# 119-hr-7498: After Hours Child Care Act

119-hr-7498, After Hours Child Care Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Hinson, Ashley [R-IA-2] (R-IA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7498
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7498
- Congress: 119
- Title: After Hours Child Care Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-11
- Sponsor: Rep. Hinson, Ashley [R-IA-2] (R-IA)
- Cosponsors: 19
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-17

## Summary

This bill would **expand access to child care for parents working nontraditional hours** by creating a Child Care and Development Innovation Fund that awards competitive pilot grants to build evening, night, weekend, and irregular-shift care. - Families: Targets parents who work evenings, nights, weekends, or irregular schedules and aims to help them stay employed and pursue promotions or higher pay. - Providers and partners: Eligible child care providers or partnerships could receive 5-year grants between $25,000 and $500,000 to expand or create programs. Grants must include a 25 percent non-Federal match. - Program rules and oversight: The Secretary of Health and Human Services would run a competitive pilot, require biennial reporting to Congress on children served and employment impacts, and may reserve up to 0.25 percent of appropriations for administration for fiscal years 2027 to 2031.

## Cosponsors (19)

- Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA), 2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bonamici, Suzanne [D-OR-1] (D-OR), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mackenzie, Ryan [R-PA-7] (R-PA), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pappas, Chris [D-NH-1] (D-NH), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] (R-NY), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2026-02-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Castro, Joaquin [D-TX-20] (D-TX), 2026-02-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Latimer, George [D-NY-16] (D-NY), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1] (R-KS), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Sorensen, Eric [D-IL-17] (D-IL), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2026-04-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kiggans, Jennifer A. [R-VA-2] (R-VA), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Susie [D-NV-3] (D-NV), 2026-04-29T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hill, J. French [R-AR-2] (R-AR), 2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wittman, Robert J. [R-VA-1] (R-VA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9] (D-MA), 2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to Expand After-Hours Childcare: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would set up a competitive pilot grant program within 90 days. Grants would run for five years, could not be renewed, and would range from $25,000 to $500,000. Grants would require a 25% non‑Federal match and could pay for staff, facilities and…
- Pilot Exemptions from Child Care Rules: benefit, low. If enacted, this would make the new pilot section exempt from most requirements of the Child Care and Development Block Grant law, except for one specified section (658T). The change would take effect on enactment. This would reduce some program rules for the pilot and may speed implementation, but…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-1993: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act
- 119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-7498 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7498)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-1993: 25th Anniversary of 9/11 Commemorative Coin Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1993)
- [119-hr-1262: Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1262)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7498 (as of 2026-10-17).