[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 13, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S2876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



             Child Care Availability and Affordability Act

  Mrs. BRITT. Mr. President, in March of this year, I delivered remarks 
right here on the Senate floor about a piece of legislation--
bipartisan, commonsense childcare legislation. I spoke about how the 
Republican Party is now the party of parents, the party of families, 
the party of hard-working Americans. I spoke about how we, as the party 
of life, the party of family, should prioritize ways to make it easier 
to both start and grow our families.
  Since then, more and more colleagues have joined the Child Care 
Availability and Affordability Act. As we work to build back America, 
it just makes sense. I was proud to introduce this legislation with 
Senator Tim Kaine, and we believe it will help address our Nation's 
childcare crisis.
  Supporters are both Republicans and Democrats. They are both parents 
and grandparents who understand how incredibly difficult it is to find 
affordable, high-quality, reliable childcare.
  I have spoken about my own personal story in this Chamber, but today, 
I want to speak for the millions of moms and dads who don't just want 
Congress to do something about this, they need Congress to do 
something.
  Recent polls show that 81 percent of America--think about that. In 
the time we are in right now, 81 percent of America believes affordable 
and available childcare is an issue that everyone should be concerned 
with regardless of whether they have children or not. Seventy-two 
percent of Republicans say that increasing Federal funding for 
childcare is an important priority and a good use of taxpayer dollars, 
and 70 percent of Independents and 90 percent of Democrats agree. Three 
out of every four Americans believe that the lack of childcare impacts 
the ability of businesses to function effectively and consistently.
  The message from voters is absolutely crystal clear: It is not just 
parents of young children who are impacted by the lack of affordable 
and available childcare; it is small business owners, neighbors, 
grandparents, and friends. This issue cuts across different 
demographics and party lines.
  It is a struggle that Congress absolutely should address. I believe 
the solution is my childcare legislation, the Child Care Availability 
and Affordability Act. This plan consists of targeted investments in 
families and small businesses. It modernizes three existing tax credits 
to reflect the current economic reality.
  This is an example of good, commonsense policymaking. We are not 
creating a new entitlement; we are letting Americans keep more of their 
hard-earned taxpayer dollars in a manner that actually grows the 
economy, and we are offering job creators an incentive to invest 
directly in their hard-working people who have childcare needs, and 
those benefits would help.
  These tax credits have not been updated since 2001, so almost 25 
years ago. Unfortunately, inaction by Congress has contributed to the 
crisis. The American economy loses $122 billion a year because of the 
lack of affordable childcare. In contrast, my bill would cost just over 
$4 billion a year. You can do that math.
  Imagine the boost to our economy if we made this targeted investment 
in workers and in families. Consider a parent who may be a low-income 
individual, many of whom find the high cost of childcare to be the 
single biggest barrier to reentering the workforce. We could empower 
those parents to get back to work and move off government assistance.
  This is exactly the kind of pro-family, pro-Main Street, pro-worker 
legislation that has the ability to both transform our economy and 
support families.
  I want to thank my colleagues who have already signed on--most 
recently, the senior Senator from Alabama, Tommy Tuberville, and the 
senior Senator from Arizona, Mark Kelly.
  I am encouraged by the amount of support this legislation continues 
to build, but we can't stop now. They are counting on Republicans--the 
American people--to be that party of families, party of parents, party 
of hard-working Americans, and to actually deliver. I believe the 
American people are firmly behind us, and I want to encourage all of my 
colleagues to join with me in this effort.
  We are elected to serve the needs of our constituents, and when the 
American people speak out about those needs, we have an obligation to 
listen and to do something about it.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.