UPDATED post: Last Friday afternoon, the House of Representatives withdrew a scheduled vote on H.R. 1628, the "American Health Care Act (AHCA) of 2017," after it was very clear that House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) did not have the votes for passage.  This came after a late-night deal of adding a provision to H.R. 1628 that would have cut $15 billion in mandatory care, as required under the Affordable Care Act of 2010, which would have impacted maternal and mental health coverage.

When I heard you utter the words “affordable, quality child care for all families” at the Republican convention last summer, I literally stood up and cheered in the middle of my living room. It’s one of the many, and arguably one of the most important, issues facing working families. These are the families that I care deeply about and have been fighting for over the last decade.

Advocacy is one of the most important and most underutilized tools we have to influence child care policy in the political system. And we need to work on that – fast!

Late last night, the Senate confirmed Georgia Congressman, Tom Price, as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) on a 52-47 party-line vote. Secretary Price will now oversee critical programs that support children and families including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Head Start. In addition, he will also be a key person in implementing the expected changes and/or possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, of which he has been a fierce critic over the last several years.

Earlier today, the Senate confirmed President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, on a 51-50 vote with Vice-President Pence casting the deciding vote. This is the first time a sitting Vice-President has had to vote to confirm a cabinet nominee.

Last month, Betsy DeVos had a very contentious nomination hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee which resulted in all Democrats, as well as Independent Senators Bernie Sanders (VT) and Angus King (ME), opposing her on the Senate floor. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) also joined the Democrats in opposing Mrs. DeVos.

Late last week, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced the Promoting Affordable Care for Everyone (PACE) Act of 2017. The goal of the PACE Act is to make these tax credits more generous for working and low-income families and reflect the rising cost of child care.

This legislation would update several Federal child care-related tax credits including the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).