CRACKDOWN Act of 2026

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 7726 because we know that childcare is not a luxury. It is a necessity for millions of American families. Yet, many communities struggle with skyrocketing childcare costs if they can find any childcare at all. Our economy already loses an estimated $122 billion every year due to childcare shortages, and that is a policy failure.

The bill before us does nothing to reduce childcare costs, increase supply, or improve conditions for providers, and it doesn't even reduce fraud. Instead, it creates uncertainty and red tape for States and providers. While the supporters will be discussing the title of the bill, they are not going to be discussing the substance.

I support efforts to reduce fraud in government programs, but this bill doesn't do that. States are already required to report error rates and undergo compliance reviews of the Child Care and Development Block Grant every 3 years. This bill would require States to triple their reporting obligations, diverting CCDBG dollars away from families by increasing administrative costs. More reporting does not reduce fraud.

H.R. 7726 is also extremely vague. It would allow the Health and Human Services Secretary to designate States as high risk and subject them to additional monitoring without defining what additional monitoring or high risk means, and it provides no additional funding to support these new responsibilities.

Furthermore, it expands situations where the State may be in noncompliance, opening the door for this legislation to be weaponized to withhold funding from an entire State that the Trump administration wants to punish.

The bill also mandates permanent disbarment of providers found guilty of fraud regardless of mitigating circumstances, and it is unclear who gets debarred. Is it the individual who was involved, or could it be the entire franchise operating in multiple States?

In many communities, permanently removing even one provider could leave families without options for childcare. Furthermore, debarment from the childcare program requires debarment from the Child and Adult Care Food Program, so innocent families could lose access to food as well as childcare.

This legislation fails to stop fraud. Instead, it imposes needless red tape and bureaucracy on communities that are already strapped for resources. For that reason, Mr. Speaker, I oppose the bill and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from public health and anti-hunger organizations, a couple of dozen of them, that says in part that the provisions of H.R.

7723 which are now in this bill ``would use existing Serious Deficiency process to trigger disbarment, which is problematic because it is a tool that is inconsistently applied and is often triggered by minor errors rather than fraud or misconduct.''

May 18, 2026.

Re H.R. 7723 and Its Impact on CACFP Participation

Dear Members of the House of Representatives: We, the

undersigned organizations, write to oppose H.R. 7723,

Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars in Child Care Act, which could

bar child care providers from participating in the child and

Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Child Care and

Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for unintentional or

inadvertent errors.

CACFP is a federal program that provides reimbursements for

nutritious meals and snacks to eligible providers in rural,

suburban, and urban areas in communities across the country,

and is proven to improve children's health, family economic

stability, and child care quality. This program ensures that

children in every state have access to healthy meals and

snacks at participating child care centers, family child care

homes, Head Start programs, afterschool programs, and

emergency shelters.

H.R. 7723 seeks to bar providers from receiving federal

funds if they commit fraud, but states are already

administering CACFP with strong oversight systems

specifically designed to detect and prevent integrity

concerns. These systems are built from U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) guidance and technica1 assistance.

H.R. 7723 would use the existing Serious Deficiency (SD)

process to trigger disbarment, which is problematic because

it is a tool that is inconsistently applied and is often

triggered by minor errors rather than fraud or misconduct.

In May 2024, USDA began the rulemaking process to update

and improve the SD process, with hundreds of stakeholders

urging USDA to clearly define fraud and provide more

technical assistance. These identified improvements must be

included in a Final Rule to ensure due process and that

children and families do not lose access to quality and

community-based child care due to minor or inadvertent

errors.

``We are also concerned about the chilling effect this bill

may have on child care providers.'' Fear of losing CCDBG

funding over inadvertent CACFP errors could push providers to

withdraw from CACFP entirely, reducing children's access to

healthy meals at a critical time for their health and

development.

We strongly support holding providers who commit fraud

accountable. However, inaccurate or exaggerated claims about

alleged fraud should not be the basis for jeopardizing

children's access to nutritious food and access to quality

and locally-based child care. We urge you to oppose this

bill.

Thank you for your consideration to ensure access to high

quality and community-based child nutrition and child care.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss these concerns further.

