[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H681-H685]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         EMPOWERING EMPLOYER CHILD AND ELDER CARE SOLUTIONS ACT

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, Pursuant to House Resolution 988, I call up 
the bill (H.R. 2270) to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
exclude child and dependent care services and payments from the rate 
used to compute overtime compensation, and ask for its immediate 
consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 988, the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
Education and Workforce, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, 
as amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 2270

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Empowering Employer Child 
     and Elder Care Solutions Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF CHILD AND DEPENDENT CARE IN COMPUTING 
                   OVERTIME COMPENSATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 7(e) of the Fair Labor Standards 
     Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207(e)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``payments or 
     reimbursements for child or dependent care services;'' after 
     ``by the employer;'';
       (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (3) in paragraph (8)(D)(ii), by striking the period at the 
     end and inserting ``; or''; and
       (4) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(9) the value of any child or dependent care services 
     provided by an employer.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply with respect to overtime compensation required to 
     be paid for workweeks beginning on or after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Education and Workforce or their respective 
designees.
  The gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2270.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Empowering 
Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act, a bipartisan proposal that 
meets working families where they are and strengthens our economy at 
the same time.
  Across this country, millions of Americans are doing two full-time 
jobs at once. They are employees striving to be productive and 
dependable at work, and they are caregivers--parents of young children, 
sons and daughters caring for aging parents, or both. These 
responsibilities do not disappear when the workday begins. They shape 
whether a worker can show up on time, stay focused, or remain in the 
workforce at all.
  Along with many other affordability challenges, the increasing cost 
of child and dependent care is a serious issue facing our country. 
Parents leave jobs they want to keep. Caregivers turn down promotions 
or reduce hours. Businesses lose skilled workers, productivity 
declines, and the entire economy pays the price.
  Many employers want to provide child and elder care for their 
employees, but the law discourages them from

[[Page H682]]

doing so by asserting that routinely provided childcare must be 
included in an hourly employee's regular pay rates.
  The Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act removes 
this longstanding obstacle for employers wishing to provide these 
highly valued accommodations to their workforce and aligns the 
treatment of these pro-family benefits with other employer-provided 
benefits.
  For workers, employer-supported care can be the difference between 
staying in the job or being forced out of the workforce. It reduces 
stress, improves mental health, and allows parents and caregivers to 
focus on their work, knowing their loved ones are safe and supported.
  Supporting caregivers should not be a partisan issue. Every one of us 
represents constituents who are struggling and juggling with the work 
that they have and the care that they give.
  Every district in every State has employers struggling to attract and 
retain workers because care options are limited or unaffordable.
  The Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act sends a 
clear message: We value work. We value family. We understand that the 
two are deeply connected.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, not 
only because it is good policy but because it reflects the lived 
reality of millions of Americans who are doing their very best every 
day to care for their families and contribute to our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 2270, the Empowering 
Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act. Unfortunately, it doesn't 
solve anything. It doesn't provide any additional child or elder care.
  What it does is take money out of people's pockets because, under 
current law, employers must pay hourly workers time and a half for 
hours worked over 40 hours in a week. That overtime rate is based on a 
worker's regular rate of pay, which includes not only the cash payment 
but also non-wage compensation and presently includes the value of 
child or dependent care services when employers decide to provide them 
as part of the benefit package.
  Existing law already provides incentives for these benefits, allowing 
employers to deduct them as a cost of doing business and offering tax 
preferences for certain child and dependent care assistance.
  This bill would change the Fair Labor Standards Act to exclude the 
value of these services from the regular rate used to calculate 
overtime.
  Despite its name, the bill does not require employers to provide any 
child or elder care. Instead, it just reduces the cost of overtime if 
they provide it. That is the problem. In practice, this bill encourages 
employers to keep workers on the job longer rather than expanding 
access to affordable care. It increases the time away from families 
while offering no assurance that any support for childcare will be 
provided. Workers who already receive these benefits will see their 
overtime pay reduced.
  There is no evidence that these workers who do not receive this 
benefit are likely to get the benefit. The only group we know for 
certain will be affected is those who already have it, and they will 
lose money on overtime. That makes no sense. I don't know how that 
solves anything.
  I would hope that we would not reduce workers' pay. To do that, we 
have to oppose the legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1440

