs, renovations to meet accreditation standards, professional 
development for child care providers, general operating expenses, and 
subsidized child care for lower paid employees. Small businesses need 
incentives in order to be more involved in meeting the child care needs 
of employees. After all, Congress is placing more parents into the work 
force following last year's welfare reform legislation. We should 
provide some tax incentives to employers who are providing those jobs.
  This legislation would also authorize $50 million a year to establish 
and operate a technology-based training infrastructure to enable child 
care providers nationwide to receive the training, education, and 
support they need to improve the quality of care they provide. We must 
reap the benefits of the Internet to enhance the quality of child care. 
We spend a lot of time talking about how the Internet can be harmful to 
children. Here's a chance to show how it can dramatically help them. By 
creating a child care training and education interactive network, child 
care credentialing and accreditation entities for training, skills 
testing, and other activities needed to maintain child care credentials 
would be greatly enhanced. Moreover, a no-interest revolving loan fund 
will be established to enable child care providers to purchase 
computers, satellite dishes, and other equipment which would enable 
them to participate in the child care training provided by this 
technological infrastructure.
  The current system for funding child care in our nation yearns for 
improvement. This legislation does not reinvent the wheel, it changes 
the tires. States must continue to receive assistance in order to 
achieve a higher quality of care for our children. This legislation 
simply provides more efficient and pragmatic methods for administering 
that assistance. I believe that this legislation provides the proper 
incentives for enhancing the quality of care we provide our children. 
Our society's work force is driven by changing trends. I can 
comfortably argue that our society is one of the most trendy in the 
world--a fact that has kept America on the leading edge of 
technological innovation. I hope that before people begin making up 
their minds on this bill they will take a close look at the language 
and what it really calls for--better care for our kids. Our Nation's 
work force is calling for this much-needed change. I urge my colleagues 
to support S. 1037, the CIDCARE bill.

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