Democratic Washington Sen. Patty Murray has been one of Congress’ strongest supporters of working families ever since she entered the chamber in 1993. That same year saw the Family and Medical Leave Act signed into law, which was a big step forward for employers’ leave policies—but nowhere near enough, as the leave guaranteed was unpaid. In the three decades since that legislation’s passage, there haven’t been any significant updates to child care infrastructure. But something shifted when the pandemic hit. “I was hearing from businesses, from Chambers of Commerce, who are trying to keep some semblance of order, who couldn’t get their employees to come to work simply because of child care,” Murray says. With everybody now “facing the same crisis,” a new opportunity has emerged for fixing this country’s child care systems—President Joe Biden is putting the weight of his office behind policies that would make day care and preschool more accessible and provide paid family leave. But can these measures pass through a Congress with an obstructionist GOP? To find out, I spoke with Murray on Thursday’s episode of What Next. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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