Committee probes White House childcare, housing and billionaire tax proposals in budget presentation

Director Shalanda Young described a multi‑pronged package in the president's FY2025 budget aimed at lowering costs for families: expanded preschool and child care, larger Pell Grants, and housing incentives for first‑time buyers and communities that increase supply.

"We believe, and the Biden budget, reinforces that preschool should be free and would be free for all families," Young said, adding that most families would pay no more than "$10 a day for childcare." She also said the budget proposes doubling Pell Grants and other supports to make college more affordable and to expand the early childhood education workforce.

On housing, Young described a $10,000 first‑time homebuyer or home seller tax credit spread across two years and a proposed $10 billion program for down‑payment assistance. She said the budget includes a $20 billion competitive innovation fund communities can apply to in order to address local zoning and supply constraints.

To help pay for these investments, Young recapped revenue proposals that target the wealthiest Americans, including what she called a "billionaire tax" that she said would affect the top 0.01 percent and hundreds of millionaires, raising roughly $500 billion over a decade in administration estimates.

Republican members, including Rep. McClintock and others, questioned whether the proposals would raise costs elsewhere, whether targeted tax increases are realistic long‑term, and whether the budget's revenue assumptions sufficiently address projected debt growth. Members requested additional details and asked for written follow‑up on implementation mechanics for childcare, housing grants, and the down‑payment assistance program.