Sincerely,

National Organizations:

American Federation of State, County and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME); CACFP Roundtable; Center for Law and

Social Policy (CLASP); Common Threads; Food Research & Action

Center (FRAC); First Focus Campaign for Children; National

Association for Family Child Care; National CACFP

Association; National CACFP Forum; National Farm to School

Network; ZERO TO THREE.

State and Local Organizations:

Alpha & Omega Nutrition Program, Inc. (Tennessee); Child

Nutrition Services (Nebraska); Children's Hunger Alliance

(Ohio); CocoKids Inc (California); Genesee County Interagency

Council (New York); Giving Youth A Chance (Tennessee); Hawaii

Children's Action Network Speaks!; Indy Hunger Network

(Indiana); Lucia Mar USD (California); Marathon County Child

Development Agency (Wisconsin); Marshmallow Home Daycare LLC

(California); Missouri State Center for Ozarks Poverty

Research; Northwest Harvest (Washington); Oppenheim

Consulting, LLC; San Francisco--Marin Food Bank (California);

Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County (California); Tiny

Tots and Little Tykes, Inc. (Minnesota).

Mr. Speaker, I also include in the Record a letter from AFSCME, Education Healthcare Public Services, and SEIU that says in part: ``This bill would enable the administration to withdraw Federal childcare funds abruptly without cause, making childcare less affordable and reliable for working families.''

June 2, 2026.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the 5 million members of

the American Federation of State, County and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers (AFT),

and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), we write

collectively in opposition to Stop Child Care Scams Act (H.R.

7726), which purports to address allegations of fraud in

child care programs. ``This bill would enable the

administration to withdraw federal childcare funds abruptly

without cause, making childcare less affordable and reliable

for working families.'' This legislation would also make it

even more difficult for struggling childcare providers to

keep their doors open. We urge you to vote no on H.R. 7726.

Our unions represent family childcare providers, childcare

centers, programs and services, and preschool employees. Some

of these programs span traditional working hours and others

operate well beyond the traditional work day to accommodate

parents who are healthcare workers on 12-hour shifts, service

members working on bases that operate 24/7, construction

workers who are onsite by 7:00 a.m., and other working

parents who work outside the once traditional 9 to 5. Many

providers already operate on razor-thin margins, working long

hours, overseeing staff and making personal financial

sacrifices, like delaying their own pay, to keep their doors

open and meet payroll. Constant funding disruptions to

childcare will force many providers to reduce services or

close altogether. They deserve better and more timely pay

rather than additional delays and uncertainty. This vital

component of our workforce needs certainty and steady funding

to provide the care needed for America's working families.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration, abruptly and

without justification, illegally withheld funding for more

than 300,000 children in more than 44,000 childcare programs

in five states funded by the Child Care and Development Block

Grant (CCDBG). Another 200,000 children who do not receive

childcare assistance but rely on programs that do, may have

also been affected. Unions and other allies swiftly

challenged these actions in court. Multiple courts ordered

the administration to reverse course. Now, H.R. 7726 would

amend current law to allow these politically motivated,

baseless and deeply harmful funding freezes to resume.

CCDBG is a critically important program for infants and

toddlers, preschoolers, school-aged children, and a crucial

workforce support. Reliable, consistent childcare funding

from the federal government is essential to ensure that

parents can work while their children are wellcared for and

gain critical skills for continued education and success.

CCDBG also supports school-aged children in before and after

care. Further, childcare programs, both centers and family

childcare, need the assurance of stable, consistent funding

so that their work can continue.

CCDBG has enjoyed bipartisan support with champions from

both parties because the investments pay off and the program

is run well. CCDBG is one of the most closely monitored human

services programs with states required to submit detailed

plans to the federal government, track eligibility, conduct

regular provider inspections and report spending to the

federal government. The most recent report from the

Administration for Children and Families' Office of Child

Care's National Center on Subsidy Innovation and

Accountability showed that CCDBG had lower rates of improper

payments than other programs. As a reminder, improper

payments include errors that cannot be solely classified as

fraud, such as inadvertent error.

H.R. 7726 further empowers the administration in its

attempts to weaponize the distribution of congressionally

appropriated funds. Instead, Congress should ensure that

enacted funding is distributed lawfully and without delays

due to political motivations. We urge you to oppose H.R. 7726

and focus on ways to make childcare more affordable for

millions of working families.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth S. Watson,

American Federation of State, County and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME).

