Milwaukee City Wire

In response to the Biden’s administration’s executive order to increase access to care and support caregivers, Congresswoman Moore released the following statement:

“I applaud President Biden’s Executive Order that will support and expand access to affordable, high-quality care in America. The need for caregivers will continue to grow, the Census Bureau predicts that the number of seniors will be higher than children by 2034. Yet so many families across our nation struggle to find the high-quality care they need at a price they can afford. Care work is the work upon which all other work depends, and which holds up our economy – whether it’s caring for a child, or another loved one.

The costs of care have skyrocketed over the past decades, and caregivers – overwhelmingly women and disproportionately women of color – are the most impacted. Caregivers who leave the workforce to care for a child or loved one lose out on the money they could be earning if they could work. Care costs are too much for families to afford, and caregivers themselves are not paid enough to support their own families. Investing in care policies is key to supporting families and the economy.

Families across America cannot find affordable and accessible childcare, with many on waiting lists for months at a time affecting the ability of parents to work or must choose between working and caring for their child. Data shows that mothers’ employment has recovered from the losses during the pandemic more quickly in areas with greater childcare capacity. Investing in our care economy would help create greater equity, helping women who often shoulder the bulk of caregiving.

That’s why I support the Executive Order being put forward today and the President’s continued recognition of the importance of supporting caregiving, not only for individual families but also for our nation as a whole. This builds on proposals in his American Families and American Jobs Plans that sought to promote a strong care workforce, which is so critical to not only our nation’s economy, but the health and well-being of so many of our families. 

 I also share in the Biden administration’s commitment to supporting the millions of unpaid caregivers who support family member’s needs every day.

Congress must also step up to the plate. The President should not have to do this alone. My legislation, the Worker Credit Reform (WRCR) Act, would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to unpaid caregivers, providing support to millions who perform this work every day. And I know that there are other commonsense proposals to improve access to childcare including for members of our military, support family caregivers including those who take care of our veterans, and to provide respite care and other supportive services to those who do this hard, heartbreaking, but critical caregiving each day without need for applause or praise. 

I will continue being a partner with the Biden administration and anyone in Congress serious about securing affordable, quality childcare for all, providing proper care for the disabled and elderly, and supporting care workers and family caregivers.”

Proposals included in the Executive Order would call on federal agencies to coordinate and lead efforts to:

• Lower childcare costs for families eligible for Federal programs such as Head Start by, among other provisions, pursuing policies to reduce childcare costs for families and identifying potential opportunities to reduce barriers to eligibility for Head Start and programs funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF).
• Encourage States, through all available avenues, to increase the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for basic assistance and work supports for families — including access to childcare — and to spend more funds on cash assistance for families.
• Require the Department of Defense to enhance recruitment and retention of the Department’s child development program workers and to improve the affordability of childcare for service members.
• Call on the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to identify and share evidence-based practices for serving children with disabilities and their families in high-quality early childhood education programs, including Head Start.
• Call on the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance to States on ways to use enhanced funding to better connect home- and community-based workers who provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries.
• Expand mental health support for the care workforce, including early childhood providers supported through the CCDF and Head Start.
• Encourage recipients of Federal financial assistance to expand opportunities for early childhood educators and long-term care professionals through community college programming, career and technical education, Registered Apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeships leading to Registered Apprenticeship, and other job training and professional development.
• Develop partnerships with key stakeholders, including State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments; unions and labor organizations; State and local workforce development boards; institutions of higher education (including community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions); aging and disability networks; and national- and community-based organizations that focus on care (including professional membership organizations).
• Call on the Department of Veterans Affairs to implement efforts to improve family caregivers’ access to mental health services.
• Expand support for AmeriCorps members involved in early childhood learning service activities.
• Identify and issue guidance on which discretionary, formula, and program-specific funds can be used for childcare and long-term care as a supportive service for workers who are being trained for and working on federally funded projects, including for funding under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act; the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act of 2022. 

Original source can be found here.