Snowe Introduces New Child Care Bill
WASHINGTON, April 16–Senator Olympia Snowe, joined by a bipartisan threesome during a press conference yesterday, introduced a bill that would prevent low-incomers from “tumbling” into welfare because child care costs consume too much of their income.
The Dodd-Snowe bill, sponsored by Senators Snowe and Chris Dodd (D – Conn.), seeks to amend a law due to expire this September. Their bill would preserve parents’ right to choose the appropriate child care facility and would offer incentives to states to promote early education readiness.
Snowe recounted the story of Mainer Sheila Merkinson, who appeared before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Children and Families, led by chairman Dodd and ranking Republican Senator Susan Collins, a co-sponsor of the Snowe-Dodd bill. Merkinson testified that the cost of child care accounts for 48 percent of her weekly income. As a result, she cannot afford child care even though she is eligible for it.
In devising the bill, Snowe said: “We used a two pronged-approach to address the two largest obstacles we found facing child care. The first is the fact that demand outstrips supply today and will only worsen as work requirements are increased. The second is the need to assure that the child care is quality care.”
Snowe said that the bill, called the Access to High Quality Child Care Act, would affect Maine “positively,” adding that the state has “tough standards” in maintaining quality child care.
Snowe also noted that Maine was the fourth state to expand child care eligibility beyond people on welfare to those who are coming off welfare. Therefore, Snowe said, the new bill would affect “a broader range of people.”
In her statement, Snowe that the bill was devised in conjunction with the pending reauthorization of the welfare reform law.
“Welfare reform without additional child care funding is like a new car without any gas,” Snowe said. “It looks good, but it’s not going anywhere. Our bill is the fuel that will drive the next phase in welfare reform.”
Dodd-Snowe will be offered as an amendment to the 1990 Child Care and Development Block Grant, which emphasizes that parents can choose appropriate child care providers, depending upon their child’s needs.
According to a bill summary that Snowe’s and Dodd’s offices offered, their bill maintains this parental choice while adding some other key provisions:
The bill would set aside block grant funds to strengthen the child care workforce through scholarships and other benefits.
It would allow states to tap the block grant funds to reimburse parents who pay for child care, thus giving the parents more options in choosing child-care providers.
It would also allow additional state reimbursement for “difficult-to-find care,” such as for children who have special needs or live in rural areas.
The measure would try to promote coordination among federal, state and local child care and early child care development programs, including the transition from early care programs to elementary school.
Education is a substantial component to the bill. The senators stressed that the development of a child’s brain is most crucial in the years between three and four and that quality child care during these early years is critical to how the child performs when entering kindergarten.
“Just as a fighter prepares before jumping into the ring, we need to ensure that children are ready when the first bell rings,” Dodd said.
Senators Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and John Breaux (D-LA) joined Snowe and Dodd at the press conference to endorse the bill.
Snowe said that she and Dodd intentionally left out any dollar amounts from the legislation. They said they submitted the bill for review to the Congressional Budget Office. When this is complete, Snowe and Dodd will make the appropriate changes. A spokesman for Snowe said the Congressional Budget Office should be ready with the number in three weeks.
Published in The Bangor Daily News, in Maine.
