Ever feel like you would enjoy having inspiring, high-powered friends who believe fiercely in high-quality early education and care?

Look no further than U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington) and the advocates and leaders from the field who testified last week at a special hearing on child care held by the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP).

The video and testimony transcripts are posted here.

Murray opened the proceedings with a smart, sweeping, we-have-got-to-do-better speech.

The economy, she said, “isn’t just about numbers on a page and whether they go up or down. It’s about people across the country and whether they can get what they need, whether they can take care of their loved ones, and whether things are working for them and their families.”

And one thing families – and the economy – need is child care.

“So in short,” Murray added, “we’ve got an affordability problem, child care shouldn’t be an extra mortgage; a wages problem, child care workers are leaving the field for higher paying work; and an options problem, there just aren’t enough providers… This is not just terrible for parents and kids, but for our economy as a whole.”

Additional and stirring testimony followed.

Rhian Evans Allvin, CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), testified in part:

“All future learning and development will build on these early years, as the foundation for a child’s cognitive, social and emotional, language, health and physical well-being is established. The public dollars we invest during these years lead to substantial fiscal returns over generations, estimated at up to $16 for every $1 invested — as long as we ensure that infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are in child care centers, family child care homes, faith-based programs, and schools that maximize their development and learning while their parents work.”

Julie Kashen, director of Women’s Economic Justice and a senior sellow at The Century Foundation, mixed the personal and the practical, testifying:

“I am also a former Senate HELP Committee staffer, and I am a mom. My son will be eight soon. Our child care challenges remain fresh in my mind.”

“Over the past thirty years, child care prices have risen more than twice the rate of inflation—faster than the price of food, housing, and other items. The pandemic has accelerated these trends, with child care inflation exceeding annual inflation in 2020 by nearly 4 percent.

“Most parents need child care at a time when they can least afford it because they are early in their career. This has particular impacts for families of color due to, at least in part, ongoing systemic and structural inequities that perpetuate overrepresentation of communities of color in jobs paying lower wages, the ranks of those experiencing higher unemployment rates, and families living below the federal poverty level. Unlike college tuition, which is also too expensive, parents don’t have eighteen years to plan and save.”

And Ellen Reynolds, CEO of the Georgia Child Care Association, talked hard facts in her testimony:

“While I recognize today’s hearing is partisan, I want to stress that prior to this year, childcare has never been a partisan issue. I believe it is the sincere desire of this committee to ensure working families have access to high quality, affordable childcare, and I would urge you to continue building on the rich thirty-year history of bipartisan work as you consider enacting new policies.”

“We strongly recommend a historic investment of at least $400 billion to childcare through this year’s reconciliation process.

“We are very grateful for the ARPA stabilization funds, but state regulatory agencies and providers are concerned about the cliff effect that is coming in September 2023 when ARPA stabilization dollars expire and in September 2024 when ARPA discretionary dollars expire. Without further investments, the country will face a catastrophic decline in access to childcare as providers will no longer be able to pay teachers competitive rates nor provide tuition relief for families.

“We believe funding must be included in the reconciliation process because we do not believe Congress will allocate enough funding to make a material difference in access to childcare through the traditional budget process. Consider the recently passed Omnibus Budget Bill as ‘Exhibit A’ to that point. While we are grateful for the $231 million increase to CCDBG, that amounts to a 4.3% increase to spending. With inflation at 7.5%, the funding does not help states keep pace with inflation, which has historically been the case. This is a prime example of how childcare funding has historically eroded over time.”

Please check out the video and transcripts. They are important reminders of how many great reasons there are for investing in high-quality early education and care. 

And please reach out to your own members of Congress and ask them to support these proposals. Families across the country need Congress to make bold – and long overdue – investments in high-quality early education and care.