Carl Levin: “It is great to stand here with Representative Bowman, with our colleague Jan Schakowsky, with Mr. Kahele, with all of…”

“It is great to stand here with Representative Bowman, with our colleague Jan Schakowsky, with Mr. Kahele, with all of our brothers and sisters in Congress to say that we can and we must, and we will do so much better right now for our working parents, our workers, our kids. As we recover from the pandemic and Build Back Better, we can't forget about the people who make up what we call the care economy-- nursing home workers, home caregivers, childcare providers, and others who work every day to better the lives of other people. Why is care work so important? The care economy has been central to my own life. I started my career helping nursing home workers organize with SEIU, but I think most parents can tell you about the importance of childcare in their own words. Personally, I think back to the birth of my first son, Koby, and how so much of those early years were spent juggling schedules with my wife to raise our son. I would stay home with the baby during the day so Mary could teach in public school, and then she would rush home and tap in while I took law school classes in the afternoon and evening. Ultimately, we had three kids under 5 in the house and later four kids altogether. It was joyful and exhilarating, but it was challenging and there was just no way we could have done it alone.…”