H.R. 3274

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3274 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3274

To provide assistance with respect to child care infrastructure.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 8, 2025

Ms. Clark of Massachusetts (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Gomez, Ms. 
McClellan, Ms. Pettersen, and Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To provide assistance with respect to child care infrastructure.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Child Care Infrastructure Act''.

SEC. 2. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD CARE SAFETY.

(a) In General.--Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 418 the 
following:

``SEC. 418A. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD CARE SAFETY.

``(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
`Infrastructure Grants To Improve Child Care Safety Act'.
``(b) Needs Assessments.--
``(1) Immediate needs assessment.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct an 
immediate needs assessment of the condition of child 
care facilities throughout the United States (with 
priority given to child care programs that receive 
Federal funds), that--
``(i) considers the infrastructure needs, 
as of the date of the enactment of this 
section, of a variety of child care centers, 
including home-based centers; and
``(ii) considers how the COVID-19 pandemic 
has impacted specific metrics, such as--
``(I) capacity;
``(II) investments in 
infrastructure changes;
``(III) the types of infrastructure 
changes centers need to implement and 
their associated costs;
``(IV) the price of tuition; and
``(V) any changes or anticipated 
changes in the number and demographic 
of children attending.
``(B) Timing.--The immediate needs assessment 
should occur simultaneously with the first grant-making 
cycle under subsection (c).
``(C) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Congress a report containing the result 
of the needs assessment conducted under subparagraph 
(A), and make the assessment publicly available.
``(2) Long-term needs assessment.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a 
long-term assessment of the condition of child care 
facilities throughout the United States (with priority 
given to child care programs that receive Federal 
funds). The assessment may be conducted through 
representative random sampling.
``(B) Report.--Not later than 4 years after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Congress a report containing the 
results of the needs assessment conducted under 
subparagraph (A), and make the assessment publicly 
available.
``(c) Child Care Facilities Grants.--
``(1) Grants to states.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may award grants 
to States for the purpose of helping child care 
providers acquire, construct, renovate, or improve 
child care facilities, including adapting, 
reconfiguring, or expanding the facilities.
``(B) Prioritized facilities.--The Secretary may 
not award a grant to a State under subparagraph (A) 
unless the State involved agrees, with respect to the 
use of grant funds, to prioritize--
``(i) child care facilities primarily 
serving low-income populations;
``(ii) child care facilities primarily 
serving children who have not attained the age 
of 5 years with a significant percentage of 
infants and toddlers enrolled;
``(iii) child care facilities that--
``(I) are currently unable to serve 
young children, had to significantly 
reduce capacity, or are unable to serve 
more children, due to factors such as 
the inadequate condition, quality, or 
availability of facilities; or
``(II) are seeking to build 
capacity and expand the number of 
children served;
``(iv) child care facilities that operate 
under nontraditional hours; and
``(v) child care facilities located in 
rural or underserved communities.
``(C) Duration of grants.--A grant under this 
subsection shall be awarded for a period of not more 
than 5 years.
``(D) Application.--To seek a grant under this 
subsection, a State shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Secretary may 
require, which information shall--
``(i) be disaggregated as the Secretary may 
require; and
``(ii) include a plan to use a portion of 
the grant funds to report back to the Secretary 
on the impact of using the grant funds to 
improve child care facilities.
``(E) Priority.--In selecting States for grants 
under this subsection, the Secretary shall prioritize 
States that--
``(i) plan to improve center-based and 
home-based child care programs, which may 
include a combination of child care and early 
Head Start or Head Start programs;
``(ii) aim to meet specific needs across 
urban, suburban, or rural areas as determined 
by the State, such as prioritizing improvements 
to programs that serve children from families 
with low incomes or children with disabilities; 
and
``(iii) show evidence of collaboration 
with--
``(I) local government officials;
``(II) other State agencies;
``(III) nongovernmental 
organizations, such as--
``(aa) organizations within 
the philanthropic community;
``(bb) certified community 
development financial 
institutions as defined in 
section 103 of the Community 
Development Banking and 
Financial Institutions Act of 
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702) that have 
been certified by the Community 
Development Financial 
Institutions Fund (12 U.S.C. 
4703); and
``(cc) organizations that 
have demonstrated experience 
in--

``(AA) providing 
technical or financial 
assistance for the 
acquisition, 
construction, 
renovation, or 
improvement of child 
care facilities;

``(BB) providing 
technical, financial, 
or managerial 
assistance to child 
care providers; and

``(CC) securing 
private sources of 
capital financing for 
child care facilities 
or other low-income 
community development 
projects; and

