Congressman Pat Harrigan Votes to Protect Taxpayer Funds from Child Care Fraud

Contact: Lexi Kranich (814) 380-4408

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Congressman Pat Harrigan (NC-10) voted in favor of H.R. 7726, the No Funds for Repeat Child Care Violations Act of 2026, legislation to strengthen accountability in the Child Care and Development Block Grant program by requiring the federal government to withhold funds from states that repeatedly fail to address fraud and noncompliance.

"Washington has a bad habit of sending money out the door and asking questions never," said Congressman Harrigan. "If a state is repeatedly ignoring fraud in a program meant to help working families afford child care, the federal government is no longer going to shrug and keep writing checks. Accountability has to mean something, and now it will."

The Child Care and Development Block Grant program distributes billions of federal dollars annually to states to help low-income working families access child care. Under current law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services has the discretion to withhold funds from states that are found to be noncompliant, but is not required to act. This legislation closes that gap, converting that authority from optional to mandatory. States that rack up repeat violations can no longer count on the federal government to look the other way, and the working families the program is designed to serve can no longer be left holding the consequences of a system that failed to police itself.

Congressman Harrigan will continue fighting to ensure federal dollars are spent with integrity and that working families in North Carolina and across the country receive the support they were promised.