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Closing the Provider Fraud Gap Act
H. R. 7677 To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study regarding fraud prevention measures in certain Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill requires the Comptroller General of the United States to study fraud prevention measures in three Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs: Head Start, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. The study must analyze the effectiveness of current fraud prevention procedures, whether the Federal Government receives sufficient data to identify fraud, and how effectively this data is used to identify potential fraud. For the Child Care and Development Block Grant program, the study must also examine program integrity results in states that have delegated management responsibilities to counties or local entities, and assess whether states have implemented corrective action plans to improve integrity. Within two years of enactment, the Comptroller General must submit a report to Congress with findings and recommendations for improving fraud prevention in these programs.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT)
1 cosponsor
- Rep. Letlow, Julia [R-LA-5] (R-LA)
Actions (6)
- Apr 6, 2026 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 513. · house
- Apr 6, 2026 Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-593. · house
- Mar 5, 2026 Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 35 - 0. · house
- Mar 5, 2026 Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held · house
- Feb 25, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. · house
- Feb 25, 2026 Introduced in House
More bills on these subjects (8)
Other bills that carry the most legislative subjects in common with this one (topical discovery — distinct from the procedural related bills above).
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Committee action
What happened to this bill in committee — the meetings where it was considered and every recorded vote taken on it.
As published:Roll Call Vote #12 | H.R. 7677 | MANNION_AMD_02 (MANNION) | Failed (15y-20n)
As published:Roll Call Vote #13 | H.R. 7677 (Owens) | Motion to Report as Amended | Passed (35y-0n)
Meetings where this bill was on the agenda
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 25, 2026
Mr. Owens introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce
April 6, 2026
Additional sponsor: Ms. Letlow
April 6, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 25, 2026]
A BILL
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study regarding fraud prevention measures in certain Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Closing the Provider Fraud Gap Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON PROVIDER-RELATED FRAUD.
(a) Study.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study regarding fraud prevention measures in Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs that shall include an analysis of—
(1) the effectiveness of procedures and measures to prevent fraud carried out by providers of services under such programs;
(2) whether the data the Federal Government receives in connection with such programs (including through audits and reporting requirements) is—
(A) sufficient to successfully identify fraud carried out under such programs; and
(B) used effectively by the Federal Government to identify potential fraud carried out under such programs; and
(3) with respect to the Child Care and Development Block Grant program established under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.)—
(A) the program integrity results for States that have delegated responsibilities related to program management and administration to counties, local municipalities, or other entities; and
(B) whether any corrective action plans have been implemented by States to improve program integrity results, including any measurable outcomes from implementing such a corrective action plan.
(b) Report.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report containing—
(1) the results of the study conducted under subsection
(a); and
(2) any regulatory or legislative recommendations to improve fraud prevention measures in Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs.
(c) Federal Early Childhood Education, Child Care, and Child Nutrition Programs Defined.—For the purposes of this section, the term “Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs” includes—
(1) Head Start programs (including Early Head Start programs) carried out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);
(2) the Child and Adult Care Food Program under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766); and
(3) the Child Care and Development Block Grant program established under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.). Union Calendar No. 513
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7677
[Report No. 119-593]
A BILL
To require the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study regarding fraud prevention measures in certain Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs, and for other purposes.
April 6, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
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