[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 11 (Monday, March 22, 1999)]
[Page 449]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Proposed Child Care Legislation

March 16, 1999

    Making child care better, safer, and more affordable is at the heart 
of my effort to help America's parents balance their responsibilities at 
home and at work. Today, more than ever, parents struggle to find high 
quality, affordable child care for their children. That is why I have 
proposed significant new investments in child care, expanding subsidies 
and providing greater tax relief for working families, increasing after-
school opportunities for children, improving child care quality, and 
providing new tax relief for parents who choose to stay at home.
    I am pleased that today key Members of the House of Representatives 
took steps to move us closer to enacting meaningful child care 
legislation. Representative Ben Cardin introduced important new 
legislation--the ``Child Care Improvement Act of 1999''--that, like my 
proposal, addresses the critical child care needs of working families. 
And Representative Ellen Tauscher and numerous Democratic colleagues 
introduced a comprehensive child care package--the ``Affordable Child 
Care, Education, and Security Act''--that incorporates many of my 
proposals and would go a long way to fully addressing the child care 
demands of working families. These bills would help Americans fulfill 
their responsibilities as workers and their even more important 
responsibilities as parents. I look forward to working with 
Representative Cardin, Representative Tauscher, and other Members of 
Congress on both sides of the aisle to meet the child care needs of 
America's families.