Senate Republicans encouraged lawmakers to “think” before they act when considering what action the federal government should take in their involvement with American childcare.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee convened on May 31 to discuss the childcare crisis being experienced by some Americans and the potential solutions to meet the needs of working families and childcare workers.
The hearing saw lawmakers from both sides of the aisle presenting their perspectives on the matter, with HELP Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pushing for more federal funding for childcare and Ranking Member Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) telling his fellow lawmakers that they should not “just do something—think.”
During the hearing, Cassidy expressed his concerns about the rising costs of childcare as federal money is invested, cautioning against hastily pouring additional federal dollars into the sector without careful consideration.
The senator argued that similar patterns were observed in higher education, where increased federal assistance led to skyrocketing costs for students.
“As more federal assistance has gone towards student loans, the cost of higher education has skyrocketed,” he said.
“As [was] pointed out by Matthew Desmond in the book ‘Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,’ when the federal government threw additional money at housing programs, the funding was largely swallowed up by the bureaucracy in charge rather than actually reaching those in need on the ground,” Cassidy said.
He emphasized the importance of ensuring that any federal assistance for making childcare affordable does not inadvertently exacerbate the problem or burden taxpayers with ever-increasing costs.
While Democrats advocate for additional federal funding to address the childcare crisis, proposing an additional $600 billion for a government-run institutionalized childcare system, Cassidy expressed concerns about the long-term impact of such a solution.
The hearing also touched on the availability of funds for childcare initiatives, with billions allocated through the end of the next fiscal year.
Other topics related to health care reauthorization were also brought up during the hearing. Among them was a study conducted by the Mercatus Center which revealed that eliminating certain regulations could potentially reduce the cost of care by as much as $1,900 per child per year.
This finding highlights the importance of streamlining regulations to make childcare more affordable without compromising the quality of care provided.
Concerns were also voiced by expert witnesses about the consequences of federal involvement in childcare.
The contentious battles witnessed in K–12 education, including debates on pronouns, sex education, and masking policies, could extend to local daycares and preschools if the government becomes the primary funder and rule-setter for approved daycare providers.
Expert witness Kathryn Larin who serves as Director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO’s) Education, Workforce, and Income Security team, also voiced concern about the potential risk of childcare centers being subjected to shifting political agendas and changing regulations—a topic of interest among committee members.
“Headstart kids were among those who are forced to wear masks longer than just about anybody else,” Larin said.
“Long after we’d realize that adults have been able to take their masks off when we were learning that masks were just not doing any good for kids in schools, they were actually harming them. So I worry about some of these providers or these institutions becoming political footballs.”