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I would make mention that for gym 
memberships offered by an employer and other benefits, health insurance 
benefits, they aren't calculated in overtime either.
  This brings us together on those issues. In fact, I believe it makes 
certain that there is more opportunity for small businesses especially 
to have the ability to have dollars that could be put toward the 
childcare.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. 
Messmer), who is the sponsor of this bill. He is also a member of the 
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
  Mr. MESSMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an issue affecting 
both families and businesses in Indiana and across the United States, 
which is the expensive, but essential, financial support workers need 
to provide care for their young children and elderly parents.
  Current law discourages employers from helping their workers pay for 
onsite childcare or elderly dependent care because of the unreasonable 
pay calculations that increase costs and burdensome regulations for the 
company.
  This guidance is so outdated. It was enacted in 1938, and we all know 
things have come a long way since then when families did not use 
daycare services for their little ones and elderly parents lived with 
their adult children until death.
  The current mandates of the Fair Labor Standards Act related to 
dependent care drive up costs for businesses through unreasonable pay 
calculations.
  These expensive requirements naturally remove the incentive for many 
companies to provide this important coverage for their employees. It is 
high time we eradicate this unwarranted red tape and let businesses 
invest in the needs of their employees without punishing the company 
for doing just that.
  That is why I introduced the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care 
Solutions Act. Hoosiers and all Americans must not be forced to choose 
between caring for a loved one and working outside of the home.
  Businesses deserve to be profitable but are also entitled to have the 
most qualified workers to support their company's growth. A company 
must be rewarded and not penalized for making critical benefits 
available to their employees, which, in turn, helps the company recruit 
the best and the brightest to their workforce.
  The Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act lowers 
costs, cuts red tape, and better serves American companies by making 
profamily benefits achievable. Passing this legislation contributes to 
our goal of returning affordability to the American people and the U.S. 
workforce.
  The American taxpayer needs our help now more than ever to get our 
economy back on track, and this bill will be one small step in making 
that dream a reality.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his support on H.R. 2270.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), who is a 
distinguished member of the Education and Workforce Committee and the 
ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is yet another effort to chip away at the 
protections guaranteed at the Federal level and take money out of the 
American worker's pocket.
  The concept of overtime is very simple. If you work more than your 
traditional 40 hours a week, then you make more money, and you get to 
take home what you earn.
  Now, instead of protecting that very basic principle, my Republican 
colleagues are trying to make it easier for employers to pay their 
workers less for working more. They want to pay workers less for 
working more. This bill would exclude child and dependent care from the 
rate of pay used to calculate a worker's overtime pay. In other words, 
this bill makes it permissible to pay workers less than their regular 
rate if they picked up an extra shift.
  Taking on extra work doesn't mean you don't need someone to watch 
your kids, and it shouldn't cost you a benefit that you are entitled 
to.
  Despite the misleading title, this bill cheapens the value of an 
employee's overtime labor. The overtime salary threshold is already far 
too low. When the first Trump administration set the current threshold, 
8.2 million Americans saw their overtime protections just vanish, and 
even those eligible employees earning $36,000 a year were making too 
much money to qualify for overtime pay.
  Mr. Speaker, imagine making $36,000 a year and that would disqualify 
you from being able to get overtime pay. You have no right to it.

