# 119-hr-7726: Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026

119-hr-7726, Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL); status passed_house; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7726
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-7726
- Congress: 119
- Title: Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026
- Status: passed_house
- Introduced: 2026-02-26
- Sponsor: Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Strengthens fraud penalties and data-driven oversight in federal child care programs.** The Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026 would tighten monitoring, require states to report detailed improper payments, and increase sanctions for providers and institutions found to commit fraud. - Families and children: The bill would force states to report improper payments broken out by suspected and verified fraud so taxpayer funds can be tracked and targeted to eligible children. - States and local agencies: It would set a 5 percent improper payment threshold and require corrective action plans. States that exceed 5 percent for two consecutive fiscal years face conditional ineligibility and must show reduction or significant progress. The bill also creates a 3-year cycle for comprehensive performance reviews and extra monitoring for high-risk states. - Providers and institutions: The bill would establish a formal fraud determination process and require permanent debarment for providers after a final determination of fraud. It extends debarment across child care and child nutrition programs and removes the authority to waive sanctions.

## Votes

| Date | Chamber | Question | Result | Yea | Nay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Motion to Recommit | Failed | 210 | 213 |
| 2026-06-03T00:00:00.000Z | house | On Passage | Passed | 217 | 207 |

## Provisions PRIA read

- GAO study on child care fraud: benefit, medium. The Government Accountability Office would study fraud prevention in Head Start, the child care block grant, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The study would review provider controls, whether federal data are sufficient and used well, and State results when duties are delegated to local a…
- Permanent bans for fraudulent child care providers: cost, high. Child care providers with a final fraud finding would be permanently barred from CCDBG funds. “Final” means an administrative order or court decision with appeals exhausted or waived. Covered conduct includes false claims, fake enrollment or eligibility, operating without the required license, or k…
- Stricter child care fraud rules for states: mixed, medium. States would have to treat fraudulent payments as improper child care payments and add stronger integrity steps to their CCDBG plan, including eligibility checks and use of other agencies’ data. Each year, if a State’s improper‑payment rate is over 5%, it would have to file a corrective action plan…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1915: Stop the Cartels Act
- 119-hr-687: MERIT Act of 2025
- 119-hr-8206: Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act
- 119-hr-2282: Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-7726 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7726)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1915: Stop the Cartels Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1915)
- [119-hr-687: MERIT Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-687)
- [119-hr-8206: Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8206)
- [119-hr-4706: Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4706)
- [119-hr-2282: Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2282)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7726 (as of 2026-07-25).