[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15786-15791]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         CCDBG REAUTHORIZATION

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, in a few minutes we will be voting on 
the child care and development block grant reauthorization bill. I am 
here to urge my colleagues to vote for final passage.
  This bill is authored by myself, working shoulder to shoulder with 
Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, under our chair and ranking 
member, Senators Harkin and Alexander.
  On this bill we showed that we can actually work together to get 
things done. We worked across the aisle and across the dome with our 
counterparts in the House. Today we have an opportunity to pass a bill 
that will actually help American families with one of the biggest 
challenges they face--affordable childcare.
  Everywhere I go in Maryland I hear young mothers and not-so-young 
mothers and grandmothers and actually dads saying that we need 
childcare that is affordable, accessible, reliable, and safe. This 
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act will meet those compelling 
human needs. It focuses on families of modest means--parents who want 
to work or get ready for work by going to school but can't afford 
childcare.
  I wish to take a second to talk about the process and where we stand. 
This is a bipartisan bill. It is the result of more than 2 years of 
work, three hearings on the HELP Committee, hundreds of meetings of 
stakeholders. The House unanimously passed the bill, and last week the 
Senate voted 96 to 1 on a cloture vote. It is time now to take the bill 
over the finish line and vote tonight.
  This bill began in 1990, when we created the childcare program as 
part of

[[Page 15787]]

