On Tuesday, February 3, Congress passed—and President Trump signed into law—five full-year FY26 spending bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) bill. This package includes increased funding for child care and early education and brought a brief government shutdown to an end. The shutdown occurred after Congress missed the January 30 deadline set by the Continuing Resolution (CR), which had temporarily funded the government following this fall’s prolonged shutdown.

Update: As of October 1, the federal government shut down after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement for FY26. Please visit our page with further information on how the shut down is affecting child care programs. 

Congress is back from August recess, and making funding decisions that will impact child care accessibility and affordability nationwide. These decisions will shape the resources available to families and child care providers across the country. 

The final 2025 tax reconciliation package (also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – H.R.1) was signed into law on July 4, 2025. This bill passed both chambers by narrow margins. It passed 215-214 in the House of Representatives in May and 51-50 in the Senate on July 1st. The House then ultimately passed the Senate’s version of the bill 218-214. 

On May 30th, the Trump Administration released their proposed FY26 Discretionary Budget Request, kicking off the FY26 appropriations process and suggesting significant shifts and cuts in federal spending priorities. The President’s budget request is only a set of recommendations to Congress as they ultimately make decisions about how to fund discretionary programs, however it does provide valuable insights into the administration's key priorities and aims to shape congressional decision-making. 

At the end of May, the House of Representatives voted (215–214) to pass their budget reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). While Congress had the opportunity to make meaningful policy changes that would improve the lives of working families, young children, and the people that care for them every day, this bill does not deliver.  

On July 31, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced two bipartisan child care bills that aim to ease the burden of child care costs for families, encourage businesses to support additional child care supply, and support the child care workforce. CCAoA supports Senator Kaine and Senator Britt’s bills and applauds their bipartisan effort to strengthen the child care system.