Behind the Price Tag of Build Back Better: A Historic Statement of Family Policy
Mom Congress
By The Zero To Three Policy Center
The Build Back Better Act remains in a holding pattern while Democratic lawmakers work to land on a compromise over its cost and policy parameters. For babies and families, however, this bill is more than a price tag. It is the possibility of a cohesive family policy that could transform the lives of today’s babies and generations to come. This is the message that Congress and the Administration needs to hear now: babies’ needs are not negotiable. These policies fit together to create essential, basic support for our youngest children and families, finally bringing the United States in line with other nations.
Three key policies form the family policy core of the Build Back Better Act:
Paid Family and Medical Leave would ensure every newborn or newly adopted baby has a meaningful amount of time to bond with their trusted caregivers in a strange, new world, or to receive the familiar care they need when they have special health conditions.
A Child Care entitlement would ensure that when parents are in work or training, babies have quality care that won’t break the budget and will sustain providers through appropriate compensation.
An extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit would provide an income boost that helps families meet their needs, reducing stress, as well as hardship at the time of most rapid brain development.
As a reminder, this sweeping policy proposal is moving through the budget reconciliation process to avoid a Senate filibuster that would prevent the bill from coming up for a vote. All Senate Democrats must vote for it if it is to become law. The conversation is not only about the top-line number it will cost, but also the policies that will be included. Right now, Congress need to know the consequences of inaction on these issues. When babies and parents do not have unhurried time together, their physical and mental health suffer. When families do not have quality child care options and providers must live on poverty wages, the supply of care and therefore families’ options narrow considerably, forcing choices between work and safe care for their babies. When we do not address poverty, babies’ development can suffer with lifelong impact on school success and income.
Policies that ensure families can both contribute to the economy and nurture their children to become our future workers and innovators cannot be considered “pork” or frills. Get Involved below and tell your Members of Congress that babies and those who care for them need the full package of care essentials. Scaling them back could lower the odds that babies will thrive.