[[Page H683]]

  Childcare and dependent care assistance should be more accessible and 
far more affordable for working families, but this Republican proposal 
merely incentivizing employers to provide assistance will not solve 
that issue and cutting down already low levels of overtime pay will not 
do that either.
  Right now, working families are watching their access to basic 
support services shrink before their eyes. Head Start has seen five of 
their regional offices across the country abruptly closed. Medicaid 
could face over $800 billion in cuts over the next 10 years. These 
lifelines that working families depend on for affordable support 
services are rapidly diminishing, largely due to this administration 
and this majority's attack on these lifelines as ``waste.''
  The resources that working families need are not waste. The tools for 
economic survival are not waste. Americans deserve better.
  Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill, and I urge my colleagues to oppose 
it as well.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  My colleague on the other side of the aisle has said this bill is an 
assault on working families. That could not be further from the truth.
  H.R. 2270 is a narrowly tailored solution to the growing challenge 
working families are facing when it comes to childcare. I fail to see, 
again, how excluding the value of an employer-sponsored childcare 
subsidy in the calculation of an employee's regular rate will result in 
lower take-home pay as my colleagues have said on the other side.
  The issue this legislation attempts to fix is that in many cases, 
employers are currently unable to offer childcare to employees due to 
the prohibitively high overtime cost.
  H.R. 2270 rights that wrong by excluding child and dependent care 
from regular rate calculations as has been done several times, as I 
mentioned earlier, for other benefits and bonuses because Congress 
rightly saw that, without exclusion, employers would not be able to do 
more for their employees even as they want to.
  This bill enhances the opportunity for the care that we need for 
childcare as well as dependent care.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Lee), who is a distinguished member 
of the Committee on Education and Workforce.
  Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, we have a childcare crisis in 
this country. In my home State of Pennsylvania, infant and toddler care 
costs on average $14,000 per year. That is almost one-half of the 
average annual salary of the childcare workers in my district.
  Childcare, if folks can even find it, is pushing families into 
poverty as they are forced to make impossible choices between paying 
the rent or paying for care, between staying employed or staying home.
  Republicans are doing everything in their power to undermine 
investments in childcare, including with this bill, which will allow 
employers to exclude childcare benefits from overtime pay.
  Employees working overtime are the ones who need childcare the most 
and the bill undermines workers' ability to pay for that care.
  For this reason, at the appropriate time I will offer a motion to 
recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I 
would have offered the motion with an important amendment to this bill.
  My amendment would replace the text of this bill with the Child Care 
for Working Families Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the Record the 
text of this amendment immediately prior to the motion to recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, my legislation with Ranking 
Member  Bobby Scott would make sure families actually have access to 
childcare slots, that no family spends more than 7 percent of their 
income on childcare, and that all early childhood educators make a 
livable wage.
  If Republicans actually care about children and families, then I 
encourage them to pass the Child Care for Working Families Act. I hope 
my colleagues will join me in voting for the motion to recommit.

                              {time}  1450

  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage people to support the motion to recommit, 
which would actually create childcare availability.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the AFL-CIO which 
says, in part: `` . . . there is no evidence that reducing the overtime 
rate for employees will spur a widespread willingness of employers to 
offer reimbursement for child or elder care.''

