Dear friends and neighbors,
Right now, a lot is happening in the state Legislature. I wanted to let you know some of the actions we are taking to address the challenges facing people in the 43rd District and across Washington state.
To provide your point of view or to ask questions, please feel free to reach out to my office by emailing my legislative assistant, Daniel Lugo, at Daniel.Lugo@leg.wa.gov) or calling 206-905-6681.
A major priority: Fair Start for Our Kids
Child Care and Early Learning
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the child care system was in crisis. Now it’s in danger of collapse. Already, it is already costing Washington businesses more than $2 billion a year, and working parents are forgoing $14 billion a year in lost wages due to the lack of access to affordable child care. As a result, large numbers of parents are leaving the workforce or reducing hours and take-home pay. It’s clear that Washington’s child care market is broken and too many children and families are bearing the consequences.
But we know how to proceed! State Representative Tana Senn, Senator Claire Wilson and I are leading the charge for the Fair Start for Kids Act (House Bill 1277). Our proposal is a multi-faceted approach to address the child care crisis, help the economy recover, and promote social and racial equity. The bill aims to make child care and early learning more affordable for families, stabilize and support the diverse child care workforce, and expand child care and early learning access to many more kids.
This past week, parents, employers, and child care providers testified in support of the bill in the Children, Youth & Families Committee. They teleconferenced into the committee from their homes and workplaces to share their moving stories. You can watch the full public hearing here. This year, we have a window of opportunity to take action for our kids, our jobs, and our future!
Child care is incredibly important to employers and our overall economy. After all, why do employees need child care? To go to work! In addition, so many people say that “early learning is the best investment we can make.” We need to turn that rhetoric into reality in the state budget – and provide funding with new progressive tax revenue, with a Fair Share Contribution from corporations doing well even in this current economy!
Fair Share for Child Care!