POWER Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1672 To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize the National Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 22), 2019 Mr. JONES (for himself and Ms. MCSALLY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize the National Resource Center on Women and Retirement Planning, 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 ‘‘Promoting Oppor- 4 tunity for Women Entering Retirement Act of 2019’’ or 5 the ‘‘POWER Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1672 IS SEC. 2. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON WOMEN AND RE- 1 TIREMENT PLANNING. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Older Americans 3 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3011 et seq.) is amended by in- 4 serting after section 215 the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 215A. NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER ON WOMEN AND 6 RETIREMENT PLANNING. 7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall 8 operate the National Resource Center on Women and Re- 9 tirement Planning (in this section referred to as the ‘Cen- 10 ter’) in accordance with this section. 11 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Assistant Secretary, in operating 12 the Center, shall— 13 ‘‘(1) annually compile, publish, and disseminate 14 a summary of recently conducted outreach to and re- 15 search on women and retirement security; 16 ‘‘(2) develop and maintain an information clear- 17 inghouse on all programs (including private pro- 18 grams) showing promise of success for providing re- 19 tirement and financial information to women; 20 ‘‘(3) develop, maintain, and disseminate con- 21 sumer information and public education materials 22 regarding retirement and financial security for 23 women; 24 ‘‘(4) compile, publish, and disseminate training 25 materials for personnel who are engaged or intend to 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1672 IS engage in outreach, with respect to retirement and 1 financial information, to women, particularly to 2 groups such as caregivers, racial and ethnic minori- 3 ties, and low-income women, who are traditionally 4 more difficult to reach; 5 ‘‘(5) provide technical assistance to State agen- 6 cies and to other public and nonprofit private agen- 7 cies and organizations to assist the agencies and or- 8 ganizations in planning, improving, developing, and 9 carrying out programs and activities relating to pro- 10 viding women with the necessary financial manage- 11 ment tools for secure retirement; 12 ‘‘(6) work in collaboration with other national 13 and local organizations serving the elderly to make 14 efficient use of resources related to women and re- 15 tirement; and 16 ‘‘(7) conduct research and demonstration 17 projects regarding the most effective methods and 18 tools to assist women in preparing for secure retire- 19 ment. 20 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary 22 shall carry out the activities under subsection (b) 23 through awarding grants or contracts in accordance 24 with this subsection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1672 IS ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.— 1 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA.—The Assistant Secretary 2 shall establish criteria for eligibility for a grant 3 or contract under this subsection, including a 4 requirement for demonstrated experience in car- 5 rying out the activities under subsection (b). 6 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a 7 grant or contract under this subsection shall 8 submit an application to the Assistant Sec- 9 retary at such time, in such manner, and con- 10 taining such information as the Assistant Sec- 11 retary may reasonably require. 12 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—The Assistant Secretary shall make 13 available to the Center— 14 ‘‘(1) such resources as are necessary for the 15 Center to carry out effectively the functions of the 16 Center; and 17 ‘‘(2) not less than— 18 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2020, $500,000; and 19 ‘‘(B) for each fiscal year thereafter, the 20 amount made available for the Center for fiscal 21 year 2020.’’. 22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 23 216 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 24 3020f) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1672 IS (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 1 inserting ‘‘;’’; 2 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 3 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(5) to carry out section 215A, $750,000 for 6 each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024.’’. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Jun 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1672.IS S1672 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS