A vast majority of voters believe it’s important for working parents to be able to find and afford quality child care for young children. When Congress lets $39 billion in federal child-care funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act expire at the end of this month, the consequences for providers, educators, families, and workers will be catastrophic.

In a new opinion piece published today in the Los Angeles Times, Rebecca E. Gomez, program officer for the Foundation’s Education program, lays out how Congress’ inaction on this issue will affect everyone who works for or relies on child care across the country. She also illuminates a path forward, urging Congress to recognize “early education as essential infrastructure for our success as a nation” and to invest in it accordingly.

“Child care is a linchpin of our economy and modern society, and understanding that early education is essential infrastructure illuminates a path forward,” she writes in the op-ed. “We are a nation of builders — we lifted the country out of a Depression in the 1930s by building bridges, ensured economic growth in the 1950s by creating an interstate highway system, and in 2021 passed a law to fund clean energy, broadband access and other infrastructure. We can in turn build an equitable, affordable and high-quality early education system in this country.”

Read the full op-ed here.

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