[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 153 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 153
Recognizing the roles and the contributions of care workers in the
United States and expressing support for the designation of April 2023
as ``Care Worker Recognition Month''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 30, 2023
Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Sanders, Ms.
Hassan, Mr. Markey, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Padilla,
Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Smith, Ms. Warren, Ms. Duckworth,
Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Brown) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the roles and the contributions of care workers in the
United States and expressing support for the designation of April 2023
as ``Care Worker Recognition Month''.
Whereas there is a growing need on the part of families for care, from childcare
to support for older adults and individuals with chronic illnesses or
disabilities;
Whereas childcare workers provide the essential service of taking care of a
child's basic needs while fostering a child's early emotional, social,
and intellectual development;
Whereas direct care workers allow older adults, individuals with disabilities,
and children with complex medical needs to remain in their homes and
communities and live healthy, independent, and dignified lives by
providing support with critical daily tasks, such as eating, dressing,
and personal hygiene;
Whereas investment in care workers is vital to labor force participation and a
strong economy;
Whereas care workers give family caregivers the assurance that their homes are
being looked after and that their children, parents, and loved ones are
in the hands of professionals;
Whereas care work is an industry that particularly benefits women, who account
for the majority of the care workforce, and that allows other women to
participate in the labor force;
Whereas access to childcare and home and community-based care helps families
boost their economic stability by working increased hours, taking fewer
days off, and pursuing opportunities to advance their education and
careers;
Whereas, when families are forced out of the labor market due to caregiving
responsibilities, they will experience diminished income, access to
benefits, and retirement savings over their lifetimes;
Whereas children who receive high-quality childcare are healthier, more likely
to graduate from college, and more likely to have higher incomes;
Whereas substandard wages and poor working conditions continue to fuel shortages
and turnover in the care industry;
Whereas the median annual earnings for full-time childcare workers and home care
workers is less than $30,000, and, as a result, nearly 1 in 6 home care
workers lives in poverty, and 1 in 3 childcare workers is experiencing
food insecurity;
Whereas COVID-19 both heightened the existing challenges for, and placed new
stress on, care workers, leading to burnout and exhaustion;
Whereas the demand for home and community-based care services is growing,
because the population of adults who are 65 and older will nearly double
by 2050, and 10,000 individuals are aging into retirement per day;
Whereas 88 percent of aging adults prefer to receive long-term supports and
services in home and community-based settings;
Whereas, across the United States, approximately 656,000 aging individuals and
individuals with disabilities are on waiting lists to access home and
community-based services through Medicaid;
Whereas home care jobs are the jobs of the future, because the home care
workforce is projected to add more new jobs than any other single
occupation in the United States and will add more than 1,000,000 new
jobs from 2020 to 2030;
Whereas care jobs are the jobs of the future, because these jobs cannot be
automated or outsourced;
Whereas turnover and shortages in the care workforce are costly to the economy,
because they lead to higher costs for taxpayer-supported programs and
industry employers that need to keep hiring and training new workers;
Whereas large-scale labor force exits and work disruptions due to childcare
needs annually cost the economy an estimated $122,000,000,000 in lost
income, productivity, and tax revenue;
Whereas investing in care infrastructure will lead to fewer staffing shortages
and higher productivity, while ensuring a more robust and stable
pipeline of workers from which businesses can recruit; and
Whereas investing in direct care infrastructure specifically will result in
savings, because it costs $26,000 per individual per year to receive
care in a home in contrast to $90,000 per individual per year in a
congregate setting: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) expresses support for the designation of April 2023 as
``Care Worker Recognition Month'';
(2) recognizes the roles and the contributions of home care
workers in the United States in providing the care necessary
for older adults and disabled individuals to live independently
and in dignity;
(3) recognizes the role and contributions of early
educators and childcare workers in the United States in
providing a nurturing, enriching environment for children to
grow and learn;
(4) recognizes the roles and the contributions of care
workers in the United States in enabling caregivers the
opportunity to pursue educational attainment and to remain in
or reenter the workforce;
(5) recognizes that the care industry is crucial to
economic growth; and
(6) thanks and promotes the care worker profession.
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