Neera Tanden Remarks to Press with the Chairs of the Tri-Caucus
As Prepared For Delivery:
Thank you for joining today’s call. I’m excited to join the Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s child care agenda.
Child care is a core part of President Biden’s economic agenda and his domestic agenda.
He believes how we care for those we love—and how we value caregivers and care workers—is fundamental to who we are as a nation.
That is why the President has requested $16 billion to continue the child care stabilization program. This will help child care providers stay afloat, allow parents to continue working and earning, and keep children in quality care.
Earlier this week, my colleagues from the Council of Economic Advisers’ released a report detailing the impact of the President’s stabilization program on the child care sector and the broader economy.
Families with young children who rely on paid child care saved approximately $1,250 per child per year.
Hundreds of thousands of women with young children could enter or re-enter the workforce more quickly.
And child care workers’ wages were boosted by about 10%—increasing the availability and reliability of child care option.
The CEA report is significant not only because it proves the value of our child care investments.
It also highlights what we stand to lose by returning to pre-pandemic status quo.
Failure to provide investments to continue the stabilization program will compromise the strong economic gains we have made.
Hardworking families will pay the price.
Here’s the thing: Investing in high-quality, affordable child care are a win-win-win.
It supports women’s economic security by helping mothers participate in the workforce.
It nurtures children’s healthy growth and development, helping prepare them for success in school and beyond.
And it advances equity, as we know lack of child care is felt most deeply among families of color, rural communities, and among children with disabilities.
On that last point, on equity, it’s critical that we all recognize that the investments we are calling for help stabilize a child care workforce that is made up almost entirely of women, and disproportionately women of color.
The stabilization program we’re working to extend not only kept that workforce afloat; it boosted their wages.
And a majority of the providers who benefited from stabilization funds operated in the most racially diverse counties in the country.
This is critical because we know that communities of color experience issues accessing affordable child care.
More than half of Latino families live in an area with an inadequate supply of licensed child care.
Black and multiracial parents are more likely than white parents to experience child care-related job disruptions.
Asian families had more difficulty finding the type of care they wanted compared to White families.
I am proud of the work our Administration has done to highlight the economic case for child care.
As we celebrate our gains, we cannot forget that investments in child care not only enable economic prosperity. They also advance gender and racial equity. Thank you.
