A coalition of advocacy groups announced a $20 million campaign on Tuesday to lobby for the inclusion of caregiving provisions in President Joe Biden’s upcoming infrastructure proposal. The group, known as #CareCantWait, is seeking billions of dollars in federal funding for Medicaid services, child care subsidies, and a national paid leave program. The announcement comes one day before the president is scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh to detail his administration's legislative priorities for economic recovery and infrastructure.
The effort follows the passage of the American Rescue Plan, a pandemic relief package signed earlier in March. While the previous bill focused on immediate economic stimulus, the new proposal is expected to address long-term physical and social infrastructure. Advocacy leaders stated they have held weekly meetings with White House and Vice Presidential staff to align the administration’s platform with their specific policy goals for workers and families.
The coalition includes the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the National Women’s Law Center, MomsRising, and TIME’S UP. Their campaign will utilize paid television, radio, and digital advertising, alongside grassroots organizing in states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The groups are specifically requesting $450 billion for Medicaid home and community-based services, a 7% income cap on child care costs for families, and a guaranteed 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.
The scale of the request reaches across several sectors of the labor market, particularly impacting the 2.5 million women who left the workforce during the pandemic and the roughly 200,000 child care jobs that have not returned since 2020. Supporters argue these investments will stimulate job growth and allow parents to return to work, while critics in Congress have expressed concerns regarding the overall cost and the administration's plan to fund the package through tax increases. Unlike traditional infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, which often see bipartisan support, the inclusion of "human infrastructure" and tax hikes is expected to face opposition from Republican lawmakers.
What happens next depends on the formal introduction of the legislation following the President’s March 31 speech. Once the bill is introduced in the House of Representatives, it must pass through relevant committees and floor votes in both the House and the Senate. The timeline for a final vote is not yet established, but the #CareCantWait coalition plans to continue its $20 million mobilization effort throughout the legislative process to ensure their priorities remain in the final version of the bill.