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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services relating to "Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)"., members such as Patty Murray.
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July 30, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextUNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES RELATING TO “RESTORING FLEXIBILITY IN THE CHILD
CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND (CCDF)”—Motion to Proceed
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 533, S.J. Res. 199.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the joint resolution by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 533, S.J. Res. 199, a
joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval
under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule
submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services
relating to “Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and
Development Fund (CCDF)”.
Mrs. MURRAY. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The yeas and nays are ordered.
The Senator from Washington.
Childcare
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, while President Trump's top priorities are $1.5 trillion in war spending and a golden ballroom, those are not the priorities that American families are focused on. Everywhere I go, I hear from families about the crushing cost of childcare, so it is no surprise to me that 80 percent of voters say the high cost of childcare is a major problem. This is at the beating heart of our economy. If Mom and Dad don't have affordable, high-quality childcare, Mom and Dad can't go to work.
that no one asked for, all while families are struggling to get by, he is hell-bent on making our country's childcare crisis even worse. Right now, Trump's HHS ended a 7-percent copayment cap on childcare costs for the very low-income families who already receive Federal childcare support. This is already a very modest Federal program that needs to be supersized in order to meet the needs of every child who needs it. Even with this program, many households are paying more than 20 percent of their household income on childcare costs.
qualifies for this subsidy should pay more than 7 percent of their income for childcare. Trump tore that up.
We should be having a debate about how we increase childcare funding. How about, instead of a $1.5 trillion war budget, we make sure every working family in America can afford childcare. Well, Trump's tariffs already tax diapers, formula, and the car seat. Now he is coming for commonsense childcare policies, taking us in the wrong direction at a time when families need affordable childcare more than ever. If Trump had simply done nothing and left the 7-percent cap in place, some of these families would have ended up saving as much as $15,000 a year for their family.
country—and to childcare providers, who are already stretched thin to make their budgets work and keep their doors open and keep qualified employees in a field that has very high turnover.
The good news: Congress can now force Trump to reverse course on this—today, right now. Very soon, we are going to be voting on my resolution to overturn Trump's anti-childcare rule and bring back that 7 percent income cap. This shouldn't be controversial. You are either voting to lower childcare costs or to increase them.
We can afford childcare. Trump just wants to use our taxpayer dollars to fund war and tax cuts for billionaires. Trump says we can't afford childcare, but he is wrong.
The truth is, we can't afford to ignore childcare. I know that investment in childcare is an investment in our families and an investment in a stronger economy.
To my colleagues: If you vote to let this rule stand, own it. Go home and tell the parents in your State you voted to raise their childcare bill. You cannot call yourself pro-family while voting to make it more expensive to raise one. You just can't.
Every Senator is going to cast a vote today on a simple question: Should working parents pay more for childcare or less? Donald Trump wants them to pay more—more at the pump, more at the grocery store, and now more to drop the child off at daycare. Now the Senate will give its answers, and I promise you this: Parents are watching and parents remember.
To my colleagues: Vote for the moms. Vote for the dads. Vote for the kid in the back seat at the 7 a.m. dropoff. When childcare costs as much as the mortgage, whose side are you on?
So, again, I urge my colleagues to vote yes to lower childcare costs.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from New York.