Floor Statements

I yield the floor.

Mr. President, today I could not be more proud to introduce a piece of legislation that goes to the heart of what I believe the Republican Party stands for. We are the party of life, the party of parents, and the party of hard-working Americans.

This, among many reasons, is why I believe the Republican Party won so resoundingly in November. We ran on a promise to strengthen and grow American families, and this is another promise that we are going to keep. My legislation, the MOMS Act, is further proof of that commitment.

Alongside my friends, Senators Eric Schmitt and Kevin Cramer, I am honored to introduce this pro-life, pro-woman, and pro-family legislation. I would also like to thank so many of my Republican colleagues for already jumping on and cosponsoring this.

The MOMS Act is straightforward. It stands for More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed.

First, the MOMS Act would establish pregnancy.gov. This new website would feature a wide range of resources available to expecting and postpartum moms as well as moms and families with young children.

We are providing necessary resources and support to women throughout their

pregnancy journey. While being a mom is the most rewarding experience, I think I can speak for most moms when I say that it is a challenging one as well.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I remember actually being in the hospital room, them waiting, you know, to discharge me, and me thinking, You are going to send me home with her? What do I do next?

Fortunately, I had the support of my friends and my family that helped me through this exciting journey of bringing new life into the world and bringing that baby home. However, I know that many moms may not have the incredible support that I did.

That is why the MOMS Act is so important. This would help the most vulnerable, the most isolated women the most. Resources available to moms would include: mentorship opportunities, including pregnancy and parenting health; health and well-being services, including women's medical services like OB/GYN services, primary care, dental care, and mental health services.

Financial assistance, work opportunities, childcare resources, foster care resources, adoption services, and educational opportunities for parents would be included. I could go on and on and on.

It also includes material or legal support. So when you think of what material support would be, it is transportation, food, nutrition, clothing, household goods, baby supplies, housing, shelters, maternity homes, help with tax preparation, and more.

When you think about legal services, what it would include is child support, family leave, breastfeeding protections, and custody issues.

Next, I want to talk about the grant portion of the bill. This part would actually be separated into two different grant programs. The first one would help purchase necessary tools for prenatal and postnatal telehealth appointments, including medical equipment and technologies for those in rural areas and others in medically underserved communities.

And the second program would establish a grant program for nonprofit entities to support, encourage, and to assist women through their pregnancies and to care for their babies after birth. This grant program would be funding many of the resources that I just named for mental health services, other medical care, childcare, housing assistance, education and employment assistance, and nutritional assistance.

Finally, the third part of my bill is Senator Kevin Cramer's Unborn Child Support Act. It would require States to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy if requested by the mother. This could be requested retroactively, and State level requirements involving proof of paternity would still apply.

When I think about what this bill means to me, I immediately think of my own two children. They are why I am here today. They are why I chose to step up and run for the Senate. Their future and the future of the next generation is absolutely what I am fighting for.

As parents, our children are at the heart of every decision we make. We want them to have the greatest opportunity to succeed and to thrive. As a Senator, I want that for children across our Nation, from coast to coast. They are at the heart of this commonsense legislation.

Building a comprehensive culture of life starts with building blocks just like the MOMS Act. To all moms across my great State of Alabama and across our incredible country, I could not be more proud to stand with you. I am committed to growing and strengthening families and ensuring parents have the opportunities and resources needed so that they and their children can thrive and live their American dream.

I am committed to getting the MOMS Act signed into law so that we can ensure that the comprehensive culture of life, that the next generation is ready, is prepared, and that women, as they go through their pregnancy journey, all the phases of it, are supported as they work to bring life into this world.

Mr. President, today I could not be more proud to introduce a piece of legislation that goes to the heart of what I believe the Republican Party stands for. We are the party of life, the party of parents, and the party of hard-working Americans.

This, among many reasons, is why I believe the Republican Party won so resoundingly in November. We ran on a promise to strengthen and grow American families, and this is another promise that we are going to keep. My legislation, the MOMS Act, is further proof of that commitment.

