Max Baucus: “Clearly, to make welfare work, there has to be adequate childcare support. It is a no-brainer. I appreciate Senator…”

“Clearly, to make welfare work, there has to be adequate childcare support. It is a no-brainer. I appreciate Senator Grassley's efforts to help improve this bill. I appreciate, therefore, even more the amendment offered by the Senators from Connecticut and Maine to provide for adequate childcare funding. I further appreciate the support of this amendment by the chairman of the committee, Senator Grassley. It is another example of his doing what is right. There are a lot of politics around here. Clearly, what is right is to make sure our kids get enough childcare support. There are 2 million children today who currently benefit from Federal childcare. Maintaining that current level will take $4.5 billion over the next 5 years. We also need another $1.5 billion just to cover the cost of the new work requirements in the Senate bill. In total, we need $5 billion more than this bill requires. Therefore, the amendment pending is one that must be passed. In Montana, more than 10,000 children receive childcare assistance, but that is only one-tenth of the number of children who are eligible for childcare assistance. I believe with passage of this amendment, we will be able to raise that one-tenth to a much higher level.”