our first step towards welfare reform. Eligible families received 
vouchers to pay for childcare of their choice, whether it is a large 
daycare center, a small in-home daycare center or faith-based.
  This program is important because childcare for parents is 
significantly expensive. Childcare is the highest household expense 
faced by dual-income families. The average childcare for two children 
is about $15,000 a year. In some places that is tuition at a prep 
school--$15,000 to $20,000 a year. It is expensive whether you are a 
two-parent household or a single-parent household. For middle-class 
families it is really tough, and for those earning the minimum wage it 
is out of reach, and the costs keep increasing.
  Last year, the cost of childcare actually grew eight times faster 
than the average family income. It is not that childcare alone 
increased, but of course we believe family income has been stagnant for 
8 years. So we have to do something about raising the income as well as 
raising childcare standards and the ability to provide childcare.
  Childcare is important because it helps people. In my own State this 
bill will give parents the kind of childcare vouchers needed, helping 
1.5 million children be able to have childcare. In my own home State of 
Maryland this bill will help as many as 19,000 families get childcare. 
This is really a pretty big deal. In Maryland, childcare costs about 
$13,000 a year.
  I held roundtables across the State. I sat in classrooms, at 
conference tables, and meetings listening in Baltimore County and 
Allegany County. I heard from parents struggling to pay childcare in 
this age of scrimp and save. I have heard from teachers worried about 
children not being prepared for a lifetime of learning. I heard from 
the American Academy of Pediatrics that is concerned about children 
staying healthy. I heard from the good folks at the Maryland Family 
Network, who are worried about quality, safety, and the certification 
of childcare.
  I believe that many of the best ideas and recommendations come from 
the people, so I brought those ideas to Washington and sat down across 
the table with my colleague Senator Richard Burr to really talk about 
these issues and how we could hammer out a bill that was affordable to 
the taxpayer and yet reliable for parents.
  One size doesn't fit all when it comes to our kids. What I heard over 
and over again were concerns about availability, about quality, and 
also affordability. My bill--the Mikulski, Burr, Harkin, Alexander or 
whatever order we can put it in--makes childcare better. It makes it 
safer, it makes it more reliable, and it also focuses on helping 
children to be school-ready, to be learning-ready.
  It requires, first of all, in terms of safety, comprehensive 
background checks. Only 13 States require comprehensive background 
checks for childcare providers. We require more background checks for 
mall security guards than we do for our own children. This is 
unacceptable. Parents deserve peace of mind knowing that their children 
are safe from anyone who could possibly have a criminal record. Under 
our bill, 50 States will be required to do this.
  It also strengthens health and safety standards. Listening to both 
concerned parents and the American Academy of Pediatrics, we will have 
health and safety standards. Childcare providers will be trained in 
first aid and CPR, in the prevention of sudden infant death syndrome, 
and also how to respond to food allergies. This is big. Our children 
come and some of those little guys and girls really have some 
significant health challenges.
  It also requires inspection of facilities. Currently, many States do 
not require inspection of all childcare facilities. The Washington Post 
recently found that 43 children have died since 2004 in unregulated 
childcare centers in Virginia. We have now corrected that where 
facilities will actually be inspected to make sure they are safe. It 
also will make sure that inspectors will be looking for anything that 
presents a danger to a child--an unsecured swimming pool, unsafe 
sleeping arrangements, and fire hazards. It will improve reliability 
and stability of care.
  Now, we really focused on improving quality of child care. What that 
means is we have significant sums, which means that States have to 
invest in training and professional development of childcare workers. 
It also will evaluate what is working and what isn't. We developed an 
improved quality rating system to give parents--the consumer--
information to pick the right care.
  This bill will provide vouchers to people who are at the minimum wage 
or lower. In my own State, to qualify for this type of voucher subsidy, 
it is income-based. In Maryland, for a family of two to be eligible for 
the CCDBG, their incomes cannot exceed $24,000. A family of four cannot 
have an income that exceeds $35,700. The children must be less than 13 
years old, and the children must live with parents who are working or 
enrolled in an education program that is leading to a job.
  This is really good. But this bill--as good as it is--it is only the 
first step in childcare. It can't be the only step. So while we are 
looking for how to help parents be able to work, particularly those at 
the minimum-wage level, we have to be able to look also at our middle-
class families. That is why I was happy to join Senator Kirsten 
Gillibrand in introducing the childcare tax deduction bill, S. 1975. 
This bill would allow all families to deduct the cost of childcare as a 
business expense. Imagine that--to actually be able to do this. So many 
women in the middle class also find that the cost of childcare is so 
expensive. With this bill families can deduct up to $14,000 in child 
care expenses from the amount of taxes they owe. We have to show that 
we are on the side of families, that we are on the side of the middle 
class, by offering a substantial tax deduction for childcare; and we 
have to show that we are on the side of the people who want to be 
middle class, who are working harder, going to school to be able to 
move ahead and move into that middle class, and that they have the 
childcare bill. This legislation, the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant Act, will make a significant step forward. I urge my colleagues 
to help and support this.
  When I worked on this bill, to me it is not about numbers and 
statistics--19,000 or 1 million children or so on. It is about people 
in my own home State--whether it is the single mom in Baltimore County 
who, due to some major changes, found that she was needing to work full 
time instead of part time but was barely above the minimum wage. She 
wondered how she was going to have that job at the minimum wage but 
have childcare that was safe. When she went to the department of social 
services, she found a childcare subsidy that could help her be able to 
work today, have her children in daycare today, and lay the groundwork 
for a better job tomorrow.
  Then there was Theresa, a single mom in Prince George's County. She 
has four children. They were enrolled in a childcare program while she 
worked in another. She was making $23,000 a year--again, below the 
minimum wage. Thanks to the voucher program, she was able to provide 
her children with childcare, actually work in the field, and begin to 
get the kind of training that could enable her to move on up to being a 
childcare worker.
  It is about these people who want their child to be safe and secure. 
They want to make sure they are going to do the best and be able to 
continue to work in our society, make sure their children are taken 
care of, and also that we are able to provide this important step.
  I hope we pass this bill tonight. I also hope that we develop a 
comprehensive childcare approach so that we are helping those at the 
minimum wage and slightly above tonight, but we also want to be able to 
help the middle class.
  Remember what our goal is. We need to focus on the day-to-day needs 
of our constituents. What does that mean in terms of national policy? 
What we need to look at is for those who are middle class--through 
their hard work, their education and determination, however they get to 
be there--that they have a government and a Tax Code on their

[[Page 15788]]

side, and for those who are trying to get to the middle class, that 
they have an opportunity ladder and the self-help tools that enable 
them to move ahead.
  I really hope my colleagues vote for this bill and we move it to the 
President's desk for signature.
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that a CCDBG fact sheet be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                            CCDBG Fact Sheet


 S. 1086--The Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014

     The Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014
       This bipartisan bill (S. 1086) was introduced by Senators 
     Mikulski, Burr, Harkin, and Alexander. It reauthorizes, 
     refreshes, reforms, and revitalizes the Child Care 
     Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program.
     What the CCDBG Program Does
       The CCDBG program was first signed into law by President 
     George H.W. Bush in 1990 to assist working families with the 
     cost of providing child care. It has not been reauthorized 
     since 1996.
       CCDBG is the primary source of federal funding for child 
     care assistance. CCDBG is administered to states in formula 
     block grants. States use the funding to help low-income 
     families gain access to quality, affordable child care and 
     after-school programs while parents work, train for work, or 
     attend school. Assistance is administered through vouchers or 
     certificates, which can be used by parents for the provider 
     or program of their choice--whether in a family child care 
     home, with a relative or friend, or in a child care center.
     Who the CCDBG Program Serves
       CCDBG serves more than 1.6 million children every month.
     Eligibility Requirements for CCDBG Assistance
       There are certain requirements that must be met for 
     families to be eligible for CCDBG assistance:
       Family income cannot exceed 85% of the state median (states 
     have flexibility to adopt income eligibility limits below 
     this federal maximum, and generally do)
       Example: In MD, for a family of two to be eligible for 
     CCDBG funds, their annual income cannot exceed $24,277; a 
     family of four cannot have an income that exceeds $35,702
       Kids must be less than 13 years old
       Kids must live with parents who are working, enrolled in 
     school/training, or be in need of protective services
     Amount of Subsidy
       The CCDBG program generally requires that families 
     contribute to the cost of care on a sliding fee scale basis. 
     Federal regulations do allow states to waive child care fees 
     for families with incomes at or below poverty guidelines. HHS 
     has suggested that a family's fee should be no more than 10% 
     of its income.
       In FY12, the average monthly subsidy paid to a family with 
     an infant younger than 1 year was $467. The average monthly 
     subsidy paid to a family with a child between the age of 5-6 
     years of age was $365.
     Funding Level for the CCDBG Program
       In the FY14 omnibus, the CCDBG program was funded at $2.36 
     billion. This is an increase of $154 million above FY13. This 
     funding increase will ensure 22,000 additional children will 
     receive child care assistance.
       In addition to discretionary funding, mandatory funding 
     exists for child care subsidies (authorized in Social 
     Security Act). In FY14, there were $2.9 billion in mandatory 
     funds--for a total of approximately $5.3 billion for child 
     care subsidies.
     Cost of Child Care
       Child care is the highest household expense faced by dual 
     income households, averaging $14,872 a year for 2 kids.

