MORGANTOWN – For the second time this week, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito joined with other GOP senators at the U.S. Capitol to denounce an aspect of the Build Back Better bill.
This time it was the childcare and universal pre-K provisions of the bill. Citing analyses and comments from liberal and progressive sources, they said the proposal will eliminate more than half the sources of daycare and nearly double the cost for middle class families not eligible for the program.
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., led the press conference and cited figures from the progressive Peoples Policy Projects showing that the program would raise the cost of daycare for unsubsidized families by about $13,000 a year – from $15,900 to $29,000.
The bill, he said, also intentionally shrinks the supply of providers by killing off faith-based daycares, small family childcare homes and kinship care.
The pre-K program, he said, will grow to require a 37% state match; and it ends program funding in six years. “Parents are looking to plan their lives. They need the predictability of childcare.” This bill cuts off that predictability.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., talked about the desperation parents are already facing with gas prices up 75% in his state and utilities up 25%.
Referring to what he calls “Build Back Broker,” he said, “”You realize that the bone-crushing, life-changing, hope-stealing, job-killing aspects of the BBB includes increasing your childcare costs by $13,000.” A median-income family earning $34,000 will, after taxes, spend their entire take-home pay on care for one child.
“And somehow we are to celebrate this notion the government is here for you when in fact you know the government is taking something from you,” said. “This is literally an attempt to fundamentally transform what it means to take care of your child in the place you want to send your child by eliminating options, increasing the cost and stealing the hope from far too many families who deserve better from their government.”
As reported in Education Week and cited by several of the senators, the bill’s rules and regulations for daycares would essentially wipe out faith-based centers, which makes up 53% of the centers parents use.
Capito said, “The cost and the lack of choice is the main issue here.” But the bill also makes it difficult for children and families, for managing childcare and getting back to work. Referring to the existing Child Care Development Block Grant program, she said, “There’s a system out there that can be improved upon. It’s not like we have a broken system.”
Six of her own seven grandchildren have been in faith-based daycares, she said. These daycare work, provide quality education and have standards. She talked with owners of six faith-based daycares in the state who said it’s already more difficult to find staff and bill will make it worse.
The bill will lower overhead for non-faith-based centers, she said, and give them a competitive advantage.
Capito quoted Tonya Neal from Teays Valley Christian Daycare: “Where the money comes, so does the control.” She commented, “And I think that’s what you see. As many of us have said, the control is wanting to be in Washington by the Democrats in this bill. And that’s the structure that they’ve put together.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said the loss of providers and doubling of costs will force many families to chose to have one parent quit work and stay home – and that will usually mean the mother, who will lose career and work opportunities. Many mothers have already had to leave the workforce because of COVID closing the schools.
Burr cited figures from the Congressional Budget Office showing the true cost of the bill overall, and the childcare and pre-K portion. As previously reported, the CBO said the true 10-year cost of the $1.75 trillion bill is $4.9 trillion. The true cost of the $381 billion childcare and pre-K portion is $725 billion.
And, as the Peoples Policy Projects and others have reported, he said, the CBO is basing the true cost on many states not participating. It assumes 34% of eligible children will live in states that won’t participate in childcare and that and 40% of eligible pre-K children will live in states that won’t participate in that plan.
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said there’s been no outcry to change the childcare currently works. No one has said, “Could you please send people to Washington and bankrupt religious daycare. … This is just a breathtaking dumb construction of a program.”
The Dominion Post contacted Sen. Joe Manchin for his thoughts on these aspects of Build Back Better, but he declined comment.
TWEET David Beard @dbeardtdp EMAIL dbeard@dominionpost.com
