WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), are cosponsoring bipartisan legislation to make child care more affordable and accessible for Maine families. The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act would strengthen existing tax credits to lower child care costs and increase the supply of child care providers. 

Since 1990, the cost of child care and preschool has increased by 263%, forcing many families in Maine and nationwide to make difficult decisions such as not working, cutting back on hours to provide care or delaying paying bills. In addition, child care workers are struggling to make ends meet and child care providers are struggling to simply stay afloat. The crisis creates a costly drag on the national economy, resulting in $122 billion in economic losses annually.

“The lack of accessible, affordable child care is one of the top issues I hear about from Maine families, serving as a barrier for working parents seeking financial stability for their growing families,” said Senator Collins. “This bipartisan legislation would help break down these barriers by expanding the child care workforce and lowering the cost of child care programs.”

“Whenever I talk with Maine people about the economy, I hear that access to child care is a huge obstacle. When I sit down with business owners, they speak of the workforce shortage that’s holding them back — creating a drag on the state economy. This bill addresses both those challenges,” said Senator King.  “The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act will unlock our state’s economic potential, invigorate our small and mid-size businesses, and support stronger households.”

The Child Care Availability and Affordability Act would make child care more affordable by:

• Increasing the size of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and making it refundable, allowing lower income working families with out-of-pocket child care expenses to benefit from the credit for the first time. The proposal substantially expands the maximum CDCTC to $2,500 for families with one child and $4,000 for families with two or more children.
• Strengthening the Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP) to allow families to deduct 50% more in expenses (up to $7,500).
• Allowing eligible families to benefit from both the DCAP and the CDCTC when their child care expenses exceed the DCAP threshold. This will have big benefits for middle income families who currently do not access the CDCTC but have particularly high child care costs.
• Radically bolstering the underutilized Employer-Provided Child Care Tax Credit — commonly referred to as 45F — to encourage businesses to provide child care to their employees and increase the maximum credit from $150,000 to $500,000, and the percentage of expenses covered from 25% to 50%. The legislation also includes a larger incentive for small businesses — a maximum credit of $600,000 — and allows for joint applications for groups of small businesses who want to pool resources.

The  legislation is cosponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Katie Britt (R-AL), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), John Curtis (R-UT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).

Senator Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has secured more than $24 million since Fiscal Year 2022 for Congressionally Directed Spending projects to support child care centers across Maine. This week, Senator Collins along with Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the bipartisan Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act, which supports family caregivers, including those who care for children with disabilities and other long-term health challenges.

Senator King has long worked to expand access to child care. Previously he cosponsored the Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act , which would provide competitive grants for states to train child care workers and build or renovate child care facilities. He has also secured millions to improve child care services in the 2022 and 2023 omnibus appropriations bills, and worked to authorize the planning and development of a new child development center at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Senator King is also the cosponsor of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Enhancement Act, which would permanently expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

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