Kristor Cowan,

American Federation of Teachers (AFT).

John Gray,

Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. McBath.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Child Care for Every Family Network.

The Child Care for Every Family,

June 1, 2026.

Dear Members of Congress: We, the undersigned

organizations, led by the Child Care for Every Family Network

with the support of the National Association for the

Education of Young Children, National Women's Law Center, the

Center for Law and Social Policy, and the National

Association of Family Child Care, strongly urge you to reject

a package of child care bills--or the ``Stop Child Care Scams

Act of 2026''--amending the Child Care and Development Block

Grant Act (CCDBG) and the Child and Adult Care Food Program

(CACFP).

These bills give the U.S. Department of Health and Human

Services unprecedented authority to withhold all Child Care

and Development Fund (CCDF) funding from states without cause

or due process, bar child care providers for non-fraudulent

activity, and burden states with costly activities that don't

improve program integrity. There is no evidence of

significant or widespread fraud in the federal child care

program. These bills will be detrimental to child care access

as they will result in fewer families receiving child care

assistance from CCDF, fewer child care providers willing to

serve families with child care subsidies, and further

destabilize America's child care sector, which is already

stretched too thin. The latest annual survey report from the

National Association for Family Child Care reveals an

unsustainable situation: 35 percent reported earning less

than $10 an hour despite 71 percent working 50 or more hours

per week, and 48 percent reported working 60 or more hours

per week. A recent survey of providers by the National

Association for the Education of Young Children makes clear

that insufficient public investment threatens parents'

ability to afford and access child care.

In short, these bills deny support to children and families

while doing absolutely nothing to strengthen our child care

system or help the millions of families that are struggling

to find and afford the child care they need. Lawmakers must

reject this effort that will destabilize our child care

system and harm the families that rely on it.

The House of Representatives will soon consider legislation

that ignores the real child care crisis and create a

constellation of policies that exacerbate this crisis,

undermining and weakening our current system and doing

nothing to help the millions of families that urgently need

help affording child care. We urge lawmakers to reject the

``Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026,'' which includes the

following bills:

H.R. 7720 Child Care Payment Integrity and Fraud

Accountability Act: This bill treats all states as high-risk

by annual error rate reviews instead of every three years,

despite no evidence of significant or widespread fraud in the

CCDF program. These time-consuming, burdensome, and costly

reviews will mean states have less funding for child care

assistance, while doing nothing to reduce fraud.

H.R. 7721 Combating Regulatory Abuse, Closing Known

Deficiencies, and Overseeing Waste Nationwide Act (CRACKDOWN

Act): This bill would give the U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS) new power to freeze 100 percent of a

state's child care funds for state administrative errors.

Uses an arbitrary, low-risk threshold standard that isn't

about fraud and eliminates state due process. This doesn't

reduce fraud and would needlessly punish thousands of

families who rely on federal child care assistance and

destabilize a state's child care sector.

H.R. 7723 Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars in Child Care Act:

This bill requires HHS and USDA to penalize providers

unfairly, including permanently barring child care providers

from receiving federal child care funds and participation in

the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). This puts

providers who haven't committed fraud at risk of losing their

business and could make them less willing to serve families

with CCDF subsidies. This could have a chilling effect on

providers serving families with subsidies, making it harder

for these families to find the care they need. It also means

that more child care programs could close altogether and more

families--including those who don't use subsidies--will have

a harder time finding and affording child care.

Regarding CACFP, the bill would further undermine the

existing and deeply flawed Serious Deficiency (SD) process to

trigger disbarment from the entire program. CACFP ensures

that the participating child care centers, family child care

homes, Head Start programs, afterschool programs, and

emergency shelters serve healthy meals and snacks. States

currently administer CACFP with strong oversight systems

created by USDA, designed to detect and prevent integrity

concerns. SD is inconsistently applied and often triggered by

minor errors--not fraud or misconduct--and should not result

in termination from either CACFP or CCDF.

H.R. 7726 No Funds for Repeat Child Care Violations Act:

This bill would require HHS to permanently bar child care

providers from receiving federal funds for non-fraudulent

actions, such as incomplete paperwork, like missing

signatures. This puts providers who haven't committed fraud

at risk of losing their business if they serve families

paying with CCDF subsidies. It could have a chilling effect

on providers serving families with subsidies, making it

harder for those families to find the care they need. It also

means that more child care programs could close altogether,

and more families including those who don't pay with

subsidies--will have a harder time finding and affording

child care.

