Stauber and Axne Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Families Afford Child Care

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) and Congresswoman Cindy Axne (IA-03) introduced the bipartisan Improving Child Care for Working Families Act to help parents across the nation afford the rising cost of child care. This legislation would increase the cap on the employer-sponsored Dependent Care Assistance Plan (DCAP) from $5,000 to $10,000, allowing families to set aside a larger portion of their pretax income for child care expenses.

Of this legislation, Congressman Stauber stated, "For too many families in Minnesota, accessing quality and affordable child care has become nearly impossible. This issue not only harms parents' ability to rise in the workplace, but also prevents many from entering the workforce at all. By increasing the DCAP cap from $5,000 to $10,000, more families will be able to keep up with the rising costs of child care. I thank Congresswoman Axne for joining me in introducing this legislation. As parents continue to struggle to afford the skyrocketing costs of child care, I remain committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find more solutions to this pressing issue."

Congresswoman Axne stated, "I know how nerve-racking it can be as a new parent to have to budget for the rising costs of care every year. And now, if you have two children like me, you can end up spending more on child care than you would on renting a two-bedroom home. We need to make sure we're giving Iowa families the tools they need to afford the current cost of child care, and this legislation would update current tools to reflect the realities of a modern family budget."

This legislation is endorsed by National Child Care Association, Employers Council on Flexible Compensation, Save the Children Action Network (SCAN), Early Care and Education Consortium, National Association of Social Workers.

Background

As of 2019, Minnesota was one of the most expensive states for child care, with the average annual cost of infant care standing at $16,087.

Congressman Stauber recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would increase access to child care in rural areas by allowing non-profit child care providers to have access to Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. Learn more about this legislation, HERE.

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