RESET for America’s Future Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 487 To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand the operation of the State employment and training programs under such Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 25, 2021 Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself and Mr. UPTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand the operation of the State employment and training pro- grams under such Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Revitalize and Expand 4 SNAP Education and Training for America’s Future Act’’ 5 or the ‘‘RESET for America’s Future Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 487 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 1 (a) STREAMLINED EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING 2 PROGRAM.—The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 3 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended— 4 (1) in section 6(d)(4) by inserting after sub- 5 paragraph (K) the following: 6 ‘‘(K–1)(i) Not later than 90 days after the 7 effective date of this subparagraph, the Sec- 8 retary shall issue the following streamlined 9 guidelines for the implementation of an employ- 10 ment and training program under this subpara- 11 graph: 12 ‘‘(I) Guidelines that permit the State 13 agency to submit for full and expedited 14 Federal reimbursement of any costs in- 15 curred under such program, with no match 16 requirement, that meets 1 or more of the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(aa) Activities that include an 19 evaluation to measure employment 20 and earnings outcomes for partici- 21 pants in such program, with a meth- 22 odology that could, in the event that 23 the evaluation finds positive program 24 impacts, subsequently classify the pro- 25 gram as having a high or moderate 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 487 IH causal evidence rating that shows a 1 demonstrated capacity to improve em- 2 ployment and earnings outcomes for 3 program participants, as defined by 4 the Secretary of Labor under section 5 3026 of Public Law 115–12. 6 ‘‘(bb) Activities under such pro- 7 gram that have already been evalu- 8 ated, and found to positively affect 9 employment and earnings outcomes 10 for program participants, with a 11 methodology that has a high or mod- 12 erate causal evidence rating, as de- 13 fined by the Secretary of Labor under 14 section 3206 of Public Law 115–123. 15 ‘‘(cc) Activities under such pro- 16 gram that use at least 20 percent of 17 the funding allocated through such 18 program through a performance or 19 outcomes contract to pay for measur- 20 able improvements in outcomes re- 21 lated to improved employment earn- 22 ings, credential attainment, or meas- 23 urable attainment of new vocational 24 skills for eligible participants served, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 487 IH including any reporting measures re- 1 lated to these outcomes which State 2 agencies must track and report annu- 3 ally under regulations issued by the 4 Secretary under this Act, or any 5 benchmarks clearly shown by credible 6 research to be highly correlated with 7 these key outcomes if these outcomes 8 are measured using administrative 9 data validated by a third-party eval- 10 uator if— 11 ‘‘(AA) any participants eligi- 12 ble to participate in the supple- 13 mental nutrition assistance pro- 14 gram are eligible for such pro- 15 gram; 16 ‘‘(BB) the State agency 17 demonstrates that the population 18 served by the program under this 19 subparagraph is similar to the 20 population that participates in 21 the supplemental nutrition assist- 22 ance program in the local area 23 served with respect to both demo- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 487 IH graphics and barriers to employ- 1 ment; and 2 ‘‘(CC) funds provided under 3 this subparagraph and designed 4 for the purposes of making out- 5 come-based payments may be 6 held by the State agency or local 7 agency for the purpose of making 8 payments required under such 9 contract based on a measurable 10 outcome, for a period not to ex- 11 ceed 5 years notwithstanding any 12 other provision of the law. 13 ‘‘(dd) Activities under such pro- 14 grams that use an additional amount, 15 not to exceed 20 percent of the total 16 amount, covered by activities under 17 such program that meet 1 of the 3 18 criteria specified in items (aa) 19 through (cc) for purposes that may be 20 necessary to administer or evaluate 21 projects or programs permitted under 22 any of such criteria, or to pay for 23 technical assistance to better admin- 24 ister or evaluate such projects or pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 487 IH grams, except that the maximum al- 1 lowable percentage permitted in this 2 item may be increased from 20 to 30 3 percent for providers that coordinate 4 and cost-share with other programs 5 funded under the Workforce Innova- 6 tion and Opportunity Act of 2014. 