H.R. 7724 No Waivers for Fraud Act: This bill would

eliminate HHS's ability to waive a sanction it has placed on

a state. This flexibility is rarely, if ever, used but would

be important to preserve for instances of capricious

sanctioning of states without proof of fraud and more

generally for unforeseen situations in which the Secretary

and state agree that withdrawing a sanction is appropriate.

We urge lawmakers to vote NO on any package that includes

these bills and instead focus on the real child care crisis

facing our country.

Signed,

National Organizations

Child Care for Every Family Network

Center for Law and Social Policy

National Association for Family Child Care

National Women's Law Center

MomsRising

National Association for the Education of Young Children

(NAEYC)

All Our Kin

American Federation of State, County and Municipal

Employees (AFSCME)

Americans for Democratic Action (ADA)

The letter says in part: ``These bills give the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unprecedented authority to withhold all Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) funding from States without cause or due process, bar child care providers for non-fraudulent activity, and burden States with costly activities that don't improve program integrity.''

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Subramanyam).

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a link to an article printed in the MinnPost, the headline of which says: ``Here's what's really happening with childcare fraud in Minnesota. Evidence is nowhere near the epidemic levels a viral YouTube video would suggest--but it hasn't stopped a crackdown on child care funding. Here's the fact check.'' https://www.minnpost.com/state-government/ 2026/01/heres-whats-really-happening-with-child-care-fraud-in- minnesota-explained/?gad_source=1&gad _campaignid=9109082086.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from

Child Care Aware of America that says, in part, ``several provisions in the bill would duplicate existing requirements, create unclear mandates, and ultimately undermine families' access to childcare'' and that the bill ``would impose new sanctions, restrict flexibility, and potentially reduce childcare funding to States.''

ChildCare Aware of America,

June 2, 2026.

Dear Representative: We write to share concerns about the

Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026 (H.R. 7726) that previously

advanced out of the House Education and Workforce Committee

as a package of eight bills. Child Care Aware of America

(CCAoA) supports swift and thorough action when credible

allegations of fraud arise. But any effort to strengthen

current safeguards should do so without causing economic harm

to families, communitIes, or the child care system.

Unfortunately, several provisions in the bill would duplicate

existing requirements, create unclear mandates, and

ultimately undermine families' access to child care. At a

time when child care prices remain extremely high for

families, additional administration burden and cost may cause

providers to reduce enrollment, withdraw from subsidy

programs, or close altogether, further straining access for

families who need care. We urge you to vote no on the Stop

Child Care Scams Act of 2026 (H.R. 7726).

There are already robust program integrity processes in

place within the Child Care and Development Block Grant

(CCDBG), with dearly defined roles for both federal and state

agencies. Federal law and regulation require states to

conduct eligibility verification, establish monitoring and

enforcement procedures, review payments, investigate

suspected fraud, and implement corrective action plans where

needed. States must submit detailed plans outlining program

integrity strategies, and they are subject to federal

oversight. In addition, states already report extensive data

on payment accuracy and program integrity. Under federal

regulation, states must report the error rate, the percentage

of cases with an improper payment, the percentage of improper

payments, the average amount of improper payment, and the

estimated annual amount of improper payments (45 CFR

98.100(b)). States are also required to outline procedures to

investigate and recover fraudulent payments, which are

different than improper payments or errors, and to impose

sanctions on clients or providers in response to fraud. The

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has clear

oversight authority, including reviewing state compliance,

requiring corrective actions, and imposing penalties when

necessary.

The Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026 (H.R. 7726) would

impose new sanctions, restrict flexibility, and potentially

reduce child care funding to states. While accountability is

important, reducing funding limits states' ability to operate

the child care subsidy systems that millions of families rely

on. These resources support access to child care, workforce

stability, and the state administrative capacity needed to

maintain strong program oversight. Excessive sanctions and

rigid penalties may discourage child care providers from

participating in the subsidy system, or related programs such

as the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The result

could be a smaller supply of child care for families.

