Earlier this week I attended a Congressional Hearing about our country's investment (or lack thereof, really) in early childhood education. As a single parent, I was extremely frustrated with some of my colleagues' continued inability to take the issue of child care seriously.
Congressional Republicans are opposed to investing in child care because they claim it's a "government takeover." In this week's hearing, Senator JD Vance cited stats that most married mothers would prefer to stay home with their kids, implying that their preference means we shouldn't invest in child care. It's a load of BS, and completely ignores the reality for many families. When conservatives block the government from investing in child care to give families "choice," they take away choice from single parents and low-income parents.
Let's be real: Republicans don't want to invest in child care because it would mean taxing billionaires and ultra-profitable corporations, or siphoning funding from their defense industry friends.
As a result, we're losing $122 billion annually in our economy because of unaffordable child care. But for every $1 we invest in child care, it yields $4 in return. Investing in child care is smart economic policy and the only way we'll have a strong and stable workforce.
Congress as a whole has put the issues of women, children, and families on the back burner for too long. That's in part because Congress, where the median age in the Senate is 65 and just 28% of Congresspeople are women, does not look like our country. Too many of my colleagues are frankly wealthy, older, men who have never had to worry about affording quality child care.
As Senator Vance talked about the preferences of married couples, I reminded the room—there are nearly 10 million single parents in this country. But there's only one of us in Congress. That's why I'm going to use my remaining months in office to do everything I can to fight for affordable child care.
Thanks for reading,
Katie
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Katie Porter started Truth to Power to support Democrats who reject corporate PAC money and are running to protect the environment, restore the nationwide right to an abortion, and create an economy that works for working people. |
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