Chairman Cassidy, Tuberville Introduce Bill to Eliminate Fraud in Federal Child Care Funding, Protect American Taxpayers

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Strengthening Transparency and Oversight to Prevent (STOP) Child Care Fraud Act. This legislation aims to protect American families’ tax dollars from fraudulent federal child care spending.

“Every dollar spent on fraudsters is a dollar stolen from a child and family in need,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Americans trust us to use their federal tax dollars wisely. By strengthening accountability, we protect taxpayer dollars and ensure working families have access to quality child care.”

“I appreciate the Trump administration’s efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse from our federal government,” said Senator Tuberville. “We need to do everything we can in the Senate to support President Trump’s efforts and stand up for the American taxpayers. Under Tim Walz’s watch, $19 billion taxpayer dollars were stolen for fake ‘daycare centers.’ I’m proud to join the Strengthening Transparency and Oversight to Prevent (STOP) Child Care Fraud Act to make sure this never happens again.”

Specifically, the legislation amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) by strengthening federal oversight, improving verification methods, and increasing reporting requirements.

Background:

As Chairman of the HELP Committee, Cassidy is leading Senate Republicans to root out fraud and ensure Americans’ tax dollars are used responsibly. Earlier this year, Cassidy introduced the Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act, led the entire Senate Republican Conference demanding accountability from outgoing Minnesota Governor Tim Walz amid widespread reports of fraud and abuse of federal child care funding, and then expanded his investigation to include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

At the HELP Committee hearing on child care fraud in February, witnesses spoke about the multiple issues with CCDBG. Shortly after that hearing, Senators Cassidy and Tuberville published a discussion draft on eliminating the fraud and abuse of federal child care funding. Cassidy incorporated state and stakeholder feedback on that draft into the STOP Child Care Fraud Act.

Read the full bill text here.

Read the full section-by-section here.

Read the one-pager here.

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