7 ‘‘(ii) Program participants who are eligible 8 for any services, or who enroll in any program 9 or project under this paragraph, shall remain 10 eligible, notwithstanding any other provision in 11 this Act, for not less than 6 months. 12 ‘‘(iii) Any State agency that receives funds 13 under this subparagraph shall— 14 ‘‘(I) as part of its current reporting 15 requirements, include in its report to the 16 Secretary details on how such funds were 17 allocated under this subparagraph, and 18 make these findings available to the public 19 not later than 1 year after receiving funds 20 under this subparagraph; 21 ‘‘(II) release, as part of its reporting 22 requirements to the Secretary, a final pub- 23 licly available report to the Secretary 24 with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 487 IH ‘‘(aa) detailed findings on pro- 1 grams funded under this subpara- 2 graph not later than 1 year of the end 3 of such programs; and 4 ‘‘(bb) any associated evaluations 5 funded under this paragraph (includ- 6 ing measurable employment, wage, or 7 other relevant outcomes for programs 8 and services funded under this sub- 9 paragraph; and 10 ‘‘(III) the findings of any associated 11 evaluations. 12 ‘‘(iv) If the Secretary does not issue guide- 13 lines by the deadline specified in clause (i), 14 State agencies may proactively apply for full re- 15 imbursement under this subparagraph if they 16 clearly demonstrate to the Secretary and to the 17 public how the activities for which they request 18 full reimbursement under this subparagraph 19 meet the criteria and requirements specified in 20 this subparagraph. 21 ‘‘(v) Nothing in this subparagraph shall be 22 construed— 23 ‘‘(I) to create any new reporting re- 24 quirement, compliance requirement, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 487 IH other requirement for any State agency or 1 local agency that implements that do not 2 wish to receive funds under this subpara- 3 graph and the heightened reimbursement 4 levels made available under this subpara- 5 graph; or 6 ‘‘(II) to create a new reporting, com- 7 pliance, or other requirement for any pro- 8 gram, project, or service funded through 9 the program under this subparagraph but 10 not funded under this paragraph.’’; and 11 (2) in section 16(h)(1) by adding at end the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘In addition to funds allocated under the preceding sen- 14 tence, the Secretary shall reserve for allocation to State 15 agencies, to remain available for 24 months, from funds 16 made available for each fiscal year under section 18(a)(1), 17 $100,000,000 for such fiscal year for reimbursements re- 18 quired under section 6(d)(4)(K–1), except that at least 19 $30,000,000 of such funds shall remain available for 60 20 months to cover any longer-term outcome-based payments 21 authorized under subitem (CC) of section 6(d)(4)(K– 22 1)(1)(i)(I)(cc).’’. 23 (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORTIVE 24 SERVICES SUPPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED, EVI- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 487 IH DENCE-BUILDING OR OUTCOMES-BASED ACTIVITIES.— 1 Section 16(h)(3) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 2 (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(3)) is amended— 3 (1) by striking ‘‘to 50 per centum’’ and insert- 4 ing the following: 5 ‘‘to— 6 ‘‘(A) 50 percent’’, and 7 (2) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(F), except’’ and 8 inserting the following: 9 ‘‘paragraph (1)(F); or 10 ‘‘(B) 100 percent of the total amount of 11 payments made or costs incurred by the State 12 agency in connection with transportation costs 13 and other expenses reasonably necessary and 14 directly related to participation in— 15 ‘‘(i) an employment and training pro- 16 gram described in section 6(d)(4)(K–1); 17 and 18 ‘‘(ii) an employment and training pro- 19 gram described in section (6)(d)(4)(K) if 20 such program provides the activities de- 21 scribed in subitem (aa), (bb), or (cc) of 22 section 6(d)(4)(K–1); 23 for the period beginning on the effective date of 24 this subparagraph and ending on the date the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 487 IH public health emergency declaration by the Sec- 1 retary of Health and Human Services under 2 section 319 of the Public Health Service Act 3 based on an outbreak of coronavirus disease 4 2019 (COVID–19) is lifted or 2 years after the 5 effective date of this subparagraph, whichever is 6 later.’’