U.S. Senator Katie Britt Makes Republican Case for Child Care Legislation Investing in Families, Small Businesses
‘Don’t we want to incentivize rather than deter parents from starting their families?’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) spoke on the Senate floor to highlight America’s child care crisis and her commonsense, pro-parent legislation aimed at improving accessibility and affordability for families.
Discussing the impact of the lack of affordable child care, Senator Britt stated, “The cost is crushing for so many parents. It’s also prohibitive. Ask yourself this: How many married couples … think about having another child, they want to, and they start looking at the dollars and cents and feel like they can’t financially afford it? To my fellow Republicans, don’t we want to incentivize rather than deter parents from starting their families? And how can we, as the party of life, and the party of families, and the party of parents and the party of workers neglect to make that easier? If our goal is creating a comprehensive culture of life, and that should absolutely be our goal, then we have a role to play in the child care space.”
She continued, highlighting the economic impact of the child care crisis on our nation, saying, “the amount of money that the American economy loses annually because of child care, the challenges we face as a result of the affordability and accessibility, are staggering. Our economy loses $122 billion a year. 74% of mothers, and 66% of fathers either have to leave work early, arrive late, or be absent because of last minute changes in child care. 59% of part-time [and] non-working parents say they would go back to work, they want to go back to work. But unfortunately, they don’t have access to quality child care at a reasonable cost. That isn’t good for the broader economy, and it isn’t good for American workers . . .”
Senators Britt, Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Angus King (I-Maine), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Susan Collins (R-Maine), along with U.S. Representatives Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), introduced the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act. Their legislation would make child care more affordable and accessible by strengthening existing tax credits to lower child care costs.
On the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, Senator Britt said, “It consists of targeted investments in families and small businesses. It modernizes our existing tax credits so that our policy reflects our current economic reality. . . we are not creating or growing another entitlement, we are letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars in a manner that grows our economy and gives people an opportunity for their American Dream . . . We’ll help couples who want to have more children, we’ll help parents be able to re-enter the workforce after having kids, and we’ll help our job creators, especially small businesses, recruit and retain workers. This legislation is pro-family, it’s pro-Main Street, it’s pro-growth . . .”
She concluded her remarks by encouraging Republicans in Congress to support her legislation that grows and strengthens American families: “For the first time in years, the Republican Party controls both chambers of Congress . . . and the White House. We have an opportunity we can’t afford to waste. If we truly are the party of parents, families, and hardworking Americans, we have an opportunity to prove it. Let’s address the child care crisis in this year’s tax package . . .”
Senator Britt is at the forefront of the Senate working on legislation to support families throughout all seasons, including early childhood development. During her first term, she has introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act and cosponsored the Childcare Worker Opportunity Act and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Reauthorization Act of 2024.
Senator Britt’s full remarks are available here.
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