On the recordSeptember 20, 2021
In San Diego County, which I am proud to represent, since the pandemic started, more than 500 childcare providers have closed their doors, and the families of more than 190,000 kids don't have access to the care they need. Across the country, nearly 1.6 million moms of children under 17 are still missing from the labor force--an economic crisis decades in the making. The Build Back Better Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lower the cost of childcare, expand availability, and boost the wages of the essential childcare workers that make our country go. It isn't just the right thing for our families, it is the right thing for our economy. According to a Nobel Prize-winning economist, we save $7 for every $1 we invest in quality early childhood programs. So while some of my colleagues may argue that we can't afford to do these things, the truth is we can't afford not to. Madam Speaker, we have to meet this moment, and we have to build back better. ____________________
