[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3274 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3274
To provide assistance with respect to child care infrastructure.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2025
Ms. Clark of Massachusetts (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Gomez, Ms.
McClellan, Ms. Pettersen, and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide assistance with respect to child care infrastructure.
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 ``Child Care Infrastructure Act''.
SEC. 2. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD CARE SAFETY.
(a) In General.--Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 418 the
following:
``SEC. 418A. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD CARE SAFETY.
``(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the
`Infrastructure Grants To Improve Child Care Safety Act'.
``(b) Needs Assessments.--
``(1) Immediate needs assessment.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an
immediate needs assessment of the condition of child
care facilities throughout the United States (with
priority given to child care programs that receive
Federal funds), that--
``(i) considers the infrastructure needs,
as of the date of the enactment of this
section, of a variety of child care centers,
including home-based centers; and
``(ii) considers how the COVID-19 pandemic
has impacted specific metrics, such as--
``(I) capacity;
``(II) investments in
infrastructure changes;
``(III) the types of infrastructure
changes centers need to implement and
their associated costs;
``(IV) the price of tuition; and
``(V) any changes or anticipated
changes in the number and demographic
of children attending.
``(B) Timing.--The immediate needs assessment
should occur simultaneously with the first grant-making
cycle under subsection (c).
``(C) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall
submit to the Congress a report containing the result
of the needs assessment conducted under subparagraph
(A), and make the assessment publicly available.
``(2) Long-term needs assessment.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a
long-term assessment of the condition of child care
facilities throughout the United States (with priority
given to child care programs that receive Federal
funds). The assessment may be conducted through
representative random sampling.
``(B) Report.--Not later than 4 years after the
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary
shall submit to the Congress a report containing the
results of the needs assessment conducted under
subparagraph (A), and make the assessment publicly
available.
``(c) Child Care Facilities Grants.--
``(1) Grants to states.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may award grants
to States for the purpose of helping child care
providers acquire, construct, renovate, or improve
child care facilities, including adapting,
reconfiguring, or expanding the facilities.
``(B) Prioritized facilities.--The Secretary may
not award a grant to a State under subparagraph (A)
unless the State involved agrees, with respect to the
use of grant funds, to prioritize--
``(i) child care facilities primarily
serving low-income populations;
``(ii) child care facilities primarily
serving children who have not attained the age
of 5 years with a significant percentage of
infants and toddlers enrolled;
``(iii) child care facilities that--
``(I) are currently unable to serve
young children, had to significantly
reduce capacity, or are unable to serve
more children, due to factors such as
the inadequate condition, quality, or
availability of facilities; or
``(II) are seeking to build
capacity and expand the number of
children served;
``(iv) child care facilities that operate
under nontraditional hours; and
``(v) child care facilities located in
rural or underserved communities.
``(C) Duration of grants.--A grant under this
subsection shall be awarded for a period of not more
than 5 years.
``(D) Application.--To seek a grant under this
subsection, a State shall submit to the Secretary an
application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may
require, which information shall--
``(i) be disaggregated as the Secretary may
require; and
``(ii) include a plan to use a portion of
the grant funds to report back to the Secretary
on the impact of using the grant funds to
improve child care facilities.
``(E) Priority.--In selecting States for grants
under this subsection, the Secretary shall prioritize
States that--
``(i) plan to improve center-based and
home-based child care programs, which may
include a combination of child care and early
Head Start or Head Start programs;
``(ii) aim to meet specific needs across
urban, suburban, or rural areas as determined
by the State, such as prioritizing improvements
to programs that serve children from families
with low incomes or children with disabilities;
and
``(iii) show evidence of collaboration
with--
``(I) local government officials;
``(II) other State agencies;
``(III) nongovernmental
organizations, such as--
``(aa) organizations within
the philanthropic community;
``(bb) certified community
development financial
institutions as defined in
section 103 of the Community
Development Banking and
Financial Institutions Act of
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702) that have
been certified by the Community
Development Financial
Institutions Fund (12 U.S.C.
4703); and
``(cc) organizations that
have demonstrated experience
in--
``(AA) providing
technical or financial
assistance for the
acquisition,
construction,
renovation, or
improvement of child
care facilities;
``(BB) providing
technical, financial,
or managerial
assistance to child
care providers; and
``(CC) securing
private sources of
capital financing for
child care facilities
or other low-income
community development
projects; and
``(IV) local community
organizations, such as--
``(aa) child care
providers;
``(bb) community care
agencies;
``(cc) resource and
referral agencies; and
``(dd) unions.
