I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7778 
To provide for grants to support access to child care through the 
establishment and operation of child care programs by businesses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 24, 2020 
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To provide for grants to support access to child care through 
the establishment and operation of child care programs 
by businesses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Expanding Child Care 
Access Grants Act of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. EXPANDING CHILD CARE ACCESS GRANTS. 
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to sup-
port the recovery of the United States economy by pro-
viding grants to businesses to aid in opening child care 
programs or establishing partnerships with existing pro-
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viders to meet the demand for child care across the coun-
try as parents return to work. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.— 
The term ‘‘COVID–19 public health emergency’’ 
means the public health emergency declared by the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services under sec-
tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to 
COVID–19, including any renewal of such declara-
tion. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘eligible 
business’’ means a business that does not currently 
provide child care services for the children of such 
business’ employees, offer care or oversight for the 
school age children of such employees, or partner 
with an eligible child care provider for such services. 
(3) ELIGIBLE
CHILD
CARE
PROVIDER.—The 
term ‘‘eligible child care provider’’ means— 
(A) an eligible child care provider as de-
fined in section 658P(6)(A) of the Child Care 
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 9858n(6)(A)); and 
(B) a child care provider that— 
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(i) is license-exempt and operating le-
gally in the State; 
(ii) is not providing child care services 
to relatives; and 
(iii) satisfies State and local require-
ments, including those referenced in sec-
tion 658E(c)(2)(I) of the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 
((42 U.S.C. 9858c)(c)(2)(I)). 
(4) INDIAN
TRIBE; TRIBAL
ORGANIZATION.— 
The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ 
have the meanings given the terms in section 658P 
of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act 
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 
(5) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘‘lead agency’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 658P of 
the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n). 
(6) QUALIFIED BUSINESS.—The term ‘‘quali-
fied business’’ means an eligible business with an 
application approved under subsection (g) for the 
program involved. 
(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
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(8) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 658P of the Child Care 
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 9858n). 
(c) GRANTS FOR BUSINESSES TO PROVIDE CHILD 
CARE SERVICES.—From the funds appropriated to carry 
out this Act, the Secretary shall make Expanding Child 
Care Access grants to States, Indian tribes, and tribal or-
ganizations, that submit notices of intent to provide assur-
ances under subsection (d)(2). The grants shall provide 
for subgrants to businesses for a transition period of not 
more than 9 months to assist in paying for the establish-
ment and operation of child care services. 
(d) PROCESS FOR ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
(1) NOTICE.—Not later than 7 days after funds 
are appropriated to carry out this Act, the Secretary 
shall provide to States, Indian tribes, and tribal or-
ganizations a notice of funding availability for Ex-
panding Child Care Access grants under subsection 
(c) from allotments and payments under subsection 
(e)(2). The Secretary shall issue a notice of the 
funding allocations for each State, Indian tribe, and 
tribal organization not later than 14 days after 
funds are appropriated to carry out this Act. 
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(2) NOTICE
OF
INTENT.—Not later than 14 
days after issuance of a notice of funding allocations 
under paragraph (1), a State, Indian tribe, or tribal 
organization that seeks such a grant shall submit to 
the Secretary a notice of intent to provide assur-
ances for such grant. The notice of intent shall in-
clude a certification that the State, Indian tribe, or 
tribal organization will repay the grant funds if such 
State, Indian tribe, or tribal organization fails to 
provide assurances that meet the requirements of 
subsection (f) or to comply with such an assurance. 
(3) GRANTS
TO
LEAD
AGENCIES.—The Sec-
retary may make grants under subsection (c) to the 
lead agency of each State, Indian tribe, or tribal or-
ganization, upon receipt of the notice of intent to 
provide assurances for such grant. 
(4) PROVISION
OF
ASSURANCES.—Not later 
than 15 days after receiving the grant, the State, In-
dian tribe, or tribal organization shall provide assur-
ances that meet the requirements of subsection (f). 
(e) FEDERAL RESERVATION; ALLOTMENTS AND PAY-
MENTS.— 
(1) RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall reserve 
not more than 1 percent of the amount appropriated 
to carry out this Act to pay for the costs of the Fed-
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eral administration of this section. The amount ap-
propriated to carry out this Act and reserved under 
this paragraph shall remain available through fiscal 
year 2021. 
