Pappas Backs Bills to Improve and Strengthen Child Care

May 1, 2026 Press Release Continuing his work to address New Hampshire families’ child care needs, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) is backing several pieces of legislation to improve access to child care and strengthen services. Affordable, accessible child care is essential to children’s development and learning, and parents’ ability to go to work. In New Hampshire, the average cost of child care is now $14,870 per year , and the cost of child care for two children exceeds both median rent and in-state university tuition . Nearly half of Granite Staters live in a child care desert , and it’s estimated that New Hampshire businesses lose $56 million annually due to the lack of available licensed child care slots. In February, Pappas helped introduce the bipartisan After Hours Child Care Act , which would improve access to affordable child care for parents working nontraditional hours. Last week he introduced the Rural Child Care Access Act , legislation to help child care providers serving small and rural areas upgrade existing facilities or construct new ones and strengthen services by creating a new grant program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. He is also announcing his support for: the Child Care for Working Families Act , which would ensure families can afford the child care they need, expand access to more high-quality options, stabilize the child care sector, and help ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. It would also dramatically expand access to pre-K and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increase wages for Head Start workers. the Child Care Infrastructure Act , which would construct new or renovate existing child care facilities to increase child care capacity and ensure safe early learning facilities for children. the Helping Ensure Reliable Opportunities (HERO) for Child Care Act , which would improve access to reliable, high-quality childcare for military families by increasing hiring flexibility at Child Development Centers (CDC). the Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act , which would help local police departments establish and expand child care options for their officers and address the nationwide police staffing shortages by making it easier for parents to enter and stay in the field. “Child care must be a national priority to support families and our economic future, and we need a comprehensive, all-of-the-above approach to address it. I’m backing legislation to help families afford child care, support providers and staff, strengthen early education, and improve access for military families, law enforcement officers, and parents who work nontraditional hours,” said Congressman Pappas. “I will continue working to ensure we have strong child care services that support providers and staff and enable kids to learn and parents to have peace of mind.” Background: The Child Care for Working Families Act would expand and enhance the Child Care and Development Block Grants (CCDBG) through the creation of three key programs: the Birth Through Five Child Care and Early Learning Entitlement Program, the Building an Affordable System for Early Education (BASE) Grants, and the Universal Preschool Program. The Child Care Infrastructure Act would establish a grant program at HHS to award grants to states for the purpose of constructing new or renovating existing child care facilities to help build child care capacity and ensure safe early learning facilities for children. The bill also requires a needs assessment of the condition of child care facilities throughout the U.S. financial institutions or other organizations that have demonstrated experience in developing or financing early care and learning facilities. The Helping Ensure Reliable Opportunities (HERO) for Child Care Act would improve Child Development Centers (CDC) on military bases by establishing a Department of Defense-wide Childcare Readiness Data System that tracks capacity, staffing levels, vacancies, turnover, compensation ranges, and waitlists by installation and region. The bill would modernize hiring and staffing processes for CDC and authorize partnerships with national service volunteers trained in education services. The Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act would establish a pilot program under the Administration for Children and Families to supply grants to law enforcement agencies to provide child care benefits to their officers. This bill would authorize $24 million in funding for each of the next five fiscal years for law enforcement agencies to construct or operate new centers for police departments’ exclusive use, offer scholarships to subsidize the cost of care, and provide assistance for care for children with disabilities. It would set aside 20% of the total grant funding for police departments employing fewer than 200 officers and require HHS to report to Congress on the operating status of grant recipients, employee retention and recruitment data, if needs have been met, and any unmet child care needs of other first responder sectors. Pappas continues to advocate for investments in child care to be made in New Hampshire, including $1 million in federal dollars he secured through the Congressional appropriations process to make enhancements to the Child Study and Development Center at UNH, help create an Early Child Institute for Excellence, and improve child care and education in New Hampshire. He has held roundtable conversations with child care workers and New Hampshire families about the urgent need to address rising costs for families by making child care more affordable. Pappas fought for the original expansion of the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan and has continuously advocated for reinstating the expanded Child Tax Credit to help Granite State families make ends meet. It’s estimated that 34,000 more children in New Hampshire would benefit from reinstating the fully expanded Child Tax Credit.