Sánchez, Miller introduce bipartisan child care affordability legislation

WASHINGTON – Congresswomen Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Carol Miller (R-W.V.), members of the Ways and Means Committee, today introduced the Child Care Supply Tax Credit Act, a bipartisan bill to address the nationwide child care shortage by creating a tax credit to help providers attract and retain qualified staff.

As child care costs continue to rise faster than inflation, parents in California now pay nearly $22,000 annually for infant care and $13,000 for a 4-year-old. In West Virginia, the cost is nearly $10,000 for both.

“It’s ridiculous that it can be cheaper to send a child to college than to preschool,” said Congresswoman Sánchez. “If we’re serious about supporting working families, we need to make child care more affordable and accessible. Our bill will help providers hire and retain qualified staff, so parents have reliable options for their young children without paying higher prices.”

“Parents across the country continue to struggle with the rising costs of childcare due to the industry’s workforce shortage. Attractive wages attract employees, and a large part of the cost of retaining the staff needed to adequately and safely care for the children is often passed on from the provider to the parents,” said Congresswoman Miller. “Building on the increased Child Tax Credit and expansion of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit that were secured by the passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts last summer, I am happy to join my colleagues Rep. Sánchez and Senators Justice and Warner in introducing the Child Care Supply Tax Credit Act to go one step further in addressing rising childcare costs. By providing a tax credit to assist our providers in paying their staff, we can limit the costs being passed on to parents.”

In the United States, child care workers earn less than the average worker despite a high level of responsibility and demanding training requirements. These low wages lead to high turnover and difficulty in recruitment, ultimately resulting in fewer available classroom slots and higher costs for families. 

The bipartisan Child Care Supply Tax Credit Act would create a new tax credit for eligible child care facilities to help offset the cost of employee wages, incentivizing higher pay for workers who directly care for children, while preventing the benefit from going toward administrative overhead.

Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Jim Justice (R-W.V.) previously introduced companion legislation in the Senate.

“From health care premiums to groceries to utility bills, life is only getting more and more expensive for American families, and for many, the math simply doesn’t work without affordable child care,” said Senator Warner. “Child care is the foundation that allows parents to earn a living while providing kids with the head start they deserve. I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to address the workforce challenges contributing to our nation’s child care crisis.”

“Childcare providers simply can’t afford to pay their workers enough without passing those high costs on to parents. Families in West Virginia and across the country are spending thousands of dollars just to secure reliable childcare – it must be addressed. By creating a targeted tax credit tied directly to caregiver wages, we can pay the people who take care of our kids what they deserve while giving our hard-working families some breathing room,” said Senator Justice.

###