Gina Davis, gdavis@zerotothree.org, 202-864-2934
Morgan Brill, mbrill@westendstrategy.com, 845-596-5328
WASHINGTON – Early childhood leaders at ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit dedicated to ensuring all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life, are sounding the alarm on the Trump Administration’s newly released budget blueprint. The proposed budget threatens cuts to child care support; slashes the WIC nutrition program for pregnant women, infants and young children; and eliminates vital programs that provide prevention, early diagnosis, and early intervention to children such as the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Grants and Project LAUNCH.
The proposed budget was released while negotiations continue in the Senate on the House-passed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” which includes the largest cuts to health and nutrition programs such as Medicaid and SNAP in our nation’s history. Together, these proposals would dismantle the support systems families rely on and deal a devastating blow to infant and toddler development.
In response to the release of the Trump Administration’s discretionary budget proposal, Melissa Boteach, chief policy officer at ZERO TO THREE, issued the following statement:
“This budget sends a clear and devastating message that the well-being of babies and families is not a priority. Stripping funding from programs that provide child care, health care, nutrition and stable housing will leave families without good options – just higher costs, fewer supports and more hardship.
“Families who are already navigating a child care crisis and rising costs will be pushed closer to the brink. And babies, whose brains are developing fastest in these earliest years, will pay the price in lifelong consequences. This is not fiscal responsibility; it’s generational harm.
“Congress must reject this short-sighted proposal and instead invest in the foundations of a thriving society – healthy, nourished, and securely housed families with access to the care and learning their babies need to grow and succeed.”
ZERO TO THREE urges Congress and the Trump Administration to prioritize investments that support babies and families to set our nation up for future prosperity and to support the well-being of our nation’s children.
