{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://schakowsky.house.gov/media/press-releases/virtual-roundtable-schakowsky-duckworth-emphasize-community-care-necessity-not", "In Virtual Roundtable, Schakowsky, Duckworth Emphasize that Community Care is a Necessity, Not a Luxury", "2022-11-28", "2022", "2022-11", "Democrat", "House", "IL", "Janice D. Schakowsky", "S001145", "schakowsky.house.gov", "schakowsky", "https://schakowsky.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Co-Chair of the House Democratic Task Force on Aging & Families, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), joined a virtual roundtable with Caring Across Generations and a coalition of Illinois care advocates. The lawmakers underscored the urgent need for federal support for the array of care programs and caregivers that provide invaluable support to families across Illinois.\n\n\u201cCare infrastructure is infrastructure,\u201d said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. \u201cYou cannot have a strong, successful country and economy if people do not have adequate care for their children and elders. Home and community-based services allow Americans to receive the quality long-term care they need, in the comfort of their own communities. Yet far too many people are forced to enter nursing homes or placed on long waitlists because of chronic underinvestment in care workers. We must start paying a livable wage to caregivers, who are predominately women of color, and we must value unpaid family caregivers by offering compensation in acknowledgment of their contribution to society. I will not rest until our hardworking care workers have the resources they need and deserve.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe don\u2019t thank or support our care providers nearly enough,\u201d said Senator Tammy Duckworth. \u201cThink of the many seniors and neighborhoods that they support. Think of how they show up with compassion every single day to care for our family members and loved ones. There\u2019s no reason why they should be underpaid or forgotten, and I plan to keep pushing in Washington for care programs and providers to get the federal support and compensation to continue their incredibly important work.\u201d\n\n\u201cTens of thousands of families across Illinois struggle to find and afford care from its underfunded and outdated patchwork of programs that rely on a severely underpaid direct care workforce,\u201d said Ai-jen Poo, executive director of Caring Across Generations. \u201cToday, caregivers, care workers, along with the disabled and older Illinoisans who need care across the lifespan came together to imagine a different reality. We will continue to push for funding for Medicaid home and community-based services as a critical first step in fully funding our care infrastructure. I look forward to working with the growing coalition of Illinois care advocates and care champions in Congress like Senator Duckworth and Congresswoman Schakowsky to win the changes we all deserve.\"\n\n\u201cHome and community-based services are critical to the long-term care that people of all backgrounds rely on across Illinois,\u201d said Brigitte Dietz, Health and Aging Policy Analyst for Illinois Aging Together, a campaign of the Health & Medicine Policy Research Group. \u201cWe demand inclusive and supportive care, human rights, and that people be able to live where they wish. These systems of care matter to all of us to support our families and communities\u2013\u2013and for our own selves as we age.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnless you've been on the giving or receiving end of home care, it's hard to understand what a huge impact it has on people's lives,\u201d Margaret Heywood-Smith, SEIU-HCII. \u201cI do so much for people\u2014it can be help with taking a shower, getting dressed, making a meal, picking up for them\u2014anything that someone can't do for themselves anymore. We make it possible for people to stay in their homes, and for them to feel at home because their needs are met. But there aren't enough of us, there aren't enough services, and those of us who do this for a living can barely afford to live. It's time people starting caring more about home care and home care workers.\u201d\n\n\u201cCare work is deeply underestimated as a critical socioeconomic driver holding our nation together,\u201d said Amber Smock, Advocacy Director at Access Living. \u201cLikewise, the national socioeconomic contributions of those who rely on care work is also deeply undervalued. The full freedom of people with disabilities goes hand in hand with good wages, training and support for those who provide our direct support and personal care.\u201d\n\nDuring the roundtable, Schakowsky and Duckworth discussed federal legislation and highlighted their advocacy for long-term resources for Illinois\u2019s care system, including affordable care for families and adequate pay for caregivers who are largely underpaid women of color.\n\nSchakowsky and Duckworth were joined by Caring Across Generations, Access Living, The Arc, Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, Jane Adams Senior Caucus, Illinois Aging Together, and SEIU-HCII.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T03:24:37Z"]], "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://schakowsky.house.gov/media/press-releases/virtual-roundtable-schakowsky-duckworth-emphasize-community-care-necessity-not"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9404229931533337, "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"}