WEBVTT 00:05.540 --> 00:06.540 Mhm 00:16.940 --> 00:19.051 Thank you . Vice President Harris for 00:19.051 --> 00:21.130 this kind of invitation and good 00:21.130 --> 00:23.950 afternoon everyone . My name is Maria 00:23.950 --> 00:26.580 Suburban libyan and I am the executive 00:26.580 --> 00:28.770 director of the aka Child Development 00:28.770 --> 00:31.790 Center , a community based nonprofit 00:31.790 --> 00:35.380 located in Annandale Virginia , which 00:35.380 --> 00:37.700 provides affordable , high quality 00:37.710 --> 00:39.710 early education to Children in just 00:39.710 --> 00:42.840 three months to five years madam . Vice 00:42.840 --> 00:45.530 President . I am honored to introduce 00:45.530 --> 00:47.800 you today as the administration makes a 00:47.800 --> 00:50.210 historic commitment to increase funding 00:50.210 --> 00:52.950 for early care from the bottom of my 00:52.950 --> 00:55.620 heart . I applaud you for your efforts 00:55.620 --> 00:57.620 to make early childhood education a 00:57.620 --> 01:00.330 national priority . If parents and 01:00.330 --> 01:02.330 young Children don't have access to 01:02.330 --> 01:05.250 high quality early education , The road 01:05.250 --> 01:07.640 to fully reopen the economy post 01:07.640 --> 01:10.080 COVID-19 becomes that much more 01:10.080 --> 01:13.070 difficult . I am sure you will agree 01:13.080 --> 01:16.920 that child care and easy investment is 01:16.920 --> 01:18.753 a national security and economic 01:18.753 --> 01:21.640 imperative . If America is to continue 01:21.640 --> 01:24.330 to lead the world , it needs a well 01:24.340 --> 01:27.090 educated , healthy and resilient 01:27.090 --> 01:30.780 workforce and these begins with infants 01:30.790 --> 01:32.560 dollars and preschoolers . 01:35.340 --> 01:37.480 High quality child care depends on 01:37.490 --> 01:39.890 early childhood educators who are well 01:39.890 --> 01:42.640 trained , well compensated and 01:42.640 --> 01:46.390 technologically able . This is 01:46.390 --> 01:48.760 why um , 01:50.240 --> 01:52.770 we're doing this at aka , we invest in 01:52.770 --> 01:54.826 professional development and improve 01:54.826 --> 01:57.070 wages of our teachers , recognizing 01:57.070 --> 01:59.500 their skills as essential workers and 01:59.500 --> 02:01.940 ensuring Children have equitable access 02:01.940 --> 02:04.650 to high quality care . Prior to the 02:04.650 --> 02:06.539 pandemic childcare providers were 02:06.539 --> 02:09.490 operating on small margins . E . C . 02:09.490 --> 02:11.490 Educators themselves were making so 02:11.490 --> 02:15.070 little that have access welfare and 02:15.070 --> 02:17.640 families , especially living in low 02:17.640 --> 02:20.880 income homes , struggled to gain access 02:20.880 --> 02:23.640 to high quality early care . The 02:23.640 --> 02:26.170 pandemic has made this crisis worse and 02:26.170 --> 02:28.114 forced many childcare providers to 02:28.114 --> 02:31.580 close . I stand here today on 02:31.580 --> 02:34.440 behalf of thousands of child care 02:34.440 --> 02:36.730 providers and educators who have 02:36.730 --> 02:39.050 decided to maintain their programs open 02:39.060 --> 02:41.116 and keep fighting for young Children 02:41.116 --> 02:44.730 and parents . The nation's future 02:44.740 --> 02:48.110 depends on it . Having been in this 02:48.110 --> 02:50.640 field for more than 25 years , I have 02:50.640 --> 02:52.751 had the pleasure to see the fruits of 02:52.751 --> 02:56.650 my work . The young Children I helped 02:56.660 --> 02:59.360 educate continued to be connected to 02:59.360 --> 03:02.000 aka and many return as adults with a 03:02.000 --> 03:04.910 college degree and most importantly as 03:04.910 --> 03:08.540 contributing members of society . It is 03:08.540 --> 03:11.260 that time that child care providers and 03:11.260 --> 03:13.640 easy