February 12, 2026
Mr. Cruz (for himself, Mr. Scott of Florida, and Mr. Lee) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
To amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require States to make payments to child care providers based on verified attendance in child care programs, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Payment Integrity Act
.
Sec. 2. Payment practices
Section 658E of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (c)(2), by adding by striking subparagraph (S) and inserting the following:
(S) Attendance-based billing
The plan shall include an assurance that the lead agency will provide payment under this subchapter to a child care provider based on verified attendance, rather than enrollment alone, in the program of the provider, and will conduct that verification through the use of attendance records or another reasonable verification method.; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(e) Timing of payment
Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to require a lead agency to make a payment to a child care provider prior to the provision of child care services. The lead agency may make a payment to such a provider under this subchapter after the provider's provision of child care services.