                                   AFL-CIO, Legislative Alert,

                                                 January 12, 2026.
       Dear Representative: On behalf of the 15 million workers 
     and 64 affiliate unions represented by the AFL-CIO, I urge 
     you to oppose the following anti-worker bills scheduled for 
     consideration on the House floor this week: the Flexibility 
     for Workers Education Act (H.R. 2262), the Empowering 
     Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act (H.R. 2270), and 
     the Tipped Employee Protection Act (H.R. 2312).
       H.R. 2262, Flexibility for Workers Education Act, would let 
     employers require workers to attend job-related training 
     without paying them for that time. The bill allows employers 
     to label training as ``voluntary,'' even when workers feel 
     pressured to attend to keep their jobs or advance, and 
     removes current protections that ensure training closely tied 
     to a worker's job is paid. As a result, employers could push 
     essential training outside of regular work hours and off the 
     clock, increasing unpaid work for low-wage workers.
       H.R. 2270, Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care 
     Solutions Act, would exclude from the calculation of an 
     employee's regular wage rate any employer reimbursement for 
     child or elder care when calculating an employee's overtime 
     rate of pay. Under this bill, employees who receive these 
     reimbursements would see their overtime wage rate cut. 
     Reducing a worker's overtime earnings will not help them 
     afford the cost of child or elder care. Instead, it will make 
     life harder. And there is no evidence that reducing the 
     overtime rate for employees will spur a widespread 
     willingness of employers to offer reimbursement for child or 
     elder care. Workers need both decent wages and access to 
     affordable child and elder care. There are ways to achieve 
     the latter without attacking the former.
       H.R. 2312, the Tipped Employee Protection Act, would change 
     federal wage law in a way that makes pay more unstable for 
     many low-wage workers by allowing employers to treat almost 
     any worker as a ``tipped employee'' if they receive even 
     small or occasional tips over a time period the employer 
     chooses, whether that is a single day or an entire month. 
     This could allow employers to pay the tipped subminimum wage 
     to workers such as baristas, hotel staff, delivery drivers, 
     salon workers, stadium staff, and other service workers who 
     do not regularly earn tips. For example, a worker who waits 
     tables would be paid the full minimum wage for non-tipped 
     cooking shifts, but under this bill the employer could 
     average tips earned earlier in the week and use them to 
     justify paying $2.13 an hour for cooking shifts as well, 
     which would cut weekly pay. By weakening existing rules that 
     limit when the tip credit can be used, the bill would result 
     in reduced take-home pay for workers, give employers greater 
     control over how workers are classified and paid, make it 
     harder for workers to know if they are being paid correctly, 
     and increase the risk of wage theft in industries where it is 
     already common.
       Collectively, these bills nickel and dime workers' pay at a 
     time when so many struggle to afford the basics. Wages should 
     be raised, not cut. Please vote no on H.R. 2262, H.R. 2270, 
     and H.R. 2312.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Jody Calemine,
                                     Director, Government Affairs.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, this bill does nothing to solve, 
as I said, the elder or childcare crisis in this country. It does not 
create affordable care, and it does not guarantee a single new benefit 
for working families.
  What it does do is reduce overtime pay for workers who already 
receive these benefits while encouraging employers to keep people at 
work longer without fully paid compensation. That means more time away 
from loved ones, less money in workers' pockets, and probably more need 
for childcare.
  If we are serious about supporting families, then Congress should be 
expanding access to affordable care, not cutting wages under the guise 
of helping workers. We could really do some help by supporting the 
motion to recommit and passing the Child Care for Working Families Act. 
That would actually lower costs for families and create childcare 
opportunities.

[[Page H684]]

  Mr. Speaker, I hope we would support the motion to recommit, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I know I spent my opening remarks discussing how the 
Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act helps empower 
working families. In closing, I would like to highlight how access to 
affordable childcare benefits job creators and our Nation's economy.
  For employers, the return on investment is well documented. Companies 
that offer care solutions see lower turnover, reduced absenteeism, and 
higher employer/employee engagement. In a competitive labor market, the 
ability to offer these benefits is vital to attracting and retaining 
talent and ensuring American businesses remain competitive at home and 
abroad.
  For our economy, the stakes could not be higher. Labor force 
participation, particularly among women, continues to be constrained by 
caregiving responsibilities. When caregivers are sidelined, we lose 
talent, experience, and economic growth potential. This bill helps 
remove one of the biggest barriers to keeping willing workers on the 
sidelines and strengthens our overall economic resilience.
  This legislation also recognizes that caregiving does not end with 
childhood. As our population ages, more workers are caring for elderly 
parents or relatives. Eldercare challenges can be just as disruptive 
and unpredictable as childcare needs, and yet they are often overlooked 
in policy decisions.
  This bill addresses both, reflecting the real-life responsibilities 
families face. This is a smart use of policy to align incentives with 
outcomes we all support: stronger families, a more resilient workforce, 
and a healthier economy. Let's give employers the tools to help give 
workers the support they need and move our country forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Messmer for bringing this bill 
before us. I encourage my colleagues to support it, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 988, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at 
the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:
       Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania moves to recommit the bill H.R. 
     2270 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