Alongside my friends, Senators Eric Schmitt and Kevin Cramer, I am honored to introduce this pro-life, pro-woman, and pro-family legislation. I would also like to thank so many of my Republican colleagues for already jumping on and cosponsoring this.

The MOMS Act is straightforward. It stands for More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed.

First, the MOMS Act would establish pregnancy.gov. This new website would feature a wide range of resources available to expecting and postpartum moms as well as moms and families with young children.

We are providing necessary resources and support to women throughout their

pregnancy journey. While being a mom is the most rewarding experience, I think I can speak for most moms when I say that it is a challenging one as well.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. I remember actually being in the hospital room, them waiting, you know, to discharge me, and me thinking, You are going to send me home with her? What do I do next?

Fortunately, I had the support of my friends and my family that helped me through this exciting journey of bringing new life into the world and bringing that baby home. However, I know that many moms may not have the incredible support that I did.

That is why the MOMS Act is so important. This would help the most vulnerable, the most isolated women the most. Resources available to moms would include: mentorship opportunities, including pregnancy and parenting health; health and well-being services, including women's medical services like OB/GYN services, primary care, dental care, and mental health services.

Financial assistance, work opportunities, childcare resources, foster care resources, adoption services, and educational opportunities for parents would be included. I could go on and on and on.

It also includes material or legal support. So when you think of what material support would be, it is transportation, food, nutrition, clothing, household goods, baby supplies, housing, shelters, maternity homes, help with tax preparation, and more.

When you think about legal services, what it would include is child support, family leave, breastfeeding protections, and custody issues.

Next, I want to talk about the grant portion of the bill. This part would actually be separated into two different grant programs. The first one would help purchase necessary tools for prenatal and postnatal telehealth appointments, including medical equipment and technologies for those in rural areas and others in medically underserved communities.

And the second program would establish a grant program for nonprofit entities to support, encourage, and to assist women through their pregnancies and to care for their babies after birth. This grant program would be funding many of the resources that I just named for mental health services, other medical care, childcare, housing assistance, education and employment assistance, and nutritional assistance.

Finally, the third part of my bill is Senator Kevin Cramer's Unborn Child Support Act. It would require States to apply child support obligations to the time period during pregnancy if requested by the mother. This could be requested retroactively, and State level requirements involving proof of paternity would still apply.

When I think about what this bill means to me, I immediately think of my own two children. They are why I am here today. They are why I chose to step up and run for the Senate. Their future and the future of the next generation is absolutely what I am fighting for.

As parents, our children are at the heart of every decision we make. We want them to have the greatest opportunity to succeed and to thrive. As a Senator, I want that for children across our Nation, from coast to coast. They are at the heart of this commonsense legislation.

Building a comprehensive culture of life starts with building blocks just like the MOMS Act. To all moms across my great State of Alabama and across our incredible country, I could not be more proud to stand with you. I am committed to growing and strengthening families and ensuring parents have the opportunities and resources needed so that they and their children can thrive and live their American dream.

I am committed to getting the MOMS Act signed into law so that we can ensure that the comprehensive culture of life, that the next generation is ready, is prepared, and that women, as they go through their pregnancy journey, all the phases of it, are supported as they work to bring life into this world.

Mr. President, I wish to honor the life and legacy of Mrs. Etta Smith Perkins, an extraordinary Alabamian who has helped shape our State with courage and conviction.

Mrs. Perkins moved to Selma, AL, at the age of 4, and grew up on Selma University's campus where she attended elementary and secondary school through 12th grade. She was the fourth of ten children born to Henry Daniel Smith, Sr., and Rebecca Sanders Smith

As a young child, she was baptized at West Trinity Baptist Church, where she developed her love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, serving others, and congregational singing. It was in church where she met the love of her life, James Perkins, Sr. Together, they shared an extraordinary 71 years of marriage, 4 children, 7 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and several godchildren who affectionately called her ``Momma.'' Her favorite scripture, Proverbs 3:5, guided her extraordinary life of faith and service.

