Her agenda includes "addressing the cost of childcare".
Address the cost of childcare.
Occurrences
Kristen works with pragmatic leaders from both parties to lower the cost of groceries, housing and prescription drugs, and to invest in child care.
Her top priorities include ... lowering the cost of ... childcare.
Our bipartisan effort is an important start to lowering costs, increasing access, and supporting working parents.
Rep. McDonald Rivet Leads Effort to Expand Access to Affordable Child Care for Working Families
create a national paid family and medical leave program, expand access to the Child Tax Credit and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, expand access to the Dependent Care Assistance Program, and explore cost-sharing partnerships to lower monthly child care expenses
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain child care expenses as qualified expenses for purpose of section 529 of such Code.
This bill, supported by Democrats and Republicans, would make child care more affordable by expanding 529 savings programs to cover child care expenses. ... "Expanding 529s to cover child care is an easy and important step that will help families save for and afford child care for their young kids," said Congresswoman McDonald Rivet.
Evidence
"Kristen has worked to make big changes in Michigan to improve child care and education outcomes for children" and, in Congress, "works with pragmatic leaders from both parties to lower the cost of groceries, housing and prescription drugs, and to invest in child care."
Whitmer said McDonald Rivet and her allies were working "to take on special interests and lower the costs of everyday goods, like housing, childcare, and prescription drugs." McDonald Rivet said they had partnered on "historic working-class tax cuts, creating good-paying jobs, and protecting reproductive rights" and would continue shared work to lower costs.
The bill was introduced by Rep. McDonald Rivet. Its title and text state it is "To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow certain child care expenses as qualified expenses for purpose of section 529 of such Code."
Congress.gov lists Rep. McDonald Rivet as sponsor of H.R. 6656, introduced 12/11/2025, and describes it as a bill "To require the Government Accountability Office to carry out a study relating to barriers in accessing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 due to inflation and State eligibility standards."
The House press release says the Early Education Savings Program Act "would make child care more affordable by expanding 529 savings programs to cover child care expenses" and quotes McDonald Rivet saying expanding 529s to cover child care is "an easy and important step" to help families save for and afford child care.
The release says McDonald Rivet and Jen Kiggans introduced the bipartisan Child Care Access & Affordability Act and that "our bipartisan effort is an important start to lowering costs, increasing access, and supporting working parents."
Assessments
McDonald Rivet campaigned on lowering or addressing childcare costs and, during the same congressional term, introduced concrete childcare affordability legislation, including bills related to 529 child care expenses and studying barriers to Child Care and Development Block Grant access. However, the cited bills appear to have only been introduced and referred, with no evidence that they became law or otherwise produced a delivered reduction in childcare costs. This is a serious legislative effort without delivery of the promised outcome.