Rep. Paul Cook Votes to Improve Child Care Services

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Paul Cook (R – Apple Valley) voted in favor of S. 1086, the Child Care and Development Block Grant of 2014. This bill will secure and improve existing vital child care services to 1.5 million children nation-wide. This bill passed the House of Representatives with wide, bipartisan support.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant of 2014 will require states to invest in improving the quality of early childhood care services that are essential for child success. This bill supports low-income working families while ensuring their children are in a setting that will keep them safe, enhances parental choice by providing them with care options from all providers, and strengthens safety in child care by requiring all providers to comply with state health, safety, and fire standards. It also promotes high-quality child care by reserving resources to allow states to improve the quality of care rendered by caretakers and reinforces a prohibition on the administrations ability to direct, or place conditions on state’s adoption of standards around early learning guidelines and child-to-provider ratios. S. 1086 will reauthorize these programs through fiscal year 2020.

Cook said, “As a father and grandfather, I understand how important it is to secure the best care for our children. This bill will make early childhood care more accessible and affordable to all American families. By setting higher standards for safety and training of child care personnel, millions of parents across the United States can rest easy knowing their children are receiving childcare that is safer and better than ever before.”

A member of the House Veterans’ Affairs, Armed Services, and Foreign Affairs Committees, Cook served as an infantry officer and retired after 26 years as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. During his time in combat, he was awarded the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts.