WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the Biden administration’s attempt to unilaterally force through “Build Back Better” childcare provisions as regulations through the Department of the Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration of Children and Families’ (ACF), today Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) submitted a public comment urging HHS and ACF to withdraw the unlawful and misguided proposed rule.

The Biden administration’s plan is to require any facility receiving funding through the federal program to cap copay for eligible families at 7% of income. This would dramatically change the operations of our daycare system and could result in millions of working families having higher care costs. 

“IWF is tremendously concerned that ACF’s proposal would take America’s childcare infrastructure in the wrong direction—making it harder for parents to find the types of childcare arrangements they prefer, making it harder for parents to keep a child home in a family-care setting, and making our childcare infrastructure less diverse rather than more.” said Carrie Lukas, president of Independent Women’s Forum, in the public comment.

Lukas continued, “This regulatory push is a misuse of agency authority.  SImilar provisions were considered during the ‘Build Back Better’ legislation and were rejected. Now the Department of Health and Human Services is attempting to use the regulatory process to accomplish what the Congress could not. This  violates our Constitution’s clear separation of powers.”

Independent Women’s Forum believes that child care plays a vital role in the U.S. economy, that government regulations create obstacles in child care, and that there are better ways for policymakers to support parents.

Link to Independent Women’s Forum’s comments on the “Improving Child Care Access, Affordability, and Stability in the Child Care and Development Fund” proposal.

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Independent Women’s Forum is dedicated to developing and advancing policies that aren’t just well intended but actually enhance people’s freedom, choices, and opportunities.