[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 35 (Friday, March 22, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S2329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN (for himself and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 2070. A bill to amend part A of title IV to exclude child care 
from the determination of the 5-year limit on assistance under the 
temporary assistance to needy families program, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Children 
First Act. Since 1996, federal funding for child care assistance under 
the Child Care and Development Block Grant, CCDBG, has significally 
increased, making it possible for states to provide more low-income 
families with child care assistance and expand initiatives to improve 
the quality of child care. This has been an extremely important 
endeavor. Access to quality childcare helps families to work and 
children to succeed. Yet, we must do more. Only one out of seven 
children eligible for assistance through the CCDBG program receives a 
subsidy, approximately 12.9 million eligible children without 
assistance. In March 2000, a family earning as little as $25,000 could 
not qualify for child care assistance in most States. The need for 
child care assistance is likely to significantly increase in the near 
future. Many States are currently faced with serious budget shortfalls 
that threaten the progress they have made in the provision of child 
care in recent years. The administration's recently proposed welfare 
plan would increase work-related requirements for welfare recipients, 
which if passed will create an even greater demand for child care. Even 
if this aspect of the administration's welfare proposal is rejected as 
unworkable, which I believe is the case, we must make providing high-
quality child care to low-income families a priority in this Congress. 
The Children First Act will do just that.
  Increased availability of child care enables low-income parent on 
welfare, and parents trying to stay off welfare, to work and support 
their families. According to a recent administration report, employment 
among single mothers with young children grew in recent years fro 58 
percent to 73 percent. The administration noted: ``These employment 
increased by single mothers and former welfare mothers are 
unprecedented.'' Most people agree that employment gains among single 
mothers can only be sustained if families have access to dependable 
child care. Studies show that when child care is available, and when 
families get help paying for care, they are more likely to work.
  When I talk to people in my home State of New Mexico about welfare 
reform, they identify access to childcare as the most important work 
support we can provide. In New Mexico, 57 percent of children under 6 
live in households in which all parents work. Approximately 67 percent 
of these households have income less than 200 percent of the Federal 
poverty threshold. Yet less than 25 percent of children under the age 
of 6 eligible under federal law for childcare assistance are receiving 
assistance in New Mexico. Families with both parent working aen earning 
he minimum wage must pay 49 percent of their income on childcare for 
one child. Without subsidized care, many of these families can not 
afford to work.
  When I talk to people in New Mexico about improving our education 
system, the need for improved school readiness is often theotp concern. 
Improved quality of child care is an important component in that effort 
as well. Quality child care provides low-income children with the early 
learning experiences that they need to do well in school. We know that 
children in high-quality early care score higher on reading and math 
tests, are more likely to complete high school and go onto college, and 
are less likely to repeat a grade or get charged in juvenile court. In 
contrast, children in poor quality child care have been found to be 
more likely to be referred to special education, delayed in language 
and reading skills and to display more aggression toward other children 
and adults.
  In the recently enacted No Child Left Behind Act, Congress and the 
President signaled a new commitment to improving educational outcomes 
in our schools. The legislation required states, school districts, and 
communities to close achievement gaps between disadvantaged students 
and their peers. In his State of the Union Address earlier this year, 
President Bush acknowledged the important of early learning and made it 
a priority for his administration. Increased federal support for child 
care is critical to supporting high-quality early learning programs. We 
should work on a bipartisan basis--as we did with respect to the No 
Child Left Behind Act--towards this goal.
  We must increase access to child car, but we must also do more to 
ensure the improved quality of child care. Many families in New Mexico, 
even those receiving assistance, cannot provide their children with a 
high quality child car setting. In part, this is caused by the low 
reimbursement rates provided due to limited funding. For example, in 
New Mexico the reimbursement rate is $396, while the market rate 
averaged $470. As a result the higher quality provider often do not 
accept state-subsidized children into their programs.
  A lack of qualified care provider also make the provision of high 
quality care difficult. Childcare workers in New Mexico make, on 
average, $6.24 per hour, less than half the average weekly wage. Less 
than 20 percent of these workers receive employee benefits such as 
health insurance and paid sick leave.
  The Children First Act will address these issues by increasing 
funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant by $11.2 billion 
over five years. With these funds, states will be able to serve 
approximately 1 million more children nationally. The bill also 
contains an increase in the quality set-aside in CCDBG, which will 
provide funds specifically for efforts to improve quality. States can 
use these funds to provide training to care providers and create and 
enforce standards of care. The bill also makes common sense changes to 
the TANF program that support work by enabling states to increase the 
availability and improve the quality of child care.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation. 
It will help low-income families work and help prepare our children to 
succeed.
                                 ______