Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services for Success Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1753 To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 14, 2019 Mr. BRADY (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Nebraska, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. NUNES, Mr. BUCHANAN, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. REED, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. FER- GUSON, Mr. ESTES, Mr. SMUCKER, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. BANKS, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. MITCHELL, and Mrs. MILLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security 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 ‘‘Jobs and Opportunity 4 with Benefits and Services for Success Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1753 IH Sec. 3. References. Sec. 4. Re-naming of program. Sec. 5. Helping more Americans enter and remain in the workforce. Sec. 6. Expecting universal engagement and case management. Sec. 7. Promoting accountability by measuring work outcomes. Sec. 8. Targeting funds to truly needy families. Sec. 9. Targeting funds to core purposes. Sec. 10. Strengthening program integrity by measuring improper payments. Sec. 11. Prohibition on State diversion of Federal funds to replace State spend- ing. Sec. 12. Inclusion of poverty reduction as a program purpose. Sec. 13. Welfare for needs not weed. Sec. 14. Strengthening accountability through HHS approval of State plans. Sec. 15. Aligning and improving data reporting. Sec. 16. Technical corrections to data exchange standards to improve program coordination. Sec. 17. Set-aside for economic downturns. Sec. 18. Definitions related to use of funds. Sec. 19. Elimination of obsolete provisions. Sec. 20. Effective date. SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 1 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 2 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 3 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi- 4 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 5 section or other provision of the Social Security Act. 6 SEC. 4. RE-NAMING OF PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The heading for part A of title 8 IV is amended to read as follows: 9 ‘‘PART A—JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY WITH 10 BENEFITS AND SERVICES PROGRAM’’. 11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 12 (1) The heading for section 403(a)(2)(B) (42 13 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking 14 ‘‘TANF’’ and inserting ‘‘JOBS’’. 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1753 IH (2) The heading for section 413 (42 U.S.C. 1 613) is amended by striking ‘‘TEMPORARY AS- 2 SISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES’’ and inserting 3 ‘‘JOBS AND OPPORTUNITY WITH BENEFITS AND 4 SERVICES’’. 5 (3) The heading for section 413(a) (42 U.S.C. 6 613(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘TANF’’ and insert- 7 ing ‘‘JOBS’’. 8 (4) The heading for section 471(e)(7)(B)(i) (42 9 U.S.C. 671(e)(7)(B)(i)), as in effect pursuant to the 10 amendment made by section 50711(a)(2) of division 11 E of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public 12 Law 115–123), is amended by striking ‘‘TANF’’ 13 and inserting ‘‘JOBS’’. 14 SEC. 5. HELPING MORE AMERICANS ENTER AND REMAIN IN 15 THE WORKFORCE. 16 (a) FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—Section 17 403(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)) is amended in each of 18 subparagraphs (A) and (C) by striking ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ 19 and inserting ‘‘2019 through 2024’’. 20 (b) HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPON- 21 SIBLE FATHERHOOD GRANTS.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) (42 22 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended— 23 (1) by striking ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ and inserting 24 ‘‘2019 through 2024’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1753 IH (2) by striking ‘‘for fiscal year 2017 or 2018’’. 1 (c) TRIBAL GRANTS.—Section 412(a) (42 U.S.C. 2 612(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1)(A) and 3 (2)(A) by striking ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2019 4 through 2024’’. 5 (d) IMPROVING ACCESS TO CHILD CARE TO SUP- 6 PORT WORK.—Section 418(a)(3) (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is 7 amended to read as follows: 8 ‘‘(3) APPROPRIATION.—For grants under this 9 section, there are appropriated— 10 ‘‘(A) $2,917,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 11 and 12 ‘‘(B) $3,525,000,000 for each of fiscal 13 years 2020 through 2024.’’. 14 (e) GRANTS TO THE TERRITORIES.