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OCR Page 1 of 105Families Agenda for the Fiscal Year 2000 Budget
Over the last 30 years, there have been increasing pressures on the family --more dual-earner
couples, families working longer hours, all creating a squeeze that leaves parents with less and
less time with their children. At the very least, this time squeeze is a source of anxiety for
parents --at its worst, it places more children at risk. As part of the fiscal year 2000 budget, the
Clinton Administration can put forward an agenda that puts families first by helping parents as
they cope with this most important of all duties --raising their children.
Expansion of the Child Care and Development Block Grant. We propose to expand the
Child Care and Development Block Grant as previously proposed in the FY 1999 Budget. The
How to pay
block grant is the primary federal child care subsidy program, helping low-income working
for it
families struggling to pay for child care. Funds are distributed by formula to the states to operate
direct child care subsidy programs, as well as to improve the quality and availability of care.
Currently, over one million children are served by the program, leaving roughly nine million
$1031.
children who are eligible but unserved. Cost: $7.5 billion over five years.
Expansion of the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. The Child and Dependent Care Tax
Credit provides tax relief for families who pay for the care of a child under 13 or a disabled
dependent or spouse in order to work. The credit is equal to a percentage of the taxpayer's
employment-related expenditures for child or dependent care, with the amount of the credit
depending on the taxpayer's income. As in the FY 1999 Budget, we propose increasing the
credit for families earning under $60,000, providing an additional average tax cut of $358 for
these families and eliminating income tax liability for almost all families with incomes below
200% of poverty ($35,000 for a family of four) who take the maximum allowable child care
expenses under the law. Cost: $5.1 billion over five years to expand the credit for three
million working families.
New Parent Paid Leave Plan. Many workers who have access to unpaid (whether through the
FMLA or employer-provided leave) are unable to take it because they simply cannot afford to do
Stress
so. To address this problem, the President could propose a New Parent Paid Leave Plan to
state
provide eligible parents with partial wage replacement for up to six or twelve weeks following
option
birth or adoption. The cost of the plan will vary considerably based on the selected eligibility
criteria. One option: all new parents with median income or below (roughly $37,000/yr) who
have been in the workforce for at least one year would be eligible for a $200/week partial wage
replacement for up to four weeks (weekly figure based on average UI benefit). Eligible workers
would be required to use the federal benefit immediately following birth or adoption and before
state
using any employer-provided leave benefit, but could receive the benefit whether or not they
defines
ultimately returned to work. The program would be administered through the Unemployment
house
Insurance System. Cost of option: very roughly, $875 million for FY 2000 (including start-
up and administrative expenses). We will have more options and better costing next week.
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FMLA Expansion to Businesses with 25 Workers. Since the Family and Medical Leave Act
paid
was enacted in 1993, millions of Americans have taken FMLA-covered leave to care for a
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