Press Releases

DENVER—Today, U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) welcomed Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05) to Colorado’s 7th Congressional District for a roundtable discussion on the child care crisis in Colorado and the United States. They met with child care providers, advocates, and local officials at Jefferson Jr./Sr. High School to discuss the child care fiscal “cliff” reached on September 30th because of expiring funds and the detrimental effects it will have on Colorado’s child care providers, parents, and larger community.
 

Last week, funding for child care from the American Rescue Plan Act expired, putting more than 70,000 child care programs across the country in danger, including more than 1,000 programs in Colorado impacting more than 83,000 kids. Representative Pettersen joined Whip Clark’s Child Care Stabilization Act, which she introduced last month and would extend vital federal child care stabilization funding and ensure that child care providers can keep their doors open and continue serving children and families in every part of the country.
 

“As the mom of a three year old, I know how difficult it can be to access safe, affordable child care. With federal funds expiring last week, the child care crisis in our country is about to get infinitely worse if we don’t act,” said Rep. Pettersen. “It was an honor to welcome Whip Clark, a longstanding champion for child care access, to Jefferson County to discuss how the child care crisis is impacting our community and what we can do together to make sure our providers are supported and parents can access the care they rely on. We’re urging our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to help us get the Child Care Stabilization Act across the finish line to bolster both hardworking families and our economy.”

“I’m so grateful to Coloradans for sending to Congress one of the country’s most persistent champions for working families: Brittany Pettersen,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “She and I both know firsthand that child care enables all other work. From corner shops to corner offices, prosperity is built on parents’ ability to access affordable, reliable, high-quality care for their kids. This isn’t a partisan issue – it’s an economic issue, and Congresswoman Pettersen is leading the call for bipartisan action on behalf of families. We can’t afford to wait, and we’re going to keep fighting until we get a child care funding bill to President Biden’s desk.”
 

When the pandemic pushed the already-fragile child care sector to the brink of collapse, Democrats in Congress responded by delivering historic federal investments to save the sector and prevent families from losing their child care spots—including $24 billion in child care stabilization funding. The funding has made an enormous difference for families across the country—keeping 220,000 child care providers afloat over the last few years and saving child care slots for up to 10 million kids nationwide—but these funds ran out on September 30, 2023, threatening to once again push the sector to the brink, with dire consequences for families and the nation’s economy.
 

The Child Care Stabilization Act would prevent a potential crisis by providing $16 billion in mandatory funding each year for the next five years to continue the successful Child Care Stabilization Grant program. This investment would ensure child care providers continue to receive a stable and reliable source of funding to help them deliver high-quality and affordable child care for working families across the country.