[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4418 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4418
To increase the quality and supply of child care and lower child care
costs for families.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 15, 2025
Mr. Scott of Virginia (for himself, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Davis
of Illinois, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Fields, Ms. Norton, Ms.
Tlaib, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr.
Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Salinas, Mrs. McIver, Ms.
Williams of Georgia, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Ansari, Mr. Swalwell, Ms. Moore
of Wisconsin, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr. Frost, Mr. Carson, Ms. Castor of
Florida, Mr. Latimer, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. Pingree, Mr.
Garcia of California, Ms. Goodlander, Ms. Scholten, Mr. Thanedar, Ms.
Crockett, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Underwood, Mr.
Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. McClain Delaney, Mr. Lieu, Ms.
McBride, Mr. Vargas, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Ms. McCollum, Mrs. Dingell,
Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Norcross, Ms. McClellan, Ms. McDonald
Rivet, Ms. Elfreth, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr.
McGarvey, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Keating,
Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Chu, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Simon, Ms.
Wilson of Florida, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Stevens, Mr. Landsman,
Ms. Ross, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr.
Subramanyam, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Gottheimer, Ms. Titus, Ms. Pettersen, Ms.
Budzinski, Mr. Magaziner, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Brown, Mr. Casten, Mr.
Garamendi, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Davids of Kansas, and Mr. Amo)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase the quality and supply of child care and lower child care
costs for families.
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 for Working Families
Act''.
TITLE I--CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM
SEC. 101. BIRTH THROUGH FIVE CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM.
(a) Child Care Definitions.--The definitions in section 658P of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n)
shall apply to this section, except as provided in subsection (b) and
as otherwise specified.
(b) Additional Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Apprenticeship.--The term ``apprenticeship'' means an
apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937
(commonly known as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50
Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
(2) Child care certificate.--
(A) In general.--The term ``child care
certificate'' means a certificate (that may be a check
or other disbursement) that is issued by a State,
Tribal, territorial, or local government under this
section directly to a parent who shall use such
certificate only as payment for child care services or
as a deposit for child care services if such a deposit
is required of other children being cared for by the
provider.
(B) Rule.--Nothing in this section shall preclude
the use of such certificates for sectarian child care
services if freely chosen by the parent. For the
purposes of this section, child care certificates shall
be considered indirect Federal financial assistance to
the provider.
(3) Child experiencing homelessness.--The term ``child
experiencing homelessness'' means an individual who is a
homeless child or youth under section 725 of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a).
(4) Eligible activity.--The term ``eligible activity'',
with respect to a parent, shall include, at minimum, activities
consisting of--
(A) full-time or part-time employment;
(B) self-employment;
(C) job search activities;
(D) secondary, postsecondary, or adult education,
including education through a program of high school
classes, a course of study at an institution of higher
education, classes towards an equivalent of a high
school diploma recognized by State law, or English as a
second language classes;
(E) health treatment (including mental health and
substance use treatment) for a condition that prevents
the parent from participating in other eligible
activities;
(F) activities to prevent child abuse and neglect,
or family violence prevention or intervention
activities;
(G) employment and training activities, including
job training, under the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); and
(H) taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave
Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) (or equivalent
provisions for Federal employees), a State or local
paid or unpaid leave law, or a program of employer-
provided leave.
(5) Eligible child.--
(A) In general.--The term ``eligible child'' means
an individual--
(i) who is less than 6 years of age;
(ii) who is not yet in kindergarten; and
(iii) who--
(I) resides with a parent or
parents who are participating in an
eligible activity;
(II) is included in a population of
vulnerable children identified by the
lead agency involved, which at a
minimum shall include children with
disabilities, infants and toddlers with
disabilities, children experiencing
homelessness, children in foster care,
children in kinship care, children in a
family that is eligible for assistance
through the special supplemental
nutrition assistance program for women,
infants, and children established by
section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), a household
that is eligible to receive assistance
through the supplemental nutrition
assistance program established under
the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), or a family that
is eligible to receive assistance
through the program of block grants to
States for temporary assistance for
needy families established under part A
of title IV of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and children
who are receiving, or need to receive,
child protective services; or
(III) resides with--
(aa) a parent who is more
than 65 years of age;
(bb) a parent who is
employed by an eligible child
care provider; or
(cc) a parent who is
enrolled in high school and has
not exceeded the maximum age of
enrollment in high school.
(B) Longer-term period eligibility.--An individual
who is determined to be an eligible child shall not be
required to reverify eligibility for purposes of this
title during the period after the determination and
before the individual becomes 6 years of age or enters
kindergarten, whichever occurs earlier.
(6) Eligible child care provider.--
(A) In general.--The term ``eligible child care
provider'' means a center-based child care provider, a
family child care provider, or other provider of child
care services for compensation that--
(i) is licensed to provide child care
services under State law applicable to the
child care services it provides or, in the case
of an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization,
meets the rules set by the Secretary;
(ii) participates in the State's tiered
system for recognizing and supporting the
quality of child care services described in
subsection (f)(3)(B), or, in the case of an
Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, meets the
rules set by the Secretary--
(I) not later than 4 years after
the State first receives funds under
this section; and
(II) for the remainder of the
period for which the provider receives
funds under this section; and
(iii) satisfies the State and local
requirements, including those requirements
described in section 658E(c)(2)(I) of the Child
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)(I)), applicable to the
child care services it provides.