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I want to speak in support of the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, the bill that is before 
us. It has taken us a long time to get to this point. I cannot be more 
pleased that we are on the verge of sending this legislation to the 
President for his signature.
  We know--we know--that learning begins at birth and the preparation 
for education begins even before birth. That is why I am very excited 
about my committee's bill to reauthorize the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant Act. This bill will lead to important reforms and 
improvements to the early care and education of our Nation's children.
  This bipartisan legislation is also a big win for working families. 
It helps make it possible for over 1.5 million kids to receive quality 
childcare every month. The last time we reauthorized the child care 
block grant was 1996. When we did that, childcare was seen principally 
as a work support activity and only incidentally as something that 
could have a great impact on the development of children. Today, backed 
by impressive scientific research, we know that childcare settings can 
and should be much more. In addition to providing critical work support 
for the parents, early childhood settings are now widely recognized as 
a rich early learning opportunity for all children.
  So it is not just childcare--we are taking care and watching them so 
they don't get in trouble--it is now childcare that is part of the 
learning process. As I said, it begins at birth and even before birth. 
Because much of a child's intellect and skills development begin before 
he or she begins kindergarten, we need to give all children every 
opportunity to reach their full potential at this early stage. This 
means supporting access to high-quality early learning programs, 
including high-quality childcare. That is why reauthorizing the child 
care development block grant with the array of reforms and improvements 
is so important.
  This bill contains many commonsense improvements to a program that 
hasn't been reauthorized, as I said, since 1996. That is nearly a whole 
generation. We have improved the health and safety requirements by 
asking States to increase the amount of funding they set aside to serve 
infants and toddlers. We require pre-service training and ongoing 
professional development for childcare workers. We ask that States 
inspect childcare providers at least once a year--hopefully more, but 
at least once a year.
  I am particularly excited about the set-aside that we have in the 
bill to improve access to and quality of care for infants and toddlers. 
This is something I included for several years in my appropriations 
subcommittee bill, and I am pleased that it is now an important 
component of this reauthorization. These are the kinds of commonsense, 
research-based activities and services that any parent would want for 
their child, and they deserve it. That is why I am so pleased we are 
now on the cusp of passing this important reauthorization.
  I should note that this legislation passed the Senate in March of 
this year by a vote of 96 to 2, and after a few changes by the House, 
it passed that Chamber by acclamation in September. I believe we had 
the cloture vote last week, and even then I think there was only one 
vote against it.
  I encourage every Member of the Senate to vote in favor of final 
passage and finally get this bill to the President's desk.
  I wish to especially thank Senators Mikulski and Burr--two members of 
our committee and the original sponsors of this legislation--for their 
persistence and commitment in getting this bill done.
  I would also like to thank many of the staff for their years of work 
on this legislation.
  I would like to thank Brent Palmer and Jessica McNiece of Senator 
Mikulski's staff; David Cleary, Peter Oppenheim, and Patrick Murray of 
Senator Alexander's staff; Chris Toppings and Celia Simms of Senator 
Burr's staff.
  I would like to thank current and past members of my staff: Pam 
Smith, Derek Miller, Mildred Otero, and Mario Cardona. Of course, I 
also wish to thank our HELP Committee's ranking member Senator 
Alexander for his key role in reauthorizing this vital program. And my 
debt of gratitude to Senator Alexander extends far beyond this 
particular bill.
  This will likely be the last bill originating in the HELP Committee 
to see floor time in this Congress, and thus, this is the last bill 
that will come to

[[Page 15789]]

the Senate floor out of the committee I so proudly chair.
  I wish to take this opportunity to express not only my gratitude to 
Senator Alexander but my respect and admiration for the senior Senator 
from Tennessee. In the new Congress in January, Senator Alexander will 
assume the chairmanship of this HELP Committee, and I know this 
important committee will be in very able hands.
  Throughout my 30 years in the Senate, I have been blessed to share 
many excellent working relationships with Republican colleagues, both 
when I served as chair or ranking member on various committees. Senator 
Arlen Specter was my partner for many years on the Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and 
Related Agencies. In fact, from 1989 until the day he left the Senate, 
Senator Specter and I were either chair or ranking member of that 
important Appropriations subcommittee.
  I had great relationships on the agriculture committee with Senator 
Dick Lugar, Senator Thad Cochran, and Senator Saxby Chambliss. Since 
2009, as chair of the HELP Committee, I have enjoyed very productive 
relationships, first with Senator Mike Enzi, who had been both the 
chair and then ranking member of that committee, and more recently with 
Senator Lamar Alexander, with whom I have worked on CCDBG--the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Program that we are now authorizing.
  In fact, I am proud to note that when this bill is signed into law by 
the President, this will be the 21st HELP Committee bill enacted into 
law in this Congress. In a Congress that has been criticized, 
rightfully or wrongfully, for its lack of productivity, Senator 
Alexander and I have forged a partnership that has enabled us to chart 
a different course--a course of bipartisan productiveness. To cite 
several examples, we worked together to pass major legislation to 
revamp and modernize America's job training system, overhaul and 
improve America's food safety system, improve drug safety and speed the 
approval of potentially lifesaving drugs--so 21 bills.
  Someone said that our committee really represents probably one of the 
widest spectrums ideologically in the Senate--both from very 
conservative to very progressive on our committee. Yet we forged these 
relationships to get things done. Now, just because these relationships 
have helped us to get these bills through, it doesn't mean that we 
always agreed on everything.
  The fact is our disagreements have been oftentimes and vigorous. 
After all, I am a proud progressive and Senator Alexander is a proud 
conservative, but our disagreements have never been personal and they 
were never the last word. We have consistently sought areas of 
agreement, and more often than not, we found them. As a result, we have 
forged a remarkable record of accomplishment in the HELP Committee with 
21 bills in 2 years signed into law.
  More importantly, we have accomplished big things for the American 
people. Thanks to legislation passed by our committee, lives will be 
improved and lives will be saved. Drugs will be approved faster and 
they will be safer. Workers will have access to quality job training 
and retraining opportunities, including young people with disabilities 
who will now have provisions to support them in school to get them 
ready for competitive, integrated employment or for higher education or 
for technical education, which they have not really had before. That is 
one big part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act that we 
passed that not too many people know about. So from now on, kids in 
school who have an IEP--an Individualized Education Program--will now 
have internships, summer jobs, and job coaching that will, again, raise 
their expectations and hope of what they can do. They will be able to 
visit colleges and have college internships or college support systems, 
which they have never had before, to enable them to seek a higher 
education or perhaps to go to community colleges. Those are a few of 
the things we have done on our committee. Soon, with this bill, babies 
and kids across the country will have better access to safe, high 
quality, and affordable care.
  It has been with great pride that I have been chair of this HELP 
Committee. I still think it is the best committee in the Congress. I 
remember once Dan Inouye--Senator Inouye--said that I chaired the 
committee that helped define America. He chaired the committee that 
defended America, but I chaired the committee that defined America. I 
would like to think of the HELP Committee as doing that--an America 
where every kid has the possibility of going up that ladder or ramp of 
opportunity no matter the circumstances of his or her birth, where 
health care is a right and not a privilege, where everyone will have 
affordable health care coverage.
  This committee has even helped those who have fallen off of that 
ladder of opportunity because of an illness or injury to get back on it 
with job retraining and support services. This committee has ensured 
that every person with a disability--either through an accident or 
through birth or illness--can have a full and meaningful and productive 
life. Our elderly know they are going to have the kind of support 
systems that will enable them to also be productive in their retirement 
years--in their golden years, as they say.
  The Labor, Education, Health, and Pensions Committee covers a broad 
array of how we define America as a caring, compassionate, and 
productive society. It has been a challenge, but it has also been a 
great honor and privilege to chair this committee.
  As I leave, I can say we are fortunate to have someone of Senator 
Alexander's depth and breadth of experience. In fact, he has been the 
Secretary of Education, Governor of Tennessee, and President of the 
University of Tennessee. He is well qualified, and I know he will do a 
great job in leading this committee in the future.
  I wish to thank all of my committee members, but especially Senator 
Lamar Alexander from Tennessee, and let him know on the record how much 
I valued our collaboration and how much I benefited from his counsel 
and his wisdom.
  I urge all Senators to support this new reauthorization--the first 
time since 1996--of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program.
  With that, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, I see my distinguished friend the 
Senator from Iowa on the floor. I am here, very simply, to say that we 
are about to vote on the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a 
piece of legislation that would provide childcare to 1.5 million 
children so that their mothers can work or continue their education or 
training.
  I have repeated on this floor several times the story of a young 
woman in Memphis, TN, who attended LeMoyne-Owen College and received 
about $500 a month to pay for childcare for her child so she could get 
her degree. She then graduated from LeMoyne-Owen with a business degree 
and was able to work her way up to the position of assistant manager at 
a local Walmart. The block grant helped her be able to continue her 
education and obtain a good job so that she can now pay for the 
childcare costs of her second child on her own.
  This bill has strong support on both sides of the aisle, but we 
Republicans especially like it because it is a block grant to the 
States. The grant gives States flexibility with minimal Federal rules. 
It also encourages the use of vouchers allowing that young mother I 
just mentioned to choose among her various options for childcare.
  It doesn't mandate from Washington, it enables from Washington. It 
recognizes that leaders in States have very good judgment, and what 
might work in Hawaii might not in Tennessee or

