# 119-s-4959: STOP Child Care Fraud Act

119-s-4959, STOP Child Care Fraud Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4959
- As of: 2026-08-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4959
- Congress: 119
- Title: STOP Child Care Fraud Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-14
- Sponsor: Sen. Cassidy, Bill [R-LA] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-01

## Summary

**Strengthen fraud prevention and accountability** in federal child care subsidies. This bill would tighten who qualifies for care, require verified attendance for payments, and increase audits and penalties to catch improper payments. - Families: Limits eligibility with a $500,000 family asset cap and new income rules tying eligibility to 85% of the State median income using the latest Census data. It narrows presumptive eligibility to narrow emergency exceptions. - Providers: Shifts payments toward attendance-based reimbursement and requires electronic attendance verification, while allowing States to delink fixed costs for up to 6 days per month. It also requires timely invoicing and creates a national provider disqualification database that bars listed providers from receiving Federal funds. - States and oversight: Sets stronger audit and monitoring rules, makes corrective action plans mandatory, and triggers heightened oversight at a 6% improper payment rate. The bill lets the Secretary withhold funds for noncompliance and creates a 3% set-aside to support quality and licensing activities.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Tuberville, Tommy [R-AL] (R-AL), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- 3% set-aside for quality and inspections: benefit, low. If enacted, States would have to set aside 3 percent of certain reserved child care funds each year for quality improvement and for inspection, monitoring, and licensing activities. That money would pay for quality and compliance efforts under the child care program.
- Stricter verification for child care help: cost, high. If enacted, States would have to verify every child's eligibility with full paperwork and not allow self-certification. Except for limited emergency exceptions set by the Secretary, a child would not get a subsidy before full documentation. Parents would have to report changes in work, training, or…
- New attendance and billing rules for providers: mixed, medium. If enacted, States would require provider payments to be based on verified attendance. Providers could still get full pay when a child misses six days or fewer in a month. Providers would need to file a complete invoice within nine months of the service date and States would have to pay within 21 d…
- Tougher audits, penalties, and provider bans: mixed, medium. If enacted, States would have to count suspected and confirmed fraud as improper payments and the Secretary would require corrective plans when a State's improper payment rate exceeds 6 percent. Repeated 6 percent reports or any report over 9 percent could trigger a high-risk designation and more m…

## Related bills

- 119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act
- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-2121: SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-292: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025
- 119-s-124: Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-4959 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4959)

## Related
- [119-s-4744: Take Care of America’s Veterans Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4744)
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-2121: SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2121)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-292: Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-292)
- [119-s-124: Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-124)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4959 (as of 2026-08-01).