—Section 15 1108(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1308(b)(2)) is amended by striking 16 ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2019 through 2024’’. 17 (f) PRORATING OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL 18 YEAR 2019.—Notwithstanding the amendments made by 19 the subsections (a) through (c) and (e) of this section, the 20 amount appropriated in each provision of law amended by 21 such subsections for fiscal year 2019 shall be— 22 (1) the amount that would be so appropriated 23 in the absence of this subsection; multiplied by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1753 IH (2) the number of days in the period from the 1 date of the enactment of this Act through September 2 30, 2019, divided by 365. 3 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend- 4 ments made by this section shall take effect on the date 5 of the enactment of this Act. 6 SEC. 6. EXPECTING UNIVERSAL ENGAGEMENT AND CASE 7 MANAGEMENT. 8 Section 408(b) (42 U.S.C. 608(b)) is amended to 9 read as follows: 10 ‘‘(b) INDIVIDUAL OPPORTUNITY PLANS.— 11 ‘‘(1) ASSESSMENT.—The State agency respon- 12 sible for administering the State program funded 13 under this part shall make an initial assessment of 14 the following for each work-eligible individual (as de- 15 fined in the regulations promulgated pursuant to 16 section 407(i)(1)(A)(i)): 17 ‘‘(A) The education obtained, skills, prior 18 work experience, work readiness, and barriers 19 to work of the individual. 20 ‘‘(B) The well-being of the children in the 21 family of the individual and, where appropriate, 22 activities or services (such as services offered by 23 a program funded under section 511) to im- 24 prove the well-being of the children. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1753 IH ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—On the basis of 1 the assessment required by paragraph (1) of this 2 subsection, the State agency, in consultation with 3 the individual, shall develop an individual oppor- 4 tunity plan that— 5 ‘‘(A) includes a personal responsibility 6 agreement in which the individual acknowledges 7 receipt of publicly funded benefits and responsi- 8 bility to comply with program requirements in 9 order to receive the benefits; 10 ‘‘(B) sets forth the obligations of the indi- 11 vidual to participate in work activities (as de- 12 fined in section 407(d)), and the number of 13 hours per month for which the individual will so 14 participate pursuant to section 407; 15 ‘‘(C) sets forth an employment goal and 16 planned short-, intermediate-, and long-term ac- 17 tions to achieve the goal, and, in the case of an 18 individual who has not attained 24 years of age 19 and is in secondary school or the equivalent, the 20 intermediate action may be completion of sec- 21 ondary school or the equivalent; 22 ‘‘(D) describes the job counseling and 23 other services the State will provide to the indi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1753 IH vidual to enable the individual to obtain and 1 keep unsubsidized employment; 2 ‘‘(E) may include referral to appropriate 3 substance abuse or mental health treatment; 4 and 5 ‘‘(F) is signed by the individual. 6 ‘‘(3) TIMING.—The State agency shall comply 7 with paragraphs (1) and (2) with respect to a work- 8 eligible individual— 9 ‘‘(A) within 1 year after the effective date 10 of this subsection, in the case of an individual 11 who, as of such effective date, is a recipient of 12 assistance under the State program funded 13 under this part (as in effect immediately before 14 such effective date); or 15 ‘‘(B) within 60 days after the individual is 16 determined to be eligible for the assistance, in 17 the case of any other individual. 18 ‘‘(4) UNIVERSAL ENGAGEMENT.—Subject to the 19 exceptions in paragraph (3), each State shall require 20 all work-eligible recipients receiving funds under the 21 State program funded under this part to engage in 22 work in accordance with the provisions of section 23 407(c), 407(d), and 407(e). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1753 IH ‘‘(5) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE BY INDI- 1 VIDUAL.—In addition to any other penalties required 2 under the State program funded under this part, the 3 State shall reduce, by such amount as the State con- 4 siders appropriate, the amount of assistance other- 5 wise payable under the State program to a family 6 that includes an individual who fails without good 7 cause to comply with an individual opportunity plan 8 developed pursuant to this subsection, that is signed 9 by the individual. 