WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ) joined U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) in introducing theMultigenerational Caregiving Data Act. The bipartisan, bicameral legislation would close a critical data gap affecting millions of Americans, including Senator Kim, who fall into the “sandwich generation” as they care for both aging parents and children.
“I feel the isolation of being a sandwich generation caregiver every day as I look after my dad with Alzheimer’s and my two boys. It’s a challenge millions face across our country and yet we too often go unheard and overlooked. This legislation works to change that. The better our federal data represents the true experience of caregivers and how many of us there are, the better we can deliver the support and resources caregivers deserve,” said Senator Kim.
“Millions of Americans are balancing the demands of raising children while caring for aging loved ones, often at great personal and financial cost,” said Representative Houlahan. “Today, our federal data systems don’t clearly capture the number of Americans involved in caregiving at this scale. This bipartisan bill takes a simple, practical step to ensure their contributions and challenges are no longer invisible.”
Senator Kim’s legislation is the Senate companion to Congresswoman Houlahan’s bill, which is co-led by Representatives Mike Turner (R-OH-3), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL-13).
Sandwich generation caregivers play a vital but underrecognized and unpaid role in the nation’s economy and family structure. No major federal survey currently identifies and counts individuals providing care across generations—leaving policymakers without the data needed to understand the economic and societal impacts and develop methods to support them.
The Multigenerational Caregiving Data Act would require at least one federal survey to include a question identifying individuals who provide unpaid care to both older adults and children, leveraging existing infrastructure at minimal cost. By establishing the first nationally consistent data on multigenerational caregiving, the bill will help improve policymaking, better target resources, and track trends over time.
“Family caregivers cannot remain invisible in our nation’s health data. The Multigenerational Caregiver Data Act is an important step toward better understanding the realities of caregivers balancing care across generations and ensuring policymakers have the data needed to build more effective supports for families,” said Jason Resendez, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving.
A dad of two young boys, Senator Kim became a sandwich generation caregiver after his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He believes we must build a care movement that delivers tangible solutions for the millions of Americans who are in the same position he is—and the millions more who risk falling into the Sandwich Generation if we don’t act. Read more about how he is working in the Senate to build a universal care movement.
###
