Bernie Moreno Advocates for State-Managed Child Care Solutions
In a recent town hall meeting held in Steubenville, Ohio, U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno expressed his stance on federal funding for child care, indicating his preference for state-level management. Moreno, a Republican, is running against incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown, who currently holds a slight lead according to a Washington Post poll.
During the event on October 14, an Ohio mother inquired whether Moreno would back federal investments in child care aimed at supporting parents returning to the workforce. Moreno responded by emphasizing the importance of states’ rights and the potential for states to serve as experimental grounds for democratic policies.
Moreno stated, “I’m a big believer in states’ rights. I think the federal government needs to do a lot less and move all, as much as possible to the states, because the states can be a laboratory for democracy where different communities are doing different things in the United States of America.”
When asked to clarify his position on government investment in child care, Moreno indicated his opposition to federal intervention, suggesting that such issues should be managed by state and county governments. “What I’m saying is that I don’t support the federal government coming in and trying to solve every problem,” he explained.
Currently, more than half of Ohio’s child care funding is sourced from the federal Child Care Development Block Grant program. Despite this funding, a Family Voices Project Report highlights that nearly 60% of Ohio families still find child care costs prohibitive. Ending these federal grants could exacerbate the problem.
Additionally, a Policy Matters report reveals that 39% of Ohio residents live in child care deserts, where services are either unaffordable or unavailable, particularly in rural areas.
In contrast, Senator Sherrod Brown has advocated for increased federal funding for child care. In 2021, he put forward the Building Child Care for a Better Future Act, designed to assist child care providers in expanding and improving their services, although the proposal faced Republican opposition. More recently in 2023, Brown introduced the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Act to allocate federal funds for child care providers in rural and farming communities. This proposed legislation has garnered bipartisan support but awaits a committee vote.
A spokesperson for Moreno’s campaign did not immediately provide a comment regarding his stance on this matter.
