[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 646 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 646
To establish a grant program to address the crises in accessing
affordable housing and child care through the co-location of housing
and child care, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2025
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Ms. Titus, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Scanlon, Mr.
Panetta, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Norton, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mrs. Hayes,
Mr. McGovern, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Bynum, Mrs. Dingell, Mr.
Keating, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms. Jacobs,
Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Nadler, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. McClellan,
Ms. Ross, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Landsman, Ms. Castor of Florida,
Ms. Escobar, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, and Ms. Dexter) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant program to address the crises in accessing
affordable housing and child care through the co-location of housing
and child care, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Build Housing with Care Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to expand access to affordable housing
and child care through the establishment of a grant program to promote
the co-location of housing and child care providers.
SEC. 3. HOUSING AND CHILD CARE PROVIDER CO-LOCATION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
shall establish a program (hereafter in this section referred to as
``the Program'') to award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible
entities to facilitate the design, planning, construction, conversion,
retrofitting, preservation, or renovation of a co-location facility.
(b) Consultation.--In developing the Program, the Secretary shall
consult with--
(1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting
through the Assistant Secretary of the Administration for
Children and Families;
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the
Director of the Community Development Financial Institutions
Fund; and
(3) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under
Secretary for Rural Development.
(c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under the
Program, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary determines appropriate, including the
following:
(1) A certification that the eligible child care provider
associated with such application is eligible to receive
vouchers or assistance under the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.), or in the
case of an application to construct a new facility, or an
application when the eligible entity intends to subgrant or
capitalize amounts provided, a commitment to--
(A) establish a partnership with an eligible child
care provider not later than 1 year after the date on
which funding is received;
(B) submit to the Secretary a certification of such
eligibility of said provider to receive vouchers or
assistance under the Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.); and
(C) clearly establish a project pipeline, and
submission of a certification to the Secretary that a
child care provider associated with a co-location
facility project receives vouchers or assistance under
the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) or the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
(2) A certification that activities funded by grant amounts
will not result in the eviction of residents of the housing
facility associated with such application.
(3) A description of a plan to inform and engage residents
of the housing facility associated with such application about
the proposed use of grant amounts.
(4) A certification of compliance with required Federal,
State, and local environmental laws and State and local land
use policies, unless the eligible entity--
(A) intends to use grant amounts to facilitate the
planning or design required for permit approval; or
(B) demonstrates that the construction,
preservation, conversion, retrofitting, or renovation
of an existing facility does not require environmental
review.
(5) A business plan for the eligible child care provider
associated with such application, submitted at the time of
application or not later than 1 year after the date on which
the application is submitted, including--
(A) a budget or, in the case of a new eligible
child care provider, a proposed budget;
(B) appropriate State and local licensing or, in
the case of a new eligible child care provider, a copy
of the application of such provider for appropriate
State and local licensing; and
(C) copies of contracts between such provider and a
local, county, regional, State, or Federal governmental
entity, to facilitate--
(i) the business operations of such
provider; or
(ii) the enrollment of children from low-
income families with such provider.
(d) Awarding of Grants.--
(1) Priority.--In awarding grants under the Program, the
Secretary shall give priority to each eligible entity that
demonstrates that the eligible child care provider associated
with the application of such entity will--
(A) operate in a child care desert, in a low-income
community, or a rural area as determined by the
Secretary;
(B) certify designation as a Head Start provider,
Early Head Start Provider, Migrant and Seasonal Head
Start Provider, American Indian and Alaska Native Head
Start Provider, or enroll at least 10 percent of
children from very-low income families; or
(C) demonstrate a partnership with a community
development financial institution, including through
the provision of financial or technical assistance.
(2) Grant amounts.--An eligible entity may be awarded not
more than $10,000,000 under this Act.
(e) Use of Amounts.--
(1) An eligible entity may only use grant amounts provided
under the Program to facilitate the design, planning,
construction, acquisition, preservation, conversion,
retrofitting, long-term leasing, or renovation of a new or
existing co-location facility.
(2) An eligible entity receiving a grant under this section
may distribute grant amounts to a government entity, a
nonprofit organization that develops housing, a public housing
agency, a Tribally designated housing entity, or other
appropriate entity as determined by the Secretary, to carry out
activities in accordance with this section.
(3) A community development financial institution receiving
a grant under this section may capitalize amount received to
create financial products, including loans, to carry out
activities in accordance with this section.
(4) An eligible entity may use--
(A) not more than 10 percent of amounts awarded to
facilitate the pre-development phase of a new facility,
including planning and design; and
(B) not more than 10 percent of amounts awarded to
partner with a community development financial
institution that provides technical assistance and
capacity building to help the eligible entity to submit
applications to the Program, support an eligible child
care provider that is home-based with meeting relevant
State and local licensing and quality standards, and
conduct pre-development activities.
(f) Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical assistance
and publish best practices online to facilitate the operation of co-
location facilities.
