EXCERPTS
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) revealed a new childcare policy for her campaign Saturday after she was spotted carrying a child through a Washington, D.C.-area airport.
After a Twitter user shared a photo of the freshman lawmaker carrying a child at Ronald Reagan National Airport, Ocasio-Cortez responded, “The tot is my staffer’s 1 y/o! I was on holding duty for this stretch of the trip.”
“We are testing new childcare policies on the campaign by covering childcare expenses for traveling parents, or covering travel for children + a partner to join on certain trips. Wish us luck!” Ocasio-Cortez explained.
She later expanded on the reason behind move in an Instagram story. She said the trip was a campaign stop in Colorado to host a town hall on the Green New Deal alongside Representative Joe Neguse (D-Colo.)
“A big part of the gender pay gap is in parenthood,” Ocasio-Cortez shared. “Moms & parents often stay home from big travel-work opportunities due to childcare costs+considerations. And because this burden is overwhelmingly shouldered on women, it’s women who too often have to take a pass when they don’t want to."
“Not everyone likes work travel and that’s fine, but if you want to go it shouldn’t set you back. So on this trip, we’re experimenting with bringing baby along and seeing what we can learn about childcare policies along the way,” she continued.
Many mothers and Twitter users responded to Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet to support the policy for working parents.
The Hill has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign for comment.