# 119-s-535: Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act

119-s-535, Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2025-12-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-535
- As of: 2025-12-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-535
- Congress: 119
- Title: Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-02-12
- Sponsor: Sen. Banks, Jim [R-IN] (R-IN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2025-12-21

## Summary

**This bill reshapes federal child-care support by shifting the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) into a central _certificate-based system_.** It pairs that shift with higher authorized funding, pilots for fraud prevention and relative-caregiving, and repeal of the federal dependent-care tax credit. - Families and parents: Parents receive child care certificates they can use to pay providers, including relatives. States must deliver 90% of specified direct services via certificates and the bill authorizes $14.0 billion per year for FY2026–FY2031. - Relative caregivers: The law expands who counts as a relative caregiver, requires states to review and reduce burdensome rules, and guarantees relative caregivers at least 75% of the payment rate paid to family child care providers; it also creates a $50 million pilot to increase relative caregiving. - Taxpayers and working households: The bill repeals the federal dependent-care tax credit (section 21) for taxable years beginning after enactment, shifting support from a tax credit to certificate payments. *Authorizes roughly $14.0 billion annually for FY2026–FY2031 plus two $50 million pilots, increasing federal spending over that period.*

## Provisions PRIA read

- More child care funding and choice: benefit, high. This bill would authorize $14 billion each year for child care for fiscal 2026 through 2031. It would require States to deliver most direct aid as child care certificates and give parents the option to use them. It would define certificates, expand who counts as a relative or in‑home caregiver, and…
- Changes to dependent-care FSA rules: benefit, high. This bill would change rules for dependent-care tax benefits and flexible spending accounts. A spouse who is a full‑time student or cannot care for themself would be treated as having at least $250 per month (one qualifying person) or $500 (two or more). It would also narrow what care expenses qual…
- Pilots to curb fraud and boost relatives: benefit, low. This bill would create two $50 million, two‑year pilots to start within one year. One pilot would fund State grants to improve fraud prevention, verification, and overpayment recovery. The other pilot would fund State grants and a report to identify and reduce rules that deter relatives from servin…
- New married‑filing rules for family credits: cost, high. This bill would change who can claim certain family tax credits by tightening marital and filing rules. If married at year‑end, spouses generally must file jointly to claim the credit. It would treat legally separated people as not married and let some married people living apart be treated as not…
- Remove one medical expense rule: cost, high. This bill would strike subsection (e) from the medical expense deduction rules for tax years after enactment. Taxpayers who relied on that rule when claiming medical deductions could lose part of that deduction and may pay more tax.
- Repeal of dependent care tax credit: cost, high. This bill would repeal the federal tax credit for household and dependent care expenses for tax years after enactment. Families that used that credit would no longer be able to claim it and could face higher federal tax bills. The repeal is effective for taxable years beginning after enactment.

## Related bills

- 119-s-2142: GOLDEN DOME Act of 2025
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-4983: Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act
- 119-s-1992: Veterans Appeals Efficiency Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-535 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/535)

## Related
- [119-s-2142: GOLDEN DOME Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2142)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4378)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-4983: Harry Reid Immigration Stabilization Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4983)
- [119-s-1992: Veterans Appeals Efficiency Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1992)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-535 (as of 2025-12-21).