[[Page 15790]]

Iowa. Different programs may work better in different jurisdictions, 
and that mothers themselves ought to be able to make the judgment of 
where their child receives care.
  I wish to thank Senator Harkin, who is retiring this year, and who is 
chairman of the committee that has produced this bill. He and Senator 
Mikulski and Senator Burr have worked for years on this piece of 
legislation. It received a lot of consideration in the Senate and in 
the House. We all would like to see the Senate function better, and it 
did function better for this bill. When we first brought this to the 
Senate floor in March, the majority leader didn't fill the tree or file 
cloture. We considered 50 amendments and adopted 18 of them. Fourteen 
of them we agreed to adopt by voice vote, four of them received roll 
call votes, and then we passed the bill 96 to 2. The House made a few 
minor changes in it. They did it while consulting with Senator Harkin 
and me and others who did work on the bill, and we have come to this 
point today.
  This is a very important piece of legislation, helping 900,000 
families, 1.5 million children across the country. In Tennessee alone, 
21,000 families will be helped by this. In our society today, worksite 
daycare is not available to every single mother or father who has a 
child, and this helps with that.
  I thank the Senate for its consideration of this very important bill. 
I thank the House for working with the Senate and I congratulate 
Senator Harkin. I imagine he has mentioned it, but if he hasn't, this 
will be the 21st piece of legislation the Health, Education, Labor and 
Pensions Committee has produced this year that will become law under 
his leadership. As Senator Harkin goes back to Des Moines, IA, and 
rocks on his front porch and pursues the next chapter of his life, he 
can say that in the Senate, which didn't always work that well in this 
Congress, his committee did, and it has benefited lots of families and 
lots of children.
  I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the bill, and I am glad to see it 
as a good example of what I hope to see more of as we move into the new 
year.
  Thank you, Madam President. I yield the floor.


   Recognizing Homeless Children and Families in the Child Care and 
                      Development Block Grant Act

