At a Glance
On April 28, 2026, Michigan member and mother Julie Groce joined MomsRising and Mamás con Poder and two other members for the first-ever mom-centered Congressional hearing on affordability ‘Moms Pay the Price’ on Capitol Hill to share their experiences on how hard it is to balance a budget these days and demand that leaders prioritize child care and health care over reckless spending.
MomsRising members like Julie testified in Congress about how the rising cost of child care, health care, groceries, and gas is squeezing families until the math no longer "maths."
After returning home, Julie understood the impact of sharing her story about the rising costs of expenses families like hers are facing.
Julie is calling on Congress to prioritize solutions like affordable child care and health care to boost the economy and close the motherhood wage gap.
Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to share my story regarding child care, health care, and affordability with the Democratic Women’s Caucus and Mamás Caucus at the ‘Moms Pay the Price’ hearing. I was with two other MomsRising members and we sat alongside Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner and told lawmakers some of the heart-breakingly difficult decisions we have made in order to raise a family in the United States in 2026. I felt honored to tell them about my family’s struggles because I don’t think our story is special or extraordinary, which in some ways makes me question why would anyone want to hear it? The imposter syndrome tried to take root and had me second guessing if my story would resonate enough to make a difference.
Taking the Lead in Congressional Testimony
I’m a middle school math teacher, wife, and mom to my eight-year-old son, Adam. He has a recurring monthly doctor’s appointment that is necessary to get his medication refilled. I am a cancer survivor and also need medication and regular doctors visits. Every January, my husband and I juggle financial decisions so that we can afford not only the doctor visit, but the medication until we are able to meet our deductible. I remember when Adam was born, it was more expensive to put him on our insurance than it was to go through the marketplace. A teacher and an IT Specialist not being able to afford their own company's health care plans seemed wild to me. I’ve heard the same concerns from friends with families: the rising cost of health care is something that resonates with people.
Adam is no longer in need of child care, but mostly after school care. His school and other programs in the area have limited spots available. The cost is so astronomical that we cannot afford to send him more than twice a week and even that is a stretch. Affordable summer camps are few and far between, but then the extremely limited availability makes it basically impossible to secure a spot. The prospect of getting a summer job for a little extra income is stifled when we compare the price of child care during the summer. It is just like when Adam was an infant and needed to go to child care so I could go back to my career. Finding a high quality, affordable center that was accepting new enrollments was far harder (which also made it scarier because what if I can't go back to work) than we ever anticipated. The summer hustle is just as bad as the preschool hustle. This is another complaint I hear from friends with families: where is my child going after school or when school is closed?
My husband and I were forced into not having more children because of the cost. We would have been put on the streets if we were to pay for two children in child care at the same time. Three mortgages?! Who can afford that? We wanted another child, but we still could not afford to even though we both have solid careers. We waited until our mid to late 30's to have our son because we wanted to be financially stable. We wanted to know that we could provide for another human. While we tried to do the right thing and "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps" it didn't have an impact on how expensive child care and health care are. But since we could afford two children in child care at one time, our window of opportunity closed right before our eyes.
Reflections After Sharing My Story
After returning home from DC, I received thank yous from colleagues and friends for raising my voice. What I realized is that my story may not be an outlier, my story may be the norm, and that is what could make it powerful. My family is overburdened with financial stress and career demands; keeping up with laundry (seriously, are we wearing three outfits a day?) and keeping up with our mental health. It feels like I'm playing a game of chess with life, but I don't believe for one second that this game couldn't be more like checkers. I don't have to be five moves ahead to afford a doctor's visit if we had universal health care. I wouldn't have to strategize how to find and pay for child care if our government invested in it. What I resonated with is how many of my friends and other people in my community are experiencing the same concerns with their families. While it is heartbreaking to know the struggle is widespread, it's also empowering to know moms have strength in numbers. My voice will not be silenced because I know it can be better for future families. The American dream can be for all of us.
Our member Julie shared #MomReceipts of her high child care $$$ at the 1st mom-centered Congressional hearing on affordability "Moms Pay the Price" w/ @demwomencaucus.bsky.social & Mamas' Caucus! On today's #DayWithoutChildCare, moms & providers are striking for universal child care! #SaveChildCare
— MomsRising (@momsrising.org) May 11, 2026 at 5:51 PM
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I really hope the lawmakers are listening and do the work to make it better for families to thrive — not just survive. To me, having events like this is hopeful because it shows some are listening!
Take Action
- Tell us Your Story: Share your experience on how rising costs of health care, child care, groceries, gas, housing, and more are impacting your family!
- Demand Change: Sign our petition to your Member of Congress: We want health care, child care, and healthy food for kids, not warfare.
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