Tell Congress: Pass the Child Care for Every Community Act

Child care costs are crushing families — and Congress has a chance to finally fix it.

Across the country, parents are paying more for child care than for rent, mortgages, or college tuition. Educators are underpaid. Providers are shutting their doors. And millions of families — especially in rural areas and communities of color — are stuck on waitlists or forced to leave the workforce entirely.

Now, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have introduced the Child Care for Every Community Act to deliver universal, affordable child care and transform a broken system. As Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said when announcing the bill, "Child care is not a luxury. It is a necessity." She’s right — and Congress must act.

The Child Care for Every Community Act would cap child care costs at 7% of a family’s income, dramatically expand access through locally run child care options, and ensure child care workers are paid living wages. It would invest billions to build new centers, especially in underserved communities where families currently have no options at all.

This is about economic justice and gender equity. When parents — especially mothers — are pushed out of the workforce because care is unaffordable, families lose income and the economy suffers. When child care workers, disproportionately women of color, are paid poverty wages, it reinforces systemic inequality.

With costs still soaring and families stretched to the brink, Congress cannot afford to stall. When enough of us demand action, it forces lawmakers to choose: stand with working families, or stand with corporate donors.

Tell Congress: Pass the Child Care for Every Community Act. Cap costs. Raise wages. Expand access. Deliver universal child care for every family — now.

The petition to Congress reads: "Pass the Child Care for Every Community Act. Cap child care costs, raise wages for educators, and guarantee universal, affordable child care in every community."