Dear Friend, 

Welcome back to the McBride Memo, my weekly dispatch to Delawareans. 

As the August District Work Period comes to a close, I’m getting ready to head back to Washington with a full notebook and the conversations I’ve had here at home top of mind. Before Congress is back in session next week, here are five quick things you should know: 

This week, I hosted a roundtable discussion at Delaware State University alongside Lt. Governor Kyle Evans Gay where we brought together childcare providers, educators, advocates, and state leaders to talk about how we can make childcare more affordable and accessible across the First State.

As Co-chair of the House Democrats’ Caregiving Working Group, this conversation was especially important as I bring the voices and experiences of Delawareans to shape the solutions we develop in Washington. What I heard at the roundtable echoed what families across our state have been telling me for months: finding quality childcare that fits families’ needs and budgets has become far too difficult. 

Parents are cutting back their hours, turning down job opportunities, or leaving the workforce altogether because they cannot find childcare they can afford. At the same time, providers are facing rising costs, struggling to keep daycares staffed, and trying to pay hardworking caregivers what they deserve without pushing prices even further out of reach. Bottom line: parents, providers, and workers are all being squeezed.

I’ve been working on these challenges since my time in the Delaware State Senate, where I helped pass the Healthy Delaware Families Act to deliver paid family and medical leave for workers across our state. In Congress, I’m working to make sure the federal government plays its part. 

I’m deeply grateful to Lt. Governor Evans Gay — and the providers, educators, advocates, and state leaders who joined me at the roundtable — for their commitment to this work. I’m bringing their perspectives with me as I head back to Washington next week to continue pushing for policy solutions that lower costs and support working families.

This week, trade negotiations between the United States and Canada collapsed, triggering a major escalation in Trump’s trade war with one of our closest allies. Trump’s new 50% tariffs on billions of dollars of Canadian goods went into effect Saturday, and Canada announced dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs against American exports on Tuesday. 

The impact of these tariffs will land right here at home. Canada is Delaware’s largest export market, purchasing more than $700 million in Delaware goods last year alone. That means Trump’s trade war will make it more difficult for Delawareans to do business with our biggest customer. Delaware farmers already operate on tight margins, and this escalating trade war will raise their costs and create uncertainty for our ag economy.

This trade war was an avoidable and unnecessary escalation of tensions with our ally that will have broad impacts on my neighbors in the First State and folks across the country. Families are stretched thin by the cost of groceries, housing, and healthcare, and now, Trump wants to kneecap our economy and drive prices up even further. 

These tariffs are part of a dangerous pattern. Whether it’s threatening Greenland or undermining NATO, the president sows chaos in the hopes of making some haphazard deal that boosts his own ego. International relationships, especially with our trade partners and allies, expand markets and deter conflict. Weakening them doesn’t put America first — it drains our pocketbooks, undermines our safety, and pushes our allies into the hands of our adversaries. 

Last week, my office hosted our Ready, Set, Retire! event in Georgetown, and I’m grateful to everyone who joined us. I hope the conversation helped make retirement planning feel a little easier to navigate. 

If you weren’t able to attend and you want to learn a bit more about who was there, you can check out CoastTV’s coverage of the event here. I will continue looking for opportunities to connect communities across the First State with helpful information. 

In the meantime, my office is always here as a resource. If you or a loved one needs help with Medicare, Social Security, or any other federal agency, call us at (302) 830-2330 or click here.

Creating a care economy that works for my neighbors in Delaware is one of my top priorities. I was just highlighting the work we need to do to support childcare across the state, and that same emphasis on affordability and accessibility is needed when it comes to healthcare. That’s why I’m cosponsoring the bipartisan Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act to ensure expanded access to telehealth for Medicare patients across Delaware.

For too many Delawareans — particularly older adults, people with disabilities, and families in rural communities — quality healthcare is not easily accessible. Folks are often forced to take several hours off work or travel across state lines just to see a doctor. Telehealth is a tool that can alleviate some of these pressures. 

This effort would allow patients to receive telehealth care from home regardless of where they live, expand the range of healthcare providers who can offer virtual visits, and eliminate unnecessary in-person requirements for mental health services. That would mean more options for an older Delawarean managing a chronic condition, a working parent trying to fit an appointment around their busy schedule, or a young adult seeking mental health services in a community facing provider shortages. 

I’m proud to support the bipartisan CONNECT for Health Act because where you live, whether you can drive, or how much flexibility you have at work should never determine whether you get the care that you need. 

It’s been a joy to spend August connecting with folks from every corner of our state. Here are a few highlights from the past few days:

I visited W. L. Gore & Associates corporate headquarters in Newark, where I met with employees and toured their Capability Center to see some of the incredible innovation happening right here in Delaware. Gore is a Delaware success story, founded in a basement on Paper Mill Road in Newark. From medical devices to material science and advanced manufacturing, Gore’s work is another reminder that Delaware can lead the way when we invest in innovation, good jobs, and workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to contribute.

I sat down with longtime community leader Larry Morris and Dominican American advocates to talk about strengthening support for Delaware’s Dominican and Hispanic communities, including for an effort to expand access to vision screenings for children. Dominican and Hispanic Delawareans are a vital part of the fabric of our state, and their voices deserve to be heard and reflected in the decisions that shape our communities.

I joined Easterseals’ 16th Annual Caregiver Conference in Dover, where caregivers, providers, and advocates gathered to share resources, learn from one another, and talk openly about the importance of caregiver well-being. Caregivers spend so much of their lives showing up for the people they love — they deserve support, respite, and the chance to care for themselves too. No one doing this essential work should have to carry it alone.

And at Nemours Children’s Health in Wilmington, I met with healthcare providers and toured a facility designed to provide behavioral health services to young people across our region. We talked about protecting access to care and sustaining the pediatric research that helps deliver better treatments and healthier futures. Every child deserves the chance to grow up healthy and supported as they strive to reach their full potential.

Rep. McBride listens as Delawareans speak during her caregiving roundtable at DSU.

Rep. McBride with employees at W.L. Gore & Associates headquarters in Newark.

Next week, I’ll return to Washington grateful for the conversations, stories, and ideas Delawareans have shared with me throughout August — and ready to put them to work in Congress.

Thank you for reading along and allowing me to do this work. 

Whatever you are up to this weekend, I hope it’s a good one.

Stay in touch, and I'll do the same. Sarah McBride Delaware's Congresswoman

• Service Academy Nominations: Our office is accepting applications from Delaware students seeking nominations to our nation’s prestigious service academies! As a member of Congress, it is my honor to support these students in their efforts to serve our nation in uniform. The application deadline is October 15 and you can find more information on eligibility and application requirements here.
• Congressional App Challenge: Calling all young coders! The Congressional App Challenge is now open to all middle and high school students in Delaware. This nationwide competition is a chance to flex your creativity, build real-world STEM skills, and develop your very own app. The winner will also be invited to the national #HouseOfCode celebration in D.C.! Learn more and get started here.
• Help navigating a federal agency—If you can't get an answer from a federal agency in a timely fashion, or if you feel you have been treated unfairly, our office may be able to help resolve a problem or get you the information you need. While we cannot guarantee you a favorable outcome, we will do our best to help you receive a fair and timely response to your problem. If you need help navigating a federal agency, please visit: https://mcbride.house.gov/services/help-federal-agency

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