Kiggans Joins Bipartisan Effort to Improve Childcare Accessibility at the Department of Defense

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Reps. Jen Kiggans (VA-02) and Sara Jacobs (CA-51) joined Sens. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) to introduce the HERO (Helping Ensure Reliable Opportunities) Child Care Act. This bill aims to improve access to reliable, high-quality childcare for military families by increasing hiring flexibility at Child Development Centers (CDC) and requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) to assess how childcare availability impacts military readiness.

Congresswoman Kiggans said, “Ensuring our servicemembers have access to reliable, high-quality childcare for their families is essential to their well-being and directly tied to military readiness. The HERO Act takes meaningful steps to address staffing shortages, reduce waitlists, and strengthen the support systems military families depend on every day. I’m proud to join this bipartisan effort to ensure the Department of Defense can better meet the childcare needs of military families.”

“As our servicemembers balance dedication to their families with serving our country, access to child care options shouldn’t be an additional barrier,” said Sen. Ernst. “As a mother and grandmother who served in uniform, I understand all too well the unique challenges military families face. My HERO Child Care for Military Families Act provides commonsense, bipartisan solutions to cut through the red tape, better understand the shortages, and reduce hiring delays so our military families have the support they need in every season of life.”

“The military child care crisis is severe – and the lack of information is so dire – that many military families in San Diego and across the country have to rely on word of mouth and Facebook groups to learn about waitlists, vacancies, and more. I’ve heard countless times about how the lack of sufficient child care affects their mental health, focus, and job performance, but often these anecdotes aren’t as convincing as hard data,” said Rep. Jacobs. “That’s why I’m proud to co-lead the bipartisan and bicameral HERO Child Care Act to change that. Our bill will arm us with the data we need to make substantive improvements to military child care.”

“When service members don’t have reliable, affordable childcare, it causes stress that follows them into the field, onto the ship, into the cockpit, and ultimately on deployment,” said Rye Barcott, Co-Founder and CEO of With Honor. “The HERO Childcare for Military Families Act recognizes the sacrifices our military families make to serve this nation, and provides the support they need to ensure mission success. With Honor is proud to endorse this legislation, and we thank With Honor Senate ally Sen. Joni Ernst, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, For Country Caucus member Rep. Jen Kiggans, and Rep. Sara Jacobs for their commitment to our military families.”

Read the bill here.

Read the one-pager here.