10 ‘‘(6) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The State shall meet 11 with each work-eligible individual assessed by the 12 State under paragraph (1), not less frequently than 13 every 90 days, to— 14 ‘‘(A) review the individual opportunity plan 15 developed for the individual, including the eligi- 16 bility of the individual for benefits; 17 ‘‘(B) discuss with the individual the 18 progress made by the individual in achieving 19 the goals specified in the plan; and 20 ‘‘(C) update the plan, as necessary, to re- 21 flect any changes in the circumstances of the 22 individual since the plan was last reviewed.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1753 IH SEC. 7. PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY BY MEASURING 1 WORK OUTCOMES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 407(a) (42 U.S.C. 3 607(a)) is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘(a) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY AND WORK 5 OUTCOMES.— 6 ‘‘(1) WORK OUTCOMES.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 8 grant is made under section 403 shall achieve 9 the requisite minimum level of performance for 10 a fiscal year described in this paragraph with 11 respect to the percentage of employment exits 12 for families receiving assistance under the State 13 program funded under this part, or be subject 14 to penalty as described in section 409(a)(3). 15 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION OF PERCENTAGE OF 16 EMPLOYMENT EXITS.—For purposes of this 17 paragraph, the percentage of employment exits 18 with respect to a State equals the ratio of the 19 number of work-eligible individuals who are in 20 unsubsidized employment 6 months after their 21 exit to the average monthly number of families 22 receiving assistance under the State program 23 funded under this part. 24 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENT ON REQUISITE LEVEL 25 OF PERFORMANCE.—The Secretary and the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1753 IH State shall negotiate the requisite level of per- 1 formance for the State with respect to employ- 2 ment exits for each fiscal year beginning with 3 fiscal year 2021. 4 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY.— 5 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this para- 6 graph is to provide for the establishment of per- 7 formance accountability measures to assess the 8 effectiveness of States in increasing employ- 9 ment, retention, and advancement among fami- 10 lies receiving assistance under the State pro- 11 gram funded under this part. 12 ‘‘(B) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 13 grant is made under section 403 for a fiscal 14 year shall achieve the requisite level of perform- 15 ance on an indicator described in subparagraph 16 (D) of this paragraph for the fiscal year. 17 ‘‘(C) MEASURING STATE PERFORMANCE.— 18 Each State, in consultation with the Secretary, 19 shall collect and submit to the Secretary the in- 20 formation necessary to measure the level of per- 21 formance of the State for each indicator de- 22 scribed in subparagraph (D), for fiscal year 23 2021 and each fiscal year thereafter, and the 24 Secretary shall use the information collected for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1753 IH fiscal year 2021 to establish the baseline level 1 of performance for each State for each such in- 2 dicator. 3 ‘‘(D) INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE.— 4 The indicators described in this subparagraph, 5 for a fiscal year, are the following: 6 ‘‘(i) The percentage of individuals who 7 were work-eligible individuals as of the 8 time of exit from the program, who are in 9 unsubsidized employment during the 2nd 10 quarter after the exit. 11 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of individuals 12 who were work-eligible individuals who 13 were in unsubsidized employment in the 14 2nd quarter after the exit, who are also in 15 unsubsidized employment during the 4th 16 quarter after the exit. 17 ‘‘(iii) The median earnings of individ- 18 uals who were work-eligible individuals as 19 of the time of exit from the program, who 20 are in unsubsidized employment during the 21 2nd quarter after the exit. 22 ‘‘(iv) The percentage of individuals 23 who have not attained 24 years of age, are 24 attending high school or enrolled in an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:03 Apr 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1753.IH H1753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1753 IH equivalency program, and are work-eligible 1 individuals or were work-eligible individ- 2 uals as of the time of exit from the pro- 3 gram, who obtain a high school degree or 4 its recognized equivalent while receiving as- 5 sistance under the State program funded 6 under this part or within 1 year after the 7 exit. 8 ‘‘(E) LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.— 9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each State 10 submitting a State plan pursuant to sec- [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]