SenateS. 4896119th Congress
Child Care Innovation Advancement Act of 2026
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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4896 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4896
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
the child care innovation nutrition pilot program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2026
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mrs. Shaheen) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
the child care innovation nutrition pilot program, and for other
purposes.
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 Innovation Advancement
Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) families across the United States are struggling to
access affordable, quality child care due to a shortage of
child care providers;
(2) local communities have responded to the child care
shortage with innovative solutions that increase child care
supply by reducing barriers to entry for potential providers,
including child care pods, multi-unit child care facilities,
and employer-provided child care programs; and
(3) while Federal nutrition programs aid in providing
nutritious foods to young children in child care settings, many
recent innovative child care solutions have found those
programs difficult to access.
SEC. 3. CHILD CARE INNOVATION NUTRITION PILOT PROGRAM.
The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (7 U.S.C. 1751 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 30. CHILD CARE INNOVATION NUTRITION PILOT PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of the Child Care Innovation Advancement Act of 2026, the
Secretary shall carry out a pilot program, to be known as the `child
care innovation nutrition pilot program' (referred to in this section
as the `pilot program'), under which an organized child care program
operating in a site that is not a private home (including a commercial
space, a community center, a house of worship, or a space provided by
an employer) may receive reimbursement for the purchase of nutritious
food for meals provided to children under the care of the organized
child care program.
``(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive reimbursement under
the pilot program, an organized child care program shall be--
``(1) operating under the auspices of a sponsoring
organization; and
``(2) licensed or approved to operate by the State in which
the organized child care program is located.
``(c) Duration.--An organized child care program may receive
reimbursement under the pilot program for not more than 3 years.
``(d) Reimbursement.--
``(1) In general.--An organized child care program
participating in the pilot program shall be reimbursed under
the pilot program at the same rate at which a family or group
day care home is reimbursed under a similar Federal child care
nutrition program.
``(2) Sponsoring organizations.--A sponsoring organization
of an organized child care program participating in the pilot
program shall be reimbursed under the pilot program in the same
manner that a sponsoring organization of a family or group day
care home is reimbursed under a similar Federal child care
nutrition program.
``(e) Accountability.--
``(1) In general.--Activities carried out under the pilot
program shall be subject to strict accountability
requirements--
``(A) to ensure program integrity and protect
taxpayer investments in child health; and
``(B) that include, at a minimum, the monitoring,
review, and program integrity requirements of similar
Federal child care nutrition programs.
``(2) Audit requirement.--
``(A) Definition of unresolved audit finding.--In
this paragraph, the term `unresolved audit finding',
with respect to an audit of the Inspector General of
the Department of Agriculture of the pilot program,
means a finding in a final audit report that an audited
organized child care program has been reimbursed for an
unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost
that is not closed or resolved by the date that is 1
year after the date on which the final audit report is
issued.
``(B) Audits.--
``(i) In general.--Beginning with the first
fiscal year beginning after the date of
enactment of the Child Care Innovation
Advancement Act of 2026, and in each fiscal
year thereafter, the Inspector General of the
Department of Agriculture shall conduct audits
of organized child care programs under the
pilot program to prevent waste, fraud, and
abuse of funds by those organized child care
programs.
``(ii) Number of recipients audited.--The
Inspector General of the Department of
Agriculture shall determine the appropriate
number of organized child care programs to be
audited each year under clause (i).
``(C) Mandatory exclusion.--An organized child care
program that is found to have an unresolved audit
finding shall not be eligible to receive funds under
the pilot program during the first 2 fiscal years
beginning after the end of the applicable 1-year period
described in subparagraph (A).
``(3) Annual certification.--During the first fiscal year
described in paragraph (2)(B)(i), and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a
certification--
``(A) indicating whether--
``(i) all audits conducted by the Inspector
General of the Department of Agriculture under
paragraph (2)(B) have been completed and
reviewed by the appropriate Assistant
Secretary; and
``(ii) all organized child care programs
required to be excluded under paragraph (2)(C)
have been so excluded; and
``(B) that includes a list of any organized child
care programs excluded under paragraph (2)(C) from the
preceding fiscal year.
``(f) Preventing Duplicative Reimbursements.--
``(1) In general.--Prior to awarding a reimbursement to an
organized child care program under the pilot program, the
Secretary shall compare that intended reimbursement with any
other reimbursement awarded by the Secretary to the organized
child care program under another program but for a similar
purpose.
``(2) Report.--If the Secretary awards to an organized
child care program reimbursements under the pilot program and
another program administered by the Secretary for a similar
purpose, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a
report that includes--
``(A) a list of all such reimbursements awarded,
including the total dollar amount of those
reimbursements; and
``(B) the justification for awarding multiple
reimbursements for a similar purpose to the same
organized child care program.
``(g) Evaluation and Report to Congress.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
termination date of the pilot program under subsection (h), the
Secretary shall conduct, and submit to Congress the results of,
an evaluation of the pilot program, which shall contain, at a
minimum--
``(A) the extent to which, as a result of the pilot
program--
``(i) additional low-income children were
provided nutritious meals; and
``(ii) additional children received child
care;
``(B) a description of procedures necessary to
ensure program integrity;
``(C) a discussion of the outreach methods that
were most effective; and
``(D) recommendations regarding permanent authority
for family or group day cares to receive reimbursement
for the purchase of nutritious foods for meals provided
to children under their care.
``(h) Termination of Pilot Program.--The pilot program shall
terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of establishment
of the pilot program.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
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