Bernie Moreno Supports “Cutting All Federal Funding For Child Care”
October 30, 2024
American Journal: “Republican Bernie Moreno Floats Gutting ‘All’ Government Investments For Child Care. More Than Half Of Ohio’s Child Care Funding Comes From A Federal Program.”
Columbus, OH – New reporting from American Journal today revealed that Bernie Moreno said he “would support cutting all federal funding for child care” even though “more than half of Ohio’s child care funding” comes from federal sources. As Ohio working families are facing a childcare crisis, Moreno told an Ohio mother he “[doesn’t] support” funding to increase access to childcare.
The latest reporting follows a recent lawsuit Moreno faced for telling a woman who worked for him to “put your kids in f***ing daycare” after “she asked about flexibility in her work schedule.”
American Journal: Republican Bernie Moreno floats gutting “all” government investments for child care. More than half of Ohio’s child care funding comes from a federal program.
Jesse Valentine
October 30, 2024
- Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno said he would support cutting all federal funding for child care in the United States.
- On Oct. 14, Moreno held a town hall event in Steubenville, OH. An attendee, who identified herself as an Ohio mother, asked Moreno if he would support investments in child care that would enable parents to return to work and thrive economically.
- “I think the federal government needs to do a lot less…” [??Moreno said.]
- The attendee asked Moreno to clarify if he opposed government investments in child care.
- “What I’m saying is that I don’t support the federal government coming in and trying to solve every problem,” he said.
- More than half of Ohio’s child care funding comes from Child Care Development Block Grant, a federal program. Despite this, a Family Voices Project Report found that nearly 60% of Ohio families said child care was still too expensive. Eliminating these grants would likely make the situation worse.
- A Policy Matters report found that 39% of Ohioans live in a child care desert, where services are either too expensive or nonexistent. This is especially true in rural areas.
- Brown, by contrast, has supported increased federal funding for child care. In 2021, he authored the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, which sought to help child care providers expand and upgrade their services. Republicans opposed the bill.
- In 2023, Brown introduced the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act, which would provide federal funds to help child care providers operate in rural areas, particularly farm communities.
- A Moreno campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.
