Excerpt from the letter:

Child care has immense benefits for young children, their families, and early educators. The opportunities children have during their early years play an essential role in reducing racial inequalities and directly impact their long-term health, well-being, and economic outcomes. Child care and other early learning programs also provide families with the opportunity to work or study; support an early learning workforce; and supply crucial infrastructure for the United States’ economy.

Any cuts to TANF and SSBG programs would threaten families’ access to child care. TANF and SSBG provide vital services and programs for families with low incomes, including child care, and children stand to lose the most if these programs are cut. Recent analysis shows that the potential elimination of SSBG and cuts to TANF would eliminate up to 40,000 child care slots across the country. This analysis shows that the states that stand to lose the highest number of child care slots are North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida. Our child care system simply cannot afford these drastic cuts, and instead it needs investments to address the challenges families currently face in accessing care.

Read the full letter here.

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Excerpt from the letter:

This proposal doesn’t establish accountability measures to prevent waste and fraud with government funds. Private school voucher programs have previously funded extravagant expenses, such as ski passes, golf equipment, and lessons on how to drive a luxury car.  It’s important that public funds remain in public schools, that students are not discriminated against in the schools they attend, and that private schools aren’t favored over other charities in our tax code. Evidence overwhelmingly supports the claim that private school vouchers are a failed policy. Instead of focusing on private school vouchers that benefit only small numbers of students, lawmakers must consider solutions that advance opportunity for the 90% of U.S. students who attend public schools. These solutions include supporting the equitable full funding of public schools, providing higher teacher pay, and guaranteeing free breakfast and lunch for all students. Instead of giving tax breaks to the rich, let’s invest in our children and improve our public schools. 

Read the full letter here.

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Excerpt from the letter:

The reconciliation instructions included in the FY2025 budget resolution (H.Con.Res.14) will result in devastating consequences for far too many of our nation’s children and their families. Broadly, it predicts greater economic hardship for families with kids and other vulnerable populations, increased income inequality, and escalating deficit spending. These proposed cuts are not just numbers and the policy changes are not minor reforms – they represent real harm to children’s health, nutrition, safety, and economic security by targeting four major social safety net programs: Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and SSBG. These 4 programs— Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and SSBG— represent nearly half of all investments in children ages 0 to 3 and almost one-third of all investments in children making it seemingly inevitable that this reconciliation package will exacerbate child poverty and hunger and strip healthcare and essential assistance from low-income families with children – particularly infants and toddlers — all around the country. Deep cuts to these supports will force states and local governments to make budget tradeoffs that jeopardize the delivery of public services upon which children, families and communities rely daily.

Read the full letter here.

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Excerpt from the letter:

This budget blueprint would have devastating consequences for our nation’s children and their families. H.Con.Res.14 provides specific spending and tax instructions to congressional committees that will inevitably increase child poverty and hunger, strip healthcare and assistance from low-income families with children, and finance a tax cut that overwhelmingly benefits the wealthiest. This budget, which deepens economic hardship, increases income inequality, and escalates deficit spending, does not serve the best interests of our children, their families, or communities across the country. I urge you to reject H.Con.Res.14 and return to the drawing board to create a budget that prioritizes the well-being of our children.

Read the full letter here.

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Excerpt from the letter:

The proposed budget cuts would have a disproportionate impact on the communities you represent. According to data from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, a significant percentage of children in your districts rely on Medicaid and CHIP for their healthcare needs.

Read the full letter here.

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