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

Oakland, CA – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) today announced a COVID-19 vaccination campaign from May 1-8^th, 2021 in California’s 13^th Congressional District. Similar campaigns are being hosted by members of the Congressional Black Caucus in districts across the country.

Congresswoman Lee will join with local faith-based organizations, community health centers, and other groups to campaign for the East Bay community to get vaccinated.

“The Congressional Black Caucus has mounted a national grassroots campaign, which I am proud to bring to my district in the East Bay,” said Congresswoman Lee. “I am asking faith-based organizations, health organizations, my fellow elected officials and everyone else to join us in calling for our community to get vaccinated.

“In just 100 days, the Biden Administration has helped administer over 200 million doses and has made it a top priority to address vaccine equity in medically underserved communities. I am proud to have fought for investments in our community health centers and to build trust in vaccines at the local level through trusted messengers.

“With Mother’s Day around the corner, I encourage everyone to get vaccinated to protect our loved ones and our entire community. Now, our work must continue to “Get Out the Vaccine” and ensure that our communities have access to vaccine resources so we can stay healthy, crush this virus, finally get through this pandemic.”

13^th Congressional District Ongoing Vaccine Locations & Resources

To find a vaccine site in your neighborhood, go to: https://covid-19.acgov.org/vaccines

Fremont High School vaccination site, 4610 Foothill Blvd., Oakland

Thursday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Open to all Alameda County residents.

Oakland Coliseum, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland

Sign up at: https://myturn.ca.gov

CVS Pharmacy, 2187 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley & other locations

Sign up at: https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine

Walgreens, 1916 Webster St., Alameda & other locations

Sign up at: https://www.walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19

Upcoming Clinics

Monday, May 3^rd

Native American Health Center, 3050 International Blvd., Oakland

Pfizer 2^nd dose

Appointments: call 510-434-5360 or go to https://www.nativehealth.org/our-covid-19-response/

Friday, May 7^th

Family Laundry, 2609 Foothill Blvd., Oakland

Curative-run clinic from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Walk-ups are welcome, or make an appointment at curative.com/sites/27907

Saturday, May 8^th

Beth Eden Baptist Church, 1183 10th St., Oakland
Umoja Health will be offering a pop-up vaccine clinic from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Moderna second doses.
Appointments: call 1-888-763-0007 or go to https://unitedinhealthoakland.org/en/umoja-vaccine

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.