September 25, 2023 – Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Endorses Chavez-DeRemer-Carbajal Child Care Bill
The Child Care Investment Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) and Salud Carbajal (CA-24) earlier this year to increase access to affordable child care, has continued to gain broad support. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce formally endorsed the legislation, which would improve three existing child care tax incentives to ensure the federal tax code adequately addresses the current realities of child care costs and availability.
“The US Chamber of Commerce has long supported actionable, bipartisan solutions in Congress to help address the nation’s childcare crisis,” said Cheryl Oldham, Vice President, Education Policy at the U.S. Chamber. “We thank Congressman Carbajal and Congresswoman Chavez-DeRemer for introducing this important bipartisan bill. This legislation would improve the availability of tax credits for both large and small businesses and working families, increasing access to quality, affordable childcare. We applaud your efforts to provide businesses with additional resources to recruit and retain workers by enhancing the Employer-Provided Child Care Credit (45F), the Dependent Care Assistance Program, and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.”
Additionally, the bill now has nine bipartisan cosponsors in the House: David Valadao (CA-22), David Trone (MD-06), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Ann Kuster (NH-02), Susie Lee (NV-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03).
“The cost of child care in Oregon soared as much as 37 percent from 2020 to 2022. As pandemic-era funding dries up, providers will likely raise prices even higher – leaving it further out of reach for families. As a parent, I know this is a difficult issue, and I don’t want moms and dads to have to choose between staying at home full time and working or going to school,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “We must act quickly to avoid further economic hardship, and that’s why I’m honored to continue working with Congressman Carbajal on the bipartisan Child Care Investment Act. As our strong coalition of support continues to grow, we are moving closer to enacting commonsense tax improvements that will help families offset skyrocketing child care expenses. I’ll continue working to ensure parents don’t have to worry about breaking the bank to pay for child care.”
“Child care is not just a family issue. It is an economic issue,” said Carbajal. “I’m proud to earn the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the backing of many of my colleagues, showing that there is growing support for updating our tax code to ensure every Central Coast family can get access to quality, affordable child care.”
The bill is also backed by the Bipartisan Policy Center, First Five Years Fund, Early Care & Education Consortium, Learning Care Group, Save the Children, KinderCare, and the National Association of Women Business Owners.
The bill would improve a tax credit aimed at helping employers provide child care options to their employees, allow multiple businesses to partner to create a new child care option, and expand federal tax write-offs that already exist to offset child care expenses. This includes updating caps on tax-exempt child care spending accounts to reflect the current cost of care.
A section-by-section analysis with more detailed information on the proposal is available HERE.
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