Policymakers Should Craft Compromise Build Back Better Package
Pressing National Needs Require Action
End Notes
[1] CBPP analysis of the Census Bureau's March 2019 Current Population Survey using the Supplemental Poverty Measure. Figures are for 2018, the last reliable year of data before the pandemic. (The COVID-19 health emergency interrupted the Census Bureau’s collection of 2019 data, scheduled for February through April of 2020.)
[2] For sources and more detail on this section, see Arloc Sherman et al., “Widespread Economic Insecurity Pre-Pandemic Shows Need for Strong Recovery Package,” CBPP, July 14, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/widespread-economic-insecurity-pre-pandemic-shows-need-for-strong. Additional estimates are from unpublished CBPP analysis of the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2014-2016.
[3] Caroline Ratcliffe, “Child Poverty and Adult Success,” Urban Institute, September 2015, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/65766/2000369-Child-Poverty-and-Adult-Success.pdf. The analysis shows data only for all, Black, and white children.
[4] Economic Policy Institute, State of Working America Data Library, “Poverty-level wages,” 2021, https://www.epi.org/data/#?subject=povwage.
[5] Elise Gould and Jori Kandra, “Wages grew in 2020 because the bottom fell out of the low-wage labor market,”
The State of Working America 2020 Wages Report, Economic Policy Institute, February 24, 2021, https://www.epi.org/publication/state-of-working-america-wages-in-2020/.
[6] Jennifer Tolbert, Kendal Orgera, and Anthony Damico, “Key Facts about the Uninsured Population,” Kaiser Family Foundation, November 6, 2020, https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/.
[7] Sophie Collyer, David Harris, and Christopher Wimer, “Left behind: The one-third of children in families who earn too little to get the full Child Tax Credit,” Center on Poverty & Social Policy at Columbia University, May 14, 2019, https://www.povertycenter.columbia.edu/news-internal/leftoutofctc.
[8] Chuck Marr et al., “Congress Should Adopt American Families Plan’s Permanent Expansions of Child Tax Credit and EITC, Make Additional Provisions Permanent,” CBPP, May 24, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/congress-should-adopt-american-families-plans-permanent-expansions-of-child.
[9] Claire Zippel, “9 in 10 Families With Low Incomes Are Using Child Tax Credits to Pay for Necessities, Education,” CBPP, October 21, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/blog/9-in-10-families-with-low-incomes-are-using-child-tax-credits-to-pay-for-necessities-education.
[10] Letter from Hilary Hoynes, Diane Schanzenbach, and other economists to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer et al., September 15, 2021, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ecd75a3c406d1318b20454d/t/6148f183c62fb147d0d25138/1632170373799/Economist+CTC+Letter+9-14-21+430pm.pdf.
[11] Allison H. Friedman-Krauss et al., “The State of Preschool 2020,” National Institute for Early Education Research, 2021, https://nieer.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/YB2020_Executive_Summary_080521.pdf.
[12] Administration for Children & Families, “ACF Releases Guidance on Supplemental Child Care Funds in the American Rescue Plan,” June 11, 2021, https://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2021/acf-releases-guidance-supplemental-child-care-funds-american-rescue-plan.
[13] HighScope Educational Research Foundation, “Perry Preschool Project – Study Results,” https://highscope.org/perry-preschool-project/; Francis A. Campbell et al., “Adult Outcomes as a Function of an Early Childhood Educational Program: An Abecedarian Project Follow-Up,” Developmental Psychology, Vol. 48, No. 4, January 16, 2012, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3989926/; Jorge Luis García et al., “The Dynamic Benefits of Early Childhood Education,” NBER Working Paper 29004, July 2021, https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w29004/w29004.pdf?utm_campaign=Economic%20Studies&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email.
[14] See, for example, Guthrie Gray-Lobe, Parag Pathak, and Christopher Walters, “The Long-Term Effects of Universal Preschool in Boston,” School Effectiveness & Inequality Initiative, May 2021, https://blueprintlabs.mit.edu/research/the-long-term-effects-of-universal-preschool-in-boston/; and Cortney Sanders, “Research Note: Combining Early Education and K-12 Investments Has Powerful Positive Effects,” CBPP, February 28, 2019, https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/research-note-combining-early-education-and-k-12-investments-has. See also Rucker C. Johnson and C. Kirabo Jackson, “Reducing Inequality Through Dynamic Complementarity: Evidence from Head Start and Public School Spending,” NBER Working Paper 23489, June 2017, https://www.nber.org/papers/w23489.