She began her professional nursing career at the Good Samaritan Hospital School of Practical Nurses. Her dedication to caring for others led her to further her education at Wallace Community College- Selma, where she graduated as a registered nurse in 1973. As a nurse during the civil rights movement, she fought to integrate waiting rooms in the segregated doctors' offices. Her efforts were later documented in the documentary film ``Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change,'' which was broadcast nationwide.

Her commitment to service was not limited to her professional career. Mrs. Perkins truly inspired future generations of leaders when she became Selma-Dallas County's first African-American Girl Scout troop leader. She was also appointed as the first African-American board member of the Selma-Dallas County Public Library and a charter member of the National Council of Negro Women. Her leadership also extended to organizations like the American Red Cross, Head Start, Vaughan Home Health Boards, and the Selma-Dallas County AARP.

Mrs. Perkins' remarkable contributions have been memorialized across the State of Alabama. Her story has been written in numerous publications, including ``The Alabama Nurse'' and ``Advances of Nursing Science.'' Her 35 years of outstanding service were forever cemented in history when she was featured as one of four inaugural nurses in the book ``Alabama Notable Nurses.''

This Women's History Month, I am honored to recognize Mrs. Perkins on behalf of the people of Alabama as a truly trailblazing woman who made significant contributions to her community and our state. Her legacy serves as a powerful reminder that Alabama women don't just witness history; they make it.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask unanimous consent to waive the mandatory quorum call with respect to the Faulkender nomination.

I know of no further debate on the nomination.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, today I rise to celebrate the birthday of someone very special: my grandmother Lyra Baker Boyd, who I call MaMa.

Today, she turns 100 years old. She is such an incredible woman. I think about the memories of her in my lifetime. I think about the impact she has had on me and my cousins, on people all around her who have the honor of knowing her.

Some of my earliest memories are that of her kindness and gentleness, her teaching me how to treat others. I remember sitting at her kitchen table as my grandfather was going over different Bible verses before church on Sunday morning. She would make oatmeal. We would get blueberries out of her garden. She would make scrambled eggs, pouring milk in them to make them go a little bit further; making sure we used our best manners at the table and then sending us off to conquer the day.

There is no doubt she had a passion for leaving everyone and everyplace that she encountered better as a result of her. Those values that she has, those values of service, they stirred in her so early in her life.

MaMa graduated high school at the height of the Second World War. She dreamed of serving our country overseas. As we know, women weren't allowed to enlist in combat roles at that time, so she embarked on a different pathway to serve. She became a nurse. It was 1943 when she enrolled at what was then the Hillman Hospital Training School for Nurses. It later became

Jefferson-Hillman, and it is now right at the center of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Campus.

MaMa was ready to ship out to Europe to tend to our wounded soldiers, but V-Day actually came right before she graduated. Still wanting to serve her fellow Americans in some way, she moved to Enterprise, AL--I am proud to call that my hometown--and she began her 40-year nursing career.

In the early fifties, during the Korean war, her husband--my PaPa, as I call him--was among the brave soldiers defending our ally from communist invasion. MaMa and her sisters moved to Seattle during the time. She moved to live with her sister there, and she worked as a registered nurse.

During her time in the Pacific Northwest, she never lost her southern roots. Her colleagues even called her ``Magnolia.'' They said it was clear that she held Alabama dear. Ultimately, she and PaPa made their way back down to the Yellowhammer State, as MaMa worked as a labor and delivery nurse until she retired.

Both she and PaPa's life are emblematic of their generation. Rooted in unselfishness, unselfish service to our great country, they personified what JFK said:

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can

do for your country.

MaMa helped teach that to my entire family. She wanted us to know that life wasn't always about us. She makes sure, in every conversation, that we understand that there is a greater purpose and a higher calling to which we must answer and a service to which we must all work. We all have a responsibility to put our God, our family, our friends, and our country above our own personal interest. And there is nobody who embodies that better than my grandmother.