``(IV) local community 
organizations, such as--
``(aa) child care 
providers;
``(bb) community care 
agencies;
``(cc) resource and 
referral agencies; and
``(dd) unions.
``(F) Consideration.--In selecting States for 
grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
consider--
``(i) whether the applicant--
``(I) has or is developing a plan 
to address child care facility needs; 
and
``(II) demonstrates the capacity to 
execute such a plan; and
``(ii) after the date the report required 
by subsection (b)(1)(C) is submitted to the 
Congress, the needs of the applicants based on 
the results of the assessment.
``(G) Diversity of awards.--In awarding grants 
under this section, the Secretary shall give equal 
consideration to States with varying capacities under 
subparagraph (F).
``(H) Matching requirement.--
``(i) In general.--As a condition for the 
receipt of a grant under subparagraph (A), a 
State that is not an Indian tribe shall agree 
to make available (directly or through 
donations from public or private entities) 
contributions with respect to the cost of the 
activities to be carried out pursuant to 
subparagraph (A), which may be provided in cash 
or in kind, in an amount equal to 10 percent of 
the funds provided through the grant.
``(ii) Determination of amount 
contributed.--Contributions required by clause 
(i) may include--
``(I) amounts provided by the 
Federal Government, or services 
assisted or subsidized to any 
significant extent by the Federal 
Government; or
``(II) philanthropic or private-
sector funds.
``(I) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the last 
day of the grant period, a State receiving a grant 
under this paragraph shall submit a report to the 
Secretary as described in subparagraph (D)--
``(i) to determine the effects of the grant 
in constructing, renovating, or improving child 
care facilities, including any changes in 
response to the COVID-19 pandemic and any 
effects on access to and quality of child care; 
and
``(ii) to provide such other information as 
the Secretary may require.
``(J) Amount limit.--The annual amount of a grant 
under this paragraph may not exceed $250,000,000.
``(2) Grants to intermediary organizations.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may award grants 
to intermediary organizations, such as certified 
community development financial institutions, tribal 
organizations, or other organizations with demonstrated 
experience in child care facilities financing, for the 
purpose of providing technical assistance, capacity-
building, and financial products to develop or finance 
child care facilities.
``(B) Application.--A grant under this paragraph 
may be made only to intermediary organizations that 
submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require.
``(C) Priority.--In selecting intermediary 
organizations for grants under this subsection, the 
Secretary shall prioritize intermediary organizations 
that--
``(i) demonstrate experience in child care 
facility financing or related community 
facility financing;
``(ii) demonstrate the capacity to assist 
States and local governments in developing 
child care facilities and programs;
``(iii) demonstrate the ability to leverage 
grant funding to support financing tools to 
build the capacity of child care providers, 
such as through credit enhancements;
``(iv) propose to focus on child care 
facilities that operate under nontraditional 
hours;
``(v) propose to meet a diversity of needs 
across States and across urban, suburban, and 
rural areas at varying types of center-based, 
home-based, and other child care settings, 
including early care programs located in 
freestanding buildings or in mixed-use 
properties; and
``(vi) propose to focus on child care 
facilities primarily serving low-income 
populations and children who have not attained 
the age of 5 years.
``(D) Amount limit.--The amount of a grant under 
this paragraph may not exceed $15,000,000.
``(3) Report.--Not later than the end of fiscal year 2030, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a report on the 
effects of the grants provided under this subsection, and make 
the report publicly accessible.
``(d) Labor Standards for All Grants.--
``(1) All laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or 
subcontractors in the performance of construction, renovation, 
improvement, repair, alteration, adaptation, reconfiguration, 
or expansion of child care facilities funded in whole or in 
part under this section shall be paid wages at rates not less 
than those prevailing on projects of a character similar in the 
locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance 
with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of 
title 40, United States Code (commonly referred to as the 
`Davis-Bacon Act').
``(2) The Secretary shall require that each entity, 
including grantees and subgrantees, that applies for an 
infrastructure grant for constructing, renovating, or improving 
child care facilities, including adapting, reconfiguring, or 
expanding such facilities, which is funded in whole or in part 
under this section, shall include in its application written 
assurance that all laborers and mechanics employed by 
contractors or subcontractors in the performance of 
construction, alternation or repair, as part of such project, 
shall be paid wages in accordance with paragraph (1). The 
Secretary shall not approve any such funding without first 
obtaining adequate assurance that required labor standards will 
be maintained with respect to any such construction work.
``(3) The Secretary of Labor shall have, with respect to 
the labor standards specified in paragraph (1), the authority 
and functions set forth in Reorganization Plan Numbered 14 of 
1950 (15 Fed. Reg. 3176; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 276c of 
title 40, United States Code.
``(e) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--
``(1) In general.--To carry out this section, there is 
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 
2026, which shall remain available through fiscal year 2030.
``(2) Reservations of funds.--
``(A) Indian tribes.--The Secretary shall reserve 3 
percent of the total amount made available to carry out 
this section, for payments to Indian tribes.
``(B) Territories.--The Secretary shall reserve 3 
percent of the total amount made available to carry out 
this section, for payments to territories.
``(3) Grants for intermediary organizations.--Not less than 
10 percent and not more than 15 percent of the total amount 
made available to carry out this section may be used to carry 
out subsection (c)(2).
``(4) Limitation on use of funds for needs assessments.--
Not more than $5,000,000 of the amounts made available to carry 
out this section may be used to carry out subsection (b).
``(f) Definition of State.--In this section, the term `State' has 
the meaning provided in section 419, except that it includes the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and any Indian tribe.''.
(b) Exemption of Territory Grants From Limitation on Total Payments 
to the Territories.--Section 1108(a)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
1308(a)(2)) is amended by inserting ``418A(c),'' after ``413(f),''.
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