Field Programs Drive Grassroots Support for Further Action on Lowering Costs

Washington, DC – Today, the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy (CFFE) announced that it has launched issue advocacy field programs across the country. These programs will encourage community members to contact federal lawmakers and ask them to keep fighting for families by lowering the cost of child care, elder care and prescription drugs and increasing access to paid family and medical leave. 

Through legislation including the American Rescue Plan Act and Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden and members of Congress have taken action to make things like child care more affordable for working families. Still, many families continue to face the squeeze of high prices. Child care prices have risen at twice the rate of inflation, putting a strain on family budgets. And, only about one in four private sector workers have access to paid family and medical leave. This is a crisis for families and a crisis for our economy. 

“President Biden has worked with members of Congress to lower costs for families by passing the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Sondra Goldschein, executive director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy. “Now, we need lawmakers to keep fighting for working families by taking action to lower the cost of prescription drugs, ensure everyone has access to paid leave and make child care and elder care more affordable. We will be talking to people across the country about these critical issues.” 

CFFE is initially launching this program in Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In each of these states, the program includes door-to-door canvassing and community organizing at places where people congregate, like local restaurants and shops. The programs also include relational organizing, recruiting members of the community to speak to their friends and families and encouraging them to contact their lawmakers to ask them to keep fighting to lower costs. 

CFFE organizers are already hearing from members of the community about how high costs are impacting them. Recently, we talked to Logan in Missoula about the high cost of child care. Logan expressed concern about the financial burden the cost of child care places on families in the community, including his own. He shared stories of families struggling to afford quality child care, often having to make difficult decisions about work and family responsibilities. As a parent, Logan shared that he wants elected officials to do more to lower the cost of child care.

Separately, information about programs the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy PAC plans to run can be found here. 

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The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy is fighting for a future where all people can afford to care for themselves and their loved ones. We do this by building political power to pass policies that lower costs for families, like paid family and medical leave, quality, affordable child care and elder care.