[15] Kelley Durkin et al., “Effects of a Statewide Pre-Kindergarten Program on Children’s Achievement and Behavior Through Sixth Grade,” Developmental Psychology, January 10, 2022, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23196839/Effects_of_a_Statewide_Pre_Kindergarten_Program_on_Children_s_Achievement_and_Behavior_Through_Sixth_Grade.pdf.
[16] Dana Charles McCoy et al., “Impacts of Early Childhood Education on Medium- and Long-Term Educational Outcomes,” Educational Researcher, Vol. 46, No. 8, November 2017, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0013189X17737739.
[17] Taryn W. Morrissey, “Child care and parent labor force participation: a review of the research literature,” Review of Economics of the Household, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2017, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11150-016-9331-3; see also Maria E. Enchautegui, “Effects of the CCDF Subsidy Program on the Employment Outcomes of Low Income Mothers,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 2016, https://aspe.hhs.gov/effects-child-care-subsidies-maternal-labor-force-participation-united-states.
[18] Robert Paul Hartley et al., “A Lifetime’s Worth of Benefits: The Effects of Affordable, High-quality Child Care on Family Income, the Gender Earnings Gap, and Women’s Retirement Security,” National Women’s Law Center and Columbia Center on Poverty & Social Policy, March 2021, https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/A-Lifetimes-Worth-of-Benefits-_FD.pdf; Gina Adams and Monica Rohacek, “Child Care Instability,” Urban Institute, October 2010, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/29446/412278-Child-Care-Instability-Definitions-Context-and-Policy-Implications.PDF. See also Alejandra Ros Pilarz and Heather D. Hill, “Child-Care Instability and Behavior Problems: Does Parenting Stress Mediate the Relationship?” Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 79, No. 5, October 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5666338/.
[19] Christina Felfe and Rafael Lalive, “Does early child care affect children’s development?” Journal of Public Economics, Vol. 159, March 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047272718300148; Grace E. Noboa-Hidalgo and Sergio S. Urzúa, “The Effects of Participation in Public Child Care Centers: Evidence from Chile,” Journal of Human Capital, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2012, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/664790; Deborah Low Vandell and Margaret Burchinal, “Early child care and adolescent functioning at the end of high school: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development,” Developmental Psychology, Vol. 52, No. 10, October 2016, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308878544_Early_child_care_and_adolescent_functioning_at_the_end_of_high_school_Results_from_the_NICHD_Study_of_Early_Child_Care_and_Youth_Development.
[20] Programs with lower levels of quality have shown weaker results. For example, for discussion of Quebec’s child care program, see Michael Baker et al., “The Long-Run Impacts of a Universal Child Care Program,” American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2019, https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/pol.20170603; Margherita Fort, Andrea Ichino, and Giulio Zanella, “The cognitive cost of daycare 0-2 for children in advantaged families,” February 8, 2017, https://sbe.maastrichtuniversity.nl/duhr/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2017/03/paper_Fort.pdf; CCPA National Office, “You must be kidding: Confronting key myths about Quebec’s childcare system,” Monitor, April 25, 2017, https://monitormag.ca/articles/you-must-be-kidding-confronting-key-myths-about-quebecs-childcare-system. See also Conor Williams, “When ‘Universal’ Child Care Isn’t Universally High-Quality,” The Atlantic, May 1, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/05/quebec-child-care-family-leave/559310/.
[21] Will Fischer, Douglas Rice, and Alicia Mazzara, “Research Shows Rental Assistance Reduces Hardship and Provides Platform to Expand Opportunity for Low-Income Families,” CBPP, December 5, 2019, https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/research-shows-rental-assistance-reduces-hardship-and-provides-platform-to-expand.
[22] Ann Oliva, “BBB Includes Major Investments in Housing Affordability,” CBPP, November 4, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/blog/bbb-includes-major-investments-in-housing-affordability.
[23] CBPP, “Policy Basics: The Housing Choice Voucher Program,” April 12, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/the-housing-choice-voucher-program.
