President Biden requested $16 billion in emergency supplemental funding for child care in recent days. That breaks down to $917 million for Florida.

The money will allow parents to access child care while they work or finish school, says Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.

“What we don't want is for Americans to have to make the decision between having good care for their kids, or going into the office or going into a job. And unfortunately, that's the real dilemma a lot of families face today, because childcare is so important, but so expensive,” said Secretary Becerra.

Many child care centers are struggling, he says, and might not survive without this funding.

“There's a good, strong chance that they would have to close their doors because they wouldn't have the resources they need to pay the wages to keep the slots available,” said Secretary Becerra. “And therefore, American families would lose those opportunities to have quality childcare, which means a lot of women would end up staying home.”

In addition, the administration has requested funding to help treat and mitigate opioid and fentanyl addiction, in Florida and elsewhere.

“And so the President has requested $1.6 billion in emergency funding to help communities that are trying to tackle the opioid crisis, but specifically here, fentanyl,” Becerra said.

If funding is approved, it is estimated that it will come through before year-end.

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