GOP senators warn Biden's spending bill could put religious childcare centers out of business

Republican senators are warning that President Biden's spending package could put private childcare centers out of business.

Biden's plan seeks to prevent qualified families from paying more than 7% of their income on childcare.  

The proposal, which is inside of the Build Back Better Act, would raise childcare costs by about $13,000 for middle class families, according to an analysis from a liberal think tank. GOP senators referenced this analysis at a news conference about the economic effects of Biden's new childcare program on Wednesday.

The legislation also includes universal pre-K for families who meet certain income requirements. The pre-K and childcare provisions of the bill cost approximately $425 billion.

"The Democrat plan intentionally shrinks the supply of providers by killing off faith-based providers, small family childcare homes, kinship care," said North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr. "So not only do we have a skyrocketing cost of $13,000 in additional cost for childcare, we're also reducing the supply of childcare that exists in the country."

Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn said Biden's plan would lead to the closure of private faith-based childcare programs in her state. She said these programs are often run by grandmothers at local churches.

"What the federal government would do is would strip these grandmamas of a job that they are doing and they're loving doing," she said. "And it would strip these children of caregivers that are there to love and nurture them. That's a real loss, and it has a real cost."

Blackburn said the Democrats are attempting to take the control of childcare choices away from families and shift it to the federal government. 

Maine Sen. Susan Collins shared a story about a constituent named Chrissy who has been providing childcare in rural Maine in Somerset County for 21 years. 

"When she heard about all of the new mandates that she would have to meet under the BBB bill she told me there is no way that my childcare based in my home could possibly survive," Collins said. "In addition, we have heard from faith-based organizations who have said that the new requirements would force them to close their doors in many cases. And that is critical because approximately half of all childcare slots are provided by faith-based organizations. So that's why we would have a severe access problem."

Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst argued that the Democrats' plan would limit childcare options for middle-class families. 

"Parents are going to have fewer options for childcare, and the cost of childcare for those middle-income families will soar," Ernst said. "We cannot afford to do this, and we're placing the burden of this on the backs of our hardworking families."

Some policy experts are weighing in on the Biden plan, saying it does not do enough to address the supply and availability of childcare centers.

"The focus is on the demand side of the equation, in buying down the costs for parents. Support for the supply side, the businesses, needs to happen, too," said Linda Smith, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Early Childhood Initiative, according to Bloomberg News. "If we don't do it right, we stand to actually make the problem worse."