Exclusive: How Senators HERO Act Bill Would Bolster Military Child Care

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) told Military.com that her newest introduced legislation is her biggest priority as discussions begin to accelerate for the next fiscal year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The retired military officer who has been a U.S. Senate mainstay since 2015 is confident that her «HERO Child Care Act» bill will garner bicameral momentum in Congress, telling Military.com that military families should have consistent access to quality and affordable child care.

Ernst, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and combat veteran, said the issue is near and dear to her most importantly as a mother and grandmother who believes barriers in areas like child care funding are negatively impacting the delicate balancing act that military families have to endure.

“As our servicemembers balance dedication to their families with serving our country, access to child care options shouldn't be an additional barrier,†Ernst told Military.com. “As a mother and grandmother who served in uniform, I understand all too well the unique challenges military families face.»

President Donald Trump has openly stated that he would like to see the defense budget increase to $1.5 trillion, which would be a record and far exceed the current fiscal year total of roughly $900 billion. It remains unclear if or how child care would be affected in that next NDAA that is annually passed by both chambers of Congress.

The Bipartisan Policy Center and partners estimated last fall that gaps in child care could cost the U.S. economy as much as $329 billion over the next 10 years based on lost productivity, workforce shortages, and decreased income and revenue.

My HERO Child Care Act provides commonsense, bipartisan solutions to cut through the red tape, better understand the shortages, and reduce hiring delays so our military families have the support they need in every season of life.

Details of the Legislation

The 11-page bill shared with Military.com, which may also be cited as the «Helping Ensure Reliable Opportunities in Child Care for Military Families Act,» calls for widespread adjustments to improve staffing shortages, long child care waitlists, and inconsistent data across the Department of Defense.

They are described by Ernst as gaps that affect readiness, retention, dual-military families, and spouse workforce participation due to DOD currently lacking a unified system to monitor child care capacity and workforce readiness. That includes hiring delays and so-called rigid structures that slow child development centers from filling vacancies.

This legislation if enacted would establish a DOD-wide Child Care Readiness Data System that tracks capacity, staffing levels, vacancies, turnover, compensation ranges, and waitlists by installation and region. The system would require updates at a minimum of every 90 days, including annual briefings to Congress.

In terms of child care waitlists, the bill differentiates between administrative duplication and true shortages—with the DOD analyzing and differentiating duplicate entries and misleading data as part of a broader plan to improve accuracy and assess which waitlists reflect true «unmet needs.»

Other facets of the legislation are as follows:

• DOD would have to analyze within 180 days of the bill’s adoption how child care availability affects readiness and training participation; retention and separation decisions; dual-military families; high operational-tempo units; and military spouse workforce participation.
• It would authorize pre-clearance of child care employees by reducing hiring delays and maintaining safety standards, including the completion of background checks by DOD authorities prior to position openings that are valid for 12 months with annual reverification.
• It would also authorize voluntary job sharing, meaning it would permit two part-time employees working a minimum of 20 hours each to share one full-time position while the hiring pool would expand to help reduce employee turnover.