Interested Parties Memo: The gamesmanship in Congress is hurting millions of children

October 3rd, 2023

Category:

TO: Interested Parties 

FROM: Caring Across Generations

DATE: October 3, 2023

As your newsroom continues coverage on the motion to vacate House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, please consider the below information and statement from Ai-jen Poo, executive director of Caring Across Generations, that outlines how this continuing gamesmanship in Congress is directly hurting millions of children and families. 

As Congress has continued to focus on power games, they are leaving behind millions of children and families by not acting on the child care cliff and failing to move the The Child Care Stabilization Act forward. 

Here is what you need to know about why families all over this country will struggle as a direct result of the inaction from Congress:

According to data from The Century Foundation, the impact of the child care cliff includes:

• 70,000 child care programs around the country could close, which could cause 3.2 million children to lose care.
• The loss in tax and business revenue will likely cost states $10.6 billion in economic activity per year. 
• Millions of parents will either leave the workforce or reduce their hours, costing families $9 billion each year in lost earnings.
• The child care workforce, which has been one of the slowest sectors to recover from the pandemic, could lose another 232,000 jobs. 

Statement from Ai-jen Poo, executive director of Caring Across Generations:

“While some members of Congress are acting like children, actual children are losing the care they need. Failing to prevent the child care cliff will soon mean dire consequences for children, families, caregivers, child care workers, early educators and communities. Families could plunge into economic instability, children’s educational routines will be disrupted and the invaluable child care workforce see further shortages, overall impacting the strength of our economy. This is inexcusable.”

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Caring Across Generations is a national organization of family caregivers, care workers, disabled people, and aging adults working to transform the way we care in this country so that care is accessible, affordable and equitable— and our systems of care enable everyone to live and age with dignity. 

To achieve our vision, we transform cultural norms and narratives about aging, disability and care; win federal and state-level policies; and build power amongst the people touched by care. For more information, visit CARINGACROSS.ORG.