No Funds for Repeat Child Care Violations Act of 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act.

One of the provisions in this bill is the Combating Regulatory Abuse, Closing Known Deficiencies, and Overseeing Waste Nationwide Act, or the CRACKDOWN Act, of which I am the author.

The bill is about a simple principle: Taxpayer dollars that help working families afford childcare should not be lost to waste, fraud, or abuse.

It is not surprising, by the way, the Child Care and Development Block Grant was subject to abuse. It is one of these programs that the Federal Government pays for and the State governments administer--an invitation to abuse.

In any event, the Child Care and Development Block Grant helps low- income families access childcare so parents can work, pursue training, and provide for their children. When the improper payment rates rise too high, it is a warning sign that stronger oversight is needed.

Under current law, States generally do not face corrective action requirements until improper payments exceed 10 percent. That is way too high.

The CRACKDOWN Act would lower the threshold from 10 percent to 5 percent. If the State exceeds that level, we must take corrective action to improve program integrity.

The national improper payment rate is already about 4.9 percent, and 38 States already meet the 5 percent threshold established in the bill.

Wisconsin is a State that learned this lesson the hard way. In 2010, our State faced widespread fraud in its childcare program. Wisconsin responded by strengthening background checks, creating a dedicated fraud unit, and expanding audits. Today, Wisconsin's improper payment rate is below 1 percent. So it can be done. There is no excuse for being over 1 percent, but because we are easygoing, we are going to require that it is under 5 percent.

Waiting until a State reaches 10 percent before requiring corrective action allows problems to grow before they are addressed.

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, waiting until a State reaches 10 percent before requiring corrective action allows problems to grow before they are addressed.

Every dollar lost to improper payments is a dollar that cannot help a working parent. It also is a dollar taken from taxpayers.

H.R. 7726 protects families, protects taxpayers, and strengthens confidence in the program. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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