Text of Senate Amendment 4639

Text of Senate Amendment 4639

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S1291-S1303] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 4639. Mrs. MURRAY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1383, to establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the appropriate place, insert the following: DIVISION B--CHILD CARE SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This division may be cited as the ``Child Care for Working Families Act''. TITLE I--CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM SEC. 101. BIRTH THROUGH FIVE CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM. (a) Child Care Definitions.--The definitions in section 658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) shall apply to this section, except as provided in subsection (b) and as otherwise specified. (b) Additional Definitions.--In this section: (1) Apprenticeship.--The term ``apprenticeship'' means an apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (commonly known as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50 Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.). (2) Child care certificate.-- (A) In general.--The term ``child care certificate'' means a certificate (that may be a check or other disbursement) that is issued by a State, Tribal, territorial, or local government under this section directly to a parent who shall use such certificate only as payment for child care services or as a deposit for child care services if such a deposit is required of other children being cared for by the provider. (B) Rule.--Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of such certificates for sectarian child care services if freely chosen by the parent. For the purposes of this section, child care certificates shall be considered indirect Federal financial assistance to the provider. (3) Child experiencing homelessness.--The term ``child experiencing homelessness'' means an individual who is a homeless child or youth under section 725 of the McKinney- Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). (4) Eligible activity.--The term ``eligible activity'', with respect to a parent, shall include, at minimum, activities consisting of-- (A) full-time or part-time employment; (B) self-employment; (C) job search activities; (D) secondary, postsecondary, or adult education, including education through a program of high school classes, a course of study at an institution of higher education, classes towards an equivalent of a high school diploma recognized by State law, or English as a second language classes; (E) health treatment (including mental health and substance use treatment) for a condition that prevents the parent from participating in other eligible activities; (F) activities to prevent child abuse and neglect, or family violence prevention or intervention activities; (G) employment and training activities, including job training, under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); and (H) taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) (or equivalent provisions for Federal employees), a State or local paid or unpaid leave law, or a program of employer-provided leave. (5) Eligible child.-- (A) In general.--The term ``eligible child'' means an individual-- (i) who is less than 6 years of age; (ii) who is not yet in kindergarten; and (iii) who-- (I) resides with a parent or parents who are participating in an eligible activity; (II) is included in a population of vulnerable children identified by the lead agency involved, which at a minimum shall include children with disabilities, infants and toddlers with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, children in kinship care, children in a family that is eligible for assistance through the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), a household that is eligible to receive assistance through the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), or a family that is eligible to receive assistance through the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), and children who are receiving, or need to receive, child protective services; or (III) resides with-- (aa) a parent who is more than 65 years of age; (bb) a parent who is employed by an eligible child care provider; or (cc) a parent who is enrolled in high school and has not exceeded the maximum age of enrollment in high school. (B) Longer-term period eligibility.--An individual who is determined to be an eligible child shall not be required to reverify eligibility for purposes of this title during the period after the determination and before the individual becomes 6 years of age or enters kindergarten, whichever occurs earlier. (6) Eligible child care provider.-- (A) In general.--The term ``eligible child care provider'' means a center-based child care provider, a family child care provider, or other provider of child care services for compensation that-- (i) is licensed to provide child care services under State law applicable to the child care services it provides or, in the case of an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, meets the rules set by the Secretary; (ii) participates in the State's tiered system for recognizing and supporting the quality of child care services described in subsection (f)(3)(B), or, in the case of an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, meets the rules set by the Secretary-- (I) not later than 4 years after the State first receives funds under this section; and (II) for the remainder of the period for which the provider receives funds under this section; and (iii) satisfies the State and local requirements, including those requirements described in section 658E(c)(2)(I) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(2)(I)), applicable to the child care services it provides. (B) Special rule.--A child care provider who is eligible to provide child care services in a State for children receiving assistance under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) on the date the State submits an application for funds under this section, and remains in compliance with any licensing or registration standards, or regulations, of the State, shall be deemed to be an eligible child care provider under this section for 3.5 years after the State first receives funding under this section. (7) FMAP.--The term ``FMAP'' has the meaning given the term ``Federal medical assistance percentage'' in the first sentence of section 1905(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396d(b)). (8) Family child care provider.--The term ``family child care provider'' means one or more individuals who provide child care services, in a private residence other than the residences of the children involved, for less than 24 hours per day per child, or for 24 hours per day per child due to the nature of the work of the parent involved. (9) Inclusive care.--The term ``inclusive'', with respect to care (including child care), means care provided by an eligible child care provider-- (A) for whom the percentage of children served by the provider who are children with disabilities or infants or toddlers with disabilities reflects the prevalence of children with disabilities and infants and toddlers with disabilities (whichever the provider serves) among children within the State involved; and (B) that provides care and full participation for children with disabilities and infants and toddlers with disabilities (whichever the provider serves) alongside children who are-- (i) not children with disabilities; and (ii) not infants and toddlers with disabilities. (10) Infant or toddler.--The term ``infant or toddler'' means an individual who is less than 3 years of age. (11) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term ``infant or toddler with a [[Page S1292]] disability'' has the meaning given the term in section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432). (12) Lead agency.--The term ``lead agency'' means the agency designated under subsection (e). (13) Provider type.--The term ``provider type'' means a type that is-- (A) a center-based child care provider; (B) a family child care provider; or (C) another non-center-based child care provider. (14) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term ``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). (15) Staffed family child care network.--The term ``staffed family child care network'' means a nonprofit organization or nonprofit cooperative-- (A) that may be a component of a child care resource and referral organization; (B) that has at least one paid staff member; and (C) that offers evidence-based professional development, quality improvement support, business support, and technical assistance, including on achieving licensure as a child care provider, to family child care providers. (16) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the 50 States and the District of Columbia. (17) Territory.--The term ``territory'' means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. (c) Appropriations.-- (1) Entitlement.--In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary for each of fisca