In New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, childcare policy enters affordability conversation 

Throughout campaigns in New Hampshire and all over the country, candidates have made affordability a key focus as the cost of living rises. In New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, both Republican nominee Anthony DiLorenzo and Democratic nominee Stefany Shaheen say rising childcare costs are impacting families.

Plans from the two candidates on how to address it in the Capitol, if elected, differ. 

The 1st Congressional District, which encompasses the eastern portion of the state, including Manchester, the Seacoast and parts of the Lakes Region, has the majority of the state’s childcare programs. Programs in the district also carry some of the highest tuition prices, and families struggle to find open slots due to high need. 

Shaheen, daughter of U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said that on the campaign trail, families told her the biggest childcare issues they face are affordability and access. 

“The cost of housing and healthcare and childcare makes it so difficult for young families to build a life here and to make New Hampshire home,” Shaheen told the Bulletin in an interview. “We have to find ways to keep young families in New Hampshire.” 

Shaheen said she was in favor of expanding the child care tax credit for families (known as the Child and Dependent Care Credit), which allows families to receive a federal income tax return reduction for qualifying childcare expenses. She also said she supports Medicare for All as a way to reduce the burden on programs and families to pay for staff health benefits. 

“I think the greatest thing we can do to help address some of the strain on these budgets is to pass Medicare for All and eliminate the need for these programs to try to also be providing healthcare for their employees because they don’t have the numbers to make it work,” Shaheen said. “It helps, but it doesn’t solve some of the structural problems long term. I think addressing benefits like healthcare and making it more manageable for people to get the training they need without having to spend a lot of money doing it will be impactful for the field.” 

She also said she supports New Hampshire having free community college to help reduce workforce entry barriers for prospective childcare providers, who, under state law, have a mandatory minimum post-secondary education requirement. Gov. Kelly Ayotte announced this week that she is proposing to reduce community college tuition costs in her upcoming budget proposal. 

DiLorenzo has been advertising himself as the candidate with the financial experience to deal with affordability concerns in Congress, drawing on his experience running multiple car dealerships on the Seacoast. 

DiLorenzo did not respond to multiple requests from the Bulletin to discuss childcare policy and whether he would push for anything if elected to Congress. However, during the Republican primary debate hosted by WMUR on Sept. 2, DiLorenzo said he “believed” in the federal child tax credit. 

“I would expand upon (the Child Tax Credit) so people are able to get good childcare so that they can go to work and support their families,” he said in response to what he would do in Congress to make childcare more affordable and accessible. 

The Child Tax Credit gives qualifying families a tax break up to $2,200 per qualifying child. An additional $1,700 break could be given to a family depending on their annual income. It is different from the Child and Dependent Care Credit. 

On the campaign trail, DiLorenzo has said little about childcare. He has criticized Shaheen for her past work experience, alleging she benefited from her mother’s political connections. Jeanne Shaheen served as governor of New Hampshire from 1997 to 2003, and took office in the U.S. Senate in 2009. 

One of Shaheen’s first jobs, she said, was co-founding and serving as executive director of Business Partners for Child Care and Early Childhood Education, now known as Early Learning New Hampshire, in 2003. The nonprofit organization aims to support early-learning programs, advocate for “effective early learning policy,” and build public-private partnerships to strengthen the field, according to its mission statement. The organization has grown to be one of the most influential childcare advocacy groups in the state since its inception. 

Shaheen said she was “incredibly proud” of her time at the organization and would bring her experience working in the field, saying there would be “no greater champion” for early childhood education if elected. 

“There’s no more important priority than ensuring that the workforce that makes it possible for people to work have what they need to be able to do their jobs,” she said. “It’s one I care deeply about, and it’s one I’m going to continue to champion.”