Dear Friend,

     Last week marked the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency. On (April 28), President Biden presented his vision for an American future that builds back better after some of our most challenging years. 

     I sat in the chamber and listened to President Biden reflect on his first 100 days, confidently reporting that we have a stronger economy, more resilient pandemic response, and a unified mission of building back better and bolder.

     I was particularly struck seeing the Bay Area represented on the dais by Vice President Harris and Speaker Pelosi. That was the first time in history two women have held that position. It was reflective of the price women have paid to get to this point. While this was a historic moment, as Vice President Harris pointed out, it is past time that it becomes “normal.”

      During his speech, President Biden discussed his recently unveiled American Families Plan (AFP). The AFP is a bold step in advancing racial equity and closing the gap in education, childcare, wealth inequality, and more. By extending provisions under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), and through programs of its own, the AFP would lift more than 10 million people out of poverty.

      I am excited to support this plan and similar efforts to improve equity in our school and childcare systems, and to combat inequality in the East Bay and across the country.

     The AFP offers an extended tax cut for families with children and American workers. This includes the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). This will work to mitigate the growing wealth inequality that we see in America and invest in low- and middle-income families who help our economy thrive.

     Additional provisions of the AFP include:

• Making child care affordable by ensuring that families will pay no more than 7% of their income on high-quality child care
• Creating a national comprehensive paid family and medical leave program through worker payments of up to $4,000 a month
• Expanding school meal programs and summer EBT funds
• Extending ACA premium tax credits that were expanded under the American Rescue Plan
• Providing up to $1,400 in additional assistance to low-income students by increasing the Pell Grant award
• Addressing teacher shortages and improving teacher preparation, including programs that strengthen pipelines for teachers of color

     (Last) week, we heard about some of the progress we have made in the first 100 days of the Biden-Harris administration, but we cannot let our foot off the gas. Among many challenges ahead, we need we need to address disparities in our public health system, do more to help families that are struggling through this economic crisis, dismantle structural racism, implement police reform and immigration reform and address the climate crisis. 

     We still have much work to do, but I am committed to continue fighting for you.

     As always, my office is here for you. If you need help with a federal issue, please call my Oakland office at (510) 764-0370. You can also connect with me via email, Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

Please continue to stay healthy and safe.

Best,

Barbara Lee

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time and said:  “Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President.  No president has ever said those words from this podium . . . and it’s about time.”

     Biden, on his 99th day in office, noted the historic moment by acknowledging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (representing San Francisco in California’s 12th District) and Vice President Kamala Harris.

    Prior to Biden’s speech, the Post spoke with Congresswoman Barbara Lee (representing the 13th District (Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland, Piedmont, and San Leandro) of California.

    Lee was in person during the speech and virtually welcomed her guest, Dr. Donna Carey of Alameda Alliance for Health and first lady of True Vine Ministries.

Carey through her work has been responsible for vaccinating 7,000 folks to date in Oakland.

    Lee noted that Black and Brown folks are dealing with what Carey calls “vaccine wisdom” in light of medical experiments in Tuskegee and others.

    Lee praised Governor Gavin Newsom and the collaboration between the federal, state, and county government entities to allow the federal funds to flow and provide COVID-19 vaccines for Carey and others to save lives.

    After Biden’s address, Lee issued the following statement:

    “. . . President Biden laid out his vision for our future that builds back bolder after some of the most challenging years in our history.  The multitude of crises facing our country—from racial injustice, to police brutality, to the climate crisis– require bold action, and President Biden is seizing the moment.  

     “It gave me great pride to watch two women and daughters of the Bay Area, Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seated behind the president on the dais. It was reflective of the price so many people, so many women especially, paid to get to this point. While this was a historic moment, as Vice President Harris pointed out, it is past time that it becomes ‘normal.’ 

     “President Biden unequivocally condemned white supremacy and reaffirmed his commitment to fighting poverty, advancing racial equity, crushing this virus around the globe, and restoring faith and trust in our government. I remain committed to being a partner in Congress on his policy prescriptions for police reform, immigration, gun safety, tackling climate change, and his ongoing work to get the pandemic under control and put Americans back to work.”  

    “President Biden also made clear that he understands the need to end ‘forever wars’ and withdraw from Afghanistan. It’s time to reallocate our investment from weapons of war to human need. He also unveiled the American Families Plan, a sorely needed, once-in-a-generation investment in the foundations of middle-class prosperity: education, health care, and childcare.

     “President Biden’s first 100 days are marked by a stronger economy, more resilient pandemic response, and a unified mission of building back better and bolder. I will continue working in Congress to fulfill the promise of a government ‘by the people and for the people.’”

    Biden encouraged all Americans to get vaccinated.

    Everyone 16 years and older is eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine now. True Vine Ministries will be hosting a clinic for the Pfizer vaccine on May 1, 2021. 

     Preference will be given to residents in zip codes 94607, 94608, 94609, 94601, 94606 & 94621. 

    Call (510) 208-4573 to schedule an appointment. True Vine Ministries is located at 896 Newton Carey Jr. Way (formerly known as Isabella Street).

Help is on the way for childcare providers in California — an industry rocked by widespread closures with surviving operators burdened by the weight of sharp increases in their operating costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But those companies offering babysitting and other related services will soon receive an infusion of much-needed monetary aid from the federal government. 

On April 15, the Biden Administration announced the release of $39 billion in direct funding allocated for childcare providers in the American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law on March 11. California U.S. Congress-member Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-13) welcomed the President’s announcement. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic has created a childcare crisis on top of a public health crisis. Child-care providers are almost entirely women and 40% are people of color. Providing relief to help keep childcare centers and schools open is critical for our students, parents, educators, and care providers, and is essential to support our country’s economic recovery and build back better.”

According to a September 2020 report compiled by the Center for American Progress, the cost of center-based childcare increased by 47% due to enhanced health and safety requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cost of home-based family childcare increased by 70%. The report found that these increased costs were driven by the need for more staff and more sanitation supplies to meet COVID-19 protocols.

In this latest round of federal funding for childcare providers, about $25 billion will go toward funding grants through a childcare stabilization fund. Childcare providers can use these grants to help cover fixed costs like rent, make payroll and purchase sanitizing supplies. Another amount, around $15 billion, will be available as emergency funding through the Child Care and Development Fund, to provide childcare to essential workers. Lawmakers are also requiring that childcare providers who receive these funds make financial relief available for families struggling to pay tuition.

Combined with the $10 billion allocated in the December 2020 COVID-19 relief package, and $3.5 billion allocated in the March 2020 CARES Act, the child-care industry has now received more than $50 billion in federal support.

The Biden Administration’s announcement also highlighted the effects that the increased need for childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic have had on women and families of color. As of December 2020, about 1 in 4 early childhood and child-care providers that were open at the start of the pandemic have been closed. 

The affected centers are disproportionately owned by people of color, and their closures have both put women of color out of work, and left families of color without childcare. Also, since the start of the pandemic, roughly 2 million women have left the workforce due to caregiving needs.

On April 20, Lee released an announcement detailing the specific amount of funds available for California’s childcare providers. 

Over $2.3 billion will be given to the Golden State from the child-care stabilization fund, her statement said. Another $1.4 billion is available through flexible funding to make childcare across California more affordable for families, increase access to care for families receiving subsidies and increase compensation for childcare workers.

“I’m pleased to see this funding come through for families and child-care providers in the East Bay and across our state,” said Lee.

In total, California will receive nearly $3.8 billion for providers and families.