That service to our communities and our Nation can take many shapes and forms. For both of my grandfathers, it was military service. For others in my family, it has been protecting their fellow Americans as law enforcement officers and firefighters. For me, it is the honor to stand and serve in this body. And for MaMa, it was helping bring life into this world, helping new moms, and nursing people back from sickness.

Above all, what MaMa has taught me is that you must use your post, whatever it is in life, to make a difference in the lives around you. We are all called to serve. We are all called to be in the arena. Everyone's service is different, but no one's is less important. It is about striving to do better, to be better, and to leave this world better than we found it.

So, thank you, MaMa, for being a guiding light throughout the course of my life. On behalf of my aunts and uncles, cousins, and MaMa's family and friends, we say, ``Happy 100th birthday.'' We love you dearly, MaMa.

I yield the floor.

I yield the floor.

I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about something that I have spoken about on this floor before.

Last September, an incredible young woman named Lulu Gribbin really came on to the scene with regard to a piece of legislation that we put forth before this body. You see, her life changed forever in July of last year. She is an incredible young woman from Mountain Brook, AL. She brought her entire community, her State, and now our Nation together.

On June 7 of last year, out of the blue, she was attacked by a shark. She and a friend were looking for sand dollars, and obviously all of this came unexpectedly. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The doctors, nurses, EMTs, and everyday people on the beach that day saved Lulu's life.

But the real miracle was just beginning. When Lulu woke up from surgery that day and got taken off of her ventilator, her very first words were ``I made it.'' That has become a mantra not just in how she reemerged but in the way that she has pushed forward.

After a long rehabilitation, she came back to Alabama 3 months after the accident. She was determined. When you talk with her parents, they tell you about her aggressiveness. When other amputees would come and visit her and tell her how long it took them to walk or to do other things, she would say: I am going to do it faster. I am going to do it better.

She was back outclassing golfers there at a driving range, not too long after. She refused letting losing an arm or a leg stop her.

Just last week, Lulu spoke publicly for the very first time since the shark attack. Her grace, her faith, her strength, her perseverance--it was an inspiration to all of us. Lulu told a crowd that morning that she wakes up ready to conquer the day every day, and that she is motivated to keep getting better.

She launched a foundation called Lulu Strong to help others in need get the prosthetic technologies that will make their lives easier. After visiting Walter Reed just a few weeks ago, you can tell how this advocacy can actually change lives.

When the unimaginable changed her world, what Lulu decided to do was change our world for the better. Lulu is a modern-day American hero. The courage she has shown, the fight, the resolve that she has demonstrated are truly remarkable, and not just for a 16-year-old but for anyone.

But it shouldn't have to be this way. Lulu is, indeed, an inspiration, but this tremendous battle that she has fought and won could have been prevented in the first place. You see, when I heard Lulu's story, I learned that there was another shark attack that happened just right down the shore, 90 minutes earlier. Elisabeth Foley, a mother of three, from Virginia, tragically lost her hand to a shark bite and suffered other terrible injuries resulting in 26 surgeries.

After talking with Lulu and her family, we said: It doesn't have to be this way. They knew there was something that could have been done. And after talking, we knew that there had to be a better way to get information out there to warn beachgoers about shark attacks in the area. That is when we introduced Lulu's Law, and it is why I am reintroducing this bill in this Congress today.

This bill, which I am proud to share, has bipartisan support. It would empower local authorities to issue wireless emergency alerts warning beachgoers of potential shark attacks through the already existing wireless emergency system. This has the potential to make a real difference in Americans' lives. When we are given the opportunity to do something simple that can make such a big difference, I believe we have to take it.

So, Lulu, I want you to know how much you inspire all of us. Your bravery in the face of the unimaginable is just amazing, and your taking what happened to you and saying: How can I make others' lives better? How can we make sure that this doesn't happen to someone else?

We want to honor the strength that you have shown over the past 9 months.

To Lulu's parents Ann Blair and Joe Gribbin, the way you have all rallied our State and our country to support Lulu on her road to recovery is truly unbelievable.