  The material previously referred to by Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania is as 
follows:

       Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania moves to recommit the bill H.R. 
     2270 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce with 
     instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith, 
     with the following amendment:
       Add at the end the following:

             TITLE I--CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM

     SEC. 101. BIRTH THROUGH FIVE CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Child Care Definitions.--The definitions in section 
     658P of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 
     1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858n) shall apply to this section, except as 
     provided in subsection (b) and as otherwise specified.
       (b) Additional Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Apprenticeship.--The term ``apprenticeship'' means an 
     apprenticeship registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 
     (commonly known as the ``National Apprenticeship Act''; 50 
     Stat. 664, chapter 663; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.).
       (2) Child care certificate.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``child care certificate'' means 
     a certificate (that may be a check or other disbursement) 
     that is issued by a State, Tribal, territorial, or local 
     government under this section directly to a parent who shall 
     use such certificate only as payment for child care services 
     or as a deposit for child care services if such a deposit is 
     required of other children being cared for by the provider.
       (B) Rule.--Nothing in this section shall preclude the use 
     of such certificates for sectarian child care services if 
     freely chosen by the parent. For the purposes of this 
     section, child care certificates shall be considered indirect 
     Federal financial assistance to the provider.
       (3) Child experiencing homelessness.--The term ``child 
     experiencing homelessness'' means an individual who is a 
     homeless child or youth under section 725 of the McKinney-
     Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a).
       (4) Eligible activity.--The term ``eligible activity'', 
     with respect to a parent, shall include, at minimum, 
     activities consisting of--
       (A) full-time or part-time employment;
       (B) self-employment;
       (C) job search activities;
       (D) secondary, postsecondary, or adult education, including 
     education through a program of high school classes, a course 
     of study at an institution of higher education, classes 
     towards an equivalent of a high school diploma recognized by 
     State law, or English as a second language classes;
       (E) health treatment (including mental health and substance 
     use treatment) for a condition that prevents the parent from 
     participating in other eligible activities;
       (F) activities to prevent child abuse and neglect, or 
     family violence prevention or intervention activities;
       (G) employment and training activities, including job 
     training, under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 
     (29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); and
       (H) taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 
     1993 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) (or equivalent provisions for 
     Federal employees), a State or local paid or unpaid leave 
     law, or a program of employer-provided leave.
       (5) Eligible child.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``eligible child'' means an 
     individual--
       (i) who is less than 6 years of age;
       (ii) who is not yet in kindergarten; and
       (iii) who--

       (I) resides with a parent or parents who are participating 
     in an eligible activity;
       (II) is included in a population of vulnerable children 
     identified by the lead agency involved, which at a minimum 
     shall include children with disabilities, infants and 
     toddlers with disabilities, children experiencing 
     homelessness, children in foster care, children in kinship 
     care, children in a family that is eligible for assistance 
     through the special supplemental nutrition assistance program 
     for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of 
     the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), a household 
     that is eligible to receive assistance through the 
     supplemental nutrition assistance program established under 
     the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), 
     or a family that is eligible to receive assistance through 
     the program of block grants to States for temporary 
     assistance for needy families established under part A of 
     title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), 
     and children who are receiving, or need to receive, child 
     protective services; or
       (III) resides with--