``(F) Consideration.--In selecting States for
grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall
consider--
``(i) whether the applicant--
``(I) has or is developing a plan
to address child care facility needs;
and
``(II) demonstrates the capacity to
execute such a plan; and
``(ii) after the date the report required
by subsection (b)(1)(C) is submitted to the
Congress, the needs of the applicants based on
the results of the assessment.
``(G) Diversity of awards.--In awarding grants
under this section, the Secretary shall give equal
consideration to States with varying capacities under
subparagraph (F).
``(H) Matching requirement.--
``(i) In general.--As a condition for the
receipt of a grant under subparagraph (A), a
State that is not an Indian tribe shall agree
to make available (directly or through
donations from public or private entities)
contributions with respect to the cost of the
activities to be carried out pursuant to
subparagraph (A), which may be provided in cash
or in kind, in an amount equal to 10 percent of
the funds provided through the grant.
``(ii) Determination of amount
contributed.--Contributions required by clause
(i) may include--
``(I) amounts provided by the
Federal Government, or services
assisted or subsidized to any
significant extent by the Federal
Government; or
``(II) philanthropic or private-
sector funds.
``(I) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the last
day of the grant period, a State receiving a grant
under this paragraph shall submit a report to the
Secretary as described in subparagraph (D)--
``(i) to determine the effects of the grant
in constructing, renovating, or improving child
care facilities, including any changes in
response to the COVID-19 pandemic and any
effects on access to and quality of child care;
and
``(ii) to provide such other information as
the Secretary may require.
``(J) Amount limit.--The annual amount of a grant
under this paragraph may not exceed $250,000,000.
``(2) Grants to intermediary organizations.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may award grants
to intermediary organizations, such as certified
community development financial institutions, tribal
organizations, or other organizations with demonstrated
experience in child care facilities financing, for the
purpose of providing technical assistance, capacity-
building, and financial products to develop or finance
child care facilities.
``(B) Application.--A grant under this paragraph
may be made only to intermediary organizations that
submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary may require.
``(C) Priority.--In selecting intermediary
organizations for grants under this subsection, the
Secretary shall prioritize intermediary organizations
that--
``(i) demonstrate experience in child care
facility financing or related community
facility financing;
``(ii) demonstrate the capacity to assist
States and local governments in developing
child care facilities and programs;
``(iii) demonstrate the ability to leverage
grant funding to support financing tools to
build the capacity of child care providers,
such as through credit enhancements;
``(iv) propose to focus on child care
facilities that operate under nontraditional
hours;
``(v) propose to meet a diversity of needs
across States and across urban, suburban, and
rural areas at varying types of center-based,
home-based, and other child care settings,
including early care programs located in
freestanding buildings or in mixed-use
properties; and
``(vi) propose to focus on child care
facilities primarily serving low-income
populations and children who have not attained
the age of 5 years.
``(D) Amount limit.--The amount of a grant under
this paragraph may not exceed $15,000,000.
``(3) Report.--Not later than the end of fiscal year 2030,
the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the
effects of the grants provided under this subsection, and make
the report publicly accessible.
``(d) Labor Standards for All Grants.--
``(1) All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or
subcontractors in the performance of construction, renovation,
improvement, repair, alteration, adaptation, reconfiguration,
or expansion of child care facilities funded in whole or in
part under this section shall be paid wages at rates not less
than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the
locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance
with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of
title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to as the
`Davis-Bacon Act').
``(2) The Secretary shall require that each entity,
including grantees and subgrantees, that applies for an
infrastructure grant for constructing, renovating, or improving
child care facilities, including adapting, reconfiguring, or
expanding such facilities, which is funded in whole or in part
under this section, shall include in its application written
assurance that all laborers and mechanics employed by
contractors or subcontractors in the performance of
construction, alternation or repair, as part of such project,
shall be paid wages in accordance with paragraph (1). The
Secretary shall not approve any such funding without first
obtaining adequate assurance that required labor standards will
be maintained with respect to any such construction work.
``(3) The Secretary of Labor shall have, with respect to
the labor standards specified in paragraph (1), the authority
and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of
1950 (15 Fed. Reg. 3176; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 276c of
title 40, United States Code.
``(e) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--To carry out this section, there is
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year
2026, which shall remain available through fiscal year 2030.
``(2) Reservations of funds.--
``(A) Indian tribes.--The Secretary shall reserve 3
percent of the total amount made available to carry out
this section, for payments to Indian tribes.
``(B) Territories.--The