Press Release

Gillibrand, Senate Colleagues Reintroduce Legislation To Expand Access To Affordable Child Care For Working Families

Jan 23, 2019

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced the reintroduction of the Right Start Child Care and Education Act, legislation that would make child care more affordable and accessible for families across New York State and the nation. This legislation would reform the nation’s federal tax code to increase the outdated dollar limits on child care expenses for families, make the child care tax credit fully refundable, create a tax credit for educated child care professionals, and increase support for businesses that provide child care benefits for employees.

“As I’ve traveled throughout New York, one concern I keep hearing from families all across our state is the extremely high cost of child care,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Congress needs to be doing more to support working families, and the Right Start Child Care and Education Act would make child care more affordable for families across New York and the rest of the country. It is a commonsense solution to a problem that many of our families are facing, and I urge my colleagues to move quickly and pass this bill into law.

Gillibrand is an original cosponsor of the Right Start Child Care and Education Act. This legislation is sponsored by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and is also cosponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). The full text of the legislation is available here