Sponsors (105)
The bill would dramatically expand and improve access, quality, and workforce pay in early childhood education and care—especially for low‑income and vulnerable children—but does so through large, recurring federal spending and significant new state/provider mandates and compliance requirements that could strain budgets and disrupt some providers.
Nearly all families with children under 6 gain substantially expanded subsidized, higher‑quality child care access (guaranteed eligibility starting Oct 1, 2026, with no copay for lowest‑income families), reducing out‑of‑pocket costs and supporting parents' ability to work or train.
All 3–4 year‑old children gain access to universal, free, high‑quality preschool nationwide, expanding early learning opportunities and early intervention.
Large, predictable federal investments (multi‑billion annual grants across programs including $9B/year, preschool and Head Start funds) provide states and programs with stable resources to expand supply and stabilize providers.
Taxpayers face very large, recurring federal costs across multiple programs (subsidies, preschool, Head Start, grant streams), which could increase deficits or require tax increases or offsets.
States must provide matching funds and meet maintenance‑of‑effort requirements, which can strain state budgets and force tradeoffs or reallocation from other state programs and priorities.
Extensive new administrative, reporting, and application requirements create significant burdens for state agencies and many providers, increasing compliance costs and staff time and slowing implementation.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates a federally funded child care and early learning program, provider stabilization grants, universal preschool funding, and extended-duration Head Start grants with multiyear appropriations for tribes and territories.
Official title: To increase the quality and supply of child care and lower child care costs for families.
Introduced July 15, 2025 by Robert C. Scott · Last progress July 15, 2025
Creates a new federal Child Care and Early Learning Program (birth through age five), a stabilization and workforce/grants program for child care providers, and a Universal Preschool/Head Start extended-duration grant program. It sets definitions, allowable activities for parents to receive assistance, state set-asides for quality improvement, funding rules for facility grants, and appropriates multiyear funding for tribal and territorial payments through FY2026–FY2031. The bill requires the HHS Secretary to award base grants to lead agencies, funds provider stabilization and wage support, expands access to full-day/full-year Head Start and preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and imposes program, reporting, and application requirements for states, tribes, and providers to receive funds.