Patty Murray: “I rise in support of the Snowe-Dodd amendment to increase funding for child care by $6 billion. We know that…”

“I rise in support of the Snowe-Dodd amendment to increase funding for child care by $6 billion. We know that high-quality child care makes a real difference for children and their families. It allows parents to work, and at the same time it gives children a safe and productive place to learn. Today the need for child care is growing, but government support is not. In fact, because of the slow economy and State budget problems, many States are cutting back on their support of child care. This is having an especially painful impact on low-income families--the very families that are helped the most by child care. These are also the same families that will need more help because of the work requirements in the underlying bill. That is why we need to pass this amendment. The Snowe-Dodd amendment will increase funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant by $6 billion. Without this amendment, about 430,000 children will lose their child care assistance over the next 3 years. This amendment will make a real difference for families in every state. In my own home state of Washington, this amendment will mean nearly $140 million in increased child care funding for Washington families. Over the years, I have fought on this floor to increase child care funding, so I don't need to spend a lot of time reviewing what the research shows us. We know that safe, quality child care helps children start school ready to learn and keeps children safe while their parents work.”