(B) Special rule.--A child care provider who is
eligible to provide child care services in a State for
children receiving assistance under the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et
seq.) on the date the State submits an application for
funds under this section, and remains in compliance
with any licensing or registration standards, or
regulations, of the State, shall be deemed to be an
eligible child care provider under this section for 3.5
years after the State first receives funding under this
section.
(7) FMAP.--The term ``FMAP'' has the meaning given the term
``Federal medical assistance percentage'' in the first sentence
of section 1905(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396d(b)).
(8) Family child care provider.--The term ``family child
care provider'' means one or more individuals who provide child
care services, in a private residence other than the residences
of the children involved, for less than 24 hours per day per
child, or for 24 hours per day per child due to the nature of
the work of the parent involved.
(9) Inclusive care.--The term ``inclusive'', with respect
to care (including child care), means care provided by an
eligible child care provider--
(A) for whom the percentage of children served by
the provider who are children with disabilities or
infants or toddlers with disabilities reflects the
prevalence of children with disabilities and infants
and toddlers with disabilities (whichever the provider
serves) among children within the State involved; and
(B) that provides care and full participation for
children with disabilities and infants and toddlers
with disabilities (whichever the provider serves)
alongside children who are--
(i) not children with disabilities; and
(ii) not infants and toddlers with
disabilities.
(10) Infant or toddler.--The term ``infant or toddler''
means an individual who is less than 3 years of age.
(11) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term
``infant or toddler with a disability'' has the meaning given
the term in section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432).
(12) Lead agency.--The term ``lead agency'' means the
agency designated under subsection (e).
(13) Provider type.--The term ``provider type'' means a
type that is--
(A) a center-based child care provider;
(B) a family child care provider; or
(C) another non-center-based child care provider.
(14) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term
``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given
the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
(15) Staffed family child care network.--The term ``staffed
family child care network'' means a nonprofit organization or
nonprofit cooperative--
(A) that may be a component of a child care
resource and referral organization;
(B) that has at least one paid staff member; and
(C) that offers evidence-based professional
development, quality improvement support, business
support, and technical assistance, including on
achieving licensure as a child care provider, to family
child care providers.
(16) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the 50 States
and the District of Columbia.
(17) Territory.--The term ``territory'' means the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United
States, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
(c) Appropriations.--
(1) Entitlement.--In addition to amounts otherwise
available, there is appropriated to the Department of Health
and Human Services, out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary for each
of fiscal years 2026 through 2031, for payments to States,
territories, and Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations, and
for carrying out this section (other than carrying out
activities described in paragraph (2) or (3)).
(2) Grants to localities; awards to head start agencies.--
In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is
appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services for
fiscal year 2026, out of any money in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, $20,000,000,000, to remain available
until September 30, 2031, to carry out the programs of grants
to localities and awards to Head Start agencies described in
subsection (i).
(3) Federal administration.--In addition to amounts
otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Department of
Health and Human Services for fiscal year 2026, out of any
money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
$1,300,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2031,
to carry out subsections (k) and (l).
(d) Establishment of Birth Through Five Child Care and Early
Learning Entitlement Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to administer
a child care and early learning entitlement program under which
an eligible child, in a State, territory, or Indian Tribe, or
served by a Tribal organization with an approved application
under subsection (f) or (g), shall be provided an opportunity
to obtain high-quality child care services, subject to the
requirements of this section.
(2) Assistance for every eligible child.--Beginning on
October 1, 2026, every child who applies for assistance under
this section, who is in a State with an approved application
under subsection (f), or in a territory or Indian Tribe or
served by a Tribal organization with an approved application
under subsection (g), and who is determined, by a lead agency
(or other entity designated by a lead agency) for the State,
territory, Indian Tribe, or Tribal organization involved,
following standards and procedures established by the Secretary
by rule, to be an eligible child, shall be offered and shall be
entitled to receive assistance for direct child care services
in accordance with and subject to the requirements and
limitations of this section.
(e) Lead Agency.--The Governor of a State or the head of a
territory or Indian Tribe, desiring for the State, territory, or Indian
tribe or a related tribal organization to receive a payment under this
section, shall designate a lead agency (such as a State agency or joint
interagency office) to administer the child care program carried out
under this section.
(f) Applications and State Plans.--
(1) Application.--To be eligible to receive assistance
under this section, a State shall prepare and submit to the
Secretary for approval an application containing a State plan
that meets the requirements under paragraph (3) and contains
that information.
(2) Period covered by plan.--A State plan contained in the
application shall be designed to be implemented during a period
of not more than 3 years.
(3) Requirements for state plans.--The Secretary shall
award funds under this section to States with an approved
application that contains a State plan, submitted under
paragraph (1), at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary shall by rule require,
including, at a minimum, the following:
(A) Payment rates and cost estimati