I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4199 
To clarify the Department of State’s exclusive regulatory authority over 
the au pair cultural exchange program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 26, 2025 
Mr. RESCHENTHALER (for himself, Ms. SALAZAR, and Mr. ISSA) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To clarify the Department of State’s exclusive regulatory 
authority over the au pair cultural exchange program, 
and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Modernize the Au Pair 
Program Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Congress authorized in the Mutual Edu-
cational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, (22 
U.S.C. 2451 et. seq. (known as the ‘‘Fulbright-Hays 
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Act’’)) the creation of international educational and 
cultural exchange programs pursued through pri-
vate-public partnerships between the Federal agency 
responsible for foreign affairs (initially the United 
States Information Agency or ‘‘USIA’’) and des-
ignated sponsoring organizations. 
(2) In 1986, the USIA launched a pilot pro-
gram referred to as the Federal ‘‘au pair exchange 
program’’, whereby young foreign students would 
travel to the United States to live with and provide 
childcare to an American family, immerse themselves 
in American culture, and pursue academic credits at 
an accredited institution. 
(3) In 1994, Congress amended the Eisenhower 
Exchange Fellowship Act of 1990 (Public Law 103– 
415, 108 Stat. 4299 (1994)) to clarify that the 
USIA should continue to administer the Federal au 
pair program consistent with foreign affairs pur-
poses of the Fulbright-Hays Act. 
(4) The USIA exercised its regulatory authority 
over the program to promulgate comprehensive regu-
lations that set requirements for the educational 
component of the program, specified the eligibility 
criteria for au pairs, and crafted a nationally uni-
form weekly stipend formula for host families to pro-
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vide to their au pairs that was based on an assumed 
number of weekly hours of childcare, indexed on the 
Federal minimum wage, and reflected a 40 percent 
credit for the provided room and board. 
(5) In 1997, Congress authorized the Federal 
au pair program on a permanent basis (Public Law 
105–48, 111 Stat. 1165 (1997)). 
(6) In 1999, the USIA disbanded and Congress 
transferred regulatory authority for the au pair pro-
gram to the Department of State. 
(7) The au pair program is an important public 
diplomacy tool that furthers foreign policy objectives 
of the United States. 
(8) The au pair program provides a critical 
source of affordable childcare for tens of thousands 
of American families at a time when the lack of ac-
cess to such care costs the economy of the United 
States an estimated $122,000,000,000 annually in 
lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. 
(9) Studies have shown that over 10 percent of 
au pair host families are active duty military per-
sonnel, and additionally the au pair program has be-
come an essential source of childcare for families of 
first responders, single parents, and shift workers 
and others with non-traditional work schedules. 
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