Biden says childcare plan won’t involve new spending

President Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday directing federal agencies to find ways to make care for children and the elderly cheaper and more accessible, a move aimed at boosting the president’s popularity ahead of a 2024 reelection bid.

Mr. Biden said the order, which includes more than 50 executive actions, will not involve new spending because it will rely on existing federal grants.
 
“It’s about making sure taxpayers get the best value for the investments they’ve already made,” Mr. Biden said in remarks during a Rose Garden signing ceremony.

For example, the administration will use some of last year’s increased Headstart funding to help families access affordable care.
 
Relying on untapped federal grants will likely mean the directive is symbolic rather than transformative. It also means it won’t be as costly as Mr. Biden’s other calls to expand care for children and older Americans.
 
In 2021, Mr. Biden pushed for $425 billion to boost access to child care. That proposal, which was part of the president’s original Build Back Better agenda, was removed from the pared-down tax, climate, and healthcare law that Mr. Biden signed last year.

The president’s fiscal 2024 budget calls for $750 billion over 10 years to expand access to affordable childcare and free preschool. The funding would let states increase childcare options for more than 16 million children, the White House said.
 
White House Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice told reporters that Mr. Biden would continue to press lawmakers to approve his budget request.

That will likely face strong opposition from House Republicans who have demanded Mr. Biden curb government spending amid the approaching breach of the nation’s debt limit.

Under the executive order, nearly every federal agency will be directed to identify grant programs that can cover the cost of child care and long-term care for individuals working on a federal project. 

It will also tighten the eligibility requirements for businesses seeking federal job-creating funds by requiring them to expand access to care, and directs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue regulations to improve the quality of home care jobs.

“We’re here today to take action on an issue that is fundamental to who we are as a nation. How do we treat the people we care so much about? Who needs the most help? Our children, the people we love with disabilities, including veterans,” Mr. Biden said.

The Office of Personnel Management is also directed to conduct a review of the government’s child care subsidy policy and consider setting standards for federal government employees to access child care. Expanded access to child care for government workers would come through federal child care centers, child care subsidies, or contracted care providers, the order states.

The executive order aims to bolster care access for military veterans who require support for daily living activities.

Caring Across Generations, which represents care workers and their families, hailed the executive order as “unprecedented and historic.”

“Today’s executive order is the largest set of executive actions for care in history and embodies the transformative policy shift millions have been demanding for years,” the group said in a statement, adding that care is “the heart of our economy.”