Sponsors (68)
Official title: To establish universal child care and early learning programs.
Introduced September 30, 2025 by Mikie Sherrill · Last progress September 30, 2025
The bill creates universal, higher‑quality, federally funded child care that sharply reduces family costs and raises workforce pay and supports, but does so through large federal spending and extensive rules that may strain state budgets and small providers and reduce local flexibility.
All covered young children and their families gain access to comprehensive, federally funded child care and early learning as an entitlement, guaranteeing slots and services.
Parents and families (especially low-income households) pay much less for child care because federal funds cover most costs and family fees are capped, reducing household child-care cost burdens.
Early childhood educators and child care staff receive higher pay (parity with local K–12 where funded), living‑wage minimums, and strengthened career pathways, improving incomes and retention.
Taxpayers and the federal budget face significant new, long‑term spending that could increase deficits or require higher taxes or cuts to other programs.
States risk losing CCDBG funding or face restrictive maintenance‑of‑effort tests and limits on using existing funds, reducing state budget flexibility and potentially forcing spending shifts or higher state taxes.
Small providers and family child care homes (especially in rural or high‑need areas) may be unable to afford new facility, staffing, accreditation, and training requirements, risking closures and reduced local slots.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a federally supported community-based child care and early learning program with facility standards, workforce pay rules, family supports, and CCDBG maintenance-of-effort and anti-duplication requirements.
Creates a federal program to expand affordable, high-quality child care and early learning in local communities, including centers and family child care homes, with an emphasis on family involvement, integration of health and social services, and support for children with disabilities and dual language learners. Sets program definitions, application and planning requirements for prime sponsors, facility health and safety standards, staff compensation and curriculum support rules, and new state maintenance-of-effort conditions tied to CCDBG funding to prevent spending reductions. Authorizes the Secretary to provide planning and operational financial assistance to implement comprehensive local child care plans, requires a stakeholder committee to develop a uniform facilities code, mandates wage/benefit parity and a living-wage floor for staff (with a statutory cap tied to Executive Schedule level II), and limits overlap between this new program and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by conditioning CCDBG payments on state spending levels and preventing duplication of services funded under the new program.