  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I come to the floor today to speak 
about the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. I'm glad to say 
that the bill before us today contains a number of provisions intended 
to facilitate homeless families' access to quality child care. I 
appreciate the work of my colleagues, particularly Chairman Harkin, 
Senator Mikulski and Ranking Member Miller, in supporting these 
important new provisions.
  Unfortunately, young children who are homeless are more likely to 
have developmental delays, and more health and mental health problems, 
than low-income housed children. At the same time, their mothers are 
less likely to receive childcare subsidies than are poor mothers at-
risk of homelessness. So I believe that this legislation will be 
important in helping rectify this inequity.
  However, I want to ensure there is a common understanding of who we 
intend to include within the definition of homeless families or 
homeless children. The most common Federal definition of homelessness 
is found in the McKinney-Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children 
and Youth Program, at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434A. That definition applies to 
public schools, including local educational agency preschool programs, 
and is used in the Head Start Act, Higher Education Act, and the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, among others. The 
definition includes children and youth who are staying in motels, or 
with others temporarily because they have nowhere else to go. Eighty 
percent of the homeless children and youth enrolled in public schools 
last year were staying in these situations when they were first 
identified.
  Is it the chairman's intention that the definition of homeless to be 
applied to the provisions of this bill be the definition from subtitle 
VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act, the Education for Homeless Children 
and Youth program?
  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I thank the Senator for her important 
question. Her understanding is correct. The definition of homeless 
children and youth found at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434A is the definition we 
intend to apply to homeless children and families where those terms are 
used in this bill.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I thank the Senator for that 
clarification, which will assist States in implementing the provisions 
of this bill by aligning definitions across Federal programs serving 
homeless families.
  This bill overlaps with the McKinney-Vento Act in another way which I 
would like to clarify. This bill requires State plans to describe how 
the State will coordinate childcare services with programs for children 
in preschool programs and other early childhood programs serving 
homeless children and children in foster care, in order to expand 
accessibility and continuity of care and assist children enrolled in 
early childhood programs to receive full-day services.
  The McKinney-Vento Act's Education for Homeless Children and Youth 
program is the only education program specifically designed to promote 
academic success for homeless students. The McKinney-Vento Act requires 
every local educational agency to designate a homeless education 
liaison, whose job includes identifying homeless children and youth and 
ensuring homeless children and families receive educational services 
for which they are eligible, including Head Start and preschool 
programs administered by the local educational agency. In order for 
States to expand accessibility and continuity of care for homeless 
children, it is critically important that McKinney-Vento liaisons are 
among the professionals with whom States and child care providers 
coordinate.
  Is it Senator Mikulski's understanding and intention that McKinney-
Vento homeless education liaisons be included among those programs for 
children in preschool programs and other early childhood programs 
serving homeless children with which States should coordinate child 
care services?
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, I thank the Senator for raising the 
issue of local educational agency McKinney-Vento homeless education 
liaisons. Given their central role and responsibility in identifying 
homeless children and ensuring they receive education and early 
childhood education services for which they are eligible, liaisons are 
important partners in coordinating childcare services. The Senate-
passed version of this legislation had called for coordination with 
McKinney-Vento homeless education liaisons. It is indeed our intention 
that State plans include a description of how the State will coordinate 
childcare services with McKinney-Vento homeless education liaisons.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I thank the Senator for clarifying the 
bill's intent that McKinney-Vento liaisons be part of States' 
coordination of childcare services.
  I would also like to clarify the intent behind two related bill 
provisions. First, this bill requires State plans to include a 
certification that there are in effect in the State requirements 
applicable to childcare providers which are designed to protect 
children's health and safety, including the establishment of a grace 
period that allows homeless children and children in foster care to 
receive services while their families are taking any necessary actions 
to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements. 
This provision is similar to language found in the McKinney-Vento Act 
and the Head Start Act. It recognizes that families experiencing 
homelessness have particular challenges in producing health records and 
other documents, due largely to their poverty and unstable living 
situations.
  At the same time, the bill requires States to use funds for 
activities that improve access to childcare services, including the use 
of procedures to permit enrollment--after an initial eligibility 
determination--of homeless children while required documentation is

[[Page 15791]]