educators receive the support they 03:13.640 --> 03:16.210 need to do their jobs . Well , Madam , 03:16.210 --> 03:18.190 vice president with the 03:18.190 --> 03:20.480 administration's renewed childcare and 03:20.490 --> 03:23.140 easy commitment . You will make this a 03:23.140 --> 03:26.940 reality . We as a country must 03:26.940 --> 03:29.420 come together and bring our best to 03:29.420 --> 03:32.560 ensure that every child gross knowing 03:32.940 --> 03:35.760 that they are worth the time , 03:36.740 --> 03:39.790 the effort and the investment they 03:39.790 --> 03:42.810 deserve nothing less . When the 03:42.810 --> 03:45.310 pandemic heat and everything closed , 03:45.320 --> 03:47.760 we had a canoe that our Children and 03:47.760 --> 03:49.927 their families needed for us to remain 03:49.927 --> 03:53.870 open because many of our parents are 03:53.880 --> 03:56.260 essential personnel , frontline workers 03:56.260 --> 03:59.100 and first responders . But we realized 03:59.100 --> 04:01.900 very early that we could not do these 04:01.900 --> 04:05.300 alone . To face this challenge . We 04:05.300 --> 04:07.660 reached out to our community at large 04:09.040 --> 04:11.380 starting with Virginia's Governor and 04:11.380 --> 04:14.440 First Lady Fairfax County government , 04:14.450 --> 04:17.440 the private sector and foundations As 04:17.440 --> 04:20.920 well as the 27 churches and hundreds of 04:20.920 --> 04:24.680 volunteers that are part of aka . And 04:24.680 --> 04:26.480 yes , we sought help from the 04:26.480 --> 04:28.813 administration and received a P . P . P . 04:28.813 --> 04:32.230 Loan . In short , we took an all hands 04:32.230 --> 04:35.210 on deck approach thinking outside of 04:35.210 --> 04:38.660 the box and it worked . And now 04:39.140 --> 04:42.530 I have the high honor of introducing 04:42.550 --> 04:45.350 the vice president of the United States , 04:46.040 --> 04:48.700 a champion for Children , childcare 04:48.700 --> 04:52.650 providers and educators . My friend 04:53.640 --> 04:54.860 Kamala Harris , 05:14.840 --> 05:18.600 thank you Isabel . What you and your 05:18.600 --> 05:22.600 staff have done continues to be acts of 05:22.600 --> 05:25.360 heroism . It's heroic . The care you 05:25.360 --> 05:27.850 provide makes it possible for parents 05:27.850 --> 05:30.390 to work knowing that their Children are 05:30.390 --> 05:33.490 safe and that their loved . It's an 05:33.490 --> 05:35.910 incredible gift that you give . So 05:35.910 --> 05:38.080 thank you , thank you and to all the 05:38.080 --> 05:41.000 childcare providers . So today we are 05:41.000 --> 05:43.510 announcing the single largest 05:43.520 --> 05:45.850 investment in childcare in our nation's 05:45.850 --> 05:49.000 history , the single largest investment 05:49.010 --> 05:51.250 in childcare in our nation's history . 05:51.940 --> 05:54.162 This investment is part of the american 05:54.162 --> 05:56.051 rescue plan , which the president 05:56.051 --> 05:58.760 signed into law just over one month ago . 05:59.340 --> 06:01.673 And before I talk about this investment , 06:01.673 --> 06:03.729 the president has asked me to update 06:03.729 --> 06:05.951 you on the implementation of the plan . 06:06.340 --> 06:08.507 As you know , it was very important to 06:08.507 --> 06:10.729 the president and me that the relief we 06:10.729 --> 06:12.340 were delivered would be felt 06:12.340 --> 06:14.740 immediately and tangibly by the 06:14.740 --> 06:17.060 american people and under the 06:17.060 --> 06:20.400 leadership of Gene Sperling . It is 06:20.940 --> 06:24.660 as of yesterday , 159 million checks 06:24.670 --> 06:27.320 have gone out . By the time all of the 06:27.320 --> 06:30.450 money is distributed , more than 85 of 06:30.450 --> 06:32.790 American households will have received 06:32.800 --> 06:36.410 a check At the same time . The $20 