“Child Labor is Not the Answer to the Childcare Cliff—Neither is Gutting The Safety And Quality of Wisconsin Childcare.”

MADISON–This morning Wisconsin Democrats serving on the Assembly Committee on Children and Families unanimously objected to advancing five Republican proposals related to childcare.  All five of these bills are expected to be voted on by the full body of the Assembly on Thursday afternoon. In response to voting against these bills in committee, Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) issued the following statement:

“Every family in Wisconsin deserves access to quality, affordable childcare. Parents and childcare providers across the state are bracing themselves for the quickly approaching childcare cliff. I am deeply disappointed that in a time of unprecedented need, Wisconsin’s legislative Republicans refused to come together in a bipartisan way. With unprecedented need, Wisconsin deserves unprecedented bipartisanship. Not only have we been met without a spirit of bipartisanship, but we’ve been presented with childcare bills facing opposition from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“The Republican bills deregulate and decrease the quality of childcare, propose to increase the childcare workforce by increasing child labor, and remove the flexibility the Governor provided the state to financially assist childcare centers with a line-item veto within the budget earlier this summer.

“Child Labor is Not the Answer to the Childcare Cliff–Neither is Gutting The Safety And Quality of Wisconsin Childcare.

“I appreciate that Governor Tony Evers has heard the cry of parents and called for a Special Session of the legislature next Wednesday to fund Child Care Counts–a program that has saved Wisconsin’s childcare landscape, and will continue to stave off the childcare cliff if it is continued. Governor Evers also provided a line-item veto in July that allowed flexibility to the WEDC to financially assist childcare businesses with grants–the bill before us is essentially an attempt to override that veto, with Republicans restricting the ways the state can financially support childcare centers during this time of significant need.

“It is my hope that additional bills addressing the need for affordable, quality childcare will be proposed in the legislature. Now is not the time for partisan bickering, nor attacks on the Governor–now is the time for the legislature to work together and expand affordable, quality childcare so that Wisconsin families can move forward, together.”

Rep. Vining represents the 14th Assembly District, which includes parts of Wauwatosa and West Allis. For more information, visit Rep. Vining’s website here. 

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.