Bill · H.R. 7017· House(119-HR-7017)
Kids Before Cuts Act
- Introduced
- 1/12/2026
- Last activity
- 1/12/2026 — Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Sponsored by
- Raja Krishnamoorthi
- Cosponsors
- None
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The "Kids Before Cuts Act" aims to prevent the government from holding back federal money without direct permission from Congress. It specifically targets funds for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care Development Fund, and the Social Services Block Grant. This bill ensures that these programs cannot have their funds withheld from obligation or expenditure unless a new law is passed by Congress. The act seeks to protect the power of the purse held by Congress. It was introduced to address previous freezes of billions of dollars in federal funds.
Yes· 3 of 9
Would children be better off under this?+7
The bill protects the stability of funding for child care and social services used by hundreds of thousands of children.
Would households on low incomes be better off under this?+6
The bill protects the availability of funds for TANF and other social service block grants that support low-income families.
Does this make child care cost less?+6
The bill secures funding for the Child Care Development Fund to support childcare assistance programs.
The opposite
Does this give the federal government more power?-2
The bill limits the executive branch's ability to manage federal funds by requiring legislative action to withhold money.
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-2
The bill prevents the executive branch from unilaterally reducing spending through the withholding of funds.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Protection of Social Service Funding: By requiring explicit authority from Congress before funds can be withheld, the bill ensures that programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Child Care Development Fund, and the Social Services Block Grant remain stable. This prevents the sudden freezing of funds that were previously announced by the administration and the Department of Health and Human Services (Section 2).
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Support for Families and Children: The bill addresses a situation where approximately 100,000 families and 152,000 children rely on the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program, which is partially funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (Section 1, Findings).
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Stability for Providers: The legislation protects the funding used by thousands of licensed child care providers and 275 organizations that support human services (Section 1, Findings).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No negative impacts or burdens are explicitly stated in the provided text.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Children+7Good For Low Income Households+6Good For Women+3Good For Urban Residents+2
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Childcare Affordability+6Improves Poverty Reduction+5Improves Social Security+5
- Governance And Ideology
- Increase States Rights+4Improves Government Transparency+3Increases Federal Power-2
- Economy And Finance
- Reduces Government Spending-2
- 1/12/2026
- Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Introduced in House