To my colleagues in the Senate on both sides of the aisle, whether you represent a State on the coast or you represent citizens of the interior, there is no doubt we want to keep our citizens safe, whether they live there or they are visiting. Making sure that we put safeguards in place that can prevent another tragedy from occurring is imperative.

Let's pass this law. Let's celebrate this amazing young woman, and let's prevent this from happening again.

Mr. President, I rise today to talk about something that I have spoken about on this floor before.

Last September, an incredible young woman named Lulu Gribbin really came on to the scene with regard to a piece of legislation that we put forth before this body. You see, her life changed forever in July of last year. She is an incredible young woman from Mountain Brook, AL. She brought her entire community, her State, and now our Nation together.

On June 7 of last year, out of the blue, she was attacked by a shark. She and a friend were looking for sand dollars, and obviously all of this came unexpectedly. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. The doctors, nurses, EMTs, and everyday people on the beach that day saved Lulu's life.

But the real miracle was just beginning. When Lulu woke up from surgery that day and got taken off of her ventilator, her very first words were ``I made it.'' That has become a mantra not just in how she reemerged but in the way that she has pushed forward.

After a long rehabilitation, she came back to Alabama 3 months after the accident. She was determined. When you talk with her parents, they tell you about her aggressiveness. When other amputees would come and visit her and tell her how long it took them to walk or to do other things, she would say: I am going to do it faster. I am going to do it better.

She was back outclassing golfers there at a driving range, not too long after. She refused letting losing an arm or a leg stop her.

Just last week, Lulu spoke publicly for the very first time since the shark attack. Her grace, her faith, her strength, her perseverance--it was an inspiration to all of us. Lulu told a crowd that morning that she wakes up ready to conquer the day every day, and that she is motivated to keep getting better.

She launched a foundation called Lulu Strong to help others in need get the prosthetic technologies that will make their lives easier. After visiting Walter Reed just a few weeks ago, you can tell how this advocacy can actually change lives.

When the unimaginable changed her world, what Lulu decided to do was change our world for the better. Lulu is a modern-day American hero. The courage she has shown, the fight, the resolve that she has demonstrated are truly remarkable, and not just for a 16-year-old but for anyone.

But it shouldn't have to be this way. Lulu is, indeed, an inspiration, but this tremendous battle that she has fought and won could have been prevented in the first place. You see, when I heard Lulu's story, I learned that there was another shark attack that happened just right down the shore, 90 minutes earlier. Elisabeth Foley, a mother of three, from Virginia, tragically lost her hand to a shark bite and suffered other terrible injuries resulting in 26 surgeries.

After talking with Lulu and her family, we said: It doesn't have to be this way. They knew there was something that could have been done. And after talking, we knew that there had to be a better way to get information out there to warn beachgoers about shark attacks in the area. That is when we introduced Lulu's Law, and it is why I am reintroducing this bill in this Congress today.

This bill, which I am proud to share, has bipartisan support. It would empower local authorities to issue wireless emergency alerts warning beachgoers of potential shark attacks through the already existing wireless emergency system. This has the potential to make a real difference in Americans' lives. When we are given the opportunity to do something simple that can make such a big difference, I believe we have to take it.

So, Lulu, I want you to know how much you inspire all of us. Your bravery in the face of the unimaginable is just amazing, and your taking what happened to you and saying: How can I make others' lives better? How can we make sure that this doesn't happen to someone else?

We want to honor the strength that you have shown over the past 9 months.

To Lulu's parents Ann Blair and Joe Gribbin, the way you have all rallied our State and our country to support Lulu on her road to recovery is truly unbelievable.

To my colleagues in the Senate on both sides of the aisle, whether you represent a State on the coast or you represent citizens of the interior, there is no doubt we want to keep our citizens safe, whether they live there or they are visiting. Making sure that we put safeguards in place that can prevent another tragedy from occurring is imperative.

Let's pass this law. Let's celebrate this amazing young woman, and let's prevent this from happening again.

I yield the floor.

