[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 85 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3581-H3582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ENSURING CHILD CARE FOR WORKING FAMILIES ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, I introduced the 
Ensuring Child Care for Working Families Act to help low-income workers 
stay in the workforce. My bill creates a guarantee of Federal child 
care assistance for children up to the age of 13 in families with 
incomes up to 200 percent of the Federal poverty level. This program 
would be matched with State funds and administered by the State.
  Low-income families and single parents have been bearing the brunt of 
this recession. They want to work, but often can't afford reliable and 
appropriate child care, so they are forced to either leave their jobs 
or to leave their kids in unhealthy or dangerous environments. For many 
poor people, there simply are no better options.
  In the 1990s, Federal assistance for child care programs was 
established to address this very problem. It was created to help low-
income families transition from welfare to paychecks. Over the years, 
funding for this program has dwindled, despite growing demand. The 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the TANF legislation, was 
passed in 1996 to ``end welfare as we know it.'' But we failed to 
provide the necessary support services to enable poor working families 
to succeed. One of those services is high-quality child care.

[[Page H3582]]

  Today, only one of six children eligible for Federal child assistance 
receives it. Twenty-two States have waiting lists for child care. And 
families in 37 States were in worse circumstances in February of 2011 
than they were in February of 2010 as the child care waiting list 
continues to grow, copayments rise, eligibility tightens, and 
reimbursement rates stagnate.
  After three decades of wage stagnation in this country, with 
paychecks failing to keep up with the cost of health care, housing, and 
education, child care has become an unaffordable necessity for too many 
Americans.
  A related problem that we also must acknowledge is the gender wage 
gap. Women only earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, according 
to the Census Bureau. Yet two-thirds of the women are now either the 
primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in their family. So when there 
are wage gaps, entire families suffer. That means less money for food 
on the table and everything else that a family needs to survive.
  Two days ago, Senate Republicans blocked a bill introduced by Senator 
Barbara Mikulski that would strengthen the Fair Labor Standards Act's 
protections against pay inequities based on gender. As President Obama 
said, Republicans have once again put ``partisan politics ahead of 
women and families.'' This is wrong. Republican Senators ought to 
explain to their constituents why they did not vote for Senator 
Mikulski's bill.
  Let me be very clear: equal pay for equal work isn't just a woman's 
issue--it's a family issue. For the millions of American women whose 
families depend on their earnings, reliable child care is vital.
  It's time to level the playing field for working women. I urge my 
colleagues to support H.R. 5188 so that all parents, particularly 
working women, have the child care they need to stay on the job.

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