(Photo: Michael Macor/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Progressives Applaud Biden Executive Order to Expand, Improve Care Economy
"Biden has heard our calls and sees the growing power of our movement," said one advocacy group.
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"Biden has heard our calls and sees the growing power of our movement," said one advocacy group.
Labor unions and other progressives on Tuesday said a new slate of executive actions unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden demonstrated the political power of caregivers and their supporters who have spent years advocating for fair wages, affordable childcare, and an extension of labor protections across the care economy.
Biden signed an order that the White House said amounts to "the most sweeping set of executive actions to improve care in history," including measures to make childcare more affordable for families, increasing pay and benefits for childcare workers, and improving supports for people who provide care for their family members.
"We applaud the administration's unprecedented executive order on care," said advocacy group Care Across Generations. "Biden has heard our calls and sees the growing power of our movement."
\u201cThis is THE moment for care, and one we'll look back on for years. Care is not only the heart of our economy; it's also the human experience that connects us all. https://t.co/H5CFEuoLLN\u201d— Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait (@Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait) 1681821350
The White House said the executive order will direct federal agencies to take several steps to lower childcare costs for families, more than half of whom pay 20% or more of their income on care. Biden is calling on agencies to:
\u201cJoin me in the White House Rose Garden as I deliver remarks on improving child care, long-term care, and family caregiving. https://t.co/w2TsVDp6Ev\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1681842094
The actions would also:
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said the executive actions demonstrate that Biden has "rightfully recognized... that access to affordable, quality care services are necessary for every family to thrive."
Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), noted that the policies are "directly responsive" to the CPC's Executive Action Agenda that was unveiled last month.
"As the Covid-19 pandemic made abundantly clear, care workers are essential to our economy and to the health and well-being of all our communities," said Jayapal. "But for too long, child care and home care have been unaffordable, inaccessible, and care workers dramatically undervalued and underpaid. That is why the Congressional Progressive Caucus has advocated for legislative and executive action on the care economy, and why I'm thrilled to applaud this new order from the Biden administration today."
Child care advocates including Jayapal noted that they will continue pushing for Congress and the White House to pass legislation to ensure universal paid family and sick leave, "child care, aging, and disabled care."
\u201cNow, Congress needs to pass comprehensive care legislation for #PaidLeaveForAll, child care, aging and disabled care \u2013 and we'll be there every step of the way to make it happen.\n\nNearly 15k people joined this movement in the last month. Join them \ud83d\udc47 https://t.co/iydgjRXMMK\u201d— Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait (@Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait) 1681821350
"Lawmakers have long understood that ensuring families have access to affordable child care will require action from every level of government," saidFirst Five Years Fund executive director Sarah Rittling. "We look forward to continuing to work with the White House and Members of Congress to build on the long-standing bipartisan support for child care, and enact solutions that address the daily challenges too many families across the country face in accessing the care they need."
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Labor unions and other progressives on Tuesday said a new slate of executive actions unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden demonstrated the political power of caregivers and their supporters who have spent years advocating for fair wages, affordable childcare, and an extension of labor protections across the care economy.
Biden signed an order that the White House said amounts to "the most sweeping set of executive actions to improve care in history," including measures to make childcare more affordable for families, increasing pay and benefits for childcare workers, and improving supports for people who provide care for their family members.
"We applaud the administration's unprecedented executive order on care," said advocacy group Care Across Generations. "Biden has heard our calls and sees the growing power of our movement."
\u201cThis is THE moment for care, and one we'll look back on for years. Care is not only the heart of our economy; it's also the human experience that connects us all. https://t.co/H5CFEuoLLN\u201d— Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait (@Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait) 1681821350
The White House said the executive order will direct federal agencies to take several steps to lower childcare costs for families, more than half of whom pay 20% or more of their income on care. Biden is calling on agencies to:
\u201cJoin me in the White House Rose Garden as I deliver remarks on improving child care, long-term care, and family caregiving. https://t.co/w2TsVDp6Ev\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1681842094
The actions would also:
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said the executive actions demonstrate that Biden has "rightfully recognized... that access to affordable, quality care services are necessary for every family to thrive."
Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), noted that the policies are "directly responsive" to the CPC's Executive Action Agenda that was unveiled last month.
"As the Covid-19 pandemic made abundantly clear, care workers are essential to our economy and to the health and well-being of all our communities," said Jayapal. "But for too long, child care and home care have been unaffordable, inaccessible, and care workers dramatically undervalued and underpaid. That is why the Congressional Progressive Caucus has advocated for legislative and executive action on the care economy, and why I'm thrilled to applaud this new order from the Biden administration today."
Child care advocates including Jayapal noted that they will continue pushing for Congress and the White House to pass legislation to ensure universal paid family and sick leave, "child care, aging, and disabled care."
\u201cNow, Congress needs to pass comprehensive care legislation for #PaidLeaveForAll, child care, aging and disabled care \u2013 and we'll be there every step of the way to make it happen.\n\nNearly 15k people joined this movement in the last month. Join them \ud83d\udc47 https://t.co/iydgjRXMMK\u201d— Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait (@Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait) 1681821350
"Lawmakers have long understood that ensuring families have access to affordable child care will require action from every level of government," saidFirst Five Years Fund executive director Sarah Rittling. "We look forward to continuing to work with the White House and Members of Congress to build on the long-standing bipartisan support for child care, and enact solutions that address the daily challenges too many families across the country face in accessing the care they need."
Labor unions and other progressives on Tuesday said a new slate of executive actions unveiled by U.S. President Joe Biden demonstrated the political power of caregivers and their supporters who have spent years advocating for fair wages, affordable childcare, and an extension of labor protections across the care economy.
Biden signed an order that the White House said amounts to "the most sweeping set of executive actions to improve care in history," including measures to make childcare more affordable for families, increasing pay and benefits for childcare workers, and improving supports for people who provide care for their family members.
"We applaud the administration's unprecedented executive order on care," said advocacy group Care Across Generations. "Biden has heard our calls and sees the growing power of our movement."
\u201cThis is THE moment for care, and one we'll look back on for years. Care is not only the heart of our economy; it's also the human experience that connects us all. https://t.co/H5CFEuoLLN\u201d— Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait (@Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait) 1681821350
The White House said the executive order will direct federal agencies to take several steps to lower childcare costs for families, more than half of whom pay 20% or more of their income on care. Biden is calling on agencies to:
\u201cJoin me in the White House Rose Garden as I deliver remarks on improving child care, long-term care, and family caregiving. https://t.co/w2TsVDp6Ev\u201d— President Biden (@President Biden) 1681842094
The actions would also:
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said the executive actions demonstrate that Biden has "rightfully recognized... that access to affordable, quality care services are necessary for every family to thrive."
Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), noted that the policies are "directly responsive" to the CPC's Executive Action Agenda that was unveiled last month.
"As the Covid-19 pandemic made abundantly clear, care workers are essential to our economy and to the health and well-being of all our communities," said Jayapal. "But for too long, child care and home care have been unaffordable, inaccessible, and care workers dramatically undervalued and underpaid. That is why the Congressional Progressive Caucus has advocated for legislative and executive action on the care economy, and why I'm thrilled to applaud this new order from the Biden administration today."
Child care advocates including Jayapal noted that they will continue pushing for Congress and the White House to pass legislation to ensure universal paid family and sick leave, "child care, aging, and disabled care."
\u201cNow, Congress needs to pass comprehensive care legislation for #PaidLeaveForAll, child care, aging and disabled care \u2013 and we'll be there every step of the way to make it happen.\n\nNearly 15k people joined this movement in the last month. Join them \ud83d\udc47 https://t.co/iydgjRXMMK\u201d— Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait (@Caring Across Generations #CareCantWait) 1681821350
"Lawmakers have long understood that ensuring families have access to affordable child care will require action from every level of government," saidFirst Five Years Fund executive director Sarah Rittling. "We look forward to continuing to work with the White House and Members of Congress to build on the long-standing bipartisan support for child care, and enact solutions that address the daily challenges too many families across the country face in accessing the care they need."