{"id":5385,"date":"2026-08-01T06:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T06:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=5385"},"modified":"2026-08-01T06:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T06:07:15","slug":"slap-in-the-face-gop-torpedoes-bid-to-stop-trump-from-raising-childcare-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=5385","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Slap in the face\u2019: GOP torpedoes bid to stop Trump from raising childcare costs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In what Democratic Sen. Patty Murray described as a \u201cslap in the face to moms and dads,\u201d Republicans have blocked her proposed resolution to restore a rule that could have saved low-income parents thousands of dollars per year on childcare before the Trump administration axed it.<\/p>\n

Read more Bizarre Ivanka hotel encounter detailed as ex-RNC chair decodes Trump<\/a><\/p>\n

Under a rule that went into effect earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rescinded a Biden-era rule that capped families\u2019 copayments at 7% of their household income for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which helps about 994,000 low-income families pay for childcare so parents can work, attend school, or participate in job training.<\/p>\n

The program is administered at the state level, and under the abandoned rule that was enacted in 2024, all states were required to begin phasing in the 7% cap, which is considered a federal affordability benchmark.<\/p>\n

Under the Trump policy change, states will not be required to cap parents\u2019 copayments as long as they continue to use a sliding scale based on income level and don\u2019t present a \u201cbarrier\u201d to receiving assistance, though it\u2019s not specified what that means.<\/p>\n

As of March 2026, 19 states had not lowered their maximum copayment to 7%.<\/p>\n

An April analysis by the Center for American Progress found that, by eliminating the federal cap, families in 10 states that have not enacted it would lose between $450 and more than $15,000 in potential annual savings, depending on how high their state sets the threshold.<\/p>\n

In Ohio, which caps copayments at 27% of household income, families could lose up to $15,482 in annual savings under the maximum copayment. In Vermont, which caps copayments at 14.9% of household income, families could lose up to $11,712.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Murray (D-Wash), the former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), introduced a resolution last month under the Congressional Review Act, which would have nullified the administration\u2019s elimination of the 7% cap.<\/p>\n

It also would have restored other Biden-era requirements that were reversed under the same rule, including requirements that states pay childcare providers based on enrollment rather than attendance, pay them in advance, and use grants and contracts to fund childcare for infants, children with disabilities, and those in underserved communities.<\/p>\n

In a speech on the Senate floor before the resolution came to a procedural vote on Thursday, she told her colleagues bluntly, \u201cYou are either voting to lower childcare costs or to increase them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump alarms with \u2018massive gutting\u2019 of program meant to pull kids out of poverty: NYT<\/a><\/p>\n

She challenged the senators who planned to vote against the resolution to \u201cgo home and tell the parents in your state you voted to raise their childcare bill,\u201d adding that \u201cyou cannot call yourself pro-family while voting to make it more expensive to raise one.\u201d<\/p>\n