ACTION ALERT

Support $10 billion Increase for Child Care Grants

July 26, 1999


The Issue:

On Wednesday, July 28th, Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Jim Jeffords (R-VT) will introduce an amendment to increase funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by $10 billion over ten years. The CCDBG provides money to states to provide child care services to low-income families and to improve quality by training care givers and increasing their salaries. Currently, only one in ten eligible children is served by the CCDBG, and the Dodd-Jeffords Child Care amendment would approximately double the number of children served. Currently most states compensate for a lack of funds by creating long waiting lists, paying child care providers very low salaries (the average wage is $7.03 per hour) and by rationing care. Two-thirds of states provide no child care assistance for families earning over $25,000 per year.
 

How you can help:


In the recent past, 66 Senators (44 Democrats and 22 Republicans) voted for a non-binding budget resolution to expand the CCDBG. If all of these Senators vote for the Dodd-Jeffords Amendment, it will pass and the Senate will appropriate real money to this vital program. We expect all Democrats to vote for the amendment, and we hope to target the 22 Republicans who voted for the non-binding resolution. We need 60 votes to ensure a filibuster-proof majority for this amendment. We urge you to call your Senators (especially if they are one of the 22 Republicans) to encourage them to vote for the Dodd-Jeffords child care amendment which increases funding by $10 billion over ten years. The vote may happen late Wednesday or possibly on Thursday.
 

The Senators (and their phone numbers) who should be called right away are:
 

Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.) 202-224-4822

Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) 202-224-6361

Max Baucus (D-Mont.) 202-224-2651

Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) 202-224-5623

Joseph Biden (D-Del.) 202-224-5042

Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) 202-224-5521

Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) 202-224-3553

John Breaux (D-La.) 202-224-4623

Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) 202-224-6244

Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) 202-224-3954

Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo) 202-224-5852

John Chafee (R-R.I.) 202-224-2921

Max Cleland (D-Ga.) 202-224-3521

Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) 202-224-5054

Susan Collins (R-Maine) 202-224-2523

Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) 202-224-2043

Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) 202-224-3634

Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) 202-24-2321

Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) 202-224-2315

Chris Dodd (D-CT) 202-224-2823

Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) 202-224-6621

Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) 202-224-2551

Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) 202-224-2152

John Edwards (D-N.C.) 202-224-3154

Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) 202-224-5323

Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) 202-224-3841

Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill) 202-224-2854

Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) 202-224-3344

Bob Graham (D-Fla.) 202-224-3041

Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) 202-224-3744

Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) 202-224-3254

Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) 202-224-5251

Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) 202-224-6121

Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) 202-224-2353

Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) 202-224-5922

Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) 202-224-3934

James Jeffords (R-Vt.) 202-224-5141

Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) 202-24-5842

Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) 202-2244543

Bob Kerry (D-Neb.) 202-224-6551

John Kerry (D-Mass.) 202-224-2742

Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) 202-224-5653

Mary Landrieu (D-La.) 202-224-5824

Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) 202-224-4744

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) 202-224-4242

Carl Levin (D-Mich.) 202-2246221

Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) 202-224-4041

Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) 202-224-4843

Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) 202-224-4814

John McCain (R-Ariz.) 202-224-2235

Barbara Mikulski (D-Mary.) 202-224-4654

Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) 202-224-4451

Patty Murray (D-Wash.) 202-224-2621

Jack Reed (D-R.I.) 202-224-4642

Harry Reid (D-Nev.) 202-224-3542

Charles Robb (D-Nev.) 202-224-4024

Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) 202-224-4774

John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) 202-224-6472

Paul Sarbanes (D-Mary.) 202-224-4524

Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) 202-224-6542

Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) 202-224-3753

Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) 202-224-5344

Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) 202-224-4254

Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) 202-224-3004

Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) 202-224-3224

George Voinovich (R-Ohio) 202-224-3353

John Warner (R-Va.) 202-24-2023

Paul Wellstone (D-Minn) 202-224-5641

Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) 202-224-5244
 
 


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