WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is targeting the rising cost of child care and childcare — and its scarce availability — with executive action Tuesday that appears to fulfill a campaign promise that failed in Congress.
The White House billed the order as the most comprehensive ever taken by a president to expand care and cut costs. It includes directing federal agencies to identify grant programs to support child care and long-term care for individuals who work on federal projects.
“No one should have to choose between taking care of the parents who raised them, the children who depend on them, and the paycheck they depend on,” Biden said before signing the order during a ceremony in the Rose Garden.
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The moves give Biden a childcare framework he can tout ahead of a widely anticipated 2024 re-election bid.
Still, the directives, 50 in all, are significantly lower than Biden’s original plan for $276 billion in subsidized child care and an additional $150 billion for care for the elderly and disabled, which were part of his domestic Build Back Better program, which was stalled in Congress during Biden’s first two years in office.
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What are Biden’s actions doing to care?
- HHS to review copayments: Biden is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to consider actions to reduce or eliminate copayments for families to care for children.
- Veteran Access: The order directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to improve access to home care for veterans who need support at home with activities of daily living such as bathing and eating.
- Subsidies under review: The order directs the federal government to conduct a review of child care subsidy policy and consider setting standards for when and how federal agencies must provide child care subsidies to federal employees.
- Care on military bases: Biden directed the Department of Defense to take steps to improve the availability of child care on military installations.
- Pay increase: The action also aims to raise wages for child care workers, who typically earn less than $18 an hour in the US. The action requires HHS to implement policies for more child care providers to take advantage of federal funding from the Child Care and Development Block. HHS will also take steps to increase pay for teachers and staff in Head Start programs.
- Funding for home care: HHS will also create new rules to make Medicaid payments for home care services “more transparent” and ensure that a greater share of Medicaid funding goes to home care workers.
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Why is Biden taking action now?
Child care costs have jumped more than 26 percent over the past decade, according to the White House, and more than 200 percent over the past 30 years. The cost of home care for the elderly and disabled has increased by 40% in the last 10 years.
The growing demand for caregiving services remains largely unmet, preventing many parents, especially women, from entering the workforce. As a result, the U.S. is expected to lose about $290 billion a year in gross domestic product after 2030 if no action is taken, according to a Boston Consulting Group study.
“This will make a real difference for families,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement. “But make no mistake: We need bold action by Congress to make child care affordable and accessible in every part of this country.”
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Last year, Biden scaled back his Build Build Back plan, scrapping his caregiving and childcare proposals to win approval for a more modest domestic program in an evenly divided Senate.
With Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, subsidized child care has virtually no chance of passage before 2024. However, with his new executive order, Biden can at least claim to have done what he can to make progress on one of the most important progressive priorities.
Connect with Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison.