1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

Parents and families across the country are reaching out to urge you and your colleagues in Congress to enact the Senate version of the FY26 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) spending bill, which includes increases to critical child care programs and Head Start. One of the critical drivers of high costs for families with young kids is at risk of getting worse: Child care already costs more than college tuition in a majority of states with families dealing with long wait lists if they can find care at all. According to the Center for Law and Social Policy, another year of stagnant funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) would mean about 24,000 fewer kids will have access to child care and that jumps to 50,000 if it extends to two years. This would hit families who are already struggling to make it work with rising costs. Families can’t afford to be squeezed any tighter than they already are. Enact the Senate version of the FY26 LHHS spending bill!