Browne, Orie Call for Child Care Funding

Legislators Urge Congressional Action to Increase Support to States

HARRISBURG -- State Senators Pat Browne, R-16th District, and Jane C. Orie, 40th District, today called on Congress to provide $6 billion in new child care funding for low-income working families and families attempting to transition from welfare to work.

The two legislators are the prime sponsors of resolutions in the state House and Senate calling on Congress to re-approve the funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program and to also enact a supplement to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) bill that would provide $6 billion in new mandatory child care funds.

"Now, we are calling for action, for Congress to act in a unified, bi-partisan manner, to give the states the additional resources that will help families today and give hope to all Pennsylvania’s children for a brighter future," Senator Browne said.

"These programs provide a crucial safety net for parents and families as they transition from welfare to work," Orie said. "This funding will help to encourage people to become self-sufficient and replace a welfare check with a paycheck."

Senator Orie's legislation, Senate Resolution 59, and Senator Browne’s legislation, House Resolution 222 -- which he introduced prior to moving over to the Senate after an April special election, are identical in their wording.

On March 9, the Finance Committee of the United States Senate adopted a bipartisan bill including $6 billion in mandatory child care dollars, echoing the will of the full Senate which voted 78-20 in March 2004 to include more than $6 billion in child care resources for America's families.

The CCDBG currently provides $4.8 billion annually to states for child care services, $2.7 billion in mandatory funding annually for the period of reauthorization and $2.1 billion in discretionary funding, subject to annual renewal by Congress. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania currently receives approximately $177 million each year through CCDBG, providing about 100,000 children - one-fourth of all eligible Pennsylvania children - with child care assistance.

"Finding affordable child care is undoubtedly one of the largest hurdles that families must overcome in their efforts to move beyond welfare, and unfortunately, it is all too often a stumbling block that prevents adults from becoming productive members of our society," Senator Browne said.

"What's worse," Senator Browne continued, "if parents can't work and are unable to succeed in life, then that raises the bar against their children and they can easily fall behind as well and become enmeshed in a vicious cycle of dependency and deprivation."

Many more families in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania request child care assistance than can receive it, resulting in a waiting list that has hovered between 1,000 and 2,500 children for the past 18 months.

"Our goal is to eliminate this waiting list and ensure that families have the resources they need as they move from welfare to work,” Orie said. "It's an investment in children, families and in breaking the cycle of dependency and encouraging more Pennsylvanians to become productive members of society."

Sen. Browne's Remarks
TANF/CCDBG funding
June 8, 2005

Just one week ago, people in communities across the nation gathered for a series of special events recognizing Stand for Children Day. For 10 years, June 1 has been set aside as a day for individuals and organizations to reaffirm their commitment to improving the quality of life for our young people.

There are many good reasons for this event. Regardless of what we achieve as individuals, our legacy as a people will be determined by the generations that follow us. That is a cornerstone of our existence and for the most part, each generation has worked to improve the lives of their children.

We, as a society, have come a long way since the dreary conditions that Charles Dickens made famous in his books. Today, Pennsylvania is moving forward to give each and every child the opportunity to succeed in life. Our health care system, buttressed by the CHIP program, helps keep kids healthy. Our public education system is empowered and mandated to ensure that no child is left behind academically. Our communities are working with law enforcement officials at every level to keep children safe.

But are we doing enough and are we focusing our resources and efforts in the right directions?

Those are questions that we in state government must consider constantly and particularly now as we finalize a state budget for the coming fiscal year. We have a finite amount of resources, so we must be fiscally responsible in determining the best uses of that money.

While the General Assembly ultimately determines how to allocate state funding, we must rely on the wisdom and benevolence of Congress when it comes to receiving federal support for needed quality of life programs.

Just by seeing the tremendous competition that goes on in Harrisburg each year for funding under our state budget, it's hard to imagine the battle that goes on in Washington over the federal budget.

Consideration of our $24 billion state budget is a massive undertaking, but it pales in comparison with the wrangling that takes place over the trillions of dollars that are allocated by the federal government. Congress must decide the best ways to channel that money to meet the needs of the federal government, while providing funding to the fifty states as well as numerous other domestic and international groups, organizations and governments.

My colleague Jane Orie and I have introduced legislation calling on Congress to continue its support and increase the funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Program, which currently provides $4.8 billion dollars annually to the states for child care services.

Senator Orie’s legislation, Senate Resolution 59, and my legislation, House Resolution 222 -- which I introduced as a state Representative, are identical in their wording. They both call on Congress to re-approve the funding for the CCDBG program and to also enact the provisions of the Snowe Amendment, a supplement to the TANF bill in the last Congressional session that provided $6 billion in new mandatory child care funds.

This additional funding was approved by the U.S. Senate’s Finance Committee on March 9 but is still awaiting a final vote by the full Senate. If it comes to the floor, we are hopeful that it will see the same success that it did in March 2004 when it was approved by a solid 78-20 majority.

Overall, Pennsylvania currently spends about $512 million for child care programs. The proposed $6 billion increase in funds would bring approximately $200 million additional dollars to Pennsylvania over the five-year life of the federal legislation. This additional money would be a major boost in our effort to help families transition from the welfare roll to the payroll.

Pennsylvania is already struggling to meet the child care needs of working families. Only one in four eligible families is receiving child care assistance in the state and a majority of Pennsylvania’s counties have or have had a waiting list for child care services during the past two years. In fact, 2,600 children were on the waiting list for child care services in March.

Finding affordable child care is undoubtedly one of the largest hurdles that families must overcome in their efforts to move beyond welfare, and unfortunately, it is all too often a stumbling block that prevents adults from becoming productive members of our society.

What’s worse, if parents can't work and are unable to succeed in life, then that raises the bar against their children and they can easily fall behind as well and become enmeshed in a vicious cycle of dependency and deprivation.

Senators Santorum and Specter have already voted in favor of providing the additional money needed to boost child care efforts in the states and help us work with families and employers to break that vicious cycle.

Now, we are calling for action, for Congress to act in a unified, bi-partisan manner, to give the states the additional resources that will help families today and give hope to all Pennsylvania’s children for a brighter future.