The bill's administrative requirements would also be costly

to implement. Expanded reporting, monitoring, technology

upgrades, and compliance obligations require significant

staff time and system changes. Because these expenses are

typically covered by Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)

dollars, increased administrative costs leave fewer resources

available for direct services. As a result, states may need

to serve fewer children, adjust reimbursement rates for child

care providers, or scale back quality initiatives. Increased

compliance risk and reduced flexibility may further

accelerate program closures, making it harder for families to

access care.

Our concerns apply to several of the sections of the Stop

Child Care Scams Act of 2026. Section 5, Improper Payment

Rate Requiring Corrective Action Plan; Conditional

Ineligibility, and Section 10, Fraudulent Payments, focus on

reducing improper payments without making a necessary

distinction between administrative errors and intentional

fraud. That conflation requires states to adopt overly

restrictive payment practices that destabilize child care

provider operations, particularly for small businesses

operating on thin margins. Section IO, Fraudulent Payments,

would add new reporting and compliance requirements that

increase administrative costs and divert funds from direct

services for families and children. Section 6, Cyclical

Monitoring of State Performance, duplicates existing federal

monitoring and review requirements. Section 2, Strengthening

the Authority to Withhold Funds for Fraud, imposes funding

penalties that ultimately reduce resources available to serve

families. Similarly, Section 4, Preventing Fraud in the Child

Care and Development Block Grant Program, would limit

flexibility that states currently use to manage complex

program operations, potentially reducing child care supply.

CCAoA supports thoughtful, targeted efforts to strengthen

program integrity and prevent fraud. However, these efforts

should build on existing systems, preserve clarity in federal

and state roles, distinguish administrative errors and

improper payments from fraud, and most importantly not punish

children and families by destabilizing or defunding the child

care system. As a result, we urge the Representative to

oppose the Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026 (H.R. 7726). We

welcome the opportunity to work with you on balanced

solutions that ensure families maintain access to safe,

affordable child care.

Sincerely,

Susan Gale Perry,

Chief Executive Officer,

Child Care Aware of America.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, millions of families rely on safe, stable childcare in their communities. Unfortunately, the cost of childcare often rivals the cost of housing. Many communities lack adequate childcare altogether.

H.R. 7726 fails to meaningfully improve America's broken childcare system, but it does add unnecessary bureaucratic burdens to States and providers, many of whom are already struggling.

Fraud must be addressed, but in substance, not by discussing the merits of the title of the bill. Smart accountability means strong enforcement paired with practical flexibility. Requiring extra reports and punishing States and providers for minor, inadvertent mistakes does not protect children and doesn't even reduce fraud. It does put programs that families depend on at risk and allows the Trump administration to weaponize this legislation by withholding funding from States that didn't vote for him.

I oppose H.R. 7726, which fails to reduce fraud and prioritizes inflexible mandates over the real-world needs of working families.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1333, I call up the bill (H.R. 7726) to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to withhold funds from noncompliant States under such Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 7726.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Stop Child Care Scams Act to fight childcare fraud and protect taxpayer dollars.

Fraud isn't new, but what we have seen in recent years is staggering. Billions of dollars have been stolen from programs meant to help children and families. As Americans work day in and day out to put food on the table and support their families, fraudsters are lining their pockets with dollars meant to help hungry Americans and innocent children.

Let me make one thing perfectly clear. Every dollar stolen through fraud is a dollar that cannot help feed a hungry person or provide childcare for kids and families who need it.

Minnesota, sadly, has become a glaring example of this failure. Fake businesses, like the now infamous Quality Learing Center, claimed to serve children, but in reality, many of these facilities sat empty with no students and no staff.

The scale of this abuse, Mr. Speaker, is staggering. An estimated $9 billion was lost to fraud. That is $9 billion that could have supported real childcare services or fed families in need. Instead, weak oversight allowed criminals to get rich at the expense of children and taxpayers, and it doesn't stop there.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders of the nonprofit group Feeding Our

Future stole more than $250 million in Federal nutrition funds meant for hungry children. Instead, those dollars were spent lavishly on luxury cars and mansions. That is not just fraud. It is theft from the most vulnerable.

Unfortunately, this problem extends far beyond the State. Across the country, fraudsters are taking advantage of gaps in oversight while taxpayers foot the bill. That is why this legislation is so important.

