Ernst Pushes to Lower Costs for Child Care on Behalf of Iowa Families

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) joined her colleagues to introduce the bipartisanChild Care Availability and Affordability Actto make child care more affordable and accessible for Iowa families.
“When traveling River to River across Iowa, I consistently hear about the struggles that families face in finding and affording high-quality child care,”said Ernst. “TheChild Care Availability and Affordability Actwill help lower costs for hardworking Iowans and encourage businesses to invest in accessible child care options to decrease the burden on working parents.”
“Access to affordable, high-quality child care is important to supporting Iowa’s workforce and economic growth. TheChild Care Availability and Affordability Acttakes meaningful steps to help employers invest in child care solutions and supports working families. We appreciate Senator Ernst and her colleagues for advancing bipartisan solutions that benefit both businesses and families across our state,"said Tiffany Tauscheck, President & CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership.
“For quite some time, we have consistently heard from our membership that access to childcare has become a significant impediment to hiring a skilled workforce. For this reason, we applaud the effort to address this challenge and support theChildcare Availability and Affordability Actcurrently pending in Congress,”said Barbara Sloniker, Executive Vice President of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.
Read the billhere.
Background:
Ernst has been astrongadvocate forincreasingaccess to affordable, high-quality child care in Iowa.
While travelingRiver to Riveracross the state, Ernstvisitschild carecenters to bring Iowans’ voices to Washington.
Ernstledthe bipartisanSmall Business Child Care Investment Actthat would allow non-profit child care providers, including religious organizations, to participate in the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs, whichpassedthrough the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee last month.
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