06:36.410 --> 06:39.130 billion dollars in funding for vaccine 06:39.130 --> 06:41.530 administration and distribution has 06:41.530 --> 06:44.990 been put to work and it's helping us to 06:44.990 --> 06:47.480 increase confidence to reach our 06:47.480 --> 06:50.070 hardest hit communities and expand 06:50.070 --> 06:52.640 access through federally supported 06:52.650 --> 06:55.810 community vaccination centres , mass 06:55.820 --> 06:58.570 vaccination sites and mobile 06:58.580 --> 07:01.540 vaccination units . We're now 07:01.540 --> 07:03.940 administering an average of over three 07:03.940 --> 07:07.310 million shots a day . Over 20 million 07:07.310 --> 07:11.000 shots a week To safely reopen our 07:11.000 --> 07:13.860 nation's schools , $81 billion dollars 07:13.860 --> 07:16.480 has been sent out to the states to help 07:16.480 --> 07:18.530 schools get back to in person 07:18.530 --> 07:21.350 instruction and address the learning , 07:21.740 --> 07:23.950 social and emotional needs of our 07:23.950 --> 07:26.630 students . And there are millions of 07:26.630 --> 07:29.660 americans who lost their jobs due to no 07:29.660 --> 07:32.320 fault of their own and are receiving 07:32.330 --> 07:34.830 unemployment insurance through programs 07:34.830 --> 07:36.790 that would not exist without the 07:36.790 --> 07:39.680 american rescue plan . The american 07:39.680 --> 07:42.480 Rescue plan is also making health care 07:42.700 --> 07:45.670 more affordable by reducing the cost of 07:45.670 --> 07:48.490 coverage for nine million people who 07:48.490 --> 07:50.510 are currently receiving financial 07:50.510 --> 07:53.560 assistance At the Department of Housing 07:53.560 --> 07:56.350 and Urban Development Secretary Marcia 07:56.350 --> 07:59.180 Fudge announced that nearly $5 billion 07:59.180 --> 08:02.180 dollars has been allocated to provide 08:02.180 --> 08:04.560 services to people who are experiencing 08:04.940 --> 08:08.460 or are at risk of homelessness and to 08:08.460 --> 08:11.310 help communities create more permanent 08:11.320 --> 08:14.310 affordable housing solutions . The 08:14.310 --> 08:16.550 Department of Agriculture has been 08:16.550 --> 08:19.120 using funds to help 12 million families 08:19.120 --> 08:21.550 with Children who are food insecure , 08:22.040 --> 08:24.630 reimbursing families who are now buying 08:24.630 --> 08:26.800 food that their Children would have 08:26.800 --> 08:30.060 received in school . The list goes on 08:30.540 --> 08:34.190 and the message is clear . Help is 08:34.190 --> 08:37.260 here . Hope is here 08:38.340 --> 08:40.620 and we've already seen what happens 08:40.620 --> 08:42.842 when you help those who are hurting the 08:42.842 --> 08:46.110 most when you build an economy from the 08:46.110 --> 08:49.330 bottom up and the middle out . We have 08:49.330 --> 08:52.170 created more new jobs in these first 08:52.180 --> 08:55.150 two months than any administration in 08:55.150 --> 08:58.560 history and things are looking up to be 08:58.560 --> 09:01.590 sure . But we also have a lot more work 09:01.600 --> 09:05.060 to do . We need to defeat this virus , 09:05.640 --> 09:08.060 get american workers back on the job 09:08.540 --> 09:11.970 and lift up american families . And so 09:11.970 --> 09:14.137 that brings me to today's announcement 09:14.740 --> 09:16.907 because when it comes to child care in 09:16.907 --> 09:20.160 our country , families need help . 09:21.140 --> 09:23.820 Even before the pandemic . Childcare 09:23.820 --> 09:27.000 costs too much and it was too hard to 09:27.000 --> 09:30.190 find and for too many families 09:30.740 --> 09:33.730 outside of their reach . The pandemic 09:33.730 --> 09:35.920 has accelerated the flaws and the 09:35.920 --> 09:39.520 fissures in our systems . Nearly half 09:39.530 --> 09:41.950 of parents say their current childcare 09:41.950 --> 09:45.590 situation is unsustainable for 09:45.590 --> 09:49.340 providers . Childcare costs are up with 09:49.340 --> 09:52.610 new expenses like PPE more cleaning 09:52.610 --> 09:55.090 supplies and everything else that 09:55.090 --> 09:57.760 providers need to keep Children safe . 