“Build Back Better”: A Flawed Agenda or the Right Plan for Early Care and Education Policy?

Economic MobilityFederal PolicyState PolicyPre-K

Oct 24

Written By Katharine Stevens

With Katharine B. Stevens

EVENT

Center on Child and Family Policy | Niskanen Center

October 24. 2023

Event Summary

The Center on Child and Family Policy (CCFP) and the Niskanen Center recently hosted a virtual event to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Build Back Better's early care and education legislation and the best path forward for federal policy. This important discussion featured an expert panel including Patrick Brown, Natalie Renew, Art Rolnick, and CCFP's Katharine Stevens, moderated by Niskanen's Josh McCabe.

Katharine Stevens presented key points from her recent report on the flaws of the Build Back Better legislation, followed by a panel discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of Build Back Better’s approach to early care and education and the best path forward for federal policy.

Some panel members likened the legacy of the failed Build Back Better legislation to growth generated by a tree falling in the forest: while it did not remain standing, it has spurred crucial conversations from which stronger new proposals can emerge and grow.

Event Description

The Build Back Better Act of 2021 featured two early care and education programs, described by the Biden administration as “the most transformative investment in children and caregiving in generations.” While the programs did not make it into law, the legislation lays out a detailed blueprint of an increasingly influential vision for federal early childhood policy, closely similar to the Child Care for Working Families Act, recently re-introduced in the House and Senate.

Improving the environments where children spend their earliest years and helping parents balance work with raising children are crucial policy goals. Yet a recent analysis by Katharine Stevens argues that Build Back Better prescribes the wrong approach to this important issue.

Please join the Center on Child and Family Policy and the Niskanen Center for a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of Build Back Better’s early care and education legislation, and the best path forward for federal policy.

Panelists

Joshua McCabe, Director of Social Policy, Niskanen Center (Moderator)

Patrick T. Brown, Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Natalie Renew, Executive Director, Home Grown

Arthur Rolnick, Associate Economist, University of Minnesota, and former Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Katharine B. Stevens, Founder and CEO, Center on Child and Family Policy

Agenda

1:00 p.m.
Opening Remarks:
Joshua McCabe, Director of Social Policy, Niskanen Center

1:05 p.m.
Presentation:
Katharine B. Stevens, Founder & CEO, Center on Child and Family Policy

1:20 p.m.
Panel Discussion

Panelists:
Patrick T. Brown, Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center

Natalie Renew, Executive Director, Home Grown

Arthur Rolnick, Associate Economist, University of Minnesota, and former Director of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Katharine B. Stevens, Founder and CEO, Center on Child and Family Policy

Moderator:
Joshua McCabe, Director of Social Policy, Niskanen Center

2:05 p.m.
Q&A

2:15 p.m.
Adjournment

PANELISTS