# 119-hr-3273: Child Care Workforce Development Act

119-hr-3273, Child Care Workforce Development Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Clark, Katherine M. [D-MA-5] (D-MA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3273
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3273
- Congress: 119
- Title: Child Care Workforce Development Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-05-08
- Sponsor: Rep. Clark, Katherine M. [D-MA-5] (D-MA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Strengthen pay and retention for early childhood educators** by pairing a loan-repayment program with college grants that require service in licensed early learning programs. The two programs would link money for education directly to multi-year work commitments in childcare settings. - Early childhood educators would be eligible for loan repayment of up to $6,000 per year for each year they serve, tied to a five-year service commitment and capped at the educator's outstanding loan balance. Annual certification of eligibility would be required. - Students enrolled in qualifying early childhood educator programs would be eligible for grants of up to $4,000 per academic year, renewable for up to four years, with service obligations after completion; failure to meet the obligation converts the grant to a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan under specified repayment terms and allows limited hardship extensions. - Institutions and licensed childcare providers would participate in competitive grant awards and hiring; grant disbursement rules require at least 85 percent of funds be advanced to institutions unless an alternate payment system is adopted, and grant program administration is capped at 3 percent of annual funding. *Authorizes up to $25.0 million per year for the loan repayment program for 2026–2031 and $10.0 million per year for the grants program for 2026–2030, which would increase federal spending by those amounts if appropriated.*

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gomez, Jimmy [D-CA-34] (D-CA), 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4] (D-VA), 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pettersen, Brittany [D-CO-7] (D-CO), 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI), 2025-05-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large] (D-DE), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stanton, Greg [D-AZ-4] (D-AZ), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants for early childhood education students: benefit, high. This bill would create a new grant for students in approved early childhood educator programs. You could get up to $4,000 per academic year, for up to four years. You would agree to work in a licensed early learning program for at least one academic year within four years after finishing. Each rene…
- Loan help for early educators: benefit, high. This bill would let the Health and Human Services Department repay up to $6,000 of your federal student loans for each year you serve as an early childhood educator. You would sign a contract to work five years with a qualified employer, such as a child care provider that receives or is eligible fo…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-3273 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3273)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3273 (as of 2026-09-21).