HR 5400HR 3838119th CongressIntroduced

To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense to annually review the amount of financial assistance for child care and youth program services providers provided by the Secretary.

Introduced: Sep 16, 2025

Defense & National Security

Chamber Versions:

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

H.R. 5400 would add a new statutory requirement that the Secretary of Defense annually reviews the amount of financial assistance the Department provides to child care and youth program services providers under 10 U.S.C. § 1798. The review would cover the overall level of assistance and, specifically, the maximum monthly amount of assistance the Secretary authorizes per child. Introduced by Representative Ro Khanna on September 16, 2025, the bill would amend the DoD’s child care funding framework to mandate ongoing oversight and evaluation of funding levels, with the aim of informing budgeting and ensuring funds are aligned with program needs.

Key Points

1Adds a new subsection (d) to 10 U.S.C. § 1798 requiring an annual review of the amount of financial assistance provided to eligible child care and youth program providers.
2The annual review must address the maximum amount of financial assistance per month per child that the Secretary authorizes to providers.
3The bill codifies an ongoing oversight requirement, tying funding decisions to periodic evaluation rather than leaving reviews to discretion or ad hoc processes.
4Legislative action: Introduced in the House as H.R. 5400 by Rep. Ro Khanna on September 16, 2025; referred to the Committee on Armed Services.
5The change is purely a funding-oversight requirement; it does not specify new funding levels or formulas, but it could influence future appropriations and policy decisions based on the review findings.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Military families who rely on DoD-supported child care and youth programs; child care and youth program providers receiving DoD financial assistance.Secondary group/area affected: Department of Defense budgeting and program planning processes; readiness and retention considerations tied to child care accessibility and affordability.Additional impacts: Increased transparency and accountability in DoD childcare funding; potential influence on future funding levels, provider contracts, and annual budget requests; better alignment of assistance with actual needs and child counts.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 2, 2025