CONGRESSMAN MORELLE, SPEAKER EMERITA PELOSI, CONGRESSWOMAN PETTERSEN DEMAND AN END TO CHILDCARE FUNDING FREEZE
Author letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. demanding the release of nearly $10 billion in frozen federal funding for childcare and family support programs
(Washington, D.C.)—Today, Congressman Joe Morelle (D, NY-25), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D, CA-11), and Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (D, CO-07) announced they have taken action to hold the Trump administration accountable for their illegal, targeted freezing of federal childcare and family assistance funding designated for New York, California, Illinois, Minnesota, and Colorado.
In addition to being unlawful, “this action is reckless, unjustified, and profoundly harmful, placing millions of children, working parents, and financially stressed families at immediate risk,” wrote the Representatives in their letter. “Congress appropriated these funds to support children and families, not to be withheld as political retribution. This decision undermines federal-state partnerships, destabilizes childcare systems, and erodes confidence in HHS’s stewardship of programs fundamental to the economic stability and well-being of children and families.”
This letter comes as a direct response to a January 6, 2026, decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to freeze more than $10 billion in federal child-care and family assistance funding for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, citing “serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in state-administered programs.”
Under this action, access to major funding streams, including the Child Care and Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the Social Services Block Grant, was restricted pending additional documentation and review, with HHS asserting that some benefits may have been provided to individuals not eligible under federal law. The department did not accompany the announcement with evidence of systemic fraud, prompting sharp criticism from state officials and stakeholders who warn the freeze jeopardizes services for low-income families, working parents, and child-care providers who rely on these programs to stay afloat.
The letter is co-signed by 83 total members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including members from all five affected states. A full copy of the letter can be found here.
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