Today, Congressman Andy Levin hosted a Facebook Live event with MomsRising as part of the House Democrat's #CareEconomy Week of Action. Elyssa Schmier, Vice President, Government Relations and National Budget for MomsRising and constituent of Rep. Levin joined the conversation to highlight the care economy provisions of President Joe Biden's American Families Plan, including a $225 billion investment to make child care affordable for families, fund providers to develop high-quality care and improve the lives of the child care workforce.
With a record number of women still out of the workforce and many child care workers in Michigan making poverty wages and requiring income assistance, an investment in child care infrastructure will have tremendous impact on our economic recovery.
You can watch the event here.
"With so much at stake, we can't afford to let child care become a bargaining chip in the latest round of negotiations in Congress," said Rep. Levin. "President Biden's proposed American Families Plan has several excellent child care provisions—subsidized child care, mandatory paid family leave, grants to colleges that provide child care and more. Strengthening families, creating jobs and giving kids the support they need to thrive from a young age should be a centerpiece of upcoming legislation, not an afterthought."
"It would be difficult to overstate the harm the pandemic has caused to our country's women, with moms and women of color experiencing compounded harms due to structural racism," said Elyssa Schmier, Vice President of MomsRising. "Decades of inadequate investment in our care infrastructure is a primary reason the pandemic hit us so hard. Moms are counting on lawmakers to ensure we have a just recovery. That means investing in a robust care infrastructure that includes, among other things: universal childcare; paid leave for all; access to home- and community-based services for people with disabilities and the aging; living wages; a permanent child tax credit; and a fair tax code to help pay for these investments."
Source:https://andylevin.house.gov/media/press-releases/watch-levin-momsrising-highlight-careeconomy-amid-infrastructure-negotiations
