Sen. Hatch Backs Measure on Child Care

In a move that enhances prospects for passage of child care legislation this year, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) joined with Democrats Tuesday to co-sponsor a $2.5-billion compromise bill that is assured of expedited Senate consideration.

Hatch, a conservative leader and ranking minority member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, expressed some reservations about the measure but declared: “This is the year for child care. We’re going to get this done this year.”

The chief sponsor, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Labor and Human Resources subcommittee on children, family, drugs and alcoholism, agreed in return to support a variation of President Bush’s proposal for child care tax credits and made other concessions to increase the role of states and businesses in the planned federal program.

Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), a middle-of-the-road Democrat, also endorsed Dodd’s Act for Better Child Care--known as the ABC bill in congressional shorthand--and predicted that a bipartisan coalition would push it through both the Senate and House this year.

The sharp increase in the number of working mothers, the senators said, requires federal action to provide supervised care for children while parents are away from home.

The legislation would provide funds to lower- and middle-income working parents to help them pay for child care and for the first time establish uniform federal standards on the ratio of caretakers to children and other health and safety matters. It also would encourage expansion of child care facilities and training for staff members.

But the misgivings of many Republicans were expressed by Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), a new member of the Dodd subcommittee who took the Senate seat of Vice President Dan Quayle. He said: “We need to promote individual and family responsibility . . . not replace the prerogatives of the family with the long arm of Washington.”

Even so, Hatch’s symbolic act of adding his name to the list of 27 Senate sponsors raised hopes of Dodd and Committee Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) that the Utah senator would aid its passage and not try to kill the child care bill as he did last year by leading a filibuster against it.

Kennedy, declaring that the legislation has top priority and a pledge of rapid Senate consideration from Majority Leader George J. Mitchell of Maine, took part in the opening hearings Tuesday by Dodd’s subcommittee.

A separate bill providing federal payments--in the form of income tax credits--to lower-income families for child care expenses also will be introduced with backing from Hatch, Dodd and other supporters of the so-called ABC bill.

Dodd’s bill would authorize spending of $2.5 billion in the year starting Oct. 1, but Congress would have to approve funding separately.

He said that dozens of hours of negotiations with Hatch and others led to revisions that give states greater flexibility on how to spend federal funds, provide for employer-sponsored programs and allow payments to grandparents, aunts or uncles who care for their grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Dodd said his bill would help increase the availability of child care and assure that it meets national health and safety standards. Under his proposal, he said, the standards would be set by a national committee of experts, and states would have four years to put them into effect and assure compliance by providers.

The bill would require states to allocate 70% of the funds they receive to help low-income working families. Children eligible for aid must be under 15 years old in a family whose income does not exceed 100% of a state’s median wage, or roughly $32,000 for a family of four on a national yardstick.