HR2407-119

101. Improving the measurement of poverty in the United States In this section: The term Federal benefit means a benefit, refundable tax credit, or other form of assistance provided under any of the following programs: Earned Income Tax Credit (refundable portion). Child Tax Credit (refundable portion). Supplemental Security Income. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Title IV–E Foster Care. Title IV–E Adoption Assistance. Medicaid. SCHIP. Indian Health Services. PPACA refundable premium assistance and cost sharing tax credit. Assets for Independence program. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Food Program. School Breakfast. School Lunch. Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Food Program. Child and Adult Care Food Program. The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Nutrition Program for the Elderly. Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program. Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Section 8 Housing. Public Housing. Housing for Persons with Disabilities. Home Investment Partnership Program. Rural Housing Service. Rural Housing Insurance Fund. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Universal Service Fund Low Income Support Mechanism (subsidized phone services). Pell Grants. Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. American Opportunity Tax Credit (refundable portion). Healthy Start. Job Corps. Head Start (including Early Head Start). Weatherization Assistance. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. Child Care Subsidies from the Child Care and Development Fund. Child Care from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant. Emergency Assistance to Needy Families with Children. Senior Community Service Employment Program. Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Training Program. Indian and Native American Employment and Training Program. Independent Living Education and Training Vouchers. The term resource unit means all co-resident individuals who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption, plus any co-resident unrelated children, foster children, and unmarried partners and their relatives. The term market income means individual income from the following: Earnings. Interest. Dividends. Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts. The monetary value of employer-sponsored health insurance benefits. Other forms of income, as determined by the Director. The term entitlement and other income means income from the following: Unemployment (insurance) compensation. Workers’ compensation. Social Security. Veterans’ payments and benefits. Survivor benefits. Disability benefits (not including benefits under the Supplemental Security Income program). Pension or retirement income. Alimony. Child support. Financial assistance from outside of the household. Medicare. The term entitlement and earned unit income means the sum of all market income and entitlement and other income. The term income tax data means return information, as such term is defined under section 6103(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The term administering agency means a State or Federal agency responsible for administering a Federal benefit. The term total resource unit income means, with respect to a resource unit, an amount equal to— the sum of— all market income attributable to members of the unit; all entitlement and other income attributable to members of the unit; and an amount, or cash equivalent, of all Federal benefits received by members of the unit; minus all State and Federal income and payroll taxes attributable to members of the unit. The term earned resource unit income means, with respect to a resource unit, all market income attributable to members of the unit. The term personally identifiable information means any information that identifies an individual or could reasonably be used to identify an individual that is— collected pursuant to a survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census; or disclosed to the Bureau of the Census by an administering agency for the purpose of carrying out subsection (b). The term Director means the Director of the Bureau of the Census. Beginning in fiscal year 2025, in order to more accurately determine the extent of poverty in the United States and the anti-poverty effectiveness of Federal benefit programs, the Director shall collect, in addition to the data collected under the Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey, data from the appropriate administering agencies related to the following: Participation in any Federal benefit program and the monetary or cash equivalent value of such benefit for an individual, where possible, and otherwise for resource units or households. The total amount of market income for individuals. The total amount of entitlement and other income for individuals. Payment of income taxes and payroll taxes for individuals. Total resource unit income. Total earned resource unit income. Any other information about benefits or income received by individuals that the Director determines necessary to carry out this section and that is not included in the data relating to participation in Federal benefit programs or market income for individuals. Not later than 6 months after receiving a request from the Director, the head of each administering agency shall make available to the Director such data (including income tax data) as the Director shall require for the purpose of carrying out this subsection and for the purposes outlined in section 6 of title 13, United States Code. The Director shall submit to Congress, not later than January 1, 2026, a report detailing the implementation of this section, including— the availability of related data; the quality of the data; and the methodology proposed for assigning dollar values to the receipt of noncash Federal benefits. The Director shall produce tables and graphs showing for each year the poverty rates and related data calculated using data collected under paragraph (1), including— the total resource unit income for survey respondents; the total earned resource unit income for survey respondents; the total of all amounts described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of paragraph (1) that are received by survey respondents; a breakdown of the amount of income taxes and payroll taxes attributable to survey respondents; and for 2027 and subsequent years, poverty rates calculated using updated poverty thresholds as described in clause (iii). For 2027 and subsequent years, the Director shall, in addition to the official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget) and the supplemental poverty measure, provide an alternative poverty measure that uses the personal consumption expenditure price index (as published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis) and accounts for the data collected under paragraph (1). The Director shall provide a comparison of the official poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget), the supplemental poverty measure rate as defined by the Bureau of the Census, and the alternative poverty rate created using the alternative poverty measure under this section. The Office of Management and Budget shall not use the additional data collected by the Director pursuant to paragraph (1) for purposes of defining the official poverty line. Consistent with the provisions of sections 8, 9, and 23(c) of title 13, United States Code, the Director shall ensure the confidentiality of information furnished to the Director under this subsection. The security, disclosure, and confidentiality provisions set forth in sections 9 and 23 of title 13, United States Code, shall apply to personally identifiable information obtained by the Bureau of the Census pursuant to this section. Access to personally identifiable information collected to supplement the restricted-use Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements in accordance with subsection (b)(1) shall be available only to those who have access to the Current Population Survey data with the permission of the Bureau of the Census and in accordance with any other applicable provision of law. Any individual who knowingly accesses or discloses personally identifiable information in violation of this section shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount of not more than $300,000 under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. Beginning with the first full calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act, with respect to any Federal benefit that is administered at the State level by a State administering agency, such State administering agency shall submit each year to the Federal administering agency responsible for administering the benefit at the Federal level a report that identifies each resource unit that received such benefits during such year by the personally identifiable information of the head of the resource unit and the amount, or cash equivalent, of such benefit received by such resource unit.

