Fedorchak supports legislation to strengthen oversight of federal child care programs

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) voted in support of H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026, legislation to strengthen oversight of federal child care assistanceprograms, crack down on fraud, and verify taxpayer dollars are used to support children and working families.

"Federal child care programs exist to help families afford care so parents can work and provide for their children," Fedorchak said. "Taxpayer dollars must be used for this purpose and not to make rich a bunch of fraudsters who are abusing the system for personal gain. This legislation builds on House Republican's broader efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse by strengthening oversight and increasing accountability to restore trust that these programs are serving the people they were intended to help. Wasteful and fraudulent spending is an invisible tax on every American, and we'llcontinue to close loopholes so North Dakotans' hard-earned tax dollars are well spent."

The Stop Child Care Scams Act requires:

• Stronger program integrity standards for states participating in the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program.

• Additional oversight of improper payments.

• Corrective action plans for states with repeated failures.

• Enhanced fraud investigations and penalties for providers found to have knowingly submitted false claims or misused funds.

• Increased monitoring of high-risk states

• Improved transparency surrounding fraudulent and improper payments within federally funded child care programs.

The need for stronger oversight has become increasingly clear as investigators continue to uncover large-scale fraud schemes:

• $160 billion in fraudulent payments, loans, contracts, and benefits have been identified or targeted by the Trump administration's anti-fraud task force.

• According to the House Ways and Means Committee, fraudulent practices in child care assistance programs cost American taxpayers approximately $600 million each year. 

• In Minnesota alone, federal investigators have examined multiple fraud cases involving child care, nutritional assistance, and other public programs totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. Federal prosecutors proved roughly $250 million was stolen from federally funded child nutrition programs through the Minnesota Feeding Our Future fraud scheme alone.

House Republicans have already passed a series of reforms to expose waste, stop fraud, and bring accountability back to Washington. Here are some of the most significant actions taken:

• H.R. 4- Rescissions Act of 2025: Cuts $9.4 billion in wasteful spending identified by President Trump and DOGE, including foreign aid projects and left-wing programs.

• H.R. 1 - One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Delivers historic mandatory spending reductions, strengthens program integrity, and includes reforms to stop taxpayer benefits from going to ineligible recipients.

• H.R. 1958- Deporting Fraudsters Act: Makes criminal aliens who defraud U.S. taxpayers deportable.

• H.R. 1156- Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act: Extends the time prosecutors have to pursue criminals who stole unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

• H.R. 825- Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act: Blocks individuals convicted of defrauding the government from receiving future SBA assistance.

• H.R. 8365- Monitor Accountability Act: Brings transparency and accountability to court-appointed monitors so taxpayers are not stuck paying blank checks for open-ended oversight.

• H.R. 3424- SPACE Act of 2025: Increases accountability in federal property management by helping eliminate waste tied to underused government buildings and excess office space.