,i #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cidc ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #af1 #bjba,mr4 ,owens 7for himself and ,mr4 ,estes7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to establish a commission to make recommendations for modernizing ,federal financing of early care and education programs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,modernizing ,financing of ,early ,care and ,education in ,america ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,modernizing financing of early care and education in ,america 7a7 ,purpose and objectives ,the purpose of this section is to establish a commission to make recommendations for modernizing ,federal financing of early care and education programs in order to promote-- 7#a7 access to high quality child care and early education settings that support healthy development and well-being of young children2 7#b7 affordability of high quality early learning and education opportunities for children living in poverty and in disadvantaged communities2 7#c7 parent choice and flexibility that respects the role parents play in choosing child care that is best suited to fit their child's needs2 and 7#d7 a more streamlined1 equitable1 and sustainable ,federal financing framework to support the success of future generations4 7b7 ,bipartisan commission on early childhood education financing 7#a7 ,establishment ,there is established a commission to be known as the ,bipartisan ,commission on ,early ,childhood ,education ,financing 7in this subsection referred to as the ,commission74 7#b7 ,membership 7,a7 ,qualifications ,the ,commission members shall be knowledgeable in federally and state-funded early care and education programs1 including individuals representing ,state and local governments and organizations knowledgeable in public regulatory and funding mechanisms for early care and education programs1 and shall be balanced by area of expertise and balanced geographically to the extent consistent with maintaining the highest level of expertise on the ,commission4 7,b7 ,number2 appointment ,the ,commission shall be composed of #ab members appointed1 within #ij days after the effective date of this ,act1 from among individuals who meet the requirements of subparagraph 7,a71 as follows3 7i7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,majority ,leader of the ,senate4 7ii7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,minority ,leader of the ,senate4 7iii7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,speaker of the ,house of ,representatives4 7iv7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,minority ,leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7v7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,chairman of the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate4 7vi7 #a member shall be appointed by the ranking minority member of the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate4 7vii7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,chairman of the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives4 7viii7 #a member shall be appointed by the ranking minority member of the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives4 7ix7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,chairman of the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate4 7x7 #a member shall be appointed by the ranking minority member of the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate4 7xi7 #a member shall be appointed by the ,chairman of the ,committee on ,education and ,labor of the ,house of ,representatives4 7xii7 #a member shall be appointed by the ranking minority member of the ,committee on ,education and ,labor of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,c7 ,vacancies ,a vacancy on the ,commission shall be filled in the same manner in which the vacating member was appointed4 7#c7 ,powers ,in carrying out the functions of the ,commission under this subsection1 the ,commission-- 7,a7 may secure directly from any ,federal agency or department any information the ,commission deems necessary to carry out the functions1 and1 on the request of the ,commission1 each such agency or department may cooperate with the ,commission and1 to the extent permitted by law1 furnish the information to the ,commission2 and 7,b7 may enter into contracts1 subject to the availability of appropriations1 and employ such staff experts and consultants as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the ,commission1 subject to section #caji of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,staff ,the ,commission may1 without regard to the civil service laws and regulations1 appoint and terminate an ,executive ,director and such other additional personnel as may be necessary for the ,commission to perform the duties of the ,commission4 ,the ,executive ,director shall be compensated at a rate not to exceed the rate payable for ,level ,v of the ,executive ,schedule under section #eacf of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code4 ,the employment and termination of an ,executive ,director shall be subject to confirmation by a majority of the members of the ,commission4 7#e7 ,meetings 7,a7 ,in general ,all meetings of the ,commission shall be open to the public4 ,the ,commission shall permit interested persons to appear at ,commission meetings and present oral or written statements on the subject matter of the meeting4 7,b7 ,advance public notice ,the ,commission shall provide timely notice1 in advance1 in the ,federal ,register1 of the time1 place1 and subject of each ,commission meeting4 7,c7 ,documentation ,the ,commission shall keep minutes of each ,commission meeting1 which shall contain a record of the people present1 a description of the discussion that occurred1 and copies of all statements filed4 ,subject to section #eeb of title #e1 ,united ,states ,code1 the minutes and records of all meetings and other documents that were made available to1 or prepared for1 the ,commission shall be available for public inspection and copying at a single location in the offices of the ,commission4 7,d7 ,initial meeting ,the ,commission shall hold its first meeting within #cj days after all ,commission members are appointed4 7#f7 ,report 7,a7 ,in general ,within #ah months after the date of the enactment of this subsection1 the ,commission shall prepare a report of its findings and recommendations regarding modernizing ,federal financing of early care and education programs to streamline and reduce duplicate funding streams4 7,b7 ,contents ,the report required by subparagraph 7,a7 shall include the following3 7i7 ,an inventory and accounting of the total amount of ,federal funds available for early care and education programs1 including-- 7,i7 programs under the ,child ,care and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh et seq472 7,,ii7 the child care stabilization grant program under section #bbjb of the ,american ,rescue ,plan ,act of #bjba 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh note72 7,,iii7 the child care entitlement program under section #dah of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fah72 7,,iv7 programs under the ,head ,start ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihja et seq472 7,v7 the program of block grants to ,states for temporary assistance for needy families under part ,a of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fja-fai72 7,,vi7 the ,preschool ,development ,grants program under section #ibab of the ,every ,student ,succeeds ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ihca note72 7,,vii7 the ,child ,care ,access ,means ,parents in ,school program under section #dai,n of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajgj;e72 and 7,,viii7 and any other early care or education program identified by the ,commission4 7ii7 ,a comprehensive review and assessment of the funding structure and allocation formula used to finance each program referred to in clause 7i71 including a bifurcation of programs indicating whether ,federal funds are provided directly to ,states or to other grantees1 and how that affects the coordination of programs at the ,state and local levels and the delivery of services to families4 7iii7 ,a description of congressional jurisdiction over1 and ,federal agency administration of1 each such program4 7iv7 ,an explanation of how each such program interacts with ,state and local public funding and financing for early care and education1 including publicly-funded pre-kindergarten1 which shall include an accounting of the total amount of ,state and local funds available for such purposes4 7v7 ,an identification of barriers in the governance and funding structures of programs that limit the most efficient use of local1 ,state1 and ,federal resources4 7,c7 ,matters required to be addressed in the report to the congress ,in the report to the ,congress1 the ,commission shall make specific recommendations1 including delineation of specific statutory and regulatory changes1 to address each of the following3 7i7 ,how to modernize and more effectively use ,federal funds to strengthen the delivery of child care and early education1 and improve the financing framework and governance structure at the ,federal level to improve access for families and accountability for taxpayer dollars4 7ii7 ,the pros and cons of streamlining or combining ,federal programs and funding streams in order to improve the overall participation of children in a mixed delivery system1 while maintaining availability of high quality services1 expanding parental choice1 and enhancing access for children from low-income communities4 7iii7 ,options for ,federal alternative financing framework or governance models that better leverage the ,federal investment in child care and early education funding1 including ideas that are outside the current framework or that re-envision existing programs4 7iv7 ,options for expanding the use of public and private partnerships to help maximize the ,federal investment in early care and education4 7,d7 ,distribution ,the ,commission shall make the report publicly available1 and shall submit a copy of the report to the ,chairman and ranking minority member of each of the ,committees on ,finance and on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions of the ,senate1 and the ,committees on ,ways and ,means and on ,education and ,labor of the ,house of ,representatives1 and to the ,president4 7#g7 ,termination ,the ,commission shall terminate #fj days after the ,commission submits the report required by paragraph 7#f74