Merkley, Wyden Advocate for Affordable Child Care

Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden said today they cosponsored theChild Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.
“Child care is essential for the success of working families, but as I hold town halls in all of Oregon’s 36 counties, I hear from hardworking families about child care being too hard to find and too expensive,”said Merkley.“We need to make sure Oregon’s middle-class families have access to reliable and affordable child care. TheChild Care For Working Families Actis a win for families who need child care and for Oregon businesses who need more child care providers.”
“Families in Oregon and nationwide want the best possible care for their children while they’re working hard to earn a living,”said Wyden.“This legislation would help those families meet that quality-of-life challenge by investing in common-sense steps that make this key service affordable, improve the pay child care workers receive, expand availability and more.”
As President Trump and Republicans in Congress choose to spend trillions on new tax cuts for billionaires and the biggest corporations, kick Americans off their health care, cut kids off from nutrition assistance, and raise costs on everyday essentials for working families, Democrats in Congress are continuing their push to help working people make ends meet—including by tackling the child care crisis.
The cost of child care nationwide continues to rise—and President Trump is exacerbating the affordability crisis. The average cost of child care in the United States is now $13,128 per year—a 29% increase since 2020 that outpaces inflation. Comparatively, the annual price of child care in Oregon for 2024 was $19,500 for an infant in center-based child care and $17,368 for a toddler in center-based child care.
In 49 states and the District of Columbia, the average annual costs of child care for two childrenexceeds median rent—and in 41 states and the District of Columbia, the cost of care for one infant exceedsin-state university tuition. The crisis costs the U.S. economyover $100 billion each year.
Nonetheless, President Trump hasguttedoversightof and support for the federal child care office,heldupchild care funding to states, andheld upHead Start funding, causing even more funding and staffing struggles for our child care providers and families around the country.
TheChild Care for Working Families Actwould tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers. Under the legislation, which Merkley and Wyden have supported every Congress since 2017, the typical family in America will pay no more than $15 a day for child care—with many families paying nothing at all—and no eligible family will pay more than 7 percent of their income on child care.
TheChild Care for Working Families Actwill:
TheChild Care for Working Families Actwas led by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Leader. In addition to Merkley and Wyden, the bill was also cosponsored by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Reuben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Companion legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-05) and Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) alongside 80 additional cosponsors in the House.
A fact sheet on the legislation is availableHERE.
Text of the legislation is availableHERE.