Biden signs executive order with over 50 directives on child and elder care

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday, April 18, aimed at expanding access to affordable long-term care and child care. The order issues over 50 directives across nearly every federal agency.

Under the order, the White House asks federal agencies to “identify which of their grant programs can support child care and long-term care for individuals working on federal projects, and consider requiring applicants seeking federal job-creating funds to expand access to care for their workers.”

In addition, the Department of Defense has been directed to lower co-pays for services on military sites, while the Department of Health and Human Services has been instructed to increase pay and benefits for some of their employees.

Other measures would improve access to home-based care for veterans, boost pay for early childhood educators, improve the quality of jobs caring for the elderly and those with disabilities, and promote the right of care workers to unionize, as reported by Reuters.

The directives would be funded out of existing commitments, the White House said. That likely means their impact would be limited and they would carry more of a symbolic weight about what’s possible, according to The Associated Press.

However, while White House officials call the order historic, it does not deliver on Biden’s early goals. Biden previously proposed $225 billion to fully cover child care for low-income Americans and an additional $200 billion for universal preschool. Those proposals failed to win support in Congress, and Biden abandoned them in favor of plans to bolster infrastructure and environmental spending, as reported by The New York Times.

Susan Rice, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, told reporters on a phone call that the order shows that Biden isn’t waiting on Congress to act.

According to a recent analysis, Americans spend almost 18% of their income on child care alone. Child care and elder care programs are popular with the American public.

Biden’s executive order comes as he looks to boost his 43% approval rating as he gears up for a reelection campaign.