Tonight, Senator Mikulski and Rep. Hal Rogers announced a spending agreement for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2015.  See the excerpt from the official summary released by the appropriators below for early childhood programs:

"The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee today released highlights of the fiscal year 2015 omnibus appropriations bill, “Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015,” that totals $1.014 trillion in discretionary spending in compliance with the bipartisan Murray-Ryan budget agreement. The bill funds the government through
September 30, 2015.

Today, President Barack Obama signed S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 into law.

For the first time in 18 years, Congress has passed CCDBG Reauthorization, as the bill now awaits President Obama’s signature to become law.

For the first time in 18 years, the U.S. Senate will have the opportunity to pass a reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, the primary federal program that provides assistance for families for child care, containing measures to improve the quality of child care nationwide.

On Thursday, November 13, 2014, the U.S. Senate will take up final consideration of S.1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. 

Yesterday Child Care Aware® of America joined the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy to highlight early literacy challenges and successes in communities across the country and share best practices and lessons learned. The word gap refers to children in low income communities starting school with 30 million less words  than their peers of higher socioeconomic status. The day consisted of advocates, led by Too Small to Fail, alongside top researchers and scientists, as well as federal and local policymakers, discussing the importance of creating a strong literacy foundation for all children.