H.R. 4199, the Modernize the Au Pair Program Act of 2025, clarifies that the Department of State has exclusive authority over the federal au pair program and prevents states and local governments from creating their own conflicting regulations. The bill affects roughly tens of thousands of American host families who participate in the au pair program—including military families, first responders, single parents, and shift workers—as well as the young foreign participants who come to the United States for cultural exchange and childcare work. Within 90 days of passage, the bill requires the Secretary of State to propose new federal rules that modernize the au pair stipend (the payment host families provide participants), increase scheduling flexibility for families with non-traditional work hours, and strengthen the cultural exchange component of the program, while keeping costs affordable for participating families. The bill emphasizes that uniform federal rules are necessary because the au pair program serves important foreign policy objectives and provides critical affordable childcare during a time when childcare shortages cost the U.S. economy an estimated $122 billion annually.
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