President Biden asks Congress for $16 billion to stabilize child care

“The White House is asking Congress for $16 billion to fund child-care programs in the current fiscal year, along with $23 billion for natural disaster relief. The request is part of a roughly $50 billion supplemental package the Biden administration is sending to lawmakers to address a variety of domestic needs.

“The $16 billion request is intended to stabilize funding for more than 225,000 child-care providers across the country, with state-level grants ranging from $15 million in Wyoming to $1.8 billion in Texas… Many of those providers received a boost from the record $24 billion provided by Congress for child care during the pandemic, but that funding expired at the end of the 2023 fiscal year in September, leading to concerns about the ability of child-care centers to remain open.”

Michael Rainey