This bill, known as the "Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act," significantly strengthens measures against fraud in federal child care assistance programs. It amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to mandate the permanent debarment of child care providers found to have committed fraud, such as submitting false statements or operating without a license. This debarment is irreversible, and administrative fraud findings leading to debarment must be referred to the Attorney General for a federal criminal investigation and potential prosecution. The legislation also introduces stringent immigration consequences for alien child care providers who commit fraud, making them inadmissible to the United States, deportable , and ineligible for asylum or adjustment of status . These individuals are further subject to mandatory detention and expedited removal procedures. Additionally, alien child care providers debarred for fraud who used funds to support terrorist organizations become inadmissible. To ensure swift implementation, the bill allows relevant Secretaries to bypass certain administrative requirements, with immigration-related amendments applying retroactively to fraud committed on or after September 30, 1996, if the alien has not yet been arrested, charged, or indicted.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Families
Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act
USA119th CongressS-3644| Senate
| Updated: 1/14/2026
This bill, known as the "Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act," significantly strengthens measures against fraud in federal child care assistance programs. It amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to mandate the permanent debarment of child care providers found to have committed fraud, such as submitting false statements or operating without a license. This debarment is irreversible, and administrative fraud findings leading to debarment must be referred to the Attorney General for a federal criminal investigation and potential prosecution. The legislation also introduces stringent immigration consequences for alien child care providers who commit fraud, making them inadmissible to the United States, deportable , and ineligible for asylum or adjustment of status . These individuals are further subject to mandatory detention and expedited removal procedures. Additionally, alien child care providers debarred for fraud who used funds to support terrorist organizations become inadmissible. To ensure swift implementation, the bill allows relevant Secretaries to bypass certain administrative requirements, with immigration-related amendments applying retroactively to fraud committed on or after September 30, 1996, if the alien has not yet been arrested, charged, or indicted.