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2020 Hopeful Warren Unveils Universal Child Care Plan

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, addresses an overflow crowd outside an organizing event at McCoy's Bar Patio and Grill in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. (Nati Harnik/AP)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, addresses an overflow crowd outside an organizing event at McCoy's Bar Patio and Grill in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. (Nati Harnik/AP)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced a universal child care plan that would guarantee American families access to child care in a tweet Tuesday morning.

The Massachusetts Democrat, a 2020 presidential candidate, says in a video posted to Twitter that it would be paid for by her proposed "ultra-millionaire's tax," which would hit an estimated 75,000 of the wealthiest American households.


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In the video, Warren laments that she was lucky enough to have family help her with child care as a young working mother, but that not all Americans have access. She says the plan is a "big, structural change we need" and would set up a federal program to guarantee child care from birth until children's entry into school.

A person familiar with the plan outlined it for the Associated Press ahead of its release Tuesday on condition of anonymity. Families with income less than 200 percent of the poverty line would get free access. Other families would pay no more than 7 percent of their income.

The plan would also guarantee compensation for child care program workers at rates comparable to public school teachers in their areas.

With reporting from the Associated Press and WBUR's Laney Ruckstuhl

This article was originally published on February 19, 2019.

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