Rosen’s Bipartisan Bill to Help Lower Child Care Costs, Expand Availability Advances Out of Committee

A RecentReportLabels Entire State Of Nevada As A “Child Care Desert”
WASHINGTON, DC– Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that her bipartisanSmall Business Child Care Investment Acthas advanced out of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. This bipartisan legislation will help lower child care costs by increasing the availability of affordable, high-quality child care for Nevada families. It allows non-profit child care providers that otherwise qualify as small businesses to access larger and more flexible loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
A recent report labeled the entire state of Nevada as a “child care desert,” and found that nearly 75 percent of children below the age of five don’t have access to a licensed child care provider. The report deemed the cost of child care a “huge concern” in Nevada and found it often to be more expensive than college tuition. It also attributed the lack of affordable and accessible child care to the worker shortage that Nevada businesses report experiencing.
“The lack of affordable, quality child care options is hurting hardworking Nevada families and forcing them to make tough financial choices,”said Senator Rosen.“That’s why I’ve been working across the aisle to pass my bipartisan bill to help lower costs by increasing access to affordable child care in our state. This legislation will help nonprofits, community organizations, churches, synagogues, and others to set up or expand child care centers, and I’m glad to see it advance out of committee today.”
Senator Rosen continues working to lower child care costs for Nevada’s hardworking families. Last year, she joined abipartisan billto provide child care services for police officers and support law enforcement families. Senator Rosen also joined in helping to introduce theChild Care for Working Families Act, legislation that would help lower child care costs for an average American family to no more than $10-a-day. During a confirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Rosensecured a commitmentfrom General David Allvin, Air Force Chief of Staff, to cut red tape in a program designed to make child care available for military families like Airmen at Nellis and Creech Air Force Bases who work overnight shifts.
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