Yesterday, House Republican leadership announced that they will draft another continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government until March 31, 2017. This is being done in consultation with President-Elect Donald Trump's transition team. There is bipartisan opposition to this proposal in the Senate, however it appears unlikely that it would be filibustered. The current CR expires on December 9, 2016.

Yesterday, the Department of Education issued a non-regulatory guidance on the early learning opportunities in the "Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015." The guidance does not include any required actions that state and local education agencies must follow, rather, suggested activities to help strengthen early learning programs.

Building on her plan to help working families gain access to child care and lift themselves out of poverty, the Democratic nominee for President, Hillary Clinton, proposed to expand the child tax credit for families living in poverty and families with children under the age of four who qualify. According to the Clinton campaign, up to 15 million children would benefit from this plan.

Last month, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published the final rule for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) based on the 2014 Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG). This final rule updates CCDF regulations for the first time since 1998.

We were excited to hear child care mentioned in the first 10 minutes of the first Presidential debate. It makes sense - 90% of Americans want the next president to expand access to child care and early learning opportunities. It's a critical issue that candidates across the aisle can agree on.

Child care is a necessity for many of today’s American families, especially low- and middle-income families, yet the cost of accessing high-quality care often rivals the cost of housing.

For four years running, the First Five Years Fund’s annual national bipartisan poll shows that early childhood education and care is a national priority for Americans, regardless of party. Even now, in the midst of an angry and polarized election, 90 percent of voters agree on one thing: Congress and the next president should work together to make quality early childhood education and care more accessible and affordable to low- and middle-income families. That includes 78 percent of Trump supporters and 97 percent of Clinton supporters.