[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7677 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7677

 To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a 
  study regarding fraud prevention measures in certain Federal early 
childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2026

  Mr. Owens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a 
  study regarding fraud prevention measures in certain Federal early 
childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs, 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 ``Closing the Provider Fraud Gap 
Act''.

SEC. 2. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON PROVIDER-RELATED FRAUD.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study regarding fraud prevention measures in Federal early 
childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs that 
shall include an analysis of--
            (1) the effectiveness of procedures and measures to prevent 
        fraud carried out by providers of services under such programs;
            (2) whether the data the Federal Government receives in 
        connection with such programs (including through audits and 
        reporting requirements) is--
                    (A) sufficient to successfully identify fraud 
                carried out under such programs; and
                    (B) used effectively by the Federal Government to 
                identify potential fraud carried out under such 
                programs; and
            (3) with respect to the Child Care and Development Block 
        Grant program established under the Child Care and Development 
        Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.)--
                    (A) the program integrity results for States that 
                have delegated responsibilities related to program 
                management and administration to counties, local 
                municipalities, or other entities; and
                    (B) whether any corrective action plans have been 
                implemented by States to improve program integrity 
                results, including any measurable outcomes from 
                implementing such a corrective action plan.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 
this section, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions of the Senate a report containing--
            (1) the results of the study conducted under subsection 
        (a); and
            (2) any regulatory or legislative recommendations to 
        improve fraud prevention measures in Federal early childhood 
        education, child care, and child nutrition programs.
    (c) Federal Early Childhood Education, Child Care, and Child 
Nutrition Programs Defined.--For the purposes of this section, the term 
``Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition 
programs'' includes--
            (1) Head Start programs (including Early Head Start 
        programs) carried out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 
        et seq.);
            (2) the Child and Adult Care Food Program under section 17 
        of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1766); and
            (3) the Child Care and Development Block Grant program 
        established under the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.).
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