Sponsors (8)
The bill centralizes and standardizes the au pair program to preserve nationwide access, predictability, and affordability for families (including military and shift workers), at the trade-off of reducing state and local authority to add protections—potentially creating uneven safety, labor, and compensation outcomes for au pairs.
Parents, host families, and program sponsors nationwide gain a single, predictable federal regulatory standard for the au pair program, reducing compliance costs and legal uncertainty across states.
Working parents (including single parents, shift workers, first responders, and military families) retain broader access to affordable childcare through a nationally uniform au pair program, helping them maintain employment.
Active-duty military families and other readiness-dependent households have more reliable childcare support, which helps family stability and military readiness; the program also advances cultural exchange and U.S. public diplomacy.
Au pairs, host families, and children may face weaker or inconsistent safety, labor, and housing protections because the bill limits state and local authorities from imposing additional safeguards.
A single national stipend standard can undercompensate au pairs in high-cost areas and raise costs in low-cost areas, creating compensation and affordability mismatches for both participants and host families.
Preemption of state rules risks weakening labor protections and limits local remedies for au pairs seeking enforcement of labor or civil-rights violations, increasing the risk of exploitation or unpaid/overwork.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Preempts state/local regulation of the State Department’s au pair program and requires a 90‑day proposed federal rule to set a uniform stipend approach, increase schedule flexibility, and emphasize cultural immersion.
Introduced June 26, 2025 by Guy Reschenthaler · Last progress June 26, 2025
Preempts state and local governments from regulating the Department of State’s federally run au pair exchange program and requires the Secretary of State to propose, within 90 days of enactment, a national rule that sets a uniform stipend approach (reflecting room, board, and program costs while keeping participation affordable), increases scheduling flexibility for military families and workers with non‑traditional hours, and emphasizes cultural immersion of au pairs into host families. The law reinforces exclusive federal authority over the au pair exchange, aims to preserve national uniformity and affordability, and directs rapid rulemaking to adjust stipend and program rules to better serve families with non‑traditional schedules and the exchange program’s cultural purpose.