EMPOWERING EMPLOYER CHILD AND ELDER CARE SOLUTIONS ACT

On 2026-01-13, Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI-5) delivered a floor speech titled "EMPOWERING EMPLOYER CHILD AND ELDER CARE SOLUTIONS ACT" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered the economy, foreign policy. It referenced legislation including HR2270, HR2262, HR2312, among other bills.

EMPOWERING EMPLOYER CHILD AND ELDER CARE SOLUTIONS ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)] [House] [Pages H681-H685] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] EMPOWERING EMPLOYER CHILD AND ELDER CARE SOLUTIONS ACT Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, Pursuant to House Resolution 988, I call up the bill (H.R. 2270) to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exclude child and dependent care services and payments from the rate used to compute overtime compensation, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 988, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Education and Workforce, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read. The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows: H.R. 2270 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act''. SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE IN COMPUTING OVERTIME COMPENSATION. (a) In General.--Section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207(e)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``payments or reimbursements for child or dependent care services;'' after ``by the employer;''; (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ``or'' at the end; (3) in paragraph (8)(D)(ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (4) by adding at the end the following: ``(9) the value of any child or dependent care services provided by an employer.''. (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to overtime compensation required to be paid for workweeks beginning on or after the date of enactment of this Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Workforce or their respective designees. The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg). General Leave Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2270. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Michigan? There was no objection. Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act, a bipartisan proposal that meets working families where they are and strengthens our economy at the same time. Across this country, millions of Americans are doing two full-time jobs at once. They are employees striving to be productive and dependable at work, and they are caregivers--parents of young children, sons and daughters caring for aging parents, or both. These responsibilities do not disappear when the workday begins. They shape whether a worker can show up on time, stay focused, or remain in the workforce at all. Along with many other affordability challenges, the increasing cost of child and dependent care is a serious issue facing our country. Parents leave jobs they want to keep. Caregivers turn down promotions or reduce hours. Businesses lose skilled workers, productivity declines, and the entire economy pays the price. Many employers want to provide child and elder care for their employees, but the law discourages them from [[Page H682]] doing so by asserting that routinely provided childcare must be included in an hourly employee's regular pay rates. The Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act removes this longstanding obstacle for employers wishing to provide these highly valued accommodations to their workforce and aligns the treatment of these pro-family benefits with other employer-provided benefits. For workers, employer-supported care can be the difference between staying in the job or being forced out of the workforce. It reduces stress, improves mental health, and allows parents and caregivers to focus on their work, knowing their loved ones are safe and supported. Supporting caregivers should not be a partisan issue. Every one of us represents constituents who are struggling and juggling with the work that they have and the care that they give. Every district in every State has employers struggling to attract and retain workers because care options are limited or unaffordable. The Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act sends a clear message: We value work. We value family. We understand that the two are deeply connected. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, not only because it is good policy but because it reflects the lived reality of millions of Americans who are doing their very best every day to care for their families and contribute to our economy. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2270, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act. Unfortunately, it doesn't solve anything. It doesn't provide any additional child or elder care. What it does is take money out of people's pockets because, under current law, employers must pay hourly workers time and a half for hours worked over 40 hours in a week. That overtime rate is based on a worker's regular rate of pay, which includes not only the cash payment but also non-wage compensation and presently includes the value of child or dependent care services when employers decide to provide them as part of the benefit package. Existing law already provides incentives for these benefits, allowing employers to deduct them as a cost of doing business and offering tax preferences for certain child and dependent care assistance. This bill would change the Fair Labor Standards Act to exclude the value of these services from the regular rate used to calculate overtime. Despite its name, the bill does not require employers to provide any child or elder care. Instead, it just reduces the cost of overtime if they provide it. That is the problem. In practice, this bill encourages employers to keep workers on the job longer rather than expanding access to affordable care. It increases the time away from families while offering no assurance that any support for childcare will be provided. Workers who already receive these benefits will see their overtime pay reduced. There is no evidence that these workers who do not receive this benefit are likely to get the benefit. The only group we know for certain will be affected is those who already have it, and they will lose money on overtime. That makes no sense. I don't know how that solves anything. I would hope that we would not reduce workers' pay. To do that, we have to oppose the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1440 Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I would make mention that for gym memberships offered by an employer and other benefits, health insurance benefits, they aren't calculated in overtime either. This brings us together on those issues. In fact, I believe it makes certain that there is more opportunity for small businesses especially to have the ability to have dollars that could be put toward the childcare. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messmer), who is the sponsor of this bill. He is also a member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Mr. MESSMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue affecting both families and businesses in Indiana and across the United States, which is the expensive, but essential, financial support workers need to provide care for their young children and elderly parents. Current law discourages employers from helping their workers pay for onsite childcare or elderly dependent care because of the unreasonable pay calculations that increase costs and burdensome regulations for the company. This guidance is so outdated. It was enacted in 1938, and we all know things have come a long way since then when families did not use daycare services for their little ones and elderly parents lived with their adult children until death. The current mandates of the Fair Labor Standards Act related to dependent care drive up costs for businesses through unreasonable pay calculations. These expensive requirements naturally remove the incentive for many companies to provide this important coverage for their employees. It is high time we eradicate this unwarranted red tape and let businesses invest in the needs of their employees without punishing the company for doing just that. That is why I introduced the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act. Hoosiers and all Americans must not be forced to choose between caring for a loved one and working outside of the home. Businesses deserve to be profitable but are also entitled to have the most qualified workers to support their company's growth. A company must be rewarded and not penalized for making critical benefits available to their employees, which, in turn, helps the company recruit the best and the brightest to their workforce. The Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act lowers costs, cuts red tape, and better serves American companies by making profamily benefits achievable. Passing this legislation contributes to our goal of returning affordability to the American people and the U.S. workforce. The American taxpayer needs our help now more than ever to get our economy back on track, and this bill will be one small step in making that dream a reality. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his support on H.R. 2270. Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr

Referenced legislation: HRES988, HRES988, HR2262, HR2270, HR2312, HR2743