Biden, facing roadblocks in Congress, to issue executive order on childcare, eldercare

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden will announce more than 50 executive steps to advance free preschool and expand care for children, older Americans, and those with disabilities, despite congressional opposition.

Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice said Biden would encourage lawmakers to approve $750 billion in spending for key areas over 10 years as proposed in his 2024 budget.

He is directing government agencies to take non-spending methods to improve Americans’ access to high-quality childcare and long-term care and support professionals in those fields.

“The president’s not going to wait to take action to address our nation’s care crisis,” Rice told reporters. Later Tuesday, Biden will sign the order in the Rose Garden alongside family caregivers, persons with disabilities, older adults, and early childhood and long-term care employees.

As Biden nears a 2024 presidential run, the White House hopes popular child- and elder-care programs will bolster his approval ratings.

The order was considered “a major step toward modernizing” the U.S. care system by Ai-jen Poo and Jenn Stowe, president and executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

“Care is a need that we can no longer overlook,” they stated in a joint statement. “As the care workforce crisis intensifies across the country and families continue to struggle to afford care, this set of executive actions marks the all-in commitment we need to make sure care jobs are good jobs and that Americans can access care for generations to come.”

Biden is instructing nearly every federal department to explore grant programs that can pay for childcare and long-term care benefits for federal project workers and to consider mandating companies seeking for federal job-creation monies to extend access to care.

The Commerce Department pioneered this strategy last month by requiring companies seeking major financing under its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program to demonstrate how they will help workers access affordable childcare.

Other ideas would increase veteran home-based care, early childhood educator pay, elderly and disabled care quality, and care worker unionization.

Heather Boushey of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) told reporters that childcare and eldercare shortages and rising costs prevented many women from working, reducing labor supply and economic growth.

If critical care shortages and affordability are not addressed, the Boston Consulting Group predicted that U.S. economic output might plummet by $290 billion a year starting in 2030.

Senior administration sources indicated the administration intends to implement Biden’s initiatives fast without estimating their economic impact.