THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                        Statement by the President 
                                  on the 
                   Senate Republican Child Care Proposal

Earlier this month, I unveiled an ambitious initiative to make child care better, safer, and more affordable. Last night, in my State of the Union Address, I asked Congress to reach across party lines to work on this important issue. I am very pleased that today, Senators Chafee, Hatch, Snowe, Roberts, Specter and Collins proposed a child care package that, like mine, significantly increases child care subsidies for poor children, provides additional tax relief to help low- and middle-income families pay for child care, creates a tax credit for businesses that provide child care to their employees, and improves state enforcement of health and safety standards. I look forward to working with Members of Congress in both parties to enact comprehensive child care legislation to meet the needs of children and families.

I believe that by continuing to work together on a bipartisan basis and by taking the best proposals from both sides of the aisle, we will achieve legislation that helps Americans fulfill their responsibilities as workers, and even more importantly, as parents. With this important contribution from Senator Chafee and his Senate colleagues, we move significantly closer to enacting child care legislation that is right for America's children.

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