States cannot split up poor kids and parents for being poor.
H.R. 9994 — Family Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act · Filed by Gwen Moore (D-WI) · Introduced Jul 30, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This bill stops states from taking kids away from parents only because the family has no money. States must set up help like housing and job aid. The help keeps poor kids and parents together safely. The government must write a report about how having no money affects child welfare cases.
Who it affects
Poor parents and kids get legal protection against split-up based on having no money. States must spend money on services to help poor kids and parents stay together.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say what 'only because of having no money' means. States might still split up kids and parents if having no money is one reason plus other problems.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 30, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 30, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- child welfare — Laws and services that protect kids and keep families safe.
- poor — Having very little money.
- report — A written study that shares facts and findings.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,809 characters) on Aug 12, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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