New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) is teaming up with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday to reintroduce universal child care legislation with a focus on affordability.
The Hill was the first outlet to view details of the legislation before it was reintroduced.
The Child Care for Every Community Act was first introduced by the two Democratic lawmakers in 2023. Supporters of the legislation also argue it guarantees affordability, with all families across the country seeing their child care capped and half of all families in the U.S. paying no more than $10. Higher-income families would not pay more than 7 percent of their income, while lower-income families bringing in less than 75 percent of their state median income would be fully subsidized.
The legislation pushes for a mandatory federal investment to create and support locally managed Child Care and Early Learning Centers and Family and Family Child Care, which would be based on U.S. military child care and Head Start program standards. The bill also includes prekindergarten education and aims to “invest in childcare workers.”
“As costs go up across the board, parents in New Jersey are struggling to afford child care. Time and again, I’ve heard from parents and employers about the harm this causes to the financial well-being of families and our economy. It’s time for Congress to take comprehensive action to address this crisis,” Sherril said in a statement.
Warren noted in her own statement that child care prices were already “too expensive” before President Trump’s “chaotic tariffs hiked prices on everything from diaper bags to baby strollers.”
Child care affordability is apart of the broader issue of cost and affordability, which has become a hallmark of the offyear elections including the governor’s race in New Jersey. Both Sherrill and her Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli have zeroed in on the issue as the polls show a tightening race.
The Decision Desk HQ polling average shows Sherrill leading Ciattarelli 46.6 percent to 43.1 percent.