Ranking Member DeLauro Urges Quick Consideration of President Biden’s Domestic Supplemental Request
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks after President Biden transmitted a supplemental appropriations request:
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you to members of the press for joining this call, and thank you Chairwoman Murray, Whip Clark, and Senator Baldwin, for your leadership and for your tireless efforts to help hardworking American families make ends meet, and for not taking ‘no’ for an answer.
“Last week, Congress received President Biden’s request pertaining to our urgent security needs. We must act expeditiously to support Israel’s defense against Hamas’s terrorist attacks, to help Ukraine defend its borders against Russian aggression, and to address migration in our hemisphere and the issues at our southern border – and we must ensure we address the humanitarian needs stemming from each of these conflicts by promptly passing legislation that reflects the President’s full request.
“At the same time, it is imperative we confront the biggest challenges facing the American people at home. Too many hardworking Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. This is not a slogan or a phrase for rhetoric. This is reality. Too many families are stretched thin, with some parents working multiple jobs just to afford safe and high-quality child care. Communities across the country are reeling from recent disasters. Many Americans remain disconnected from modern communications infrastructure, leaving them at a disadvantage for job opportunities and digitally severed from the rest of the country. Congress must act in order to adequately respond to each of these needs.
“On the issue of child care – the industry was in crisis before we had a global pandemic. Women were pushed out of the workforce because kids were not in school, there was nobody to take care of them. Now, it is a catastrophe for parents, families, and providers across the country. The President has requested $16 billion for child care. It is urgent we act to provide this funding to relieve the American people of the overwhelming burdensome cost of quality child care.
“There is a nationwide shortage of qualified providers, in part because the compensation for these positions is simply too low. Providers are fighting to make ends meet. They need and deserve a fair and livable wage.
“This shortage makes it harder for families to locate reliable child care options – and when they do, it is often prohibitively expensive. This has become a vicious cycle where parents are faced with either taking on extra work just to afford safe, reliable child care – or forgo working altogether, accepting lower income and a lower standard of living in order to stay home and take care of their children.
“A basic tenet of quality child care is a low adult-to-child staffing level. But maintaining that ratio, and ensuring each child gets the direct and attentive care they need and deserve, means either each child’s family pays even more, or the provider’s income is hardly above the poverty line. Maintaining the status quo, and forcing parents and providers into these untenable circumstances is not an option.
“If there is one cause worthy of our investment, it will always be America’s children. Child care is critical infrastructure. When it is accessible and affordable – parents and children thrive. It is long past time that we step up our investments to help parents, improve the social and emotional learning of our children, and help providers deliver the highest level of care.
“Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate must act quickly to fund America’s children … they are America’s future. We must act to rebuild and reconnect our communities, and make them safer, stronger, and more secure.
“Democrats are here and ready to get the job done. Let’s get to work.”
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For the complete press conference, click HERE.