U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) appeared before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on March 19 to discuss her bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act. The bill aims to reauthorize and improve the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which provides childcare assistance to low-income families with children under age 13.
The topic is significant as it addresses ongoing challenges faced by working families in accessing affordable childcare. The legislation seeks to update a program that has not been reauthorized since 2014, despite its longstanding bipartisan support.
“I’m here to discuss legislation I’ve introduced with Senator Gillibrand — the Child Care Modernization Act,” Fischer said in her prepared remarks. She explained that the grant program currently delivers $8.8 billion in funding to states and tribes, supporting young children as well as before- and after-school care and summer programs. “Our bill not only reauthorizes this grant program — it modernizes it to reflect today’s childcare realities. It strengthens affordability for families while addressing the operational and workforce challenges providers face,” Fischer said.
The proposed updates include ensuring parental choice among various types of care providers, updating reimbursement rates based on actual costs, and creating a new subgrant program for expanding supply and investing in infrastructure. Fischer also addressed recent concerns about fraud in some states, stating: “We must strengthen oversight to prevent fraud and hold bad actors accountable — without undermining a program that is essential to families and providers.” She emphasized that limited supply, workforce shortages, and high costs are core challenges across states.
Fischer closed her remarks by inviting colleagues from both parties to join as cosponsors of the bill: “We invite our colleagues to join us as cosponsors and encourage the committee to consider this bill in a bipartisan markup in the months ahead.” According to the official website, Fischer provides essential services to Nebraskans through her office, raises three sons and six grandchildren on a Nebraska ranch, won election as Nebraska’s senior U.S. senator, earned an education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, participates in Senate committees on armed services, appropriations and commerce, serves on additional committees including agriculture, rules, and ethics; she was also the first Nebraska woman elected to a full U.S. Senate term and operates a ranching business in the Nebraska Sandhills according to the official website.
Observers will be watching how lawmakers respond as discussions continue around improving access to affordable childcare for American families.
