[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 16 (Thursday, February 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E239-E240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCTION OF THE INVESTMENT IN CHILDREN ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BARBARA B. KENNELLY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 1998

  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, if there was any doubt 
about the need to make day care safer and more affordable, it should be 
erased by one clear statistic: 60 percent of mothers with children 
under the age of six are now in the workforce; a rate 5 times higher 
than 50 years ago. Of course, some might say these parents are making 
the wrong ``choice'' by going to work. But the fact is that many 
parents don't have a choice. Single mothers obviously have to work to 
support their children and an increasing number of married couples also 
both have to work to make ends meet. Rather than ignoring this economic 
reality, or questioning the role of women in the workforce, we should 
help these hard-working families find affordable, quality child care.
  However, this does not mean we cannot also help families with a 
parent who stays at home to care for a young child. The debate, after 
all, is about caring for children, regardless of whether they are in 
day care or at home.
  I am therefore introducing legislation today that focuses on 
improving child care in six critical areas. The Investment in Children 
Act would: (1) make day care more affordable for middle-income families 
by reducing their taxes; (2) provide tax relief to families with a 
parent who stays at home to care for a young child; (3) help low-income 
working families receive day care through the current child care block 
grant; (4) improve child care quality and safety; (5) encourage 
businesses to provide child care to their employees; and (6) increase 
the availability of after-school care.
  In my home state of Connecticut, day care costs for young children 
average about $7000 a year; presenting a major financial barrier for 
many families. To help these families pay for quality child care, my 
legislation would increase the current Dependent Care Tax Credit (DCTC) 
for every family earning less than $60,000. This tax cut will help 
hard-working, middle-income families in Connecticut and throughout the 
nation afford quality day care for their children. For example, a dual-
income family earning $40,000 a year with two children in routine day 
care would have their taxes cut by almost $2000; double the amount of 
tax relief now provided by the Dependent Care Tax Credit.
  The Investment in Children Act would also help those families with a 
parent who cares for their young children at home. The legislation 
would allow families with a child under the age of 4 who do not receive 
the Dependent Care Tax Credit to file for an expanded Child Tax Credit. 
This credit would be equivalent to the current $500 Child Tax Credit 
plus an additional amount equal to the average increase in tax relief 
provided to two-worker families through the expansion of the DCTC. The 
provision ensures the same amount of new tax relief for one-worker 
families caring for a young child at home and two-worker families with 
a child in day care.

  While a tax credit may help many middle-income Americans better 
afford day care, it may not help low-income working families with 
limited tax liability. To ensure these families also have access to 
quality child care, the Investment in Children Act would increase the 
current Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by $8 billion 
over the next 5 years. States would be required to use no less than 70 
percent of this new funding to provide subsidies and other assistance 
to low-income, working families who need child care. While states can 
already access the CCDBG to help the working poor, most of the funding 
is dedicated now to welfare families, leaving too little help for those 
working in low-wage jobs and still trying to afford quality child care.
  When they cannot remain at home with their children, every parent has 
two basic expectations of any child care arrangement: it should be safe 
and it should provide a stimulating and nurturing environment. To make 
this expectation a reality, the Investment in Children Act would spend 
$3 billion over the next five years to help states check the safety of 
day care facilities and to improve the quality of child care programs. 
For example, the funds could be used by the states to: increase 
unannounced safety inspections of child care facilities; improve and 
expand training of child care providers; promote early learning 
programs; and reduce staff-to-child ratios.
  One way to increase the availability of quality day care programs is 
to encourage businesses to provide on-site day care for their 
employees' children or to contract with existing child care providers. 
This legislation therefore includes the Administration's proposal to 
provide a 25% tax credit (up to $150,000) for

[[Page E240]]

businesses providing child care to their employees. The credit would be 
available to businesses for building or expanding on-site child care 
facilities, operating existing on-site child care facilities, or 
contracting with a licensed child care facility.
  Finally, this legislation recognizes the need for more after-school 
care. Research from the FBI indicates that children between the age of 
12 and 17 are most at risk for committing or being victims of violent 
crime between 3 and 6 pm. Other menacing issues, including teenage 
pregnancy, also become a problem during this interval between the 
school bell and the work whistle when an estimated 5 million children 
go without adult supervision. To provide constructive educational and 
recreational programs for more children during these perilous hours, 
the legislation would increase funding for after school programs by 
almost $4 billion over the next five years. Three billion dollars of 
this new funding would be sent to the states as a capped entitlement to 
help them promote a variety of after-school programs. Additionally, the 
five-year authorization level for the Department of Education's 21st 
Century Community Learning Center Program, which provides grants to 
local schools or after-school care, would be increased to $1 billion.
  Before I conclude, let me remind all of my colleagues that providing 
additional tax relief for middle-income families to help them afford 
day care or care for their children at home will be drastically 
undercut unless we reform the Alternative Minimum Tax (ATM). Without 
changes, the AMT will rob 8 million families of the current $500 Child 
Tax Credit over the next ten years, not to mention any potential new 
tax credits. The Investment in Children Act therefore includes a 
provision that would prevent the AMT from hitting middle-income 
families depending on tax credits.
  Taken as a whole, the provisions in the Investment in Children Act 
would improve the accessibility, safety and quality of child care in 
America and that represents nothing less than an investment in our 
future. I urge all of my colleagues to support this effort to provide 
better care for millions of children across our great nation.

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