- Published: Tuesday, August 09, 2022 11:00 AM
CHICAGO –State Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago) issued the following statement on the Inflation Reduction Act, which the U.S. Senate successfully passed and will now move for consideration to the U.S. House of Representatives:
“The Inflation Reduction Act, should it pass and be signed into law, would be a huge step forward for our country. By addressing climate change and health care, it will bring our nation into a more sustainable, stable future.
“While these achievements deserve celebration, the legislation falls short of addressing the ongoing struggles many families face—affordable access to child care.
“We know our children will be the ones to live with the consequences of the actions we take today, and it’s essential that we make sure each and every child is set on a path to thrive through affordable access to high quality early childhood care and education, early intervention services and more.
“Here in Illinois, with the assistance of federal relief funds, we’ve increased the budget for early childhood education, extended support for families searching for employment by subsidizing child care, incentivized higher rates of pay for care providers, reduced co-pays for providers who also have children, increased funding for non-traditional hours of care for first responders, and increased access for child care and early intervention for families in care.
“At the end of the day, Illinois cannot fight the fight for equitable, affordable child care alone—we need federal action to ensure a sustainable path forward for our youngest children. I celebrate victories on other fronts at the federal level, but I also call on Congress to consider commensurate investments in our children as they continue to negotiate the IRA.”