Mr. President on November 5, President Donald J. Trump was elected to a second term on the back of a big-tent coalition. In 2024, this election showed us that we needed to put the finishing touches on a shift that we have seen occurring in our party and our Nation.

The Republican Party is the party of parents, we are the party of families, and we are the party of hard-working Americans. We have an opportunity to prove it, starting with addressing our country's childcare crisis.

Anyone who has kids can attest to this: It is incredibly difficult to find affordable, accessible, high-quality childcare.

When I was a student in Tuscaloosa--I had gone back to school with essentially a newborn and an 11-month-old; decided, why not? Law school sounds good. I joked that on the scale of bad ideas I have had in my life--and I have had a few--that one is without a doubt No. 1.

In the midst of trying to figure out my 1L year, I also had to figure out childcare, and it was challenging for me to find a place where I could get both of my kids in. So at the very beginning, there I was, taking one child to one place and one child to another, all hoping to show up at torts on time and then get back before you get fined, picking them both up and hoping traffic didn't keep me from being late.

When my husband and I had the opportunity to move to Birmingham, where he began his new career and I had 1 more year of law school left, we got them immediately--both of our kids--into one childcare facility. But the check that we wrote--wow--it felt like I was writing a check for college tuition and not a check for a 3- and 4-year-old to be cared for and loved and educated during the day.

Well, I will tell you what. The problem--that was, what, 13 years ago--has

only gotten worse. Childcare costs have been increasing. They have actually increased 36 percent over the last 10 years, actually outpacing inflation. It has gotten to the point where parents, on average, are spending 22 percent of their income on childcare. The median annual price of childcare in this country is about $15,600. The cost is crushing for so many parents. It is also prohibitive.

Ask yourself this: How many married couples, do you think, think about having another child; they want to, and they start looking at the dollars and cents and feel like they can't financially afford it?

To my fellow Republicans: Don't we want to incentivize rather than deter parents from starting their families? And how can we, as the party of life and the party of families and the party of parents and the party of workers, neglect to make that easier? If our goal is creating a comprehensive culture of life--and that should absolutely be our goal--then we have a role to play in the childcare space.

But families are not the only ones that are affected by the current state of childcare in this country. The amount of money that the American economy loses annually because of childcare, the challenges that we face as a result of the affordability and accessibility, are staggering. Our economy loses $122 billion a year, and 74 percent of mothers and 66 percent of fathers either have to leave work early, arrive late, or be absent because of last-minute changes in childcare. Also, 59 percent of part-time or nonworking parents say they would go back to work--they want to go back to work--but, unfortunately, they don't have access to quality childcare at a reasonable cost. That isn't good for the broader economy, and it isn't good for American workers.

President Trump has made it clear he wants America to be a place that builds things once again. He wants to unleash a golden era for made-in- America excellence, where the skill, hard work, and ingenuity of our people accomplish the impossible and changes the world. To accomplish that goal, which I wholeheartedly agree with, we need to tackle the childcare affordability crisis.

Ultimately, this is a workforce crisis as well. That is where the two-pronged approach that I have introduced today, alongside a number of my colleagues, comes into play. With the Child Care Workforce Act and the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, it consists of targeted investments in families and small businesses. It modernizes our existing tax credits so that our policy reflects our current economic reality. It is a good example of commonsense policymaking.

We are not creating or growing another entitlement. We are letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars in a manner that grows our economy and gives people an opportunity for their American dream. And we are offering job creators an incentive to invest directly into hard-working people with childcare-related benefits.

We will help couples who want to have more children. We will help parents be able to reenter the workforce after having kids. And we will help our job creators--especially small businesses--recruit and retain workers.

This legislation is pro-family. It is pro-Main Street. It is pro- growth.

For the first time in years, the Republican Party controls both Chambers of Congress and the White House. We have an opportunity we can't afford to waste. If we truly are the party of parents and families and hard-working Americans, we have an opportunity to prove it. Let's address the childcare crisis in this year's tax package. I think America will be better for it.

