One Republican Eyes More Direct Payments Amid Rising Childcare Costs

Senator Marco Rubio is calling on Congress to deliver more checks for parents to help with rising childcare costs.

“Across the board, the cost of raising children is skyrocketing,” Rubio told Newsweek in a Wednesday statement. “My Providing for Life Act delivers flexible support that each family can use to meet their unique needs. I’m hopeful we can get this common sense reform passed.”

Rubio is among several bipartisan lawmakers who have pushed for the child tax credit that was expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to become permanent. For six months, the federal government gave parents up to $300 a month per child in 2021 as part of the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan. While the measure was popular among voters and continues to be supported on both sides of the aisle, multiple efforts to bring the credit back have remained unsuccessful.

The need for more federal dollars may grow as childcare costs across the nation continue to rise and food security remains a challenge for many families.

A report released by Bank of America last week shows that the average childcare payment per household has risen over 30 percent since 2019. New data published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture also shows that since the child tax credit expired, roughly 3.5 million more U.S. households have reported “reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at times during the year because of limited money and other resources for obtaining food.” The federal child tax credit had previously been helpful to slash child poverty by nearly 30 percent.

Last month, the Democratic Women’s Caucus met with the White House to address the childcare crisis. Noting that childcare on average costs more than public college tuition, the caucus called for the Biden administration to address the funding that expired September 30. The lapse was estimated to shutter more than 70,000 child care programs and leave over 3.2 million children without childcare, according to progressive think tank Century Foundation.

Julie Kashen, the director of women’s economic justice and senior fellow at the Century Foundation, told Newsweek that over the last month, there have been program closures in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Maine and North Carolina and prices have risen faster than they have all year.

“We know that providers are going to try to hang on as long as they can but early signs are pointing to higher prices, fewer spots, challenges retaining staff and more families under enormous pressure,” Kashen said.

A poll conducted by Cygnal last month found that nearly 64 percent of Americans want to see the child tax credit expanded, with the plurality saying they wanted to see it focused more on working families and with less overall federal spending.

The Bank of America report also shows that the rise in childcare costs could be driving parents out of the workforce. The data shows that there were fewer dual income households in 2023 than in 2019 among families that pay for childcare. Since May, those families are also spending at a slower pace than the rest of the U.S. and dipping into their savings at a faster rate.

“A strong majority of voters believe that addressing the child care cliff is a top priority,” Kashen said. “President Biden and leaders in Congress like Senator Murray and Congresswoman DeLauro have put forward a plan, and now it’s time for Republican lawmakers to step up and deliver for America’s families.”

As funds from the American Rescue Plan dry up, the White House has requested $16 billion in funding to prevent families from losing childcare. Congressional Democrats have also introduced American Family Act, which would bring back the 2021 credit of $3,600 for children under the age of 6 and $3,000 for older kids, paid out in monthly installments with no requirement of income.

On the other hand, Rubio’s Providing For Life Act would expand the child credit to $4,500 for children under the age of 6 and $3,500 for older kids, but it would only be paid out in one sum during tax time. The legislation, which would require parents to be employed in order to claim the credit, would also expand the benefit retroactively so that a parent can claim the benefit for a year of pregnancy once the dependent is born.