Today, President Trump released his budget request for FY 18, which proposed very harmful cuts to programs that support low-income and working-class families and children, including a cut to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), which serves about 1.5 million income eligible children per month. The proposed cuts will put access to quality, affordable, and safe child care at risk for countless numbers of children.

Today, President Trump released his detailed FY 2018 budget request, which is a follow up from his "skinny budget" published in March. While the President's request includes proposals that could benefit a number of families, it would be devastating for most low-income and working class parents and their children.

I work in the nonprofit sector. It is something I am incredibly passionate about, but I do not make a lot of money. I have twin boys that are just over a year-and-a-half old now. They are in child care and have been since they were infants. Fortunately, I was able to get an ABC voucher that greatly offsets the cost of their child care. (I currently pay $100 per week). If I didn't have an ABC voucher then I would be paying $1,600 per month or more for child care. There is no way I could afford that. There is no way that most people could afford that.

It's time for a call-in day to Congress while there still time to let them know that we need to prioritize child care funding in the FY 2018 budget.

On May 4, the House of Representatives barely passed H.R. 1628, the "American Health Care Act (AHCA) of 2017," on a party-line vote. H.R. 1628 would replace the "Affordable Care Act of 2010," and if enacted into law, it could result in more than 20 million people losing access to health insurance, as well as millions of children losing access to Medicaid coverage, over the next decade.

Earlier this week, Congress and the Administration agreed to a FY 2017 omnibus spending bill that will fund the federal government through September 30. The bill, which is expected to pass and be signed into law in the next couple of days, includes nearly $5 billion in new funding for early education and health programs. With regard to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the program will receive a $95 million increase in FY 2017 ($2.856 billion), which is more than what was included in the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bills from last summer. While this increase is significant given the current legislative environment, it is still well short of what's needed to meet gaps in child care coverage, as well as support states with their implementation needs.