Danielle, I've been talking about the child care crisis for years. Unaffordable child care almost kept me from pursuing my education and my career. I ran for president on this issue. I've introduced bill after bill to bring costs down. I've sat with parents and heard how they're juggling bills, rearranging shifts, and still barely making it work. And since then, the crisis hasn't stopped. It's deepened. But we're still in this fight, and I'm continuing to address this critical issue alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with her leading my Child Care for Every Community Act in the House — and we're advocating for the Democratic party to prioritize reducing child care costs ahead of this year's midterms. I'll share more below about our bill. And if you agree that Democrats must, must, must champion child care affordability in 2026, please add your name to sign on to this plan. During his reelection campaign, Donald Trump dismissed child care costs as "relatively speaking, not very expensive." Relatively speaking? Tell that to the parents paying thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — every year for care. Tell that to the mom who left her career because her entire paycheck went to daycare. Tell that to the grandparents draining their retirement trying to help out. Here's what Trump won't say: Child care costs are crushing American families. And that's a policy failure, not a personal one. For decades, Washington has treated child care as a private problem that families should simply "figure out." Heck, on the campaign trail JD Vance said one of the ways to help parents struggling with daycare costs was "Maybe, grandma and grandpa wants to help out a little bit more. Or maybe there's an aunt or uncle that wants to help out a little bit more." Meanwhile, costs have skyrocketed, child care workers are paid poverty wages, and parents are left scrambling. In the wealthiest nation on Earth, we've simply decided that affordable, high-quality child care is a luxury for the rich. We can't keep going like this. Here's what our bill will do: - Ensure that half of families pay no more than $10 a day for child care
- Cap costs for most other families on a sliding scale based on income
- Give our nation's child care workers a raise
And here's the thing: We already know a system like this works. The U.S. military already provides affordable, accessible child care for service members through a sliding-scale program based on income. It demonstrates that with political will, we can make child care affordable and reliable. What's more? This isn't theoretical — it's already happening. New Mexico was the first state in the nation to offer no-cost universal child care for families, regardless of income. In New York City, universal 3-K and Pre-K programs have expanded access to free early childhood education for tens of thousands of families. And in San Francisco, voters approved a dedicated public funding stream to make child care more affordable and increase wages for providers. These communities are reminding us that childhood should be a promise in America — not a privilege. Add your name if you believe it's time to make affordable child care available in every community. Thanks for being a part of this, Elizabeth  | 