09:58.440 --> 10:01.050 At the same time , revenues are down 10:01.540 --> 10:04.730 with fewer kids enrolled . These are 10:04.730 --> 10:07.120 small businesses and nonprofits with 10:07.120 --> 10:09.630 thin margins to begin with , according 10:09.630 --> 10:12.420 to one survey , one in four Childcare 10:12.420 --> 10:14.531 centers that was open at the start of 10:14.531 --> 10:17.900 the pandemic is now closed when child 10:17.900 --> 10:20.370 care centers go out of business for 10:20.370 --> 10:23.370 things happen , one a small business 10:23.370 --> 10:26.000 owner , most likely a woman loses 10:26.000 --> 10:29.400 everything . Two childcare workers . 10:29.410 --> 10:32.170 Again , most likely women , women of 10:32.170 --> 10:35.840 color , they lose their jobs . There 10:35.840 --> 10:39.590 are 164,000 fewer childcare 10:39.590 --> 10:42.150 jobs now than there were last year . 10:43.240 --> 10:45.780 Number three without consistent 10:45.790 --> 10:48.880 affordable child care parents , mostly 10:48.880 --> 10:51.650 mothers are not able to go back to work . 10:52.240 --> 10:54.407 In fact , about two million women have 10:54.407 --> 10:56.640 been forced to leave the workforce , 10:56.650 --> 11:00.060 many due to childcare challenges 11:00.540 --> 11:04.030 and number four Children lose the safe , 11:04.030 --> 11:06.440 nurturing learning environment that 11:06.440 --> 11:09.550 they need to grow the strength of our 11:09.550 --> 11:12.760 country . The resilience of our economy 11:13.240 --> 11:15.930 depends on the affordability and 11:15.930 --> 11:19.390 availability of childcare . Today , we 11:19.390 --> 11:21.340 are enrolling $39 billion 11:21.340 --> 11:24.760 $39 billion 11:24.760 --> 11:27.590 dollars that will go to states and 11:27.590 --> 11:30.970 tribes and territories . These funds 11:30.970 --> 11:33.770 will help childcare centers and family 11:33.770 --> 11:37.200 childcare providers to reopen or stay 11:37.200 --> 11:39.700 open by helping to cover rent or 11:39.700 --> 11:42.330 mortgage payments , utility and 11:42.330 --> 11:44.780 insurance payments . They will help 11:44.780 --> 11:47.660 providers as they take the steps needed 11:47.670 --> 11:50.170 to provide safe and healthy learning 11:50.170 --> 11:53.130 environments , including purchasing 11:53.130 --> 11:56.610 masks , improving ventilation and 11:56.610 --> 11:58.990 making other changes that allow for 11:58.990 --> 12:01.790 Phil's physical distancing . These 12:01.790 --> 12:04.200 funds will also help providers keep 12:04.210 --> 12:07.590 people on the payroll or rehire those 12:07.590 --> 12:11.090 who have been laid off . All told with 12:11.090 --> 12:13.880 these funds . States can help hundreds 12:13.880 --> 12:16.630 of thousands of providers serving more 12:16.630 --> 12:19.370 than five million Children . The 12:19.370 --> 12:22.300 american Rescue Plan is also making 12:22.300 --> 12:25.320 childcare more affordable for families 12:25.560 --> 12:28.450 in two big ways , It gives states 12:28.450 --> 12:31.770 enough funding to provide over 800,000 12:31.770 --> 12:34.390 families with subsidies to pay for 12:34.390 --> 12:37.770 childcare . And it dramatically expands 12:37.770 --> 12:40.450 the child and dependent care tax credit , 12:40.840 --> 12:43.030 Which allows families to get back as 12:43.030 --> 12:45.450 much as a tax credit for as much as 12:45.450 --> 12:47.710 half of their spending on child care 12:47.720 --> 12:51.130 for Children under the age of 13 . So 12:51.130 --> 12:53.074 if your family is making less than 12:53.074 --> 12:56.060 $125,000 a year and you pay 12:56.070 --> 12:58.630 $8,000 a year for child care for one 12:58.630 --> 13:02.620 child , You can get $4,000 off of your 13:02.620 --> 13:05.730 taxes . Families who don't owe a lot in 13:05.730 --> 13:08.250 taxes will still get the full benefit 13:08.840 --> 13:10.618 And families who make more than 13:10.618 --> 13:14.580 $125,000 a year can still receive a 13:14.580 --> 13:18.300 partial credit again . This is a 13:18.300 --> 13:21.440 dramatic expansion And a significant 13:21.440 --> 13:23.900 help for more than seven million 13:23.900 --> 13:26.320 families . We will be releasing 13:26.320 --> 13:28.540 information soon on how parents can 13:28.540 --> 13:31.560 claim this tax credit for next year , 13:32.440 --> 13:34.430 taken together . This historic 13:34.430 --> 13:36.830 investment will give childcare 13:36.830 --> 13:40.570 providers a chance . It will give 13:40.580 --> 13:43.770 childcare providers and workers a 13:43.770 --> 13:47.680 lifeline and it will give parents peace 13:47.680 --> 13:51.680 of mind . So you may know . My mother 13:51.690 --> 13:54.790 uh was a breast cancer researcher . In 13:54.790 --> 13:57.260 fact , she had two goals in her life to 13:57.270 --> 13:59.480 raise her two daughters and and breast 13:59.480 --> 14:03.090 cancer . And every weekday and on many 14:03.090 --> 14:05.930 weekends my mother went to work in the 14:05.930 --> 14:09.750 lab and when she did , my sister and I 14:09.760 --> 14:12.950 would walk two houses down to the home 14:12.960 --> 14:15.930 of mrs Regina Shelton , who became a 14:15.930 --> 14:19.880 second mother to us and who also ran 14:19.890 --> 14:23.390 a childcare center without the care . 14:23.480 --> 14:26.200 Mrs Shelton provided . My mother would 14:26.200 --> 14:28.350 not have been able to go to work 14:28.940 --> 14:31.180 without the care that mrs Shelton 14:31.180 --> 14:33.440 provided . My mother would not have 14:33.450 --> 14:35.910 been able to make the contributions 14:35.920 --> 14:38.670 that she did in the effort to find a 14:38.670 --> 14:42.190 cure for breast cancer . And I tell you 14:42.190 --> 14:45.450 this to make probably an obvious point 14:46.440 --> 14:50.320 for many , many people , and many 14:50.320 --> 14:53.430 women in particular . Childcare has 14:53.440 --> 14:56.820 often been the prerequisite for their 14:56.820 --> 15:00.440 ability to work , and for many others , 15:00.460 --> 15:03.970 childcare is their work , and that's 15:03.970 --> 15:06.980 why in America childcare should be 15:06.980 --> 15:10.560 readily available and affordable 15:11.040 --> 15:12.960 for all of those who need it . 15:13.740 --> 15:16.760 Childcare workers should be paid fairly 15:17.240 --> 15:21.160 and treated with dignity and respect , 15:22.040 --> 15:24.420 and small business owners who run 15:24.420 --> 15:26.750 childcare centers must be fully 15:26.750 --> 15:29.750 supported . We have a lot of work to do . 15:30.340 --> 15:33.320 We have a lot of challenges ahead by 15:33.320 --> 15:35.320 putting the american rescue plan to 15:35.320 --> 15:38.110 work , by making sure the american 15:38.110 --> 15:41.370 people can feel its benefits . We are 15:41.380 --> 15:44.450 earning their trust . We are showing 15:44.450 --> 15:47.160 them that we can vaccinate our nation , 15:47.720 --> 15:50.640 that we can get our kids safely back in 15:50.640 --> 15:53.080 school . That we can get our small 15:53.080 --> 15:56.750 businesses safely back open . We are 15:56.750 --> 16:00.210 giving the people of our nation help 16:00.220 --> 16:02.860 with checks with lower health care 16:02.860 --> 16:06.090 costs , with childcare assistance and 16:06.090 --> 16:09.880 so much more . We are giving America 16:09.970 --> 16:13.940 Hope , May God bless you and May God 16:13.940 --> 16:15.860 bless America . Thank you .