HR9677-118

2. Findings Congress finds the following: Congress authorized in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, (22 U.S.C. 2451 et. seq. (known as the Fulbright-Hays Act)) the creation of international educational and cultural exchange programs pursued through private-public partnerships between the Federal agency responsible for foreign affairs (initially the United States Information Agency or USIA) and designated sponsoring organizations. In 1986, the USIA launched a pilot program referred to as the Federal au pair exchange program, whereby young foreign students would travel to the United States to live with and provide childcare to an American family, immerse themselves in American culture, and pursue academic credits at an accredited institution. In 1994, Congress amended the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Act of 1990 (Public Law 103–415, 108 Stat. 4299 (1994)) to clarify that the USIA should continue to administer the Federal au pair program consistent with foreign affairs purposes of the Fulbright-Hays Act. The USIA exercised its regulatory authority over the program to promulgate comprehensive regulations that set requirements for the educational component of the program, specified the eligibility criteria for au pairs, and crafted a nationally uniform weekly stipend formula for host families to provide to their au pairs that was based on an assumed number of weekly hours of childcare, indexed on the Federal minimum wage, and reflected a 40 percent credit for the provided room and board. In 1997, Congress authorized the Federal au pair program on a permanent basis (Public Law 105–48, 111 Stat. 1165 (1997)). In 1999, the USIA disbanded and Congress transferred regulatory authority for the au pair program to the Department of State. The au pair program is an important public diplomacy tool that furthers foreign policy objectives of the United States. The au pair program provides a critical source of affordable childcare for tens of thousands of American families at a time when the lack of access to such care costs the economy of the United States an estimated $122,000,000,000 annually in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue. Studies have shown that over 10 percent of au pair host families are active duty military personnel, and additionally the au pair program has become an essential source of childcare for families of first responders, single parents, and shift workers and others with non-traditional work schedules. Any and all Federal regulations pertaining to the au pair program must retain the national uniformity and affordability integral to allowing American working families to continue their participation in the program. American families participating in the au pair program must have clarity and confidence in what laws and regulations are applicable to the program. It is clear that, consistent with congressional intent, the au pair program must be exclusively regulated by Federal law to successfully serve a foreign affairs purpose.