Who knew that anyone on Fox is actually interested in what happened to working families after the COVID relief funds for child care expired last fall. Of course, Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy couldn't bother to point out who the actual culprit is. During a segment that aired this Wednesday morning, here's how Doocy started an interview with a woman who runs a day care center out of her home in Arkansas.
DOOCY: It has been five moths since COVID federal funding ended for child care, and many child care providers are now fighting just to stay afloat. Our next guest says after all her bills are paid, she barely breaks even.
[…]
I'm sure you were disappointed last September when Congress didn't say, okay, child care in this country, it is a priority. We're going to figure a way to pay for it, but they didn't. And so now your industry is on the brink.
"Congress." Sorry Steve, but the word you're looking for is "Republicans."
As Vox explained last September: A program that saved child care for millions is expiring. What now?
This weekend, parents and child care providers across the nation are bracing for the end of an instrumental federal program that has stabilized child care programs and reduced costs for families over the past three years.
Some $24 billion worth of child care funding — one of the last remaining Covid-19 emergency relief programs still in effect — is set to expire Saturday. Issued as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the program marked the largest investment in child care in US history and allowed fragile businesses to cover rent and maintenance and raise wages for their notoriously underpaid staff. The Biden administration has reported that the grants helped 80 percent of US licensed child care centers stay afloat.
Frequently referred to as the “child care cliff,” the expiration of the grants is expected to renew strain on the child care sector, which already runs on tight margins, struggles to recruit and retain staff from higher-paying industries, and charges most parents far more than they can comfortably afford.
Democrats were the ones pressing for more money, but of course that never came up during the segment.
With thousands of child care programs at risk of closing, Democrats press for more money:
Democrats in Congress are pushing for a new round of money to keep the nation’s child care industry afloat, saying thousands of programs are at risk of closing when federal pandemic relief runs out this month.
Legislation introduced in both chambers on Wednesday would provide $16 billion a year over the next five years, awarded as grants to help child care programs cover everyday costs. It’s meant to replace $24 billion in relief that was passed in 2021 in the American Rescue Plan and is set to expire Sept. 30.
With no Republican support, the bill faces an uphill battle in Congress.
Without a new lifeline, child care programs serving millions of families could close or increase prices. For many, the federal aid only postponed the financial turmoil that threatened their survival before the pandemic.
“There was a child care crisis even before the pandemic — and failing to extend these critical investments from the American Rescue Plan will push child care even further out of reach for millions of families and jeopardize our strong economic recovery,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., a sponsor of the bill.
Other sponsors include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts.
I was surprised to hear Doocy talking about the topic at all, but he had to "both sides" it, which means he and his network have absolutely no interest in solutions. They just want to gripe that "Congress" isn't doing its job.
