{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcdonaldrivet.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-mcdonald-rivet-hinson-introduce-bill-make-child-care-more-affordable", "Reps. McDonald Rivet, Hinson Introduce Bill to Make Child Care More Affordable", "2025-11-25", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "MI", "Kristen McDonald Rivet", "M001237", "mcdonaldrivet.house.gov", "mcdonaldrivet", "https://mcdonaldrivet.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014 Today, Congresswomen Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) and Ashley Hinson (IA-02) announced the bipartisan Early Education Savings Program Act. This bill, supported by Democrats and Republicans, would make child care more affordable by expanding 529 savings programs to cover child care expenses.\n\n\u201cEvery parent knows raising a family is way too expensive,\u201d said Congresswoman McDonald Rivet. \u201cWhen parents can\u2019t access affordable child care, they can\u2019t go to work, and both their families and our economy suffer. Expanding 529s to cover child care is an easy and important step that will help families save for and afford child care for their young kids.\u201d\n\n\u201cAccess to child care is a women\u2019s issue, a family issue, and a workforce issue, and no two families have the same needs or circumstances. That is why I\u2019m proud to help introduce bipartisan legislation to expand savings programs parents can use for child care, while also supporting early childhood education,\u201d said Congresswoman Hinson. \u201cI\u2019ll continue working across the aisle to make child care more affordable, flexible, and accessible for families because supporting parents strengthens our workforce and helps build a stronger economy, and community, for everyone.\u201d\n\nA 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings program that allows individuals to use invested dollars to pay for qualified education-related expenses. Originally intended to assist with higher education, 529 plans were expanded in recent years to also cover K-12 and apprenticeship programs.\n\nThe Early Education Savings Program Act would further expand 529 savings programs to include child care as well, allowing parents to use tax-free income on child care for kids under five years old at state-licensed child care facilities. These accounts would have no cap on contributions or balances used for child care expenses.\n\nBeyond the impact on children, child care affordability continues to be a crisis for the nation\u2019s workforce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates states lose $1 billion per year in economic activity due to a lack of affordable and accessible child care. The same study also found that absences and employee turnover, which often stem from a lack of child care, cost employers between $400 million and $3 billion a year.\n\nCongresswoman McDonald Rivet has spent her career fighting to expand access to child care and early childhood education, including as Executive Director of Michigan Head Start, Chief of Staff of the Michigan Department of Education, and Vice President of The Skillman Foundation. Earlier this year, the Congresswoman fought against the Administration\u2019s efforts to freeze child care funding. She is a member of the bipartisan Congressional Pre-K and Child Care Caucus and cosponsors the following pieces of legislation to expand access to child care:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcdonaldrivet.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-mcdonald-rivet-hinson-introduce-bill-make-child-care-more-affordable"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7867880631238222, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}