On Saturday, July 13th, members of the Children’s Policy Coalition met with Congressman John Delaney to host the round table discussion that would kick off our Facebook Live Candidate Conversation series.
After a brief introduction, Caucus for Kids member Emilee Harris asked Delaney what he would do as president to ensure that all children had access to quality health care that meets their needs. Delaney stated that he would first fix the Affordable Care Act so that it works in the way it was intended to. Beyond that, he would develop a system which he calls “Better Care” that gives everyone universal health care as a basic right, while allowing for individuals to opt out if they choose to keep their own private plan.
Advocate Jamie Schmidt asked Delaney what he would do as president to provide affordable and accessible child care to all children and families. Delaney mentioned that we need to think of education as a whole coninuum, and not just K-12. He also said that he would call for universal Pre-K and he thinks that every child deserves to attend Pre-K.
Denise Rathman, a social worker and children’s advocate, asked Delaney what he would do to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children. Delaney explained that there are multiple fronts to which we can address children’s safety, but focused on gun law reform to reduce gun violence and what he would do reduce the opiod crisis, in turn reducing the number of children who enter the foster care system because they come from homes that suffer drug abuse.
Lana Shope, Executive Director of Iowa Community Action Association, asked Delaney what he would do as president to make sure that all families had what they needed to meet their children’s basic needs. Delaney said that he aims to raise the minimum wage, increase the Earned Income Tax Credit and provide paid family leave.
Finally, Sheila Hansen, co-chair of the Children’s Policy Coalition, asked Delaney what his plans were to protect and provide equal opportunity for all children, regardless of the different backgrounds they may come from. Delaney noted that there are not opportunity gaps in America, there are opportunity canyons. To address this, he plans on passing laws such as the Equality Act, the Equal Rights Amendment and the Equal Pay Act. He states that the time to talk about equality is over and the time to act is now.
To see the full conversation, watch the video above.
The Children’s Policy Coalition is calling on every presidential candidate to address the issues affecting children and families. Candidate responses are shared here for informational purposes only. The Children’s Policy Coalition does not endorse candidates or parties. We’re caucusing for kids!
