,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #caba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #aa1 #bjba,ms4 ,speier 7for herself1 ,mrs4 ,bice of ,oklahoma1 ,ms4 ,jacobs of ,california1 ,ms4 ,bonamici1 ,ms4 ,brownley1 ,mr4 ,carson1 ,mr4 ,case1 ,mr4 ,castro of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 ,ms4 ,houlahan1 ,mr4 ,kahele1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,morelle1 ,mr4 ,moulton1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,porter1 ,ms4 ,ross1 ,mr4 ,ryan1 ,ms4 ,sherrill1 ,ms4 ,strickland1 ,ms4 ,titus1 ,mr4 ,turner1 ,mr4 ,vela1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 and ,ms4 ,wild7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to expand child care opportunities for members of the ,armed ,forces1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,military ,child ,care ,expansion ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,expansion of pilot program to provide financial assistance to members of the ,armed ,forces for in-home child care ,section #ehi of the ,william ,m4 7,mac7 ,thornberry ,national ,defense ,authorization ,act for ,fiscal ,year #bjba 7,public ,law #aaf-bhc7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a77#c7-- 7,a7 by striking ,secretary shall-- and all that follows through private sector2 and and inserting ,secretary shall take into consideration qualifications for in-home child care providers in the private sector42 and 7,b7 by striking subparagraph 7,b72 and 7#b7 in subsection 7b71 by adding at the end the following3 ,the ,secretary of ,defense may expand the pilot program to additional locations44 #c4 ,pilot program to expand access to child care to the ,department of ,defense 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall establish a pilot program to expand access to child care for members of the ,armed ,forces by entering into agreements with public or private child care facilities or development centers4 7b7 ,scope ,in carrying out the pilot program1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 seek to enter into one or more memoranda of understanding with one or more eligible civilian child care centers or facilities to reserve slots for qualified families in locations in which-- 7,a7 the ,department of ,defense lacks a child development center2 or 7,b7 the wait lists for the nearest ,department of ,defense child development center1 where applicable1 indicate that qualified families may not be accommodated2 and 7#b7 select five locations that the ,secretary determines have the greatest unmet demand for child care services for children of members of the ,armed ,forces1 including at least one facility in each location that offers extended or flexible hours to provide care after hours and on weekends4 7c7 ,annual assessment of results ,not later than one year after establishing the pilot program under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall undertake a current assessment of the impact of the pilot program on access to childcare facilities or child development centers for qualified families4 7d7 ,reports 7#a7 ,interim reports ,not later than one year after the ,secretary establishes the pilot program and twice annually thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committees on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives an interim report on the pilot program4 ,each interim report shall include the following elements3 7,a7 ,the number of military families participating in the pilot program1 disaggregated by location and duration of participation4 7,b7 ,a breakdown of the total cost1 including any subsidies or financial assistance1 charged by the childcare facility or child development center4 7,c7 ,the impact of the program on wait times at ,department of ,defense child care development centers4 7,d7 ,the feasibility of expanding the pilot program4 7,e7 ,recommendations for legislation or administrative actions that the ,secretary determines necessary to make the pilot program permanent4 7,f7 ,any other information the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7#b7 ,final report ,not later than #ij days after the termination of the pilot program1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committees on ,armed ,services of the ,senate and the ,house of ,representatives a final report on the pilot program4 ,the report shall include the following elements3 7,a7 ,the elements specified in paragraph 7#a74 7,b7 ,the recommendation of the ,secretary whether to make the pilot program permanent4 7e7 ,expansion ,based on the recommendations included in the interim reports1 the ,secretary may expand the scope of the pilot program to include more than five locations if the ,secretary determines access to childcare is improved and such expansion would likely benefit ,department of ,defense families4 7f7 ,termination ,the pilot program shall terminate #aj years after the date on which the ,secretary establishes the pilot program4 7g7 ,eligible civilian child care center or facility defined ,in this section1 the term eligible civilian child care center or facility has the meaning given the term eligible provider in section #agih7;b7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4 #d4 ,determination of causes of poor or failing conditions at child development centers of ,department of ,defense and costs to improve such conditions 7a7 ,determinations 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall determine-- 7,a7 the root causes contributing to poor or failing facility conditions at child development centers of the ,department of ,defense2 and 7,b7 the total cost to improve the facility conditions of such centers to at least fair condition1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on the determinations of the ,secretary under paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,comptroller ,general review and recommendations ,not later than one year after the date on which the ,secretary submits to ,congress the report under subsection 7a77#b7 on the determinations of the ,secretary under subsection 7a77#a71 the ,comptroller ,general of the ,united ,states shall-- 7#a7 review such determinations2 and 7#b7 submit to the ,secretary and ,congress recommendations on how to improve the facility conditions at child development centers of the ,department4 #e4 ,temporary program to use minor military construction authority for construction of child development centers 7a7 ,thresholds on construction authorized ,the ,secretary of ,defense shall establish a program to carry out minor military construction projects under section #bhje of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 to construct child development centers4 7b7 ,increased maximum amounts applicable to minor construction projects ,for the purpose of any military construction project carried out under the program under this section1 the amounts specified in section #bhje of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 are modified as follows3 7#a7 ,the amount specified in subsection 7a77#b7 of such section is deemed to be #be1jjj1jjj4 7#b7 ,the amount specified in subsection 7c7 of such section is deemed to be #be1jjj1jjj4 7c7 ,notification and approval requirements 7#a7 ,in general ,the notification and approval requirements under section #bhje7;b7 of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall remain in effect for construction projects carried out under the program under this section4 7#b7 ,procedures ,the ,secretary shall establish procedures for the review and approval of requests from the ,secretaries of military departments to carry out construction projects under the program under this section4 7d7 ,report required 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the program under this section4 7#b7 ,elements ,the report required by paragraph 7#a7 shall include a list and description of the construction projects carried out under the program under this section1 including the location and cost of each project4 7e7 ,expiration of authority ,the authority to carry out a minor military construction project under the program under this section expires on the date that is #aj years after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7f7 ,construction of authority ,nothing in this section may be construed to limit any other authority provided by law for a military construction project at a child development center4 7g7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,the term child development center has the meaning given that term in section #bhga of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#b7 ,the term congressional defense committees has the meaning given that term in section #aja of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4