Montana’s Republican lawmakers literally couldn’t care less about childcare, working families

The next time I hear Montana Republican lawmakers talk about needing to support hard-working Montanans, forgive me if you notice my eyes rolling.

The next time I hear Montana Republican lawmakers talk about how we have a workforce shortage and we need more people building a strong statewide economic engine, see how hard my jaws bite my tongue.

And the next time I hear Montana Republican lawmakers fret about family values, I might have trouble stifling the laughter.

To be clear: Finding more workers, taking the squeeze off middle-class Montana families and looking out for them are all important things. However, for Montana’s Republican lawmakers, they’re just hardly more than sweet sounding talking points. When it comes time to take action on them, honestly, they couldn’t care less.

But don’t take my word for it, take the Montana Senate Majority Leader’s word.

Sen. Steve Fitzpatrick, R-Great Falls, told fellow lawmakers who have been studying the challenges of workforce, families and childcare, that the Republicans had more important bills to worry about than drafting a set of bills that would attempt making childcare more accessible and affordable to families.

When asked what other bills the committee, led by a majority of Republicans, had in mind, he failed to name any.

“I think the four (committee bills) were always intended to be for the majority party, I guess in this case, it’s Republicans,” Fitzpatrick said. “But, you know, maybe in 30 years it might be Democrats.”

Cute how Fitzpatrick has the ability to insult families by suggesting literally nothing, and then mocking Democrats. If Ted Cruz had a counterpart in the Montana Legislature, Steve Fitzpatrick, the man who hasn’t seen a corporation he doesn’t love, would be my nominee.

A bit of background here, dear friends: Committees during the interim have previously drafted legislation in a bipartisan manner that should address the concerns and needs of Montanans between the every-other-year legislative session. They had plans and examples of things that had worked in other conservative-led states.  Instead of working on legislation that reflected their work or concerns, the Republicans — en bloc — opted for doing nothing. They suggested nothing, and ordered nothing to be drafted.

That’s right: Childcare is so unimportant to Republicans that they couldn’t even name a topic that they wanted to champion. They literally chose to do nothing, support no legislation, instead of work on childcare and affordability for working parents when it was suggested. Don’t take my word for it, instead take their silence as evidence.

The Republicans may want to take a look in the mirror: Their old, white, male-ness is showing.

How quaint that a bunch of Republicans wouldn’t see childcare as a topic worthy of support. Spoken exactly like the men who believe that it’s the woman’s role to stay at home and raise the young’uns.

Sadly, this shouldn’t be about politics, especially since Montana Republicans have seemed open to funding some childcare programs, understanding that childcare workers, childcare centers and parents needing childcare are all legitimate concerns if we want to continue to build a strong workforce. If Montana Republicans really love business as much as they claim, it’d be impossible to separate the workforce from childcare, as economic studies have shown. 

Speaking personally, we moved twice when our kids were at the age we needed childcare. In addition to costing more than a luxury monthly car payment, both moves were almost scotched not because of housing or even job opportunities, but because we were uncertain about childcare. It’s usually the top concern of any working parent with small kids.

Beyond that, though, many other rabidly Republican states have invested in childcare programs because they have enough business sense to realize that a strong, fully participating workforce is tied to robust childcare.

It is beyond frustrating that in Montana, Republicans seem to care more about corporations than they do families or kids.

Keep in mind that during that same meeting, Republicans had heard a day’s worth of presentations about what other states were doing to try to ease the burden of daycare providers. Those states — Nebraska, Louisiana and Kentucky — are all solidly Republican.

Those states are embracing pilot programs, tax credits, earned tax credits and subsidies. Also, you may recall that childcare openings in Montana are meeting less than half of the demand, while parents who are lucky enough to get it, spend, on average, 30% of the household budget. It would be exceedingly difficult to find a statewide issue that is more compelling for families.

The Republican lawmakers can also be judged by more than their words alone. Even the state’s own pilot program, Best Beginnings scholarship fund, has only spent $1.7 million of the $7 million set aside, leading some lawmakers to question how much the Gianforte Administration was even concerned about childcare.

Montana Republicans talk plenty about “family values” — and, I guess zero is a value. Technically speaking.