Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren Families in the nation’s capital are in a tizzy over a proposed Biden administration regulation that could double the cost to host an au pair. It is a decidedly upper class controversy for a city where two-income families are common and child care complaints are frequent conversation starters. But it also threatens to complicate two prongs of President JOE BIDEN’s agenda: child care affordability and labor rights. Hiring an au pair, a foreigner between 18-26 who moves to the U.S. for up to two years with a host family, is a popular option in and around the nation’s capital where many federal workers reside. In D.C., Virginia and Maryland, the program has 2,851 participants. Right now, host families are supposed to provide their au pair with rent-free housing, food and a weekly stipend at a minimum of $195.75 for up to 45 hours of work. The current rate is based on the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour and subtracts 40 percent of this amount — roughly $130 a week — for room and board. The State Department’s rule proposes a new stipend based on a complex equation that accounts for higher state and local minimum wages but keeps the rent and food deduction the same. In D.C., families could be paying a $589.46 stipend for a 40-hour week in addition to the other required expenses — coming out to roughly as much as a full-time nanny. Parents in the District, and across the country, are panicking. They have flooded the public comment section on the federal registrar — which closes in 18 days — with a whopping 2,931 responses. “The Au Pair program, as currently [organized], has allowed us to have access to reasonably affordable quality childcare, in an area with extremely limited and prohibitively expensive childcare options,” JEFFREY TETRAULT, a northern Virginia resident who said he and his wife are federal employees, wrote in the public comments. “The proposed changes would undoubtedly drive us out of the program due to [increased] costs (almost 9 times more expensive per hour) and the reduction of hours.” A State Department spokesperson said the notice of proposed rulemaking was published this fall with an “ultimate goal to maintain a two-way cultural exchange, increase protections for au pairs, and ensure affordability for American families nationwide.” The public has until Jan. 28, 2024, to comment on the proposed rule. “The U.S. Department of State is deeply committed to the Au Pair program, a cultural exchange program that has positively impacted the lives of international participants and American families alike for the last 30 years,” the spokesperson said. “The Department will consider all comments before determining next steps.” The au pair program has faced criticism for years. There have been reports of abuse, overwork and au pairs not getting their promised pay — with labor advocates pushing for better protections. Many families and au pairs agree the current stipend is too low, and the State Department has been looking for ways to update it since the Obama years. There have also been concerns about the program’s oversight. The State Department outsources the management of the visa program to a number of au pair agencies, including some for-profit companies. The new rule would also seek to create more formalized — and typical — working conditions for au pairs, who are sometimes asked to work odd hours to accommodate parents’ overnight or unpredictable work schedules. DANIELLE LUCY, a D.C. resident, said she supports potential program changes to ensure host families aren’t abusing it, including the increase in the education stipend, a sick leave requirement and the barring of au pairs working overnight hours. But she criticized the move to hike the rates, while keeping the room and board deduction stagnant. “I live in the Washington DC metro region. Our bedroom our au pair lives in would never be rented out at a rate as low as these changes claim. This will make it impossible for us to participate in this program,” she said in her post. The au pair agencies are urging people to share specific concerns during the comment period. These agencies, which connect families with au pairs and handle all the logistics and paperwork that comes along with the program, already charge families upwards of $10,000 in extra fees. Au pair applicants are charged thousands of dollars as well. The deluge of comments has caught the attention of Sens. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-N.H.) and THOM TILLIS (R-N.C), who are circulating a bipartisan letter to send to Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN. The senators want the proposed regulation rescinded and a “comprehensive plan” for consulting with key partners before a new version is proposed, according to a draft of the letter first obtained by West Wing Playbook. “The magnitude of comments submitted to the proposed regulation, far surpassing the expected level of feedback to a draft rule, demonstrates the extreme impact this proposal would have on the program,” the senators wrote. “As a consequence of this proposal, thousands of American families are now concerned over the program’s future and its economic viability in providing childcare for their children.” MESSAGE US — Are you A FEDERAL EMPLOYEE WHO HAS AN AU PAIR? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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