Catching

By MARGARET CARLSON

When Democratic Congresswoman Pat Schroeder arrived in Washington in 1973 with two young children, she thought it would be only a year or so until Congress passed a federal child-care plan. Sixteen years later, Schroeder's children are grown, and the U.S. still lags far behind most other industrialized nations in national family policy. House Democrats have taken a big -- and expensive -- step toward catching up by defeating White House efforts to weaken legislation to create a national child-care program.

Once discrepancies in two slightly different plans approved by the House and a version passed earlier by the Senate have been ironed out, the program will land on George Bush's desk. The House version would expand Head Start programs for impoverished preschoolers, increase tax credits for poor families with three or more children and require states to set health and safety standards for child-care facilities. Though the President may grit his teeth, he may sign the act into law because it is attached to a budget-reconciliation package that contains a component very dear to his heart: a reduction in the capital-gains tax.

One reason the President dislikes the Democratic approach is its cost: $22 billion over the next five years, including $8 billion in direct grants to the states. Another is the conservative belief that the measure is an unwarranted government intrusion into family decision making. House minority whip Newt - Gingrich denounced the bill for being "essentially against mothers staying at home."

Such arguments did not sway Democratic lawmakers, who overwhelmingly voted down a pair of Administration-backed amendments. One, sponsored by Oklahoma Republican Mickey Edwards and favored by the White House, would have limited earned income tax credits for child care to a mere $200 to $300 a year; it was defeated by a vote of 285 to 140. The White House then tried to rally support for a compromise devised by Texas Democrat Charles Stenholm, which would have prohibited the Government from setting standards for child-care centers and personnel. It went down, 230 to 195. The bill's supporters did agree to one conservative demand, deleting a ban on federal funds for church-run centers, which now provide about one-third of all child care.

Democratic resolve was bolstered by the fact that the legislation will be immensely popular with working mothers, who spend an average of $3,000 a year per child for care that is often of uncertain quality. Poor women are especially hard pressed. A report by the Census Bureau estimates that mothers with annual incomes of less than $15,000 paid an average of 18% of their income for child care. Declared Texas Democratic Congressman Michael Andrews: "We have standards for prisons, roads and airports. We owe as much to our children."

With reporting by Nancy Traver/Washington