       (aa) a parent who is more than 65 years of age;
       (bb) a parent who is employed by an eligible child care 
     provider; or
       (cc) a parent who is enrolled in high school and has not 
     exceeded the maximum age of enrollment in high school.
       (B) Longer-term period eligibility.--An individual who is 
     determined to be an eligible child shall not be required to 
     reverify eligibility for purposes of this title during the 
     period after the determination and before the individual 
     becomes 6 years of age or enters kindergarten, whichever 
     occurs earlier.
       (6) Eligible child care provider.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``eligible child care provider'' 
     means a center-based child care provider, a family child care 
     provider, or other provider of child care services for 
     compensation that--
       (i) is licensed to provide child care services under State 
     law applicable to the child care services it provides or, in 
     the case of an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, meets the 
     rules set by the Secretary;
       (ii) participates in the State's tiered system for 
     recognizing and supporting the quality of child care services 
     described in subsection (f)(3)(B), or, in the case of an 
     Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, meets the rules set by 
     the Secretary--

       (I) not later than 4 years after the State first receives 
     funds under this section; and
       (II) for the remainder of the period for which the provider 
     receives funds under this section; and

       (iii) satisfies the State and local requirements, including 
     those requirements described in section 658E(c)(2)(I) of the 
     Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
     9858c(c)(2)(I)), applicable to the child care services it 
     provides.
       (B) Special rule.--A child care provider who is eligible to 
     provide child care services in a State for children receiving 
     assistance under the Child Care and Development Block Grant 
     Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.) on the date the State 
     submits an application for funds under this section, and 
     remains in compliance with any licensing or registration 
     standards, or regulations, of the State, shall be deemed to 
     be an eligible child care provider under this section for 3.5 
     years after the State first receives funding under this 
     section.
       (7) FMAP.--The term ``FMAP'' has the meaning given the term 
     ``Federal medical assistance percentage'' in the first 
     sentence of section 1905(b) of the Social Security Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1396d(b)).
       (8) Family child care provider.--The term ``family child 
     care provider'' means one or more individuals who provide 
     child care services, in a private residence other than the 
     residences of the children involved, for less than 24 hours 
     per day per child, or for 24

[[Page H685]]

     hours per day per child due to the nature of the work of the 
     parent involved.
       (9) Inclusive care.--The term ``inclusive'', with respect 
     to care (including child care), means care provided by an 
     eligible child care provider--
       (A) for whom the percentage of children served by the 
     provider who are children with disabilities or infants or 
     toddlers with disabilities reflects the prevalence of 
     children with disabilities and infants and toddlers with 
     disabilities (whichever the provider serves) among children 
     within the State involved; and
       (B) that provides care and full participation for children 
     with disabilities and infants and toddlers with disabilities 
     (whichever the provider serves) alongside children who are--
       (i) not children with disabilities; and
       (ii) not infants and toddlers with disabilities.
       (10) Infant or toddler.--The term ``infant or toddler'' 
     means an individual who is less than 3 years of age.
       (11) Infant or toddler with a disability.--The term 
     ``infant or toddler with a disability'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
     Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1432).
       (12) Lead agency.--The term ``lead agency'' means the 
     agency designated under subsection (e).
       (13) Provider type.--The term ``provider type'' means a 
     type that is--
       (A) a center-based child care provider;
       (B) a family child care provider; or
       (C) another non-center-based child care provider.
       (14) Recognized postsecondary credential.--The term 
     ``recognized postsecondary credential'' has the meaning given 
     the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
     Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
       (15) Staffed family child care network.--The term ``staffed 
     family child care network'' means a nonprofit organization or 
     nonprofit cooperative--
       (A) that may be a component of a child care resource and 
     referral organization;
       (B) that has at least one paid staff member; and
       (C) that offers evidence-based professional development, 
     quality improvement support, business support, and technical 
     assistance, including on achieving licensure as a child care 
     provider, to family child care providers.
       (16) State.--The term ``State'' means any of the 50 States 
     and the District of Columbia.
       (17) Territory.--The term ``territory'' means the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands of the United 
     States, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands.
       [For full text please see H.R. 2743, Raise the Wage Act.]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the 
previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
  The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question are postponed.

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