[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 155 (Thursday, October 22, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7473-S7474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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  SENATE RESOLUTION 292--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
 AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-QUALITY CHILDCARE FOR WORKING PARENTS SHOULD BE 
                               INCREASED

  Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mrs. Boxer, 
Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Casey, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Franken, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
Heinrich, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. 
Murphy, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schumer, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Udall, 
Ms. Warren, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Feinstein, and Ms. 
Klobuchar) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 292

       Whereas working parents depend on high-quality childcare so 
     they can work and support their families;
       Whereas over 60 percent of children under 5, and \1/2\ of 
     grade school-aged children, are in a regular childcare 
     arrangement;
       Whereas United States businesses lose $3,000,000,000 
     annually due to employee absenteeism resulting from child 
     care challenges, which weakens the stable and reliable 
     childcare system that is essential for the economy;
       Whereas childcare is difficult to find for millions of 
     families, particularly the nearly 9,000,000 parents who work 
     non-standard hours, because only 8 percent of childcare 
     centers provide evening or weekend care;
       Whereas most middle-class families struggle to afford high-
     quality childcare;
       Whereas the median annual aggregate cost of full-time care 
     for an infant and a 4-year-old in a childcare center is 
     nearly $16,000;
       Whereas the average annual cost of center-based childcare 
     for an infant is over \1/2\ of the income of a family of 3 
     living at the poverty level in 21 States;
       Whereas high-quality childcare and early education, 
     especially for disadvantaged children, helps children thrive 
     in school and beyond by--
       (1) decreasing special education placement and reducing 
     grade retention;
       (2) decreasing child abuse and neglect and juvenile 
     arrests;
       (3) increasing high school graduation and college 
     attendance; and
       (4) increasing employment;
       Whereas the eligibility requirements to receive assistance 
     under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 
     (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as the 
     ``CCDBG''), the primary source of Federal funding support for 
     childcare, exclude most United States children from Federal 
     childcare assistance;
       Whereas the CCDBG serves only a fraction of families 
     eligible for Federal support, with only 17 percent of 
     eligible children receiving Federal childcare assistance, the 
     lowest percentage since 1997;
       Whereas these issues affect all families, but 
     disproportionately affect women because--
       (1) over 95 percent of the formal childcare workforce is 
     comprised of women; and
       (2) women do most of the unpaid childcare work in families;
       Whereas increased pay for workers in the childcare industry 
     improves the quality of childcare for young children;

[[Page S7474]]

       Whereas to recruit and retain a qualified childcare 
     workforce for young children, childcare staff for young 
     children should be paid as much as K-12 staff with equivalent 
     education and experience;
       Whereas a full-time living wage of at least $15 per hour is 
     needed for childcare workers to meet the essential needs of 
     their families, but the average childcare center worker earns 
     $10.60 per hour and has experienced no increase in real 
     earnings since 1997;
       Whereas high-quality childcare that works for everyone is 
     essential for a strong economy and future;
       Whereas each working family needs, in order to support its 
     well-being--
       (1) universal preschool;
       (2) child nutrition programs that promote health and 
     wellness;
       (3) a fair work schedule;
       (4) a living wage;
       (5) paid family and medical leave;
       (6) paid sick days; and
       (7) credit in the Social Security system for time spent 
     caregiving; and
       Whereas when families are guaranteed high-quality, 
     flexible, available, and affordable childcare--
       (1) business productivity improves;
       (2) parents have a greater likelihood of finding and 
     keeping employment; and
       (3) children do better in school and in life: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate supports efforts--
       (1) to provide childcare assistance to each working family 
     that needs childcare assistance, including--
       (A) middle-class families that struggle to afford the costs 
     of high-quality childcare; and
       (B) underpaid families that are often left behind;
       (2) to make childcare affordable--
       (A) such that no working family must pay more than 10 
     percent of its income for childcare; and
       (B) by providing additional help to families most in need;
       (3) to ensure that childcare is available so that parents 
     in the 24-hour economy can access high-quality care--
       (A) when and where the parents need it (during weekends, 
     nights, and as their job schedules change); and
       (B) with options across school, center, and home settings;
       (4) to guarantee that each family eligible for childcare 
     receives childcare by creating a system that expands with 
     need;
       (5) to improve the quality of childcare by--
       (A) guaranteeing childcare workers a living wage and wage 
     parity with K-12 staff with equivalent education and 
     experience;
       (B) improving training opportunities; and
       (C) giving workers a voice on the job to advocate for 
     higher workplace standards and standards of care for the 
     children the workers serve; and
       (6) to provide sufficient Federal, State, and local 
     investment to ensure resources for high-quality jobs and 
     affordable childcare.

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