(2) ALLOTMENTS AND PAYMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall use the remaining portion of such 
amount to make allotments and payments, to States, 
Indian tribes, and tribal organizations that submit 
such a notice of intent to provide assurances, in ac-
cordance with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection 
(a), and subsection (b), of section 658O of the Child 
Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 9858m) for the grants described in sub-
section (c). 
(f) ASSURANCES.—A State, Indian tribe, or tribal or-
ganization that receives a grant under subsection (c) shall 
provide to the Secretary assurances that the lead agency 
will— 
(1) require as a condition of subgrant funding 
under subsection (g) that each business applying for 
a subgrant from the lead agency— 
(A)(i) will use subgrant funds for the sole 
purpose of establishing a child care program 
and providing child care services for the chil-
dren of such business’ employees; or 
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(ii) will operate in partnership with an eli-
gible child care provider serving children 
through a child care program prior to March 1, 
2020; 
(B) agree to follow all applicable State, 
local, and tribal health and safety requirements 
and, if applicable, enhanced protocols for child 
care services related to COVID–19 or another 
health or safety condition; 
(C) agree to comply with the documenta-
tion and reporting requirements under sub-
section (h); and 
(D) certify in good faith that the child care 
program of the business will remain open for 
not less than 1 year after receiving such a 
subgrant unless such program is closed due to 
extraordinary circumstances, including a state 
of emergency declared by the Governor or a 
major disaster or emergency declared by the 
President under section 401 or 501, respec-
tively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170, 5191); 
(2) ensure eligible businesses in urban, subur-
ban, and rural areas can readily apply for and ac-
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cess funding under this section, which shall include 
the provision of technical assistance either directly 
or through resource and referral agencies; 
(3) through at least December 31, 2020, con-
tinue to expend funds provided under the Child Care 
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 
U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) for the purpose of continuing 
payments and assistance to qualified child care pro-
viders on the basis of tiered reimbursements prior to 
March 2020; 
(4) give priority for subgrant awards according 
to geographically based child care service needs 
across the State or tribal community; 
(5) undertake a review of burdensome State, 
local, and tribal regulations and requirements that 
hinder the opening of new licensed child care pro-
grams to meet the needs of the working families in 
the State or tribal community, as applicable; and 
(6) make available to the public, which shall in-
clude, at a minimum, posting to an internet website 
of the lead agency— 
(A) notice of funding availability through 
subgrants for qualified businesses under this 
section; and 
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(B) the criteria for awarding subgrants for 
qualified businesses. 
(g) LEAD AGENCY USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A lead agency that receives 
an Expanding Child Care Access grant under this 
section— 
(A) shall use a portion that is not less 
than 97 percent of the grant funds to award 
subgrants to qualified businesses as described 
in the lead agency’s assurances pursuant to 
subsection (f); 
(B) shall reserve not more than 3 percent 
of the funds to— 
(i) use not less than 1 percent of the 
funds to provide technical assistance and 
support in applying for and accessing 
funding through such subgrants to eligible 
businesses; and 
(ii) use the remainder of the reserved 
funds to— 
(I) administer subgrants to quali-
fied businesses under paragraph (3), 
which shall include monitoring the 
compliance of qualified businesses 
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with applicable State, local, and tribal 
health and safety requirements; and 
(II) comply with the reporting 
and documentation requirements de-
scribed in subsection (h); and 
(C)(i) shall not make more than 1 
subgrant under paragraph (3) to a qualified 
business. 
(2) OBLIGATION AND RETURN OF FUNDS.— 
(A) OBLIGATION.—The lead agency shall 
obligate at least 80 percent of the grant funds 
in the portion described in paragraph (1)(A) for 
subgrants to qualified businesses by the date 
that is 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(B) RETURN OF FUNDS.—Not later than 
the date that is 12 months after a grant is 
awarded to a lead agency in accordance with 
this section, the lead agency shall return to the 
Secretary any of the grant funds that are not 
obligated by the lead agency by such date. The 
Secretary shall return any funds received under 
this subparagraph to the Treasury of the 
United States. 
(3) SUBGRANTS.— 
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(A) IN GENERAL.—A lead agency that re-
ceives a grant under subsection (c) shall make 
subgrants to qualified businesses to assist in 
paying for the establishment and operation of 
child care services, including fixed costs and op-
erating expenses, for a transition period of not 
more than 9 months, so that parents have a 
safe place for their children to receive child care 
as the parents return to the workplace. 
