NEW SENATE DEM AFFORDABILITY AGENDA PILLAR: Leader Schumer, Senators Murray & Warren To Release Senate Democrats’ Vision For Affordable, Available, High Quality Child Care

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced the next pillar of Senate Democrats' affordability agenda: a new Senate Democratic vision to make child care more affordable, more available, and higher quality for families across the country. Democrats' policy framework stands in stark contrast to Republicans' policies, which have led to skyrocketing costs and exacerbated the child care crisis.

Child care costs remain one of the largest financial burdens facing American families today. President Trump and Republicans have abandoned American families, leaving many unable to find affordable, high-quality child care. In the wake of this crisis, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) today released Democrats' vision to lower child care costs and expand access to high-quality care for American families across the country, helping parents, children, and child care workers alike.

The child care vision builds on Senate Democrats' year-long affordability agenda, led by Leader Schumer, to lower the costs families feel most - from housing, groceries, energy, and health care to the crushing cost of child care. The rollout also follows the release of Senate Democrats' new "Broken Promises" report, which details how Trump and Republican policies have driven up costs, broken promises to working families, and worsened the child care crisis.

"Trump and Republicans have made finding reliable and affordable child care an impossible feat," said Leader Schumer. "They have waged an all-out war on the child care sector, hurting those who are the most vulnerable among us: children. Senate Democrats are focused on a Day One solution to the child care crisis that includes affordable child care that meets parents' needs while investing in the child care workforce, infrastructure, and early childhood programs. As Republicans continue to fund tax cuts for billionaires, Democrats are laser-focused on the issues that Americans actually care about - affordability."

"When I go back home there is not a single parent saying, 'What I really want-is higher prices and more war mongering.' That may seem fine to an out-of-touch billionaire like Trump but working families don't 'love' inflation. Instead, the issue that comes up the most is no surprise to any parent: It's child care. Trump's latest budget short changes child care, while blowing up war spending," said Senator Murray. "Trump says we can't afford child care. The truth is we can't afford to ignore child care. This year, Senator Warren and I announced our Child Care for America Working Group-a coalition dedicated to lowering costs and delivering affordable and accessible high quality child care for all families across the country. Now, we're making this a central focus of our caucus's long-term affordability agenda with Leader Schumer. This is a priority for families-so Democrats will make it a priority in Congress."

"Universal child care is the best investment we can make in bolstering the middle class," said Senator Warren. "While Donald Trump and Republicans dream up new ways to line their billionaire buddies' pockets and give giant corporations even bigger tax breaks, Democrats are united in the fight to lower families' costs and deliver universal child care. Together, we'll get it done."

Senate Democrats' vision for child care calls for:

1. Lower costs for families
2. Increasing the supply of child care
3. Investing in our child care workforce
4. Ensuring high-quality child care and early childhood education programs
5. Meeting families where they are
6. Urgent implementation to fix this crisis

Senate Democrats' vision for child care is available here.

Ahead of announcing their vision for child care, Leader Schumer and Senators Murray and Warren released a new "Broken Promises" report exposing the true costs of Republicans' policies on child care, which have harmed families across the country. The report detailed how families cannot afford child care, how it's hard to find affordable high-quality child care, how Trump is attacking our federal child care and early childhood education experts, and how Republicans are actively undermining the child care sector. This new report is part of Senate Democrats' year-long initiative to address the cost of living crisis Trump and Republicans have created. So far, Democrats have released "Broken Promises" reports focused on the rising cost of housing, historic food and grocery prices, skyrocketing energy costs, and cuts to health care.

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