[24] Zoë Neuberger, “Nutrition Provisions in New House Build Back Better Legislation Could Substantially Reduce Children’s Food Hardship,” CBPP, November 5, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/nutrition-provisions-in-new-house-build-back-better-legislation-could.
[25] Zoë Neuberger, “Recovery Legislation Could Help End Summer Childhood Hunger,” CBPP, June 30, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/recovery-legislation-could-help-end-summer-childhood-hunger.
[26] CBPP, “CBPP/FRAC P-EBT Documentation Project Shows How States Implemented a New Program to Provide Food Benefits to Up to 30 Million Low-Income School Children,” www.cbpp.org/pebt; and Elaine Waxman et al., “Documenting Pandemic EBT for the 2020-21 School Year,” October 26, 2021, https://www.urban.org/research/publication/documenting-pandemic-ebt-2020-21-school-year.
[27] Lauren Bauer et al., “An Update on the Effect of Pandemic EBT on Measures of Food Hardship,” The Hamilton Project of the Brookings Institution, September 29, 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/research/an-update-on-the-effect-of-pandemic-ebt-on-measures-of-food-hardship/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_medium=email&utm_content=166599953&utm_source=hs_email. Households were considered to have very low food security among children if they reported that the children sometimes or often did not eat enough in the last seven days because the household could not afford food. Households that experienced food insufficiency reported that they were sometimes or often not able to get enough to eat in the previous seven days.
[28] Zoë Neuberger, “By Acting Now, Policymakers Can Connect More Low-Income Children With School Meals,” CBPP, September 2, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/blog/by-acting-now-policymakers-can-connect-more-low-income-children-with-school-meals.
[29] Sherman et al., “Recovery Proposals Adopt Proven Approaches to Reducing Poverty, Increasing Social Mobility,” op. cit.; Amelie A. Hecht, Keshia M. Pollack Porter, and Lindsey Turner, “Impact of The Community Eligibility Provision of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act on Student Nutrition, Behavior, and Academic Outcomes: 2011–2019,” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 110, No. 9, September 2020, https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305743.
[30] Elise Gould and Melat Kassa, “Low-wage, low-hours workers were hit hardest in the COVID-19 recession,” Economic Policy Institute, May 20, 2021, https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-2020-employment-report/.
[31] Judith Solomon and Tara Straw, “Build Back Better Increases Health Coverage and Makes It More Affordable,” CBPP, October 29, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/build-back-better-increases-health-coverage-and-makes-it-more-affordable.
[32] Kaiser Family Foundation, “Employer-Sponsored Coverage Rates for the Nonelderly by Race/Ethnicity,” data for 2019, https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/nonelderly-employer-coverage-rate-by-raceethnicity/.
[33] Gideon Lukens and Breanna Sharer, “Closing the Medicaid Coverage Gap would Help a Diverse Group and Narrow Racial Disparities,” CBPP, revised June 14, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/closing-medicaid-coverage-gap-would-help-diverse-group-and-narrow-racial.
[34] Gina Turrini et al., “Access to Affordable Care in Rural America: Current Trends and Key Challenges,” Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Department of Health and Human Services, July 9, 2021, https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2021-07/rural-health-rr.pdf. The estimate includes Missouri as a coverage gap state; the state has since expanded.
[35] Judith Solomon, “Closing the Coverage Gap Would Improve Black Maternal Health,” CBPP, July 26, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/closing-the-coverage-gap-would-improve-black-maternal-health.
[36] Laura Harker, “Closing the Coverage Gap is a Critical Step for Advancing Health and Economic Justice,” CBPP, October 4, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/closing-the-coverage-gap-a-critical-step-for-advancing-health-and-economic-justice.
[37] Jennifer Sullivan, Jennifer Wagner, Anna Bailey, and Judith Solomon, “New House Build Back Better Legislation would Make Long-Lasting Medicaid Improvements,” CBPP, November 3, 2021, https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/new-house-build-back-better-legislation-would-make-long-lasting-medicaid.
[38] Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “Transcript of Chair Powell’s Press Conference, January 26, 2022,” https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20220126.pdf.
[39] Economic Policy Institute, “Open letter from Nobel Laureates in support of economic recovery agenda,” https://www.epi.org/open-letter-from-nobel-laureates-in-support-of-economic-recovery-agenda/.