Shaheen embraces two bills to boost support for child care

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., has signed onto bipartisan legislation aimed at making child care more affordable and accessible by increasing federal tax credits for employers and individuals and competitive grants to states that offer pay increases for childcare workers.

Shaheen said the Child Care Workforce and Child Care Availability and Affordability acts would help improve one of the top issues facing working families in New Hampshire.

“I hear time and again from parents in New Hampshire who are desperate for reliable, affordable child care options, but for too many families, their options are limited at best and nonexistent at worst,” Shaheen said.

Sens. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, have joined Shaheen, who is the lead sponsor of both bills.

“For an issue that impacts so many families in every corner of every state, it’s time we find a bipartisan path forward, which is why I’m proud to join my colleagues on this common sense, bipartisan proposal to lower child care costs, increase wages for the workforce and ensure providers can keep their doors open,” Shaheen said.

The bill would expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit to a maximum of $2,500 for families with one child and $4,000 for families with two or more children.

This would allow parents to deduct 50% of their child care expenses from taxes up from the current 35%.

It would increase the maximum allowable expenses for families from $3,000 to $5,000 for one child and from $6,000 to $8,000 for two or more children.

The tax credit for employers would increase the maximum credit of support to employee child care from $150,000 to $500,000 a year.

Fifty percent of employer expenses could be deducted, up from 25% under current law.

The competitive grants for states to increase child care worker pay could reduce staff turnover, Shaheen said.

Model programs exist in Virginia, Nebraska, Maine and the District of Columbia.

A large coalition of groups supports these measures, ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Save the Children, the National Association of Women Business Owners and the American Hotel and Lodging Association.