Political Quotes

“I rise today, along with my colleagues, because, as the President pro tempore has heard, we have a childcare crisis in this country. Families can't afford it; employers don't have the funds to subsidize it; and providers can't pay their workers. In my home State of Nevada, it can cost more to send your kids to childcare than it does to send them to college. It is just outrageous, and we have to do something about it. One of the many consequences of this crisis is that some parents who can't afford childcare have to stay home with their kids instead of reentering the workforce. I hear this all the time in Nevada. Nearly 39 percent of women with children younger than 5 years old have quit their jobs in the last 3 years. Over 90 percent of those women willingly decided to leave their jobs and stop earning an income, not because they were laid off or had their hours cut back but because they needed to stay home with their children because they lacked the resources for childcare in this country to afford it. It is hurting our families. It is hurting our children and our economy, quite frankly. We must expand access to childcare now. We took steps to lower childcare costs for families when we passed the American Rescue Plan. That funding has made a difference for families across the country. In Nevada, that means families of four that make up to $70,000 a year are getting help covering their childcare costs.…”