In March, my committee passed the eight bills included in this package. I thank Representatives Messmer, Grothman, Onder, Foxx, Wilson, Rulli, Owens, and Miller for their hard work to tackle this problem.

Each of the bills is included in the Stop Child Care Scams Act, which delivers commonsense reforms to restore integrity to these programs. It strengthens auditing and data sharing and increases reporting requirements to detect and prevent fraud. Just as importantly, it kicks fraudsters out of assistance programs, ensuring bad actors can't jump between Federal assistance programs to defraud hardworking Americans.

This bill is guided by a simple principle: Taxpayer money meant for children and working families should never be lost to waste, fraud, or abuse.

Mr. Speaker, we know most childcare providers are doing the right thing, but when fraud runs rampant, it drives up costs, reduces access, and undermines trust in the system. If we want to protect access to affordable, high-quality childcare, we must first eliminate the fraud draining these programs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Stop Child Care Scams Act to protect children, restore accountability, and ensure these programs serve those who truly need them.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), the sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman), a great member of our committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Owens), the sponsor of one of the bills in this package, in fact, one of the bills that the Democrats voted with us unanimously.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Rulli), who is the sponsor of another one of the bills in the package that my Democrat colleagues voted for unanimously with us.

Mr. Speaker, now I will get back on the germane issues that we are dealing with with this legislation and not rabid statements without foundation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Onder), who is a great member of our committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messmer), a sponsor of one of the bills in this package and a great member of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

We have the responsibility to ensure taxpayer dollars are used to help Americans, not fraudsters and scammers. Mr. Speaker, if you noticed today, we heard testimony from members of this committee and off this committee, including a Member we just heard from Minnesota, the State with a significant problem that alerted us to the fraud, waste, and abuse that was going on, not simply States or Members that are going to be so-called targeted by the President.

These are Members who understand what went on and how taxpayer funds were being abused through fraud.

For too long, criminals have exploited Federal programs, stealing billions while children and families lose access to critical support. That must end.

The Stop Child Care Scams Act strengthens oversight, closes loopholes, and prevents bad actors from continuing their schemes across multiple programs.

These are straightforward, long-overdue reforms that will make a real difference. Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar taken from someone who truly needs help.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Stop Child Care Scams Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act, which joins with the administration's efforts to rid the Federal Government of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Last month, President Trump announced serious reforms to safeguard Federal taxpayer dollars spent in the Child Care and Development Block Grant program to ensure that this program is serving the families who need it most. The Stop Child Care Scams Act builds on those actions by enforcing program integrity to ensure every State is compliant with Federal requirements.

Since 2002, the block grant has been identified as a Federal program at risk for improper payments. The Office of Management and Budget, GAO, and HHS have all consistently warned that changes are needed to protect the program from fraud and abuse. In fact, a 2020 GAO report estimated that under the block grant program, there were $325 million in improper payments nationwide during the 2019 fiscal year.

HHS data shows that the rate of improper payments in Minnesota's Federal Child Care Assistance Program is nearly twice the national average. In this case, the State failed to address fraud or repeated noncompliance. This is unacceptable, and there must be real consequences.

In 2024, the owner of several Chicago childcare centers was sentenced to 4 years in prison for stealing more than $3 million of taxpayer funds. That is why I am leading H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act. This bill includes many reforms championed by my colleagues on the Education and Workforce Committee to make commonsense updates to the Child Care and Development Block Grant program so that Federal dollars continue to go to working families, not fraudsters.

Congressman Mark Messmer's Child Care Payment Integrity and Fraud Accountability Act requires States to assess how many block grant payments are fraudulent.

Congressman Glenn Grothman's CRACKDOWN Act lowers the improper payment threshold of grant funds from 10 to 5 percent.

Congressman Bob Onder's Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act requires an audit of State childcare assistance programs every 3 years.

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx's Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars in Child Care Act prevents fraudulent providers from receiving future grant funds.

Congressman Joe Wilson's No Waivers for Fraud Act leaves sanctions in place for noncompliant States.

Congressman Mike Rulli's Stop Child Care Fraud Act requires States to ensure all relevant agencies have access to necessary data and are examining it to prevent fraud.

Congressman Burgess Owens' Closing the Provider Fraud Gap Act requires GAO to examine the progress that has been made in protecting Federal taxpayer dollars in provider-related programs.

