Government-sponsored child care is getting more national attention because of Democrats on the 2020 campaign trail.
For example, Senator Kamala Harris is proposing extending the school day and authorizing $1 billion annually so parents can take children to summer programs. She is also a co-sponsor of the Child Care for Working Families Act, along with Senators Sanders, Booker, Klobuchar, and Warren. Senator Bernie Sanders has pushed for nationwide child care for kids from the age of six weeks old to when they leave kindergarten. Senator Elizabeth Warren is advocating for universal child care that she says will be free to some families and affordable to the rest.
The US is home to 53 million children under the age of 13, including 24 million under the age of five. Any new government programs (or changes to existing ones) would impact millions of working parents seeking care for young children.
