III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 292 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the availability of high-quality 

childcare for working parents should be increased. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 22, 2015 

Mrs. MURRAY (for herself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. BOXER, 

Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CASEY, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. 

MIKULSKI, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. SCHUMER, 

Ms. STABENOW, Mr. UDALL, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, and Ms. KLOBUCHAR) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that the availability of 

high-quality childcare for working parents should be increased. 

Whereas working parents depend on high-quality childcare so 

they can work and support their families; 

Whereas over 60 percent of children under 5, and 1⁄2 of grade 

school-aged children, are in a regular childcare arrangement; 

Whereas United States businesses lose $3,000,000,000 annually due to employee absenteeism resulting from child 


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•SRES 292 IS 

care challenges, which weakens the stable and reliable 

childcare system that is essential for the economy; 

Whereas childcare is difficult to find for millions of families, 

particularly the nearly 9,000,000 parents who work nonstandard hours, because only 8 percent of childcare centers provide evening or weekend care; 

Whereas most middle-class families struggle to afford highquality childcare; 

Whereas the median annual aggregate cost of full-time care 

for an infant and a 4-year-old in a childcare center is 

nearly $16,000; 

Whereas the average annual cost of center-based childcare for 

an infant is over 1⁄2 of the income of a family of 3 living 

at the poverty level in 21 States; 

Whereas high-quality childcare and early education, especially 

for disadvantaged children, helps children thrive in school 

and beyond by— 

(1) decreasing special education placement and reducing grade retention; 

(2) decreasing child abuse and neglect and juvenile 

arrests; 

(3) increasing high school graduation and college attendance; and 

(4) increasing employment; 

Whereas the eligibility requirements to receive assistance 

under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 

of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘CCDBG’’), the primary source of Federal 

funding support for childcare, exclude most United 

States children from Federal childcare assistance; 


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•SRES 292 IS 

Whereas the CCDBG serves only a fraction of families eligible for Federal support, with only 17 percent of eligible 

children receiving Federal childcare assistance, the lowest 

percentage since 1997; 

Whereas these issues affect all families, but disproportionately affect women because— 

(1) over 95 percent of the formal childcare workforce is comprised of women; and 

(2) women do most of the unpaid childcare work in 

families; 

Whereas increased pay for workers in the childcare industry 

improves the quality of childcare for young children; 

Whereas to recruit and retain a qualified childcare workforce 

for young children, childcare staff for young children 

should be paid as much as K–12 staff with equivalent 

education and experience; 

Whereas a full-time living wage of at least $15 per hour is 

needed for childcare workers to meet the essential needs 

of their families, but the average childcare center worker 

earns $10.60 per hour and has experienced no increase 

in real earnings since 1997; 

Whereas high-quality childcare that works for everyone is essential for a strong economy and future; 

Whereas each working family needs, in order to support its 

well-being— 

(1) universal preschool; 

(2) child nutrition programs that promote health 

and wellness; 

(3) a fair work schedule; 

(4) a living wage; 

(5) paid family and medical leave; 


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•SRES 292 IS 

(6) paid sick days; and 

(7) credit in the Social Security system for time 

spent caregiving; and 

Whereas when families are guaranteed high-quality, flexible, 

available, and affordable childcare— 

(1) business productivity improves; 

(2) parents have a greater likelihood of finding and 

keeping employment; and 

(3) children do better in school and in life: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate supports efforts— 

2 (1) to provide childcare assistance to each 

3 working family that needs childcare assistance, in4 cluding— 

5 (A) middle-class families that struggle to 

6 afford the costs of high-quality childcare; and 

7 (B) underpaid families that are often left 

8 behind; 

9 (2) to make childcare affordable— 

10 (A) such that no working family must pay 

11 more than 10 percent of its income for 

12 childcare; and 

13 (B) by providing additional help to families 

14 most in need; 

15 (3) to ensure that childcare is available so that 

16 parents in the 24-hour economy can access high17 quality care— 


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1 (A) when and where the parents need it 

2 (during weekends, nights, and as their job 

3 schedules change); and 

4 (B) with options across school, center, and 

5 home settings; 

6 (4) to guarantee that each family eligible for 

7 childcare receives childcare by creating a system that 

8 expands with need; 

9 (5) to improve the quality of childcare by— 

10 (A) guaranteeing childcare workers a living 

11 wage and wage parity with K–12 staff with 

12 equivalent education and experience; 

13 (B) improving training opportunities; and 

14 (C) giving workers a voice on the job to 

15 advocate for higher workplace standards and 

16 standards of care for the children the workers 

17 serve; and 

18 (6) to provide sufficient Federal, State, and 

19 local investment to ensure resources for high-quality 

20 jobs and affordable childcare. 

Æ 


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