Chamber Leaders from Across the Country Call for Federal Child Care Relief

In a letter sent to Congress this week, 41 state and local Chambers of Commerce urged lawmakers to provide targeted assistance to child care providers in the next COVID-19 recovery package. Citing the importance of child care as a part of our national economy and the recent reports that thousands of child care providers have been forced to close their doors permanently, the business leaders raised concerns about the effects the closures would have on their communities and families.

The signers of the letter point the economic impact of child care on their state’s economy and the role it plays in plans to reopen their state. Allowing the child care industry to collapse will have long-term costs for businesses and families, and the coronavirus crisis has made the threat of collapse all the more realistic.

“For millions of Americans, returning to work is not just contingent on the lifting of stay-at-home orders and their employer reopening, but on securing care for their children,” the group wrote in the June 10 letter to Congress. “To ensure that more Americans can quickly return to work and to support our nation’s overall economic recovery, Congress should provide timely, targeted, and temporary emergency assistance to childcare centers and homes.”

The letter also references the Paycheck Protection Program loans in the CARES Act. These funds were intended to provide relief to small and very small businesses, but according to a recent survey from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) only one-quarter of child care providers received a loan through this program.

This letter, signed by business leaders in states and communities across the country, comes as national child advocacy organizations have increased pressure on lawmakers to provide significant, dedicated relief to struggling child care providers through a child care stabilization fund, a policy proposal that has received bipartisan support in recent weeks. 

Read the full letter from the 41 state and local Chambers of Congress here.

The full list of signers includes:

Alaska Chamber
Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/AIA
California Chamber of Commerce
Connecticut Business & Industry Association
Delaware State Chamber of Commerce
DC Chamber of Commerce
Florida Chamber of Commerce
Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii
Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
Indiana Chamber of Commerce
Iowa Association of Business and Industry
Kansas Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
Maine State Chamber of Commerce
Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Associated Industries of Massachusetts
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Mississippi Economic Council
Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Montana Chamber of Commerce
Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce
New Mexico Association of Commerce & Industry
The Business Council of New York State
North Carolina Chamber
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
State Chamber of Oklahoma
Oregon Business and Industry
Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry
Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce
South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Vermont Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Chamber of Commerce
Association of Washington Business
West Virginia Chamber of Commerce
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce