Automatic Boost to Communities Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6553 To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the Boost Communities Program to provide monthly payments to America’s consumers during the COVID–19 emergency to recover from the emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 17, 2020 Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RUSH, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, and Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Finan- cial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris- diction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the Boost Communities Program to provide monthly pay- ments to America’s consumers during the COVID–19 emergency to recover from the emergency, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6553 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Automatic Boost to 2 Communities Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 For purposes of this Act: 5 (1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 6 the Boost Communities Program as set forth in sec- 7 tion 3. 8 (2) INTERIM BOOST CARD.—The term ‘‘interim 9 BOOST card’’ means a prepaid debit card issued 10 pursuant to section 3. 11 (3) PAYMENT PERIOD.—The term ‘‘payment 12 period’’ means the period— 13 (A) beginning on the first day of the first 14 month beginning after the date of the enact- 15 ment of this Act; and 16 (B) ending on the later of— 17 (i) 1 year after the termination of the 18 emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by 19 the President under section 501(b) of the 20 Robert Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 21 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) 22 with respect to the COVID–19 pandemic; 23 or 24 (ii) 1 year after— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Apr 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6553 IH (I) the national unemployment 1 rate (as determined by the Bureau of 2 Labor Statistics) is within 2 percent- 3 age points of the national unemploy- 4 ment rate on the moving average of 5 December 2019 through February 6 2020; and 7 (II) the 3-month average of the 8 national unemployment rate has de- 9 clined for two consecutive months. 10 (4) DIGITAL DOLLARS.—The term ‘‘digital dol- 11 lars’’ means dollar balances consisting of digital 12 ledger entries recorded as liabilities in the accounts 13 of any Federal reserve bank and digital coins or cur- 14 rency instruments issued by the United States 15 Treasury as legal tender, and held as bearer instru- 16 ments in any digital dollar cash wallet approved by 17 the United States Treasury. 18 (5) DIGITAL DOLLAR ACCOUNT WALLETS.—The 19 term ‘‘digital dollar account wallet’’ means a digital 20 dollar account, maintained by a Federal reserve 21 bank on behalf of any person, for the purpose of 22 holding digital dollar balances. 23 (6) DIGITAL DOLLAR CASH WALLETS.—The 24 term ‘‘digital dollar cash wallet’’ means any software 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6553 IH program, whose standards, specifications, and func- 1 tions are authorized and regulated by the United 2 States Treasury, which stores, sends, and receives 3 digital coins or currency instruments issued by the 4 United States Treasury as legal tender, and which 5 are considered bearer instruments in the possession 6 of the individual or entity on whose behalf the wallet 7 is managed and administered. 8 (7) AT-RISK POPULATIONS.—The term ‘‘at-risk 9 population’’ means a population that is experiencing, 10 or reasonably may be expected to experience, unique 11 direct or indirect financial or personal hardship as 12 a result of or during the Coronavirus crisis, includ- 13 ing the elderly, homeless, physically disabled, and 14 those in remote areas, as well as any other popu- 15 lation as identified by the Secretary. 16 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 17 the Secretary of the Treasury. 18 SEC. 3. BOOST COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 20 program to be known as the ‘‘Boost Communities Pro- 21 gram’’. Under the Program, the Secretary shall make pay- 22 ments to eligible individuals for each month in the pay- 23 ment period. Such payments shall consist of a general as- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6553 IH sistance component and a targeted supplemental assist- 1 ance component. 2 (b) PAYMENTS.—For purposes of this section— 3 (1) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—The amount of 4 payments under the Program shall be— 5 (A) for general assistance— 6 (i) $2,000 per month to each eligible 7 individual thereafter during the payment 8 period; and 9 (ii) $1,000 per month to each eligible 10 individual a year after the payment period; 11 and 12 (B) for targeted supplemental assistance, 13 such additional amounts and sums as deter- 14 mined by the Secretary to be necessary and ap- 15 propriate to meet the specific needs of eligible 16 individuals who are members of at-risk popu- 17 lations, as identified by the Secretary. 18 (2) METHODS OF PAYMENT.— 19 (A) DIRECT DEPOSIT.—As regards recipi- 20 ents who have previously provided bank account 21 information to the Secretary, the Secretary 22 shall directly deposit Program payments into 23 these accounts, unless recipients indicate a pref- 24 erence to receive an Interim BOOST Card in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6553 IH stead, in which case that preference shall be 1 honored, and all subsequent Program payments 2 shall be made exclusively via the BOOST card. 3 (B) INTERIM BOOST CARDS.—In any case 4 in which subparagraph (A) does not apply, the 5 Secretary shall contract with banking institu- 6 tions that includes minority deposit institutions, 7 community development financial institutions, 8 credit unions, national banking association, and 9 any licensed money transmitter as deemed nec- 10 essary or appropriate by the Secretary to issue 11 an interim BOOST card. 12 (3) INTERIM BOOST CARDS.— 13 (A) RULES RELATING TO INTERIM BOOST 14 CARDS.—The interim BOOST card shall— 15 (i) have all the functionality and serv- 16 ice levels currently available to certain re- 17 cipients of public benefits through the 18 Treasury Department’s Direct Express 19 program; and 20 (ii) not be subject to any fees or pen- 21 alty charges, usage restrictions, or data 22 collection practices other than those explic- 23 itly authorized by this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6553 IH (B) AVAILABILITY OF FULL BALANCE.— 1 The full balance of the interim BOOST card 2 shall be made available for immediate with- 3 drawal into physical currency at any automated 4 teller machine in the country, at any time, and 5 not be subject to any usage or withdrawal fees. 6 (C) DISTRIBUTION.