WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that contains more than 50 directives to increase access to child care and improve the work life of caregivers.
But the directives would be funded out of existing commitments, possibly including last year's laws financing infrastructure projects and building computer chip plants. That likely means their impact would be limited and possess more of a symbolic weight about what's possible. The Democratic president was far more ambitious in 2021 by calling to provide more than $425 billion to expand child care, improve its affordability and boost wages for caregivers.
"The executive order doesn’t require any new spending," Biden said in remarks at the White House. “It’s about making sure taxpayers get the best value for the investments they’ve already made.”
Biden also has called for more money for the care economy in his 2024 budget plan, drawing a sharp line with Republicans, who are seeking limits on spending.
Susan Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, told reporters on a phone call that the order shows that Biden isn't waiting on Congress to act.
“The child care, long-term care systems in this country just don’t work well,” Rice said. “High-quality care is costly to deliver. It’s labor-intensive. It requires skilled workers. Yet care workers, who are disproportionately women and women of color and immigrants, are among the lowest paid in the country.”
The order seeks to improve the child care provided to the offspring of federal workers, including military families. It plans to lower costs for families that are part of the Child Care & Development Block Grant program. Military veterans would get better home-based care. And the Department of Health and Human Services would raise pay and benefits for teachers and staff in the Head Start program.
House Republicans are divided as they prepare impeachment proceedings against President Joe Biden. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will eliminate several government agencies if elected. And the White House confirmed that President Biden is using a CPAP machine to deal with sleep apnea.
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that colleges and universities must stop considering race in admissions, forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.
Former President Donald Trump is trying to turn the tables on the advice columnist who won a $5 million jury award against him in a sexual abuse lawsuit, saying in a countersuit that she owes him money and a retraction for continuing to insist she was raped even after a jury declined to agree.
Former president Donald Trump continued to deny wrongdoing amid his investigations and criminal case as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced criticism for his backtrack on his support for Trump.
More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large COVID-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years.
Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the U.S. West through a multi-billion dollar cleanup of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth.
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that state courts can act as a check on their legislatures in redistricting and other issues affecting federal elections, rejecting arguments by North Carolina Republicans that could have transformed contests for Congress and president.
Ron DeSantis asked a federal judge to throw out a lawsuit from Walt Disney Co. that accused the Florida governor of violating its contract with the state for his recent actions against the company.
