Washington state’s senior U.S. senator is continuing to champion legislation aimed at making child care more affordable and accessible.
During a virtual town hall on Feb. 23 focused on Southwest Washington residents, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said “I’m a mom and a grandmother, and I know that this is one of the toughest times to raise a family that I can remember.”
The town hall was hosted by the progressive advocacy group Fuse Washington and provided Murray an opportunity to speak to constituents about her major focuses in Washington, D.C.
The main focus for the town hall was on her work in addressing the costs of raising a family. Murray said she is pushing for an extension on the expanded child tax credit. She said the credit has been impactful in meeting basic needs during the pandemic for a number of families.
“I have talked to so many families who said ‘I couldn’t afford diapers. I couldn’t afford food for my family. My kids are eating breakfast now,’” Murray said.
Murray said her office was “looking everywhere” to see how the credit could be extended.
“If there’s one thing we should do as Americans (it) is making sure we take care of our kids,” Murray said.
Holly Lindsey, an in-home child care provider from Longview with eight adopted children of her own, spoke during the town hall. Lindsey said her operation has been open throughout the pandemic, which has proved a challenge. She said getting supplies for child care has “doubled and tripled” since the pandemic started.
“That has been a huge struggle when we only make very minimal money,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey said she is nervous about the end of temporary programs that have assisted child care. She said finding people who are qualified to work with children is its own struggle given the pay available.
“We really need to look at making child care affordable, but also making it where … the providers are paid enough to actually do the job that we are doing,” Lindsey said.
Murray said she is focused on rebuilding the child care system, specifically the facilities, which she said could be built through state grants. She is also pushing to lower prices so no one pays more than 7% of their income while still increasing child care pay.
Much of Murray’s efforts are tied to the as-of-now not passed Build Back Better plan. Through that plan, taxes would only rise for those who make more than $400,000 annually, she said.
“We’re all losing because we don’t have adequate child care in this country, and when you do find it, it’s extremely expensive,” Murray said. “Obviously having a family is your choice, but the fact is if we don’t provide the kinds of supports that families need so they can be at work … then those children and that family becomes a burden on all of us.”
Murray said she hasn’t given up on the Build Back Better plan. She said it is a priority of hers to get something to the president’s desk “to give people some breathing room and make sure everyone can succeed in this economy.”
Her support of families goes beyond child care. Murray said it is a “national disgrace” that the United States does not have a paid family and medical leave program, a problem which has become more evident because of COVID-19.
“We saw this pandemic expand because people didn’t have paid family leave. People were going to work really sick, passing it on,” Murray said.
Having that leave is also important to those with newborns so they can bond with their babies, she added.
Murray said she is pushing the government to continue providing resources related to the pandemic, in part to keep students in schools. She said she is working with Senate Republicans on the Prevent Pandemics Act, which addresses the shortcomings seen in the federal response during COVID-19.
“People won’t have to ask ‘where are the tests, where’s the (personal protective equipment), what am I supposed to do, who’s communicating with who, how do I get information, how do we fix these supply chain issues that we have?’” Murray said. “One thing I think we can all agree on is no one wants to go through anything like this pandemic a second time.”
While individuals struggled with job losses during the pandemic, Murray said major corporations ended 2021 with record profits and the top 1% got richer.
“Meanwhile, people who are doing their own grocery shopping and pumping their own gas found their money didn’t go far enough,” Murray said.
