Government, employers, and parents split child care costs in new pilot

What it does

This bill creates a three-year pilot program where the federal government, employers, and parents each pay one-third of eligible child care costs for children of working parents earning between the state's child care assistance threshold and 300% of that threshold. States apply for competitive grants (capped at $20 million each) to administer the program through participating employers; the federal government appropriates $250 million annually for the pilot, with evaluation required at the end.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is a three-way cost-split (government, employer, parent) for child care expenses in a time-limited pilot. It is a targeted affordability intervention, not a broad entitlement or deregulation.

What the text implies

• The income eligibility cap (300% of state threshold) may exclude many working families in high-cost-of-living areas, limiting the program's reach despite the affordability framing.
• Employer participation is voluntary; the bill does not mandate employer involvement, so uptake depends on state recruitment efforts and employer willingness to subsidize child care—potentially creating geographic or sectoral disparities.
• The 3-year sunset means families and employers cannot rely on continuity; if the pilot is not renewed, participating families lose the subsidy abruptly.
• The bill requires states to verify family income 'in each pay period,' creating administrative burden and potential privacy concerns around income disclosure to employers.
• Unobligated federal funds automatically transfer to the Preschool Development Grants Program, which may reduce the pilot's actual funding if states do not fully obligate their grants.

Who it affects

Working families with moderate incomes gain direct cost relief for child care (reducing their share from full cost to one-third), and the program explicitly does not reduce existing Child Care and Development Block Grant benefits. The cost-sharing model spreads burden across three parties rather than placing it solely on families, improving affordability and access to regulated child care.

Who stands to gain

• child care providers (increased demand and guaranteed payment from lead agencies)
• employers (tax-advantaged child care benefit, potential employee retention gains)
• working families earning 100–300% of state child care assistance threshold

Named in the bill

Social Security Act Section 418, Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), State lead agencies, Participating employers, Eligible child care providers

Where it stands

4 cosponsors: 3 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Nov 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Nov 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce and House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $60,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 2 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Hillary Scholten, the sponsor, reported $769,940 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Tootris, LLC — $60,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.