[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE CHILDCARE

  (Ms. JACOBS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. JACOBS. Madam Speaker, as a 34-year-old woman, I can tell you 
that affordable and accessible childcare is a top priority for my 
generation, but the problem isn't that millennials can't budget or that 
we are eating too much avocado toast; it is that the cost of childcare 
has skyrocketed, if you can even find it.
  In San Diego, the average annual cost for childcare for one infant in 
a licensed center is more than $19,000, which is out of reach for most 
middle- and low-income families.
  And it is not any easier for providers who are in one of the lowest 
paid professions in the country and struggle to make ends meet and keep 
their doors open.
  The free market hasn't fixed the childcare crisis, and small or 
temporary fixes just aren't good enough.
  That is why I am proud to introduce the Child Care for Every 
Community Act today with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman 
Mikie Sherrill.
  Our bicameral legislation would guarantee access to childcare that is 
affordable for every family, and it would support childcare workers in 
their incredibly important work.
  We need big, wholesale changes to our social safety net to support 
kids and families starting with the Child Care for Every Community Act.

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