March 5, 2025
Ms. Perez (for herself, Ms. Foxx, Mrs. Kim, and Mr. Gray) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
To require that States that receive a grant under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, will not prohibit licensed child care providers from performing simple food preparation of fruits and vegetables.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Cutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Findings
The Congress finds the following:
(1)
Access to minimally processed fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds is crucial for the development and well-being of children.
(2)
Licensed child care providers often face restrictions on food preparation that limit their ability to serve fresh fruits and vegetables.
(3)
Home and family based child care options, (estimated to serve about 1/4 of families), have seen steady declines over the past decade. While this decreases child care choices for all families, it disproportionately impacts low-income and rural families and those requiring daycare at non-traditional times because of shift work.
(4)
Complicated and burdensome regulations are more challenging for home-based providers and are likely a part of the reason these centers are declining.
(5)
Current regulations can make it easier to open a pre-packaged, often ultra-processed, snack than it is to, for example, peel a banana. This undermines the ability of child care providers to provide basic nutrition to our kids.
(6)
Simplifying regulations to encourage simple food preparation of minimally processed agricultural products can improve nutritional outcomes for children.
Sec. 3. Definitions
For purposes of this Act and the amendment made by this Act, the term simple food preparation
means the basic preparation of fruits and vegetables, including washing, peeling, cutting, and serving raw or minimally processed produce.
Sec. 4. Prohibition of barriers under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990
Section 658E(c)(2)(F) of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(2)(F)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(iii) Prohibition of barriers
The State shall not create any barriers on the simple preparation of fresh fruits and vegetables for facilities, licensed or licensed exempt.