WASHINGTON — Advocates say that child care in this country is a public good that requires public investment.
But, emergency pandemic subsidies to that industry are about to expire, unless Congress acts.
During the pandemic, Congress provided $52.5 billion in supplemental funding to help keep childcare providers in business and ensure that low-income families could still access care.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said Wednesday the childcare industry is already down 54,000 workers, and he said it's crucial that Congress continues to pitch in.
"We are paying in this country those workers outrageously low wages. We're paying them starvation wages. They can make more working in McDonald's than they can nurturing our little children," he said.
But, what happens when the federal money runs out on September 30?
Daycare provider Cheryl Morman, of Richmond, told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions that it would be devastating.
"I want to stress that I will go out of business without additional sustained funding," said Morman, who is the president of the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations
But, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a new report, said it might take until 2025 or 2026 before it is known exactly how all the dollars have been spent to date.
"A full accounting of the funds, how they're being used and their full impact will not be available for a least the next few years," said Kathy Larin, GAO Director in Education, Workforce, and Income Security.
The committee's Ranking Republican said that lacking that information makes it problematic for him to vote to appropriate more money
"It kind of blows my mind that we would dramatically increase funding without knowing how the existing funding is being spent," said Sen Bill Cassidy (R) Louisiana.