In a bid at ‘keeping child care on the agenda,’ Murray talks funding in Olympia

OLYMPIA – Sen. Patty Murray joined state legislators, moms and kids in the Capitol on Wednesday to talk about federal and state efforts to address the child care crisis, an issue she said continues to be a top priority for her.

As Congress reconvenes this year, Murray will serve as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and as the first woman to serve as president pro tempore, which makes her third in line for the presidency.

Late last year, Murray secured a $1.85 billion increase in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, a federal program that allows states to allocate funding for financial assistance for low-income families to use on child care. She also secured millions of dollars to improve child care across the state of Washington, including $3 million for child care for people getting workforce training in Spokane and Yakima counties, according to her office.

The new investments will help 130,000 more kids, Murray said, but the fight is far from over.

“Our child care system isn’t just stretched thin,” Murray said. “It is broken.”

Child care has been a top priority for Murray since before she was in Congress, but she has since made it a bigger focus. In 2021, she reintroduced the Child Care for Working Families Act to raise child care workers’ pay, increase access for middle- and lower-income families, and fund Head Start and preschool programs.

Moving into her newest role, Murray said Wednesday she will continue to work to help increase grant funding for providers and make child care more affordable to parents with caps on what they pay out of pocket. She also said there needs to be federal support to build child care facilities in rural communities where there may not be any.

“I’m keeping child care on the agenda,” she said.

Murray was joined by state Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Federal Way, and state Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island.

Child care and early learning have been top priorities in the state Legislature in recent years. In 2021, the Legislature passed the Fair Start for Kids Act, which increases subsidy rates and provider compensation, expands health care coverage and mental health services for providers, and provides regulatory and licensing relief for providers.

Senn on Wednesday called the bill “truly transformational” for Washington.

Republicans criticized the bill, saying it would overregulate child care and drive up costs for providers and families. They also complained about how it would be funded.

Much of it was funded with the controversial capital gains tax, which imposes a tax on capital gains greater than $250,000, other than on the sale of homes, commercial real estate, small businesses and livestock. The state estimated it would bring in about $550 million every two years.

The tax is currently held up in the courts, with opponents saying it’s an unconstitutional income tax. The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case next week.

But Senn and Wilson said Wednesday they were not concerned about the capital gains tax failing to provide funding for these programs. If it is deemed unconstitutional, Wilson said the programs in the Fair Start for Kids Act will still be funded through the state general fund.

Senn said funding child care remains a priority throughout the Legislature.

She said lawmakers are working on numerous pieces of legislation this session to address the child care crisis, some of which will require federal investment.

Senn said she is working on legislation that would help get more child care workers into the pipeline to ease shortages, such as by giving opportunities to high school students. Wilson said she is looking at finding more resources to nontraditional child care settings.

Wilson said she is also looking to make undocumented people eligible for Working Connections Child Care. The program helps families pay for child care.

“We’re looking all over at where kids are,” Wilson said.

S-R reporter Elena Perry contributed to this report.