Many family-related policies, including pay equity, are key to children’s well-being

Every parent sees endless possibilities and great hope in the eyes of a child. As a nation, when we look at today’s children, we see tomorrow’s leaders —scientists and teachers, engineers, doctors and diplomats. But for our children to thrive and our nation to stay competitive, we must support their development, their families, and the public policies that make it possible.

I believe family-friendly policies make the best children’s policy. By addressing an entire family’s needs — by giving them the tools to succeed and the resources to give their children a better future — we can ensure our kids get the right start today and a real shot at the American dream.

Unfortunately, with the rising cost of living and the pressures of work and family, parents are stretched thin, struggling to make sure their children get the attention and care they deserve. At the same time, in recent years our federal government has cut back drastically on the proven initiatives that most effectively support our children’s development.

The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education departments alone have seen their federal purchasing power erode by $11 billion in just the last few years. As a result, proven efforts such as Head Start, childcare assistance, and after-school programs are reaching fewer children and families.

Right now there is a chasm between what we know is good for America’s children and what we actually do as a country to make it happen. For more and more parents, the opportunities they can provide their children have become tied to an increasingly volatile economy.

Families once had a safety net to rely on, built through business and labor practices, government policies, and our own community. But today, families find themselves on their own without the foundational structures that once served to lift them up, or at the least, ensured they were not a step away from financial disaster.

We have a responsibility to confront the intense risk created by many years of shortsighted federal policies and a global economy. We have an obligation to strengthen working and middle class families’ income security with policies that promote a shared community and mutual responsibility.

In the 1990s, we enacted the Family and Medical Leave Act. We invested in income supports for childcare and the Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income families. They helped a growing middle class thrive in a changing economy. We should return to policies that confront the new risks created by our current economy.

That means fighting for ideas like paid sick days, so parents no longer have to choose between their health, their child’s health and their jobs. Unlike 145 other nations, the United States does not guarantee a single paid sick day to workers and we all pay the price. It is not just a question of rights for our workers; it is about competitiveness and income security for our families.

It also comes down to pay equity — the fight to value the work that women do in our society. When the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 against Lily Ledbetter, it essentially rolled back efforts to ensure equal pay. We have an obligation to ensure women can fight for pay equity, because shortchanging women of their due shortchanges their entire families, limits their opportunity and undermines their work.

Congress can fix the Ledbetter decision and also pass the Paycheck Fairness Act to make sure women who face the discrimination that Lily Ledbetter faced have the right to fight against it. This is not a women’s issue; it is a family issue — helping families gain the resources they need to give their children a better future.

We can also take the basic steps that support parents’ decisions to stay at home and care for their kids, or make sure incredibly successful programs like the State Children’s Health Insurance Program are reaching everyone who is eligible. But, regardless of any particular proposal or legislation — whether it is child care, paid sick days or pay equity — I believe our decisions and actions must reflect our desire to address the new risk that comes with our current economy.

We can support our families and confront our nation’s great challenges, by supporting the best public policy — supporting effective policies well in place while also blazing a new path to allow every child the chance to thrive.

DeLauro is a member of the House Appropriations and Budget committees.

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