U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama introduced the Strengthening Transparency and Oversight to Prevent (STOP) Child Care Fraud Act on July 14. The legislation is intended to protect federal child care funds from fraudulent use by strengthening oversight, improving verification methods, and increasing reporting requirements under the Child Care and Development Block Grant.
“Every dollar spent on fraudsters is a dollar stolen from a child and family in need,” said 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.”
Tuberville said, “I appreciate the Trump administration’s efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse from our federal government. 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.”
The bill follows earlier actions by Cassidy as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee—including introducing related legislation targeting student aid fraud oversight—and investigations into alleged misuse of federal child care funds in several states.
As outlined at a HELP Committee hearing in February, child care fraud issues with CCDBG funding were discussed by witnesses; feedback collected after that hearing was incorporated into this latest legislation.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee works on public health policy as well as education and workforce issues nationwide; it provides oversight for agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to the official website.