,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ahhi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #e1 #bjbe,ms4 
,perez 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,foxx1 ,mrs4  
,kim1 and ,mr4 ,gray7 introduced the    
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,education and        
,workforce  ,a ,,bill  ,to require that 
,states that receive a grant under the  
,child ,care and ,development ,block    
,grant ,act of #aiij1 will not prohibit 
licensed child care providers from      
performing simple food preparation of   
fruits and vegetables4  #a4 ,short title
 ,this ,act may be cited as the ,cutting
 ,red ,tape on ,child ,care ,providers  
,act of #bjbe4  #b4 ,findings ,the      
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,access to minimally processed fruits1  
vegetables1 nuts and seeds is crucial   
for the development and well-being of   
children4  7#b7 ,licensed child care    
providers often face restrictions on    
food preparation that limit their       
ability to serve fresh fruits and       

vegetables4  7#c7 ,home and family based
 child care options1 7estimated to serve
 about #a_/d of families71 have seen    
steady declines over the past decade4   
,while this decreases child care choices
 for all families1 it disproportionately
 impacts low-income and rural families  
and those requiring daycare at          
non-traditional times because of shift  
work4  7#d7 ,complicated and burdensome 
regulations are more challenging for    
home-based providers and are likely a   
part of the reason these centers are    
declining4  7#e7 ,current regulations   
can make it easier to open a            
pre-packaged1 often ultra-processed1    
snack than it is to1 for example1 peel a
 banana4 ,this undermines the ability of
 child care providers to provide basic  
nutrition to our kids4  7#f7            
,simplifying regulations to encourage   
simple food preparation of minimally    
processed agricultural products can     
improve nutritional outcomes for        
children4  #c4 ,definitions ,for        

purposes of this ,act and the amendment 
made by this ,act1 the term simple food 
preparation means the basic preparation 
of fruits and vegetables1 including     
washing1 peeling1 cutting1 and serving  
raw or minimally processed produce4  #d4
 ,prohibition of barriers under the     
,child ,care and ,development ,block    
,grant ,act of #aiij ,section           
#feh;,e7c77#b77;,f7 of the ,child ,care 
and ,development ,block ,grant ,act of  
#aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iheh;c7#b77;,f77  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  7iii7 ,prohibition of       
barriers ,the ,state shall not create   
any barriers on the simple preparation  
of fresh fruits and vegetables for      
facilities1 licensed or licensed exempt4
  4