Chairman Cassidy, Tuberville Unveil Discussion Draft to Eliminate Child Care Fraud, Protect Families & Taxpayers

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) released draft legislation to eliminate fraud and abuse of federal child care funding. This comes as Cassidy is investigating multiple states, including Minnesota, New York, Oregon, and Michigan, for failing to protect American families and taxpayers from fraud.

"Every dollar stolen is a dollar not going to children and working families," said Dr. Cassidy. "While Minnesota brought attention to the issue, this is not just a Minnesota problem. Any criminal who steals from children and rips off taxpayers will be held accountable."

"American families have been robbed for far too long," said Senator Tuberville. "We need to find the source of this abuse and cut it off so that our children and families can truly thrive. I will always work to hold the bad actors in the system accountable and advocate for Alabama's hardworking families and their children."

At the HELP Committee hearing on child care fraud last month, witnesses spoke about the multiple issues with the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act, which has not been reauthorized since 2014. Cassidy and Tuberville are calling on Congress to address fraud in CCDBG by:

• Strengthening verification eligibility to ensure child care funding goes to children and families, not criminals.

• Holding high-fraud states like Minnesota, Oregon, and New York accountable. This includes increasing the number of federal audits, ensuring transparency in how tax dollars are spent, and establishing strong penalties for states that don't comply.

• Increasing transparency by giving taxpayers greater information on how dollars are spent and how much money is being wasted.

• Ensuring single parents who get married are not disqualified from child care funding.

Cassidy and Tuberville are asking stakeholders for feedback on their proposal. Responses are due by April 8, 2026.

Read the full discussion draft here.

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