— 7 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 8 distribute interim BOOST cards using the 9 Postal Service to all eligible individuals 10 with an active address on file with any 11 government agency, and shall be delivered 12 by certified mail wherever possible, using 13 the fastest service available, with any asso- 14 ciated costs to the Postal Service reim- 15 bursed directly by the Treasury of the 16 United States. 17 (ii) IN PERSON PICK-UP.—Any eligible 18 individual who does not have an active ad- 19 dress on file with any government agency, 20 or who otherwise is not able to or does not 21 receive a prepaid card pursuant to clause 22 (i) may obtain an interim or replacement 23 BOOST card through any card distribu- 24 tion station set up under the Program, in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6553 IH cluding through any bank (as defined in 1 section 581 of the Internal Revenue Code 2 of 1986), insured credit union (within the 3 meaning of section 101(7) of the Federal 4 Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752(7)) lo- 5 cated in the United States, post office, 6 United States diplomatic missions or any 7 other Federal, State, or local government 8 agency or private contracting entity, as de- 9 termined by the Secretary to be necessary 10 or appropriate. 11 (iii) WEB-BASED ACCESS.—The Sec- 12 retary shall establish a website for the pur- 13 poses of allowing eligible recipients to up- 14 date their current mailing address and di- 15 rect deposit information, to indicate their 16 preference to receive an Interim BOOST 17 card instead of receiving payments via di- 18 rect deposit, and for providing account in- 19 formation to users, including information 20 pertaining to the account number, status 21 of delivery and receipt of their allocated 22 funds, and the amount of the funds still 23 available on their card and to obtain a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Apr 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6553 IH check in the amount of the funds in the 1 account. 2 (iv) TELEPHONE ACCESS.—The Sec- 3 retary shall establish a dedicated telephone 4 information and assistance number for the 5 purposes of allowing eligible recipients to 6 update their current mailing address and 7 direct deposit information, to indicate their 8 preference to receive an Interim BOOST 9 card instead of receiving payments via di- 10 rect deposit, and for providing account or 11 card information to users, including infor- 12 mation pertaining to the status of delivery 13 and receipt of their allocated funds, and 14 the amount of the funds still available on 15 their card. 16 (v) AT-RISK OUTREACH.—The Sec- 17 retary shall establish a dedicated Emer- 18 gency Responder Corps, and where nec- 19 essary or appropriate, as determined by 20 the Secretary, shall contract with existing 21 Federal, State, and local government agen- 22 cies and private entities, to perform out- 23 reach to at-risk populations, including the 24 elderly, homeless, physically disabled, or in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 Apr 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6553 IH remote areas, to ensure that these popu- 1 lations receive their interim BOOST card 2 as well as to perform a general wellness 3 check in case of needed targeted supple- 4 mental assistance, which shall then be pro- 5 vided in such sums and amounts as deter- 6 mined to be necessary and appropriate by 7 the Secretary via any payments mechanism 8 otherwise authorized by this Act and 9 deemed appropriate for the circumstances 10 by the Secretary. 11 (4) REGULATORY TREATMENT OF PAYMENT.— 12 The Secretary shall apply the ‘‘XX’’ code specified 13 in section 212.3 of title 31, Code of Federal Regula- 14 tions, to designate all Program payments as benefit 15 payments. The Secretary shall further issue such 16 rules or guidance as needed to protect Program pay- 17 ments from garnishment. In addition, the Secretary 18 shall issue such rules or guidance as needed to en- 19 sure that any funds distributed through the Pro- 20 gram do not render recipients ineligible for any 21 other Federal, State, or local benefits or income that 22 they would otherwise have been entitled to receive in 23 the absence of the Program, including excluding any 24 general assistance or targeted supplemental assist- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6553 IH ance received via the Program from calculation of 1 reportable annual income for the purpose of calcu- 2 lating eligibility for benefits subject to an income- 3 cap threshold. 4 (c) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible indi- 6 vidual’’ means— 7 (A) any citizen or resident of the United 8 States means a citizen or resident (as such 9 terms are used in section 7701(a)(30)(A) of the 10 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the United 11 States; and 12 (B) any nonresident alien (as defined in 13 section 7701(b)(1)(B) of such Code) who has 14 been in the United States for more than the 3- 15 month period beginning on December 13, 2019. 16 (2) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 17 States’’ includes the 50 States, the District of Co- 18 lumbia, and the possessions of the United States, in- 19 corporated territories and citizens abroad. 20 (d) RULES RELATING TO PROGRAM.— 21 (1) COORDINATION.—To ensure that the Pro- 22 gram is as universal and comprehensive as possible, 23 the Secretary shall develop a list of eligible individ- 24 uals through coordination with the Internal Revenue 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:15 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6553.IH H6553 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6553 IH Service, the Social Security Administration, the Fed- 1 eral Election Commission, and every other relevant 2 Federal, State, and local government agency, includ- 3 ing State Departments of Motor Vehicles. Any ex- 4 penses incurred by any entity as a result of compli- 5 ance with the gathering of this information and con- 6 struction of this database shall be reimbursed di- 7 rectly by the United States Treasury. 8 (2) DATABASE OF RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary 9 shall establish a database of recipients, identified by 10 name and, where available, employer identification 11 number, individual tax identification number, stu- 12 dent identification, or swear in an affidavit where 13 you are ineligible for a social security number and 14 unable to submit satisfactory proof that your pres- 15 ence in the United States is authorized by Federal 16 law. This affidavit will not be treated as public 17 record and use solely for the purposes of this pro- 18 gram. The database established under this para- 19 graph shall not be shared with any other Federal, 20 St [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]