Lastly, my No Funds for Repeat Child Care Violations Act withholds block grant funds from noncompliant States.

Every dollar lost to fraud is a dollar that doesn't support working families. Fraud harms our families. It harms our workforce. Americans should have confidence that their Federal taxpayer dollars are being used responsibly and carefully.

Ensuring accountability for these dollars is not optional. It is sensible, responsible, and a moral choice to protect working families who contribute to our communities and help our local economies thrive.

House Republicans are taking waste, fraud, and abuse seriously, and I urge my colleagues to do the same and support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the Education and Workforce Committee for yielding.

Stealing from those who need it most is especially egregious, and I can agree with my colleagues on that. But I can't agree with allowing them to punish those that have been defrauded for a second time because that is what this bill really does. It has the same impact on people as fraud.

At the end of the day, the families who these dollars are really meant for, they are not going to get them. They are not going to get the dollars that they need. Instead, the money will have gone to thieves or to nobody at all.

The outcome is just the same. The people who have the least are always the ones who pay the price. In Psalms, since so many profess to be Christians here, the Lord says that because the poor are plundered, that because the greedy groan, He will rise. But God cannot take action on his own. He has given us free will. It is through our

hands that his vision for a just world becomes truth. Instead of rising to help the plundered, to help the poor, this only plunders them for a second time.

This is clearly more about giving the Trump administration more power to punish their political enemies than it is about preventing fraud. Instead of following the law, allowing the process to play out, this bill gives the Secretary personal discretion to investigate and punish fraud.

This President and his allies stop at nothing to punish people who disagree with them. This administration has not hesitated to not only kill people for speaking out and protesting against the government but to slander their memory after they are gone.

They will tell lies about you and your family to the entire country to justify the unjustifiable, just like they did about Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

When my son Jordan was killed in a shooting, the same man who pulled the trigger tried to justify it by lying about who my son really was. He said that there was a gun in the car when there wasn't; that Jordan was a thug, and he wasn't; that my son and his friends were doing things that they really weren't doing.

I thank God every single day that those lies never caught on, but I remember how insulting that was. I remember thinking: You took my child from me, and now you are going to lie about who he really was just to try to get away with it?

The Trump administration has proven that they cannot be trusted to do the right thing on their own--

--or even do something as basic as telling the truth.

This bill makes it easier for this administration to make unilateral decisions at a time when Americans want accountability. I encourage my colleagues to oppose this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act.

One of the provisions in this bill is the Combating Regulatory Abuse, Closing Known Deficiencies, and Overseeing Waste Nationwide Act, or the CRACKDOWN Act, of which I am the author.

The bill is about a simple principle: Taxpayer dollars that help working families afford childcare should not be lost to waste, fraud, or abuse.

It is not surprising, by the way, the Child Care and Development Block Grant was subject to abuse. It is one of these programs that the Federal Government pays for and the State governments administer--an invitation to abuse.

In any event, the Child Care and Development Block Grant helps low- income families access childcare so parents can work, pursue training, and provide for their children. When the improper payment rates rise too high, it is a warning sign that stronger oversight is needed.

Under current law, States generally do not face corrective action requirements until improper payments exceed 10 percent. That is way too high.

The CRACKDOWN Act would lower the threshold from 10 percent to 5 percent. If the State exceeds that level, we must take corrective action to improve program integrity.

The national improper payment rate is already about 4.9 percent, and 38 States already meet the 5 percent threshold established in the bill.

Wisconsin is a State that learned this lesson the hard way. In 2010, our State faced widespread fraud in its childcare program. Wisconsin responded by strengthening background checks, creating a dedicated fraud unit, and expanding audits. Today, Wisconsin's improper payment rate is below 1 percent. So it can be done. There is no excuse for being over 1 percent, but because we are easygoing, we are going to require that it is under 5 percent.

Waiting until a State reaches 10 percent before requiring corrective action allows problems to grow before they are addressed.

Mr. Speaker, waiting until a State reaches 10 percent before requiring corrective action allows problems to grow before they are addressed.

Every dollar lost to improper payments is a dollar that cannot help a working parent. It also is a dollar taken from taxpayers.

H.R. 7726 protects families, protects taxpayers, and strengthens confidence in the program. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.