Democrats want to expand free school lunch to 9 million more kids - and give you universal pre-K and affordable childcare too

• The House Education and Labor Committee just released its priorities for Democrats' reconciliation bill.
• Provisions include universal pre-K, affordable childcare, and expanded free school meals.
• It's the latest glimpse at the $3.5 trillion package, which may also include paid family and medical leave.

As the Democrats enter debate over what will end up in their $3.5 trillion social spending bill, the House Education and Labor Committee released on Wednesday its priorities to aid children and families across the country.

The committee detailed in a fact sheet how it plans to invest a proposed $761 billion to increase affordability for education, childcare, and fight child hunger. Specifically, it wants to allocate $450 billion to secure universal pre-K for three- and four-year olds, $111 billion to provide two free years of community college, and $35 billion to ensure children do not go hungry.

If these investments go through, according to the committee, 9 million more children will have access to free school meals by expanding their eligibility. In April, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it would extend a free school lunch waiver program for K-12 students through spring 2022. That pandemic-era program was targeted at the approximately 12 million children who did not always have enough to eat.

The USDA also released new data on Wednesday that found child hunger spiked in 2020, with 2.9 million homes with children nationwide not having enough food to eat.

The committee also allocates $450 billion towards making childcare more affordable and instituting universal pre-K.

Most families wouldn't spend more than 7% of their incomes on childcare, according to the fact sheet. Wages would go up for childcare workers, the vast majority of whom are female and are more likely to live in poverty than their fellow working peers, according to an analysis from the National Women's Law Center (NWLC). Another analysis from the NWLC and Columbia University researchers found that affordable childcare can substantially boost lifetime earnings for women, with Black and Latina women benefiting the most.

The White House has previously estimated that five million children would benefit from universal pre-K, and that the average family would save $13,000 once the program is fully in place. A recent study from University of Chicago, MIT, and UC Berkeley researchers found that children who were enrolled in universal pre-K were more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college.

The committee will begin marking up the bill on Thursday.

"The Education and Labor Committee's portion of the Build Back Better Act makes historic investments that will lower costs for nearly every family, create good-paying jobs for American workers, and provide our nation's children the strong foundation they deserve," Chairman Bobby Scott said in a statement.

Also included in the committee's proposal was an $80 billion investment to help workers secure good-paying jobs and included a provision to help workers fight the climate crisis, along with assisting states who want to phase out the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities. While touring the fallout from a massive storm in New York and New Jersey, President Joe Biden said that his climate infrastructure plan will include jobs that pay "not $7 or $12 or $15, but $45, $50 an hour" - plus healthcare.

This follows the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday unveiling their proposed investments for the reconciliation bill, which included 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.