April 03,2025

Wyden, Warren Lead Colleagues to Introduce Legislation to Improve Access to Quality, Affordable Child Care for American Families

Building Child Care for a Better Future Act expands guaranteed child care funding to give more families access to affordable child care and provides grants to improve child care workforce, supply, quality, and access in areas of particular need like rural communities

Meanwhile, Republican-proposed funding cuts to pay for tax breaks for billionaires would eliminate child care for 40,000 children, according to recent CLASP analysis

Mass layoffs at HHS will also make child care less safe, less accessible, and less affordable

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., today led colleagues in introducing legislation to help American families get access to the quality, affordable child care they need. U.S. Representative Danny Davis, D-Ill., introduced companion legislation in the House.

The need to rebuild a stronger, more robust, and more equitable child care system is greater than ever as working families across America struggle to access affordable, quality child care. Yet, Republicans are threatening to eliminate child care for 40,000 children to pay for massive tax breaks for billionaires. Additionally, the mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the offices at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) that administer child care and Head Start programs, will make child care even less accessible and affordable, as well as less safe.

“At a time when families are struggling to find affordable child care so they can work and pay their bills, Republicans in Congress are making their priorities clear with 40,000 kids about to lose their child care to pay for another handout to billionaires. Taken together with the absolute gutting of HHS and the offices responsible for Head Start and child care, America’s child care crisis is on track to only grow worse,” Wyden said. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Our bill invests in working families by making sure more families can get child care and new child care centers can be built to increase slots, while also guaranteeing a living wage for the essential workers who staff them. That is where priorities should lie.”

“Parents shouldn’t have to choose between breaking the budget, cutting back their work hours, or settling for lower-quality care to make sure their kids have child care,” Warren said. “I am grateful for Senator Wyden’s partnership and commitment to investing in child care so working parents have a fighting chance in our economy.”

“High-quality, affordable child care is essential to the economic well-being of families, businesses, and our country,” Davis said. “The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act would provide $20 billion in guaranteed grants to states, tribes, and territories to make child care affordable. Further, the bill would create $5 billion in new grants to improve child care workforce, supply, quality, and access in communities experiencing child care shortages. It is critical that Congress acts now to help working families by stabilizing our nation’s child care system and to reject the dangerous Republican cuts to child care.”

The price of child care continues to place a major financial burden on American families, with costs ranging from $5,357 to $17,171 per year depending on location and type of care. Additionally, the cost of center-based care for two children is more than the average mortgage in 45 states and more than the average annual rent in all 50 states plus DC. Wyden and Warren’s Building Child Care for a Better Future Act would address the child care crisis by providing new, permanent funding so states, tribes, and territories have the critical resources they need to develop a child care infrastructure that better serves all families. 

The legislation would expand guaranteed child care funding by increasing annual funding for the Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) to $20 billion per year (a $16.45 billion increase per year). It also would appropriate $5 billion to the CCES annually to provide new grants to improve child care workforce, supply, quality, and access in areas of particular need, including rural communities. The funding can be used for Child Care and Development Block Grant purposes including:

  • Increasing child care slots in child care facilities and family child care homes;

  • Establishing or expanding the operation of community or neighborhood-based family child care networks;

  • Providing funding for construction and renovation of child care facilities and family child care homes;

  • Providing start-up funding, technical assistance, support for improving business practices, and support navigating real estate financing and development processes;

  • Providing guidance to child care providers on negotiating with landlords or applying for land or home ownership;

  • Recruiting child care providers and staff;

  • Supporting professional development and training for the child care workforce, including through apprenticeships, partnerships with labor unions or labor-management partnerships, and partnerships with public and nonprofit institutions of higher education;

  • Maintaining an effective and diverse early care workforce by increasing total compensation, providing wage supplements or bonuses, or offering wage and retention rewards and ensuring adequate wages for staff of child care providers, including sole proprietors and independent contractors, that, at a minimum - 

    • Provide a living wage for all staff of such child care providers; and 

    • Are adjusted on an annual basis or cost of living increases; and

  • Contracting with an intermediary with experience securing private sources of capital financing for child care facilities or other low-income community development projects to provide technical support.

The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act is co-sponsored by: U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Peter Welch, D-Vt., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

A one-page summary of the legislation is here.