(g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the duration of
the Program, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committees on
Financial Services and Education and Workforce of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate
regarding the implementation of the Program, including--
(1) the number of grants awarded;
(2) a description of the activities funded;
(3) the number of child care slots created, including the
number of child care slots serving children from low-income
families or children who are dual language learners;
(4) the number of child care slots preserved that were at
risk of elimination due to a child care center closing or
proposed price increases;
(5) the number and percentage of residents in a co-location
facility that use or are employed by the associated child care
program;
(6) the number of staff employed by the child care
provider;
(7) demographic data of residents of housing facilities
associated with the Program;
(8) the number and type of projects facilitated through
eligible uses of amounts described in subsections (e)(2) and
(e)(3);
(9) the number of early childhood providers supported with
funds from the program; and
(10) the number of eligible entities of each type that
receive grant funding under the Program.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2025 through 2030.
(i) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Caregiver.--The term ``caregiver'' has the meaning
given such term in section 658P of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).
(2) Eligible child care provider.--The term ``eligible
child care provider'' has the meaning given that term under
section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).
(3) Child care desert.--The term ``child care desert''
means a census tract that contains not less than 3 times more
children than the licensed child care providers in such census
tract have the capacity to care for, or a census tract where
there are no licensed child care providers.
(4) Co-location facility.--The term ``co-location
facility'' means a housing facility that contains an eligible
child care provider within, on the premises of such facility or
nearby such facility, where such provider serves the residents
of such housing facility.
(5) Community development financial institution.--The term
``community development financial institution'' has the meaning
given such term in section 103 of the Community Development
Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C.
4702).
(6) Community development corporation.--The term
``community development corporation'' has the same meaning as
when used in the Cranston-Gonzalex National Affordable Housing
Act.
(7) Community housing development organization.--The term
``community housing development organization'' has the meaning
given in the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act
of 1990.
(8) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a community development financial institution;
(B) an eligible child care provider;
(C) a public housing authority;
(D) a government entity including a public housing
agency;
(E) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal organization;
(F) a community development corporation;
(G) a housing developer using--
(i) low income housing tax credits; or
(ii) new market tax credits;
(H) a nonprofit organization that develops housing;
(I) community housing development organization;
(J) a consortia of 2 or more entities under this
paragraph; or
(K) another entity identified as appropriate by the
Secretary.
(9) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms ``Indian
Tribe'' and ``Tribal organization'' have the meanings given
such terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304) and shall include
tribally designated housing entities (as such term is defined
in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and
Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103)) and entities
that serve Native Hawaiians (as such term is defined in section
338K(c) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254s(c))).
(10) Low-income family.--The term ``low-income family'' has
the meaning given such term in section 3(b) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
(11) Public housing agency.--The term ``public housing
agency'' has the meaning given such term in section 3(b)(6) of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)).
(12) Very low-income family.--The term ``very low-income
family'' has the meaning given such term in section 3(b) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
SEC. 4. GAO STUDY AND REPORT REGARDING CHILD CARE ACCESS FOR RESIDENTS
OF PUBLIC HOUSING.
(a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study regarding the availability and affordability of child
care for residents of public housing dwelling units, that shall
include--
(1) a description of how amounts from the following
programs have been used by eligible child care providers to
establish, renovate, or improve facilities--
(A) Community Development Block Grant funds;
(B) New Market Tax Credits;
(C) Community Development Financial Institution
Program funds;
(D) Low Income Housing Tax Credits;
(E) Capital Management Fund funds; or
(F) HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds;
(2) an evaluation of the effects of housing and child care
costs on the economic outlook of residents of public housing
dwelling units;
(3) an evaluation of what percentage of residents of public
housing dwelling units are both--
(A) cost-burdened, as defined by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development; and
(B) part of a household where not less than 7
percent of the income of such household is spent on
child care;
(4) identification and analysis of State or local laws that
are barriers to building or maintaining a facility for use by
eligible child care providers within or near a public housing
dwelling unit;
(5) an assessment of how housing assistance provided under
the program for rental assistance under section 8 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) affects the
ability of residents of public housing dwelling units to afford
child care and other essential expenses, including--
(A) food;
(B) telecommunications services and equipment such
as broadband internet connectivity and cellular phones;
and
(C) means of transportation such as automobiles,
bicycles, or public transportation;
(6) an evaluation of the efficacy of the Child and
Dependent Care Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax
Credit, and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account for
residents of public housing dwelling units, including--
(A) the degree of public knowledge about such
programs;
(B) the degree of success of outreach or public
education programs regarding such programs; and
(C) an assessment of the sufficiency of each
program to cover the costs of child care;
(7) an evaluation of the extent that residents of public
housing dwelling units receive information regarding child care
resources from Federal agencies or public housing agencies; and
(8) recommendations to improve access to child care within
and near public housing dwelling units and to improve awareness
of the availability of Federal programs to assist with the
costs of housing and child care.
(b) Report.--Not later than 12 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to
the Committees on Financial Services and Education and Workforce of the
House of Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate,
describing the results and conclusions of the study required in
subsection (a).
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible child care provider.--The term ``eligible
child care provider'' has the meaning given such term in
section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n).
(2) Public housing dwelling unit.--The term ``public