Tom Harkin: “I add my strong support for the Snowe/Dodd amendment to add $6 billion in childcare funding in the TANF bill. This will…”

“I add my strong support for the Snowe/Dodd amendment to add $6 billion in childcare funding in the TANF bill. This will allow for urgently needed improvements to access and the quality of childcare. Back in 1996, Congress passed a tough welfare reform bill that demanded personal responsibility. I supported that bill. It said that if you are on welfare and you can work, you must work. Our reform has had some substantial successes, but now is not the time for a victory lap. I am particularly concerned that this bill does not provide adequate funding to address what we all know is one of the major barriers to employment--childcare. If we are going to demand personal responsibility from every American, I believe the Government has a responsibility to every American. If we are going to help struggling low-income families and those trying to leave welfare over the long term, we have a responsibility to provide those families with access to affordable, high quality childcare. Nationwide only one in eight kids eligible for childcare assistance actually receives it. In Iowa the story is worse, only 1 out of 12 actually receives assistance. Parents cannot work if they cannot afford decent childcare. But the sad reality is that many are forced, too often, to leave their kids in substandard care--or no care at all. In Iowa nearly two-thirds of mothers with kids under age six are in the workforce. That is the second highest in the Nation.”