The House passed a second $3 trillion bill aimed at providing relief and support to those impacted by the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, May 15th.
The bill, known as the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or the HEROES Act, follows the first coronavirus bailout signed into law in late March with bipartisan support, the CARES Act.
The rescue package was approved with a vote of 208 to 199, but it is unlikely to pass in the Senate.
This bill includes $7 billion for CCDBG funding for the child care industry, but child care providers, advocates, and national organizations are calling for much more. In the last month, the child care sector has lost more than 300,000 workers, a third of its workforce, and data from the National Women’s Law Center and the Center for Law and Social Policy show that it will take at least $9.6B per month to sustain the child care sector. Unless Congress provides significant funding for the child care sector, data from the Center for American Progress finds that the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a permanent loss of nearly 4.5 million child care slots.
We know that half of child care providers have already shut their doors and unless Congress provides significant funding for the industry, many of these closures will be permanent. The U.S. stands to lose half of our child care industry due to coronavirus, and parents won’t be able to go back to work and the economy will not be able to reopen without it. Congress must take action and provide significant funding in the HEROES Act.
Early educators are essential to the U.S. economy, providing critical support for families. The child industry needs substantially more funding so that the economy can reopen. Child care providers support our families, businesses, and the economy. Unless Congress provides significant funding for the child care sector, the coronavirus pandemic could lead to a permanent loss of nearly half of all child care. This is why we’re calling on Congress to act immediately.
(Info provided by Business Insider and National Women’s Law Center.)