(B) USE OF FUNDS.—A qualified business 
may use subgrant funds for carrying out activi-
ties related to establishing a child care program 
or contracting with an eligible child care pro-
vider to offer child care services for the employ-
ees of such business. 
(C) 
SUBGRANT
APPLICATION.—To 
be 
qualified to receive a subgrant under this para-
graph, an eligible business shall submit an ap-
plication to the lead agency in such form and 
containing such information as the lead agency 
may reasonably require, including— 
(i) a plan for offering access to child 
care services for the employees of such 
business that includes— 
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(I) information describing how 
the eligible business will use the 
subgrant funds to cover slots for the 
children of their employees; 
(II) if applicable, the amount of 
tuition or copayments employees will 
be expected to pay; 
(III) child care enrollment and 
attendance projections; and 
(IV) a demonstration of how the 
eligible business will sustain its oper-
ations after the cessation of funding 
under this section; 
(ii) assurances that the eligible busi-
ness will— 
(I) report to the lead agency data 
on current average enrollment and at-
tendance; 
(II) provide the necessary docu-
mentation under subsection (h) to the 
lead agency, including providing docu-
mentation of expenditures of subgrant 
funds; and 
(III) implement all applicable 
State, local, and tribal health and 
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safety requirements and, if applicable, 
enhanced protocols for child care serv-
ices and related to COVID–19 or an-
other health or safety condition; and 
(iii) a certification in good faith that 
the child care program will remain open 
for not less than 1 year after receiving a 
subgrant under this paragraph unless such 
program is closed due to extraordinary cir-
cumstances 
described 
in 
subsection 
(f)(1)(D). 
(D) SUBGRANT DISBURSEMENT.—In pro-
viding funds through a subgrant under this 
paragraph— 
(i) the lead agency shall disburse such 
subgrant funds to a qualified business in 
an initial payment, with additional install-
ments for maintained operation, as appli-
cable; 
(ii) the lead agency may, notwith-
standing subparagraph (D)(i), disburse an 
initial subgrant installment to a provider 
in a greater amount than that subpara-
graph provides for, as applicable. 
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(E) REPAYMENT OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.— 
A qualified business that receives a subgrant 
under this paragraph shall be required to repay 
the subgrant funds if the lead agency deter-
mines that the business fails to provide the as-
surances described in subparagraph (C)(ii)(II), 
or to comply with such an assurance. 
(4) SUPPLEMENT
NOT
SUPPLANT.—Amounts 
made available to carry out this section shall be used 
to supplement and not supplant other Federal, 
State, tribal, and local public funds expended to pro-
vide child care services, including funds provided 
under the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) and State and 
tribal child care programs. 
(h) DOCUMENTATION
AND REPORTING REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
(1) DOCUMENTATION.—A State, Indian tribe, 
or tribal organization receiving a grant under sub-
section (c) shall provide documentation of any State 
or tribal expenditures from grant funds received 
under subsection (c) in accordance with section 
658K(b) of the Child Care Development Block 
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858i(b)), and to the 
independent entity described in that section. 
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(2) REPORTS.— 
(A) LEAD AGENCY REPORT.—A lead agen-
cy receiving a grant under subsection (c) shall, 
not later than 12 months after receiving such 
grant, submit a report to the Secretary that in-
cludes for the State or tribal community in-
volved a description of the program of sub-
grants carried out to meet the objectives of this 
section, including— 
(i) a description of how the lead agen-
cy determined— 
(I) the criteria for awarding sub-
grants for qualified businesses, includ-
ing the methodology the lead agency 
used to determine and disburse funds 
in accordance with subparagraph (D) 
of subsection (g)(3); and 
(II) the types of businesses that 
received priority for the subgrants, in-
cluding considerations related to geo-
graphically based child care service 
needs across the State or tribal com-
munity; 
(ii) the number of qualified businesses 
that received a subgrant under subsection 
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(g)(3), disaggregated by age of children 
served, geography, region, the average and 
range of the amounts of the subgrants 
awarded, and whether such businesses 
were operating their own child care pro-
gram or partnering with an eligible child 
care provider; and 
(iii) information concerning how quali-
fied businesses receiving subgrants under 
subsection (g)(3) used the subgrant fund-
ing received. 
(B) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later 
than 90 days after receiving the lead agency re-
ports required under subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall make publicly available and pro-
vide to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 
Committee on Education and Labor of the 
House of Representatives a report summarizing 
the findings of the lead agency reports. 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 to carry out 
this Act. 
Æ 
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