Congress Passes Continuing Resolution, Keeping Government Funded into December

Today, the Senate passed a bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government funded until Friday, December 11, 2020. The House voted last week to approve the measure after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) struck a deal to keep the government funded at current levels beyond the September 30th deadline. 

Under this short-term CR, funding levels for most federal programs, including early childhood education programs like Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, will continue operating under FY2020 appropriations levels.

Meanwhile, Congress has not passed a pandemic recovery package, leaving American families and businesses in limbo over whether they will receive much-needed financial relief. Earlier this week, House Democrats introduced an updated version of its comprehensive COVID-19 recovery legislation — the HEROES Act — that includes $57 billion in funding for child care. 

Support for early childhood education remains overwhelmingly bipartisan among voters. According to a recent FFYF poll, voters overwhelmingly say high-quality, affordable child care for families with young children is an essential service—just like healthcare and education. Additionally, 83% of voters in key electoral battleground states say that candidates for office, including for president, should have plans and policies to help working parents afford high-quality child care.

Fortunately, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle understand the importance of child care and federal early learning programs play in the development of young children, and they have passed historic funding increases for these programs in the past decade. FFYF will continue working with bipartisan leaders in the House & Senate to ensure the federal early learning and care programs receive the crucial funding increases they need in future government funding bills.