More than 200 advocates from across the country will be on the Hill today to lobby for new legislation designed to help children at home and abroad. The advocates, including more than 75 high school and college students, are expected to meet with more than 100 lawmakers and staff as part of the three-day Save the Children and Save the Children Action Network Advocacy Summit in D.C. that began on Sunday.
— The advocates pushing bipartisan legislation that would provide grants to states, particularly in rural areas, to expand the childcare workforce and facilities. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), a 2020 contender, introduced the Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act of 2019 (S. 605 (116)) with Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) in the upper chamber, while Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) is leading the House bill (H.R. 1488 (116)) with Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.). Another resolution they’re promoting would call for the U.S. to support access to education for children in parts of the world affected by conflicts.
— Before they fan out, the advocates will hear from Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Ann Kuster (D-N.H.) on the importance of their lobbying effort.
— On Monday, Tim Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics International, delivered the summit’s keynote address and celebrated Trump’s backpedal on Special Olympics funding. “In some ways the most powerless, vulnerable, forgotten people in the country brought to their knees the most powerful people in the county,” he said. Read more from your host.