Title: Child Care Affordability and Accessibility for Military Families Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Child Care Affordability and Accessibility for Military Families Act
This bill expands access to child care for military families.
For example, the bill (1) lowers child development center fees for certain parents who are active-duty service members, (2) requires each military department to implement a fee assistance program for service members who obtain child care services from a civilian provider, and (3) directs each military medical treatment facility to ensure that service members and their spouses who are attending medical appointments at such facilities may obtain child care services for their children on an hourly basis.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3808 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3808

   To improve the affordability and accessibility of child care for 
               military families, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 21, 2020

  Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. Kaine) introduced the following 
   bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed 
                                Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To improve the affordability and accessibility of child care for 
               military families, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Care Affordability and 
Accessibility for Military Families Act''.

SEC. 2. MILITARY CHILD CARE AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT CENTER MATTERS.

    (a) Center Fees Matters.--Section 1793 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(c) Exclusion of BAH From Family Income in Calculation of Fees 
for Certain Members.--
            ``(1) In general.--In providing for the calculation of fees 
        charged under this section for a parent who is member of the 
        armed forces on active duty in a grade specified in paragraph 
        (2), the regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) 
        shall exclude from the family income of the family concerned 
        any basic allowance for housing (BAH) paid to such parent under 
        section 403 of title 37.
            ``(2) Grades.--The grades specified in this paragraph are 
        as follows:
                    ``(A) Officer grades O-1 and O-2.
                    ``(B) Warrant officer grades W-1 and W-2.
                    ``(C) Enlisted grades E-1 through E-5.
    ``(d) Liberal Issuance of Hardship Waivers.--The regulations 
prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) shall require that installation 
commanders issue waivers of fees otherwise established under the 
regulations for inability to pay (commonly referred to as `hardship 
waivers') on a liberal basis in a manner consistent (as specified by 
the Secretary in such regulations) with ensuring that fees collected 
pursuant to subsection (a) meet the operating expenses of the child 
development centers concerned.
    ``(e) Family Discount.--In the case of a family with two or more 
children attending a child development center, the regulations 
prescribed pursuant to subsection (a) shall require that installations 
commanders charge a fee for attendance at the center of any child of 
the family after the first child of the family in amount equal to 85 
percent of the amount of the fee otherwise chargeable for the 
attendance of such child at the center.''.
    (b) Child Care Fee Assistance Programs Throughout the Armed 
Forces.--
            (1) Programs required.--Each Secretary of a military 
        department shall carry out a program for each Armed Force under 
        the jurisdiction of such Secretary under which a member of the 
        Armed Forces who is obtaining child care services from a 
        civilian child care services provider located off a military 
        installation is paid (subject to any limitation established by 
        such Secretary) a monthly amount equal to the amount, if any, 
        by which--
                    (A) the monthly amount charged by such provider for 
                such services; exceeds
                    (B) the monthly amount the military department 
                concerned pays or otherwise provides members at such 
                installation for child care services on such 
                installation.
            (2) Model.--The programs carried out pursuant to paragraph 
        (1) shall be modeled after the Army Fee Assistance Program, and 
        incorporate such modifications to that Program as the Secretary 
        of the military department concerned considers appropriate.
            (3) Secretary of defense approval.--Any program of an Armed 
        Force under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the approval of 
        the Secretary of Defense.
    (c) Additional Actions To Obtain Qualified Child Care Employees.--
            (1) In general.--Section 1792 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 
                (e); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (c) the following 
                new subsection (d):
    ``(d) Additional Actions To Obtain Qualified Employees.--Each 
Secretary of a military department may, with the approval of the 
Secretary of Defense, take actions in addition to actions authorized by 
subsection (c) to provide military child development centers under the 
jurisdiction of such Secretary with a qualified and stable civilian 
workforce, including actions as follows:
            ``(1) Enhanced marketing and recruitment for employment.
            ``(2) Provision to employees of education-related benefits, 
        including tuition assistance and student loan repayment 
        programs.
            ``(3) Availability and enhancement of wellness and physical 
        fitness programs for employees.
            ``(4) Provision of such other competitive benefits as the 
        Secretary of the military department and the Secretary of 
        Defense jointly consider appropriate.''.
            (2) Reports on installations with extreme imbalance between 
        demand for and availability of child care.--Not later than one 
        year after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 
        Secretary of a military department shall submit to Congress a 
        report on the military installations under the jurisdiction of 
        such Secretary with an extreme imbalance between demand for 
        child care and availability of child care. Each report shall 
        include, for the military department covered by such report, 
        the following:
                    (A) The name of the five installations of the 
                military department experiencing the most extreme 
                imbalance between demand for child care and 
                availability of child care.
                    (B) For each installation named pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A), the following:
                            (i) An assessment whether civilian 
                        employees at child development centers at such 
                        installation have rates of pay and benefits 
                        that are competitive with other civilian 
                        employees on such installation and with the 
                        civilian labor pool in the vicinity of such 
                        installation.
                            (ii) A description and assessment of 
                        various incentives to encourage military 
                        spouses to become providers under the Family 
                        Child Care program at such installation.
                            (iii) Such recommendations at the Secretary 
                        of the military department concerned considers 
                        appropriate to address the imbalance between 
                        demand for child care and availability of child 
                        care at such installation, including 
                        recommendations to enhance the competitiveness 
                        of civilian child care positions at such 
                        installation with other civilian positions at 
                        such installation and the civilian labor pool 
                        in the vicinity of such installation.
    (d) Military Medical Treatment Facility Agreements for Hourly Child 
Care for Members and Spouses During Medical Appointments.--
            (1) In general.--The commander or head of each military 
        medical treatment facility shall seek to enter into an 
        agreement with one or more entities described in paragraph (2) 
        in the vicinity of such facility that provide child care 
        services under which agreement members of the Armed Forces and 
        their spouses who are attending an appointment at such facility 
        for medical or mental health care services may obtain child 
        care services for their children on a hourly basis while 
        attending such appointments.
            (2) Entities.--The entities described in this paragraph are 
        the following:
                    (A) Appropriate non-profit organizations (such as 
                the Armed Services YMCA).
                    (B) Private sector child development centers.
                    (C) Such other entities as the Secretary of Defense 
                considers appropriate for purposes of this subsection.
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