The bill text is here.

The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act is endorsed by: AFL-CIO, AFSCME, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Federation of Teachers, Caring Across Generations, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Child Care Aware of America, Child Care for Every Family Network, Community Change Action, Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC), Family Values at Work, First Five Years Fund, First Focus Campaign for Children, KinderCare, MomsRising, National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), National Education Association, National Indian Child Care Association (NICCA), National Women’s Law Center, Save the Children, SEIU, Small Business Majority, ZERO TO THREE, Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Family Forward Oregon, First Children's Finance, Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children, Little Miracles Early Development Center, Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children (MAAEYC), Maine Association for the Education of Young Children, Maine People's Alliance, Maryland Association for the Education of Young Children (MDAEYC), Montana Family Childcare Network, New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children, NJ Communities United, Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children, Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children (ORAEYC), Our Children Oregon, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, Pennsylvania Child Care Association, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, Prevent Child Abuse America, Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children, South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children (SCAEYC), Southwest Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children, Trying Together, Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children, Virginia Organizing, and Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.

“Right now, this country is facing a serious child care crisis–parents are struggling to find or afford child care, child care workers are making poverty wages, and child care providers are struggling to keep their doors open and make ends meet. Republicans’ only proposal is to make this crisis even worse by cutting child care funding and putting more wealth in the hands of billionaires over supporting our families,” said Andrea Paluso and Erica Gallegos, Executive Directors of the Child Care for Every Family Network. “But there is another way. Senator Wyden and Warren’s Building Child Care for a Better Future Act will boost child care funding, instead of taking a hatchet to it. We are proud to endorse this critical bill that will invest in our child care supply, support the child care workforce, and help make child care easier to find and afford. The contrast couldn’t be clearer: support for care or support for cuts. Instead of non-stop Republican threats to cut child care, Congress must pass the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act.” 

“Families across the country are sending us a clear message that child care prices are too high and they need help,” said Julie Kashen, Senior Fellow and Director of Women’s Economic Justice at the Century Foundation. “Instead of tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, we should work towards child care solutions that give parents room to breathe, providers wages they deserve, and children the opportunity to grow and flourish. The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act would be a big step in the right direction walking the walk for families and workers, not just talking the talk.” 

“America’s moms support the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, and applaud its sponsors, cosponsors and champions,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO of MomsRising Together. “Millions of young families simply can’t access quality, affordable child care in our country today. Without it, children miss opportunities to learn, moms are pushed out of the workforce, businesses go without the workers they need, families can’t contribute and make ends meet, and our economy suffers terribly. Moms want Congress to support this bill to stabilize the child care infrastructure and improve wages for educators – not give even more tax breaks to billionaires and wealthy corporations.”  

“Family Values @ Work is proud to support the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, which aligns with our commitment to ensuring all families have access to affordable, high-quality child care. Senators Wyden and Warren and Representative Davis continue to lead by example, prioritizing the needs of working people over profits, a priority for FV@W and our network of state level coalitions committed to strengthening the child care infrastructure,” Liana Cassar, Interim Executive Director of Family Values @ Work. “With this legislation, there will be meaningful support for child care, which gets us one step closer to ensuring economic stability for all families." 

“At a time when President Trump and congressional Republicans are proposing dramatic cuts to child care, the Building Child Care for A Better Future Act provides meaningful investments that would make a real dent in addressing the child care crisis,” said Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center. “With families at a breaking point with the soaring costs of child care, we need real, sustained investment to make care more affordable and to invest in the early learning workforce. If Congress is serious about lowering child care costs, they’ll pass this bill instead of pretending that small tax credits—which provide only a fraction of relief that families need—are a real solution.” 

“The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act will make child care more affordable for families and invest in the workforce that makes it all possible. By ensuring sustainable and reliable funding and bolstering the supply of child care, we can build a stronger, more equitable child care sector,” Stephanie Schmit, Director of Child Care and Early Education at Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). “This legislation is an essential step toward a much-needed child care system that meets the diverse needs of all children and families.”

“Child care is essential for parents who are continuing to struggle with long waitlists and skyrocketing costs. Providers are barely scraping by due to the ever-rising costs of providing safe and quality care,” said Samantha Cadet, Legislative Director for ZERO TO THREE. “ZERO TO THREE is proud to support the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, which addresses the root issue of chronic underinvestment by increasing mandatory funding for child care so that states, tribes, and territories have the resources they need to build a child care infrastructure that works for everyone.”