102. Commission on valuation of government benefits There is established within the United States Census Bureau a commission, to be known as the Commission on Valuation of Federal Benefits (referred to in this section as the Commission). The Commission shall be composed of 8 members, of whom— 2 members shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 2 members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; 2 members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and 2 members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives. Of the members of the Commission— 1 co-chair shall be designated by the majority leader of the Senate; and 1 co-chair shall be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Each member appointed to the Commission shall have experience in— quantitative policy research; and welfare or poverty studies. Not later than 60 days after the date on which the last member is appointed under subsection (b), the Commission shall hold an initial meeting. Six members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum. Proxy voting by members of the Commission shall be prohibited. The Director of the Census Bureau shall appoint an executive director of the Commission. Members of the Commission shall serve without pay, but shall receive travel expenses in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code. The Commission shall produce recommendations for the valuation of Federal benefits listed under section 101(a)(1) for the purpose of United States Census Bureau estimates of the Federal Poverty Level, including non-cash benefits. Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report of the recommendations required under paragraph (1), including a detailed statement of methodology and reasoning behind recommendations. The report required by subparagraph (A) shall be made available on an internet website of the United States Government that is available to the public. On request by the executive director of the Commission, the head of a Federal agency shall furnish information to the Commission. The Commission shall terminate 90 days after the date on which the Commission submits the report under subsection (h)(2). There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out this section.

209. Disqualification by State agency Section 12 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2021) is amended by adding at the end the following: Except as provided in paragraph (4), a State agency shall permanently disqualify from participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program an approved retail food store or wholesale food concern convicted of— trafficking in food instruments (including any voucher, draft, check, or access device (including an electronic benefit transfer card or personal identification number) issued in lieu of a food instrument under this Act); or selling firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) in exchange for food instruments (including any item described in subparagraph (A) issued in lieu of a food instrument under this Act). The State agency shall— provide the approved retail food store or wholesale food concern with notification of the disqualification; and make the disqualification effective on the date of receipt of the notice of disqualification. A retail food store or wholesale food concern shall not be entitled to receive any compensation for revenues lost as a result of disqualification under this subsection. A State agency may permit a retail food store or wholesale food concern that, but for this paragraph, would be disqualified under paragraph (1), to continue to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if the State agency determines, in its sole discretion, that— disqualification of the retail food store or wholesale food concern, as applicable, would cause hardship to participants in the supplemental nutrition assistance program; or the retail food store or wholesale food concern had, at the time of the violation under paragraph (1), an effective policy and program in effect to prevent violations described in paragraph (1); and the ownership of the retail food store or wholesale food concern was not aware of, did not approve of, and was not involved in the conduct of the violation. If a State agency under subparagraph (A) permits a retail food store or wholesale food concern to continue to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program in lieu of disqualification, the State agency shall assess a civil penalty in an amount determined by the State agency, except that— the amount of the civil penalty shall not exceed $10,000 for each violation; and the amount of civil penalties imposed for violations investigated as part of a single investigation may not exceed $40,000. If a State agency under subparagraph (A) permits a retail food store or wholesale food concern to continue to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program in lieu of disqualification, the State agency shall annually submit to the Secretary a report describing the justification of the State agency for that action. The Secretary shall annually submit to Congress a report compiling the information contained in reports submitted to the Secretary under clause (i). (j)Disqualification by State agency (1)In generalExcept as provided in paragraph (4), a State agency shall permanently disqualify from participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program an approved retail food store or wholesale food concern convicted of— (A)trafficking in food instruments (including any voucher, draft, check, or access device (including an electronic benefit transfer card or personal identification number) issued in lieu of a food instrument under this Act); or (B)selling firearms, ammunition, explosives, or controlled substances (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)) in exchange for food instruments (including any item described in subparagraph (A) issued in lieu of a food instrument under this Act). (2)Notice of disqualificationThe State agency shall— (A)provide the approved retail food store or wholesale food concern with notification of the disqualification; and (B)make the disqualification effective on the date of receipt of the notice of disqualification. (3)Prohibition of receipt of lost revenuesA retail food store or wholesale food concern shall not be entitled to receive any compensation for revenues lost as a result of disqualification under this subsection. (4)Exceptions in lieu of disqualification (A)In generalA State agency may permit a retail food store or wholesale food concern that, but for this paragraph, would be disqualified under paragraph (1), to continue to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if the State agency determines, in its sole discretion, that— (i)disqualification of the retail food store or wholesale food concern, as applicable, would cause hardship to participants in the supplemental nutrition assistance program; or (ii) (I)the retail food store or wholesale food concern had, at the time of the violation under paragraph (1), an effective policy and program in effect to prevent violations described in paragraph (1); and (II)the ownership of the retail food store or wholesale food concern was not aware of, did not approve of, and was not involved in the conduct of the violation. (B)Civil penaltyIf a State agency under subparagraph (A) permits a retail food store or wholesale food concern to continue to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program in lieu of disqualification, the State agency shall assess a civil penalty in an amount determined by the State agency, except that— (i)the amount of the civil penalty shall not exceed $10,000 for each violation; and (ii)the amount of civil penalties imposed for violations investigated as part of a single investigation may not exceed $40,000. (C)Reporting (i)To the SecretaryIf a State agency under subparagraph (A) permits a retail food store or wholesale food concern to continue to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program in lieu of disqualification, the State agency shall annually submit to the Secretary a report describing the justification of the State agency for that action. (ii)To CongressThe Secretary shall annually submit to Congress a report compiling the information contained in reports submitted to the Secretary under clause (i)..