obtained. I would ask the chairman, is it the intent of the bill 
language that regardless of the procedures States use to permit 
enrollment while required documentation is obtained, States still must 
establish a grace period that allows homeless children to receive 
services while their families are taking any necessary actions to 
comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements?
  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, again, I thank the Senator for this 
clarifying question. Under this bill, State plans must include a 
certification that there are in effect in the State requirements that 
include the establishment of a grace period that allows homeless 
children to receive services while their families are taking any 
necessary actions to comply with immunization and other health and 
safety requirements. That requirement stands apart from procedures the 
State uses to permit enrollment of homeless children while other 
required documentation is obtained.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, Thank you for that explanation. I am 
pleased to hear that homeless children will be able to receive services 
while their families are taking actions to comply with immunization and 
other health and safety requirements.
  Regarding enrollment while other required documentation is obtained, 
the bill language requires that States use procedures to ensure such 
enrollment occurs after an initial eligibility determination is made. 
Yet, eligibility documentation is among the required documentation 
homeless families must produce. However, we know that homeless families 
struggle to produce documents, due to their poverty and mobility. Can 
Senator Mikulski, please clarify the intent of the phrase ``after an 
initial eligibility determination?''
  Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, The language calls for procedures to 
permit enrollment of homeless children, after an initial eligibility 
determination, while required documentation is obtained. To implement 
this language and its intent, States will need to implement procedures 
to make abbreviated initial eligibility determinations of homeless 
children and enroll them immediately, while required documentation, 
including some documentation to prove eligibility, is obtained.
  For example, a State could adopt a procedure that a child referred by 
a local educational agency McKinney-Vento homeless liaison would be 
determined to be initially eligible and enrolled in services 
immediately, while required documentation is obtained. The family then 
would have to take necessary steps to provide standard documentation to 
establish eligibility.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I thank Senator Mikulski for that 
important clarification. The intent of the bill as she describes it 
will greatly improve homeless children's access to childcare. I 
appreciate the Senator's dedication to this legislation, which helps 
expand opportunity for families and enhance the quality of childcare 
for young people across the country.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I support the Child Care and Development 
Block Grant, CCDBG, reauthorization bill, S. 1086, which is now pending 
before the Senate. I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation, which 
would send it to the President for his signature. I want to 
congratulate my colleagues, Senator Mikulski for her leadership on this 
bill, and Senator Harkin, Senator Alexander, and Senator Burr. This 
reauthorization has truly been a bipartisan effort and illustrative of 
the Senate HELP Committee's effectiveness this Congress, and I 
congratulate Senator Harkin on his leadership of this committee as he 
retires from Congress next month. Through the HELP Committee's 
leadership and work with their House counterparts, this legislation 
will serve to better support working families and children and make a 
significant improvement to our current childcare programs.
  The last time we authorized this program was in 1996. I know that 
very well because I was serving in the House of Representatives at the 
time and had the opportunity to be the ranking member on the Human 
Resources Subcommittee in the House Ways and Means Committee that was 
considering welfare reform and childcare, and how we could reward 
families for work, and how our welfare system could become a 
transitional program rather than a permanent program that would allow 
people, particularly moms, to be able to get into the workforce, stay 
in the workforce and climb up the economic ladder.
  Today, under CCDBG, there are 1.6 million children eligible for 
program services. CCDBG provides not only a safe environment for those 
children, but allows 70 percent of their parents to work and an 
educational opportunity for the child at the same time. A Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, study showed that parents who had 
their children in childcare for 2 years or more were more likely to 
remain employed. CCDBG provides stable employment, help for the child, 
and a positive economic situation for the family.
  This bi-cameral, bi-partisan CCDBG reauthorization bill before us 
makes improvements to this successful program, as it should. It allows 
the States to develop 13 specific health and safety standards, such as 
first aid and CPR, and SIDS, sudden infant death syndrome. It is 
keeping our children safer in childcare by having safety standards that 
are developed. This legislation: requires the States to do annual 
health, safety, and fire inspections of nearly all childcare providers; 
expands comprehensive background checks for those who are involved in 
childcare; steadily increases the annual authorization of 
appropriations; phases in a doubling of the annual set-aside for 
quality initiatives to 9 percent by 2019; makes information available 
online for parents to make informed childcare decisions; promotes more 
transparency in the program; and provides additional State flexibility 
on how they can set priorities within the childcare program. This 
program is a model of how federalism should operate, with the Federal 
Government and the States collaborating together to improve the quality 
of life for many middle-class American families.
  This legislation will accomplish our objectives so we can get more 
people into the workforce and provide access to early childhood 
education to help children succeed in life. This program will allow us 
to help American families and strengthen the economic security of 
America.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________