“Our country’s persistent lack of affordable child care adds one more pressure to children and families who are already struggling, so we are pleased to see Senators Wyden and Warren and Representative Davis addressing the issue with the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act,” said Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus Campaign for Children. “The bill’s significant increases to mandatory funding and grants to improve workforce issues will go a long way toward helping families access high-qualify affordable care. Child care is among families’ most basic needs, right up there with schools and food, allowing them to work, earn a degree, or otherwise provide for their children and to contribute to the nation’s economy. Child care nurtures children at their most critical state of development and supports a vital workforce. The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act offers an excellent step toward treating child care like the public good that it is.”

“The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act is a powerful step forward in ensuring that Tribal Nations have meaningful access to the resources needed to strengthen child care in our communities. By increasing dedicated funding and continuing the flexibility in how those funds are used, this bill honors the sovereignty of Tribal Nations to lead the development of early care and education systems that reflect our unique cultures, needs, and priorities,” said Jennifer Rackliff, Executive Director of National Indian Child Care Association (Cherokee Nation — Anisahoni Clan). “We commend this legislation for recognizing that lasting solutions come from within the community—and for giving Tribes the tools to build the systems our children and families deserve.”

“As a national coalition of child care providers, education service providers, and state child care associations, ECEC is pleased to endorse the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act. This legislation recognizes that the child care workforce is the workforce behind the workforce—without well-qualified and compensated child care educators and staff, many parents cannot go to work with the comfort that their children are being educated and cared for in safe and healthy environments. Furthermore, the legislation takes needed steps to help provide support to providers that serve communities that are most in need of high-quality early education,” Radha Mohan, Executive Director of ECEC. “The long-term investments proposed in the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act will better equip our nation’s child care system to serve all who rely on it every day, and support the continued growth of the American economy.”

“Current funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) only reaches 15% of low-income families eligible for the program. By increasing program funding, Congress can ensure more of these working families have access to quality, dependable child care and support local employers struggling with workforce recruitment and retention,” Patrick Murray, Vice President of Government Affairs at KinderCare Learning Companies. “KinderCare Learning Companies was proud to endorse Senator Wyden’s Building Child Care for a Better Future Act in support of working families with young children.”

“Virtually every segment of our population is struggling with access to childcare, and small businesses are no exception. In fact, Small Business Majority's research found that most small business owners said a lack of access to quality, affordable childcare for their own children made it difficult to start and grow their business. These business owners also said childcare challenges are an ongoing problem that have forced many to take time away from work, miss out on opportunities or hire additional help,” said John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO of Small Business Majority. “We support the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act because it will improve our nation's childcare infrastructure to more effectively address the needs of America's small businesses.”

“Child care is the workforce behind our workforce. It is essential infrastructure in our communities, and is an essential industry. We must fund child care just like libraries, schools, and other public services,” said Candice Vickers, Executive Director of Family Forward Oregon. “When we invest in child care through the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, we invest in our families, our economy and our future.”

“As an organization dedicated to improving the wellbeing of Oregon's children, youth, and families by advancing equitable policies through data and research and whole-child advocacy, Our Children Oregon has seen firsthand how critical it is to address the child care gap in Oregon and across the nation,” said Ali King, Policy and Advocacy Director at Our Children Oregon. “The Building Child Care for a Better Future Act is a crucial piece of legislation that prioritizes child care as a national issue. It supports both our workforce and our economy and ensures that every child has the opportunity to thrive. Investing in our children is a moral choice, not a political one. Our Children Oregon is proud to endorse this legislation and is grateful to Senators Wyden and Warren and Representative Davis for their leadership.”

“Access to quality childcare alleviates parental stress, enabling parents to create positive home environments for their children,” said Melissa Merrick, President and CEO of Chicago-based Prevent Child Abuse America. “This legislation, Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, addresses both the immediate needs of families, supporting working parents while strengthening the childcare workforce, and the broader goal of improving child care access. When parents have the resources and support they need to care for their children, we help parents foster positive home environments where their young children can thrive.”

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