CSA OPPORTUNITY Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8204 To amend the Social Security Act, the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to require that the value of children’s savings accounts be disregarded for the purpose of determining eligibility to receive benefits under such Acts, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 11, 2020 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Social Security Act, the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assist- ance Act of 1981 to require that the value of children’s savings accounts be disregarded for the purpose of deter- mining eligibility to receive benefits under such Acts, 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 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8204 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children’s Savings Ac- 2 counts Offer Parents Plenty Of Reasons To Understand 3 and Invest in Tuition Yearly Act’’ or the ‘‘CSA OPPOR- 4 TUNITY Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT PRO- 8 GRAM.—The term ‘‘children’s savings account pro- 9 gram’’ refers to a program created or organized by 10 a State, local, or Federal Government, 501(c)(3) 11 nonprofit organization, a school district, or a college 12 or university for the purpose of creating children’s 13 savings accounts. 14 (2) CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT.—The term 15 ‘‘children’s savings account’’ means a savings or in- 16 vestment account or trust created as part of a chil- 17 dren’s savings account program exclusively for the 18 purpose of paying the qualified expenses of only in- 19 dividuals, who, when the account is created, have not 20 attained 18 years of age, provided that it has the 21 following requirements: 22 (A) If a savings or investment account is 23 created— 24 (i) the account is held in a federally 25 insured financial institution, or a State-in- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8204 IH sured financial institution if a federally in- 1 sured financial institution is not available, 2 or in an investment account by a custodian 3 or third-party owner on behalf of the indi- 4 viduals, if the custodian or third-party 5 owner is a State, local, or Federal Govern- 6 ment, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a 7 school district, or a college or university, 8 (ii) the assets of the account will not 9 be commingled with other property except 10 in a common children’s savings account, 11 trust fund, or other common investment 12 fund, and 13 (iii) any amount in the account that is 14 attributable to a seed deposit, matched de- 15 posit, or other incentive provided by the 16 children’s savings account program may be 17 paid or distributed from the account only 18 for the purpose of paying qualified ex- 19 penses of the individual. 20 (B) If a trust is created or organized, the 21 written governing instrument creating the trust 22 contains the following requirements: 23 (i) The trust is created on behalf of 24 the individuals, and the trustee is a State, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8204 IH local, or Federal Government, 501(c)(3) 1 nonprofit organization, a school district, or 2 a college or university. 3 (ii) The assets of the trust will be in- 4 vested in accordance with the direction of 5 the trustee. 6 (iii) The assets of the trust will not be 7 commingled with other property except in 8 a common trust fund or common invest- 9 ment fund. 10 (iv) Any amount in the trust that is 11 attributable to a seed deposit, matched de- 12 posit, or other children’s savings account 13 program incentive may be paid or distrib- 14 uted from the trust only for the purpose of 15 paying qualified expenses of the individual. 16 (3) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘quali- 17 fied expenses’’ means, with respect to an individual, 18 expenses that are— 19 (A) incurred after the individual receives a 20 secondary school diploma or its recognized 21 equivalent, and 22 (B) for— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8204 IH (i) postsecondary educational expenses 1 (as defined in section 529 of the Internal 2 Revenue Code of 1986) of the individual, 3 (ii) the purchase of a first home by 4 the individual, or 5 (iii) the capitalization of a business 6 owned by the individual. 7 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 8 SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 9 SEC. 101. CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT REQUIRED TO BE 10 DISREGARDED UNDER THE TANF PROGRAM. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(a)(13) of the Social 12 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)), as added by section 13 101(a) of this Act, is amended— 14 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘, and value of 15 a children’s savings account’’ after ‘‘program’’; and 16 (2) by inserting after ‘‘1986)’’ the following: 17 ‘‘and the value of any children’s savings account (as 18 defined in section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY 19 Act)’’. 20 (b) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—Section 21 409(a)(17) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(17)), as added 22 by section 101(b)(1) of this Act, is amended in the para- 23 graph heading, by inserting ‘‘OR VALUE OF A CHILDREN’S 24 SAVINGS ACCOUNT’’ after ‘‘PROGRAM’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8204 IH SEC. 102. EXCLUSION OF CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT 1 FROM RESOURCES UNDER THE SSI PRO- 2 GRAM. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1613(a) of the Social Se- 4 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)), as amended by section 5 102 of this Act, is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 7 (17); 8 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 9 graph (18) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10 (3) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol- 11 lowing: 12 ‘‘(19) any children’s savings account (as defined 13 in section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY Act), in- 14 cluding accrued interest or other earnings thereon.’’. 15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1613(e)(5) 16 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(e)(5)) is amended by insert- 17 ing ‘‘of this Act or section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY 18 Act’’ before the period. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8204 IH TITLE II—AMENDMENT TO THE 1 FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT 2 OF 2008 3 SEC. 201. EXCLUSION OF CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 4 FROM RESOURCES UNDER THE SUPPLE- 5 MENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 6 Section 5(g) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 7 (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 8 following: 9 ‘‘(9) EXCLUSION OF CHILDREN’S SAVINGS AC- 10 COUNTS FROM ALLOWABLE FINANCIAL RE- 11 SOURCES.— 12 ‘‘(A) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall ex- 13 clude from financial resources under this sub- 14 section the value of funds in any children’s sav- 15 ings account. 16 ‘‘(B) CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT.— 17 For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term 18 ‘children’s savings account’ has the meaning 19 given such term in section 2 of the CSA OP- 20 PORTUNITY Act.’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8204 IH TITLE III—AMENDMENT TO LOW- 1 INCOME HOME ENERGY AS- 2 SISTANCE ACT OF 1981 3 SEC. 301. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ACCOUNTS FROM CAL- 4 CULATION UNDER THE LOW-INCOME HOME 5 ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 6 Section 2605(f) of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 7 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)) is amended by 8 adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ACCOUNTS FROM CAL- 10 CULATION.— 11 ‘‘(A) EXCLUSION.—The determination of the 12 income or assets of a household for purposes of eligi- 13 bility under this section shall be made without re- 14 gard to the value of funds in any children’s savings 15 account. 16 ‘‘(B) CHILDREN’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT.—For 17 purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘children’s 18 savings account’ has the meaning given such term in 19 section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY Act.’’. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8204.IH H8204 tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with BILLS