Today, Vice President Joe Biden unveiled his plan to create a 21st-century caregiving and education workforce. Biden’s leadership stands in sharp contrast with Donald Trump, who has failed to protect our seniors, pushed to reopen schools despite safety concerns, and broken his promises to address the high cost of child care.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement:

“Joe Biden’s recent Build Back Better plan shows us what we’ve known for a long time — Biden is committed to building an economy that is rooted in uplifting working families and keeping our communities safe. Donald Trump has shown that his only commitment is to the wealthiest Americans and large corporations.

“Trump never delivered on his promises to address child care costs, is recklessly demanding schools reopen amidst the raging coronavirus pandemic, and has utterly failed to deliver the PPE and testing nursing homes needed to keep their staff and residents safe.

“Enough is enough. Floridians deserve a leader capable of following through on his promises and prioritizing our caregivers — that leader is Joe Biden.”

Nursing homes have been particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic, yet Trump has pushed to relax regulations and failed to provide them with necessary resources

• Nursing homes account for over 45% of Florida’s coronavirus deaths and are experiencing a ‘category five-level emergency’ as cases rise in these facilities.
• The Trump administration refused to mandate universal testing at nursing homes and failed to coordinate regular testing of nursing home staff. The Trump administration was slow to track cases and ultimately gave nursing homes a pass on reporting prior to early May, obscuring the full toll.
• Months after coronavirus began spreading across the country, many nursing homes and long-term care facilities still report that they lack needed PPE.
• The Trump administration relaxed training requirements for caregivers during the pandemic, and continued consideration of pre-pandemic plans to weaken infection control rules at those facilities.

Trump broke his child care promises, leaving working families in the dust

• In 2016, Trump promised he would help “working mothers to be fairly compensated for their work and have access to affordable, quality child care for their kids.”
• Trump’s tax scam reduced the value of the child and dependent care tax credit for many working families while handing massive giveaways to billionaires and corporations.
• Even after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration scaled back paid leave requirements for employers, allowing many companies to decline to provide sick leave for child care.
• Trump’s family leave proposal forces parents to “borrow from their future selves,” fails to cover care for sick family members or protect parents’ jobs while on leave.

Trump has no plan to keep students and teachers safe, but is demanding they re-open despite warnings from health experts

• In Florida, educators and parents are deeply concerned about the danger of fully re-opening schools as the state continues to experience community spread of coronavirus. Florida’s largest teacher’s union filed a lawsuit against Governor DeSantis to block the opening of in-person classes, citing concern for safety.
• Both Trump and DeVos have openly balked at CDC guidelines for school safely measures.
• While Trump and DeVos continue to downplay the risks, millions of teachers and older adults who live with children are at high risk of complications from coronavirus, and studies show older children actually spread the virus at higher rates than adults.