August 6, 1992 PRESIDENT BUSH ON CHILD CARE "Our challenge today is to take this democratic system of ours -- a system second to none -- and make it better, a better America...[w]here women working outside the home can be confident their children are in safe and loving care -- and where government works to expand child care alternatives for parents." -- President George Bush January 31, 1990 Summary: Child Care Assistance that Preserves Parental Choice o During his 1988 campaign, George Bush made a commitment to provide child care assistance to those in need. Unlike the Democrats, who advocated a system of government control and regulation that would have limited parental choice, then-Vice President Bush advocated, and ultimately signed into law, a system based on individual freedom -- the freedom to choose what is best for one's children, free from government control. o The four guiding principles which underlie the President's approach to child care are: -- Parents, who are best able to make decisions about their children, should have the power to do so; -- Federal policy should support both parents who work at home and those who work outside the home; -- Federal policies should increase, not decrease, the range of child care choices available to parents; and -- New assistance should be targeted to families most in need. These principles are embodied in the new child care program enacted in 1990. President Bush's Child Care Proposals of 1990 o Reflecting his deep commitment to child care reform based on principles of parental choice, the President proposed child care legislation in 1990; his proposals were incorporated into the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 which he signed into law in November 1990. It provides: -- maximum parental -- not government -- control over child care. Eligible parents may choose their own child care arrangements, whether by relatives, neighbors, child care centers in religious institutions, or others; -- a large increase in the basic earned income tax credit; -- a larger tax credit for families with two or more children; -- a "wee tot" supplement to the earned income tax credit that helps mothers stay at home with children under the age of one; o These measures will increase help to low-income families by $31 billion through vouchers and credits over the next five years. o The Act also authorized $2.4 billion over the first three years for Child Care and Development Block Grants to fund vouchers to states for child care for low-income families with a parent who is working. o States are required to make certificates available to parents so that they can choose the child care provider of their choice, including church-based child care. o The At-Risk Child Care Program helps families at risk of going on welfare if they do not receive assistance in paying for child care.