BREAKING: President Obama Signs CCDBG Reauthorization Bill into Law

Today, President Barack Obama signed S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 into law.

The legislation most recently passed the United States Senate by a vote of 88-1 on Monday, November 17, 2014 following a multi-year process taking the bill through both the Senate and the House of Representatives.  In June 2013, Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Richard Burr (R-NC), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced S.1086, then titled the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013, a bill that would reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant program for the first time in almost two decades, while including some baseline safety and quality measures.

S.1086 includes measures to:

• Promote quality child care by increasing state-level investments in activities to improve the quality of care, enhancing states’ ability to train providers and develop safer and more effective child care services.
• Strengthen health and safety requirements in child care programs and providers.
• Improve access to child care by expanding eligibility for participating families and helping families connect with quality programs that meet their needs

Later in 2013, in September, S.1086 passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee by an unanimous consent voice vote, sending the bill to the full Senate for consideration.  In March of 2014, after days of debate and considering amendments (18 in total adopted), the Senate passed S.1086 by a vote of 96-2, sending the bill forward to the House of Representatives for consideration.  After months of investigation, discussion, and negotiation, leaders on the House Education and the Workforce Committee and the Senate HELP Committee announced an agreement on an amended version of S.1086, which would pass the House of Representatives the following Monday, sending the bill back to the Senate for final consideration.

After experiencing procedural roadblocks in mid-September, preventing a potential unanimous consent agreement, the Senate moved forward to consideration of the amended S.1086 on November 13, 2014, passing  a cloture vote by a 96-1 margin, setting up the final vote on Monday, November 17, 2014.

Child Care Aware(R) of America presenting Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) with an award in honor of dedicated work on CCDBG Reauthorization earlier this year. From left to right: Nick Vucic, Lynette Fraga, Senator Burr, Michelle McCready

Helpful resources for understanding impact of CCDBG Reauthorization becoming law:

For more information on CCDBG Reauthorization: http://usa.childcareaware.org/public-policy/core-issues/ccdbg-reauthorization

Including:

– One page Summary of House-Passed S.1086

– Full text of S.1086

– One page summary of the program

For links to recordings for all four of our CCDBG Moving Forward Webinar Series: 

http://www.youtube.com/CCAofAmerica

As we continue to move forward assessing and analyzing the impact of S.1086 becoming law, stay tuned to Child Care Aware of America, as we will be providing frequent resources on the impact and implications of implementation.

BREAKING: Congress Sends Bi-Partisan Child Care Bill to President

For the first time in 18 years, Congress has passed CCDBG Reauthorization, as the bill now awaits President Obama’s signature to become law.

Today, the Senate voted to pass S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 led by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Richard Burr (R-NC) and Representatives John Kline (R-MN), George Miller (D-CA), Todd Rokita (R-IN), and David Loebsack (D-IA)

In September, the House approved the measure by a voice vote, sending the amended version of the bill the Senate originally passed 96-2 in March 2014.

S.1086 includes measures to:

• Promote quality child care by increasing state-level investments in activities to improve the quality of care, enhancing states’ ability to train providers and develop safer and more effective child care services.
• Strengthen health and safety requirements in child care programs and providers.
• Improve access to child care by expanding eligibility for participating families and helping families connect with quality programs that meet their needs.

Learn more about the Child Care and Development Block Grant

Now that Congress has passed the bill, it heads to the President’s desk for his signature to become law.

CCDBG Roundup: Everything you need to know for Thursday

For the first time in 18 years, the US Senate will have the opportunity to pass a reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, the primary federal program that provides assistance for families for child care, containing measures to improve the quality of child care nationwide.

On Thursday, November 13th, the US Senate will take up final consideration of S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. 

Starting in 2013 and continuing through 2014, working to improve and expand child care programs and legislation has taken center stage with some federal developments that have emphasized access to quality early learning opportunities for children and families.  In May 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services released a Notice of Proposed Rule-Making on the Child Care and Development Fund, proposing significant regulatory changes to many child care measures, ranging from health and safety improvements to modifications to the subsidy and eligibility aspects of the program.  In June 2013, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee introduced a bill to reauthorize the long-expired (last reauthorized in 1996, funding authorization expired in 2002) Child Care and Development Block Grant Program, which passed the full Senate in March 2014.   The House of Representatives passed an amended version of the bill on September 15, 2014, sending it to the Senate for final passage.

Timeline of S.1086 in Congress:

June 3, 2013: Senator Mikulski (D-MD), Senator Burr (R-NC), Senator Harkin (D-IA), and Senator Alexander (R- TN) Introduce S.1086, a bill to reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

September 18, 2013: The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passes S.1086 out of committee by unanimous consent via voice vote.

March 12, 2014: The Senate begins debate on S.1086.

March 13, 2014: After adopting multiple amendments, Senate passes S.1086 by a vote of 96-2.

September 12, 2014: Representatives John Kline (R-MN), George Miller (D-CA), Todd Rokita (R-IN), and David Loebsack (D-IA), and Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Richard Burr (R-NC) announce bi-partisan, bicameral agreement to reauthorize CCDBG.

September 15, 2014: House of Representatives pass amended version of S.1086 by a voice vote

Helpful resources for Senate action on CCDBG:

To watch the proceedings live on Thursday: http://www.c-span.org/live/?channel=c-span-2

To contact your Senator and let them know you support S.1086: http://capwiz.com/naccrra/issues/alert/?alertid=63313171

For more information on CCDBG Reauthorization: http://usa.childcareaware.org/public-policy/core-issues/ccdbg-reauthorization

Including:

 – One page Summary of House-Passed S.1086

– Full text of S.1086

– One page summary of the program

For links to recordings for all four of our CCDBG Moving Forward Webinar Series: http://www.youtube.com/CCAofAmerica

To follow along live on Twitter, stay tuned to www.twitter.com/usachildcare