Stop Fraud by SOMALIA Act

Key Points

• This bill creates a lifetime ban for any child care provider found guilty of fraud involving federal funds. This includes lying about how many children are enrolled, who owns the business, or whether the facility has a valid state license. Once banned, a provider cannot get back into the program by changing their business name or merging with another company.
• States would be held financially responsible for fraud within their borders. If a provider steals money, the state must pay it back to the federal government or have that amount cut from their next year’s budget for child care assistance.
• Non-citizens who commit child care fraud would face severe immigration consequences. They could be deported, barred from entering the U.S., and blocked from seeking asylum or becoming citizens. The bill also specifically targets fraud that funnels money to terrorist groups like Al-Shabaab.
• The government would be allowed to use 'expedited removal' to quickly deport non-citizens suspected of this type of fraud without a standard court hearing. These rules would apply to fraud committed as far back as 1996 if the person has not yet been arrested or charged.