Child Care and Elder Care Policy

The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, a Democratic‑aligned advocacy group and PAC, says it will spend $50 million in the 2026 midterms to make child and elder care a central issue in congressional races. Announced March 17, the effort will target Senate contests in North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Maine and Ohio and House races in Iowa and Pennsylvania, pairing ad buys with volunteer voter outreach that links caregiving costs to the broader affordability squeeze. Executive director Sondra Goldschein argues that child care often costs more than rent or a mortgage and says pressure on the "sandwich generation" caring for both children and aging parents is increasingly shaping how people vote. The article notes that Republicans, while more engaged on child care than in past cycles, have backed narrower steps like expanded child care tax credits and employer incentives under President Donald Trump’s 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' while Democrats have pushed failed but more sweeping ideas such as universal pre‑K and capping child care costs at 7% of income. With pandemic‑era child care aid expired, waiting lists for federal subsidies growing, and family budgets already strained by Iran‑war‑driven gas prices, the move signals that well‑funded outside groups intend to elevate caregiving from a side issue to a core economic battleground in key 2026 races.