Vice President Kamala Harris is blaming women’s unemployment rates on unaffordable child care to promote the American Families Plan.
“Nearly 2 million women have been forced out of the workforce since the pandemic began, and the lack of accessible, affordable child care is often the reason why,” Harris said in a tweet on Monday.
Harris did not in her statement mention anything about the government-driven lockdowns that forced business, school, and daycare closures, or the continued unemployment benefits that have made lower-paid service jobs undesirable. Furthermore, increased childcare costs driven by a drastic reduction in child care service employees and an increase in COVID-19 related fees have made returning to work more difficult for women, the Washington Post reported.
As a remedy, the plan promises access to universal Pre-K, up to 12-weeks of paid family and medical leave, “quality, affordable childcare,” and more.
The Biden Administration has proposed a tax hike to pay for the plan, Breitbart News reported in April. The tax hike could cost the American economy one million lost jobs in the first two years, according to a study from the National Association of Manufacturers.
If passed, the plan will put the administration’s spending at $5.4 trillion in the first year of Biden’s presidency.