Since finishing third in the US Senate primary, Rep. Katie Porter has been a tireless advocate for issues she cares about as CA47’s Congressional representative and for her endorsements and fundraising efforts to win back the House of Representatives. She makes the case for a quality investment in childcare that only she — as the only single parent in Congress — can make.
And she’s asking you to sign on and support her efforts. Here’s what she’s askng:
Earlier this week I attended a Congressional Hearing about our country’s investment (or lack thereof, really) in early childhood education. As a single parent, I was extremely frustrated with some of my colleagues’ continued inability to take the issue of child care seriously.
Congressional Republicans are opposed to investing in child care because they claim it’s a “government takeover.” In this week’s hearing, Senator JD Vance cited stats that most married mothers would prefer to stay home with their kids, implying that their preference means we shouldn’t invest in child care. It’s a load of BS, and completely ignores the reality for many families. When conservatives block the government from investing in child care to give families “choice,” they take away choice from single parents and low-income parents.
Let’s be real: Republicans don’t want to invest in child care because it would mean taxing billionaires and ultra-profitable corporations, or siphoning funding from their defense industry friends.
As a result, we’re losing $122 billion annually in our economy because of unaffordable child care. But for every $1 we invest in child care, it yields $4 in return. Investing in child care is smart economic policy and the only way we’ll have a strong and stable workforce.
Congress as a whole has put the issues of women, children, and families on the back burner for too long. That’s in part because Congress, where the median age in the Senate is 65 and just 28% of Congresspeople are women, does not look like our country. Too many of my colleagues are frankly wealthy, older, men who have never had to worry about affording quality child care.
As Senator Vance talked about the preferences of married couples, I reminded the room—there are nearly 10 million single parents in this country. But there’s only one of us in Congress. That’s why I’m going to use my remaining months in office to do everything I can to fight for affordable child care.
https://www.lyceumvillage.org/
The Lyceum Village is an example of what a smart ambitious women did to address child care issues. So, why is the government inefficient with schools and child’s programs? Are they best addressed at the local level? Do children in LA have the same issues as Irvine, or poor Appalachia? Under Federal dollars, they must. Do middle-managers and expensive furniture burn up the budgets? How are we losing 122 billion bucks because of unaffordable child care? How do we get a 400% return on child care dollars? Schools completely closed four years ago. Many working parents were forced to overnight adjust to government mandates. Unfortunately, our state budget is now one big cosmic black hole. I agree with Congresswoman Porter, child care is a priority.