. 7 (c) USE OF FEDERAL FUNDING STREAMS COUNT AS 8 MATCHING FUNDS TO INCREASE ALIGNMENT.—Section 9 16(h)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 10 2025(h)(2)) is amended— 11 (1) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ after ‘‘(2)’’, and 12 (2) by adding at end the following: 13 ‘‘(ii)(I) Effective during the period beginning on 14 the effective date of this clause and ending on Sep- 15 tember 30, 2023, a State agency incurs costs in car- 16 rying out such program during a fiscal year that ex- 17 ceed the amount allocated to the State agency under 18 paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, then In carrying 19 out such program such State may contribute addi- 20 tional funds obtained from other sources, including 21 Federal, State, or private funds, on the condition 22 that the use of the contributions is permissible under 23 Federal law. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 487 IH ‘‘(II) The State agency shall submit a report to 1 the Secretary containing information to identify each 2 source of Federal funds contributed under subclause 3 (II). such report shall include details on how the 4 provider will partner with other local and State enti- 5 ties funded by the Federal program in question that 6 is being counted toward the match requirement to 7 do the following— 8 ‘‘(aa) improve measurable outcomes for 9 program participants; 10 ‘‘(bb) streamline service delivery, co-locate 11 services, align services across programs, stream- 12 line service delivery for program participants, or 13 make it easier for program participants eligible 14 for multiple programs to participate in cost- 15 sharing across those programs for services in 16 which they are enrolled; and 17 ‘‘(cc) otherwise partner with other entities 18 in the area to improve program performance 19 management.’’. 20 (d) FULL REIMBURSEMENT OF STATE-LEVEL DATA 21 COSTS TO FACILITATE IMPROVED EMPLOYMENT AND 22 TRAINING PROGRAM ENROLLMENT, INTERPROGRAM 23 ALIGNMENT, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, AND OTHER 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 487 IH PURPOSES.—Section 16(h)(4) of the Food and Nutrition 1 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2035(h)(4)) is amended— 2 (1) by striking ‘‘Funds’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) Ex- 3 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), funds’’, and 4 (2) by adding at end the following: 5 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall also reimburse each State 6 agency in an amount equal to 100 percent of the total 7 amount of payments made or costs incurred by the State 8 agency to build, modernize or improve State and local data 9 systems or data processes related to the supplemental nu- 10 trition assistance program and employment, and to enroll- 11 ment and eligibility for training programs carried out 12 under this Act, for any of the following purposes if the 13 personal identifiable information of program participants 14 is not compromised or made less secure in the process and 15 if the security of such systems is in no way compromised 16 and if such costs are counted toward total allowable indi- 17 rect maximum costs related to administering the program 18 that a State may claim under guidance issued by the Sec- 19 retary: 20 ‘‘(i) To make it easier to track program and 21 participant outcomes. 22 ‘‘(ii) To make it easier to increase system inter- 23 operability with other Federal, State, and local data 24 systems such that program participants can be more 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:21 Feb 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H487.IH H487 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 487 IH easily matched and served across related workforce 1 and training programs, for the purposes of better 2 aligning and coordinating service delivery across pro- 3 grams. 4 ‘‘(iii) To make establishing employment and 5 training participant eligibility measurably easier, 6 faster, or more user-friendly for local providers. 7 ‘‘(iv) A combination of any of the purposes de- 8 scribed in clauses (i) through (iii).’’. 9 SEC. 3. REPORT TO THE CONGRESS. 10 The Secretary of Agriculture shall commission a de- 11 tailed and thorough national assessment of the employ- 12 ment and training programs carried out under the Food 13 and Nut [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]