In response to Governor Hochul’s veto of A.1303-A/S.4924-A, which would have expanded access to child care assistance for struggling families, public education advocacy organization the Alliance for Quality Education released the following statement:
“Governor Hochul has failed the families who need our state’s support the most. By vetoing A.1303-A/S.4924-A which would have eliminated the requirement for families to have a minimum income in order to access child care assistance, she has deliberately denied them the chance to break free from poverty, improve their livelihoods, and build more hopeful futures for their children. The families most impacted by this veto are from Black, brown, and immigrant communities who have time and time again been denied the resources and opportunities to thrive. While the governor likes to claim that, as a working mom and grandmother, she understands the struggles of working families, her actions show us that she is no different from the out-of-touch millionaires and billionaires she chooses to protect. This pattern of consistently putting up obstacles and tanking policies that would help those most in need, under the guise of cost concerns, is a stark betrayal of the people she claims to represent.
“This is not a one-off issue. Governor Hochul had the opportunity to lead boldly by creating a comprehensive solution for child care, combining this Minimum Earnings bill with the Decoupling and Presumptive Eligibility bills. Together, these bills could have moved New York State closer to universal child care, by addressing the full range of challenges working families face – from eligibility traps to fluctuating work hours – while also breaking down barriers to child care access.
“By vetoing this bill, Governor Hochul has shown how out of touch she is with the daily realities of many families across the state. New Yorkers deserve leadership that prioritizes their needs, not justifications that leave them behind. With looming threats and promises at the federal level in 2025, we needed a governor who would fight to protect the most vulnerable New Yorkers. This is not the leadership we need from someone who claims to understand the challenges of working families. We will continue to fight for the policies that New York’s families deserve, because no family should ever have to choose between caring for their children and providing for them.
“Governor Hochul still has the Decoupling bill on her desk, and has until December 24 to sign it into law. We demand that she acts now to support New York’s working families and ensure them access to the child care they need. Call and email the Governor today. Remind her she is accountable to us, the people, and our communities deserve real leadership, not empty promises,” said Marina Marcou-O’Malley and Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari, Co-Executive
