{"id":22741,"date":"2025-07-28T17:34:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T21:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=22741"},"modified":"2025-07-29T10:49:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T14:49:19","slug":"merkley-wyden-advocate-for-affordable-child-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/merkley-wyden-advocate-for-affordable-child-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Merkley, Wyden Advocate for Affordable Child Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Republicans deliver massive tax breaks for billionaires and kick Americans off their health care, Democrats continue their fight to help families find and afford child care<\/em>\u202f<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. \u2013 Oregon\u2019s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden said today they cosponsored the Ley de cuidado infantil para familias trabajadoras<\/em>, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cChild care is essential for the success of working families, but as I hold town halls in all of Oregon\u2019s 36 counties, I hear from hardworking families about child care being too hard to find and too expensive,\u201d dijo Merkley.<\/strong> \u201cWe need to make sure Oregon\u2019s middle-class families have access to reliable and affordable child care. The Child Care For Working Families Act<\/em> is a win for families who need child care and for Oregon businesses who need more child care providers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFamilies in Oregon and nationwide want the best possible care for their children while they\u2019re working hard to earn a living,\u201d dijo Wyden.<\/strong> \u201cThis legislation would help those families meet that quality-of-life challenge by investing in common-sense steps that make this key service affordable, improve the pay child care workers receive, expand availability and more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As President Trump and Republicans in Congress choose to spend trillions on new tax cuts for billionaires and the biggest corporations, kick Americans off their health care, cut kids off from nutrition assistance, and raise costs on everyday essentials for working families, Democrats in Congress are continuing their push to help working people make ends meet\u2014including by tackling the child care crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of child care nationwide continues to rise\u2014and President Trump is exacerbating the affordability crisis. The average cost of child care in the United States is now $13,128 per year\u2014a 29% increase since 2020 that outpaces inflation. Comparatively, the annual price of child care in Oregon for 2024 was $19,500 for an infant in center-based child care and $17,368 for a toddler in center-based child care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 49 states and the District of Columbia, the average annual costs of child care for two children exceeds median rent<\/a>\u2014and in 41 states and the District of Columbia, the cost of care for one infant exceeds in-state university tuition<\/a>. The crisis costs the U.S. economy over $100 billion each year<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, President Trump has gutted<\/a> oversight<\/a> of and support for the federal child care office, sostuvo<\/a> up<\/a> child care funding to states, and held up<\/a> Head Start funding, causing even more funding and staffing struggles for our child care providers and families around the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Ley de cuidado infantil para familias trabajadoras<\/em> would tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation\u2019s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers. Under the legislation, which Merkley and Wyden have supported every Congress since 2017, the typical family in America will pay no more than $15 a day for child care\u2014with many families paying nothing at all\u2014and no eligible family will pay more than 7 percent of their income on child care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

El Ley de cuidado infantil para familias trabajadoras<\/em> voluntad: <\/p>\n\n\n\n