Mr. President on November 5, President Donald J. Trump was elected to a second term on the back of a big-tent coalition. In 2024, this election showed us that we needed to put the finishing touches on a shift that we have seen occurring in our party and our Nation.

The Republican Party is the party of parents, we are the party of families, and we are the party of hard-working Americans. We have an opportunity to prove it, starting with addressing our country's childcare crisis.

Anyone who has kids can attest to this: It is incredibly difficult to find affordable, accessible, high-quality childcare.

When I was a student in Tuscaloosa--I had gone back to school with essentially a newborn and an 11-month-old; decided, why not? Law school sounds good. I joked that on the scale of bad ideas I have had in my life--and I have had a few--that one is without a doubt No. 1.

In the midst of trying to figure out my 1L year, I also had to figure out childcare, and it was challenging for me to find a place where I could get both of my kids in. So at the very beginning, there I was, taking one child to one place and one child to another, all hoping to show up at torts on time and then get back before you get fined, picking them both up and hoping traffic didn't keep me from being late.

When my husband and I had the opportunity to move to Birmingham, where he began his new career and I had 1 more year of law school left, we got them immediately--both of our kids--into one childcare facility. But the check that we wrote--wow--it felt like I was writing a check for college tuition and not a check for a 3- and 4-year-old to be cared for and loved and educated during the day.

Well, I will tell you what. The problem--that was, what, 13 years ago--has

only gotten worse. Childcare costs have been increasing. They have actually increased 36 percent over the last 10 years, actually outpacing inflation. It has gotten to the point where parents, on average, are spending 22 percent of their income on childcare. The median annual price of childcare in this country is about $15,600. The cost is crushing for so many parents. It is also prohibitive.

Ask yourself this: How many married couples, do you think, think about having another child; they want to, and they start looking at the dollars and cents and feel like they can't financially afford it?

To my fellow Republicans: Don't we want to incentivize rather than deter parents from starting their families? And how can we, as the party of life and the party of families and the party of parents and the party of workers, neglect to make that easier? If our goal is creating a comprehensive culture of life--and that should absolutely be our goal--then we have a role to play in the childcare space.

But families are not the only ones that are affected by the current state of childcare in this country. The amount of money that the American economy loses annually because of childcare, the challenges that we face as a result of the affordability and accessibility, are staggering. Our economy loses $122 billion a year, and 74 percent of mothers and 66 percent of fathers either have to leave work early, arrive late, or be absent because of last-minute changes in childcare. Also, 59 percent of part-time or nonworking parents say they would go back to work--they want to go back to work--but, unfortunately, they don't have access to quality childcare at a reasonable cost. That isn't good for the broader economy, and it isn't good for American workers.

President Trump has made it clear he wants America to be a place that builds things once again. He wants to unleash a golden era for made-in- America excellence, where the skill, hard work, and ingenuity of our people accomplish the impossible and changes the world. To accomplish that goal, which I wholeheartedly agree with, we need to tackle the childcare affordability crisis.

Ultimately, this is a workforce crisis as well. That is where the two-pronged approach that I have introduced today, alongside a number of my colleagues, comes into play. With the Child Care Workforce Act and the Child Care Availability and Affordability Act, it consists of targeted investments in families and small businesses. It modernizes our existing tax credits so that our policy reflects our current economic reality. It is a good example of commonsense policymaking.

We are not creating or growing another entitlement. We are letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned taxpayer dollars in a manner that grows our economy and gives people an opportunity for their American dream. And we are offering job creators an incentive to invest directly into hard-working people with childcare-related benefits.

We will help couples who want to have more children. We will help parents be able to reenter the workforce after having kids. And we will help our job creators--especially small businesses--recruit and retain workers.

This legislation is pro-family. It is pro-Main Street. It is pro- growth.

For the first time in years, the Republican Party controls both Chambers of Congress and the White House. We have an opportunity we can't afford to waste. If we truly are the party of parents and families and hard-working Americans, we have an opportunity to prove it. Let's address the childcare crisis in this year's tax package. I think America will be better for it.