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II
116TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
S. 4679
To require the Bureau of the Census to determine income and poverty
levels in the United States in a manner that accounts for the receipt
of Federal benefits, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 23, 2020
Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to
the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
A BILL
To require the Bureau of the Census to determine income
and poverty levels in the United States in a manner
that accounts for the receipt of Federal benefits, 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 ‘‘Poverty Measurement
4
Improvement Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE MEASUREMENT OF POVERTY IN
6
THE UNITED STATES.
7
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
8
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•S 4679 IS
(1) FEDERAL
BENEFIT.—The term ‘‘Federal
1
benefit’’ means a benefit, refundable tax credit, or
2
other form of assistance provided under any of the
3
following programs:
4
(A) Earned Income Tax Credit (refundable
5
portion).
6
(B) Child Tax Credit (refundable portion).
7
(C) Supplemental Security Income.
8
(D) Temporary Assistance for Needy Fam-
9
ilies.
10
(E) Title IV–E Foster Care.
11
(F) Title IV–E Adoption Assistance.
12
(G) Medicaid.
13
(H) SCHIP.
14
(I) Indian Health Services.
15
(J) PPACA refundable premium assistance
16
and cost sharing tax credit.
17
(K) Assets for Independence program.
18
(L) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
19
Food Program.
20
(M) School Breakfast.
21
(N) School Lunch.
22
(O) Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
23
Food Program.
24
(P) Child and Adult Care Food Program.
25
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•S 4679 IS
(Q) The Food Distribution Program on In-
1
dian Reservations (FDPIR).
2
(R) Nutrition Program for the Elderly.
3
(S) Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition
4
Program.
5
(T) Commodity Supplemental Food Pro-
6
gram.
7
(U) Section 8 Housing.
8
(V) Public Housing.
9
(W) Housing for Persons with Disabilities.
10
(X) Home Investment Partnership Pro-
11
gram.
12
(Y) Rural Housing Service.
13
(Z) Rural Housing Insurance Fund.
14
(AA) Low-Income Home Energy Assist-
15
ance Program.
16
(BB) Universal Service Fund Low Income
17
Support Mechanism (subsidized phone services).
18
(CC) Pell Grants.
19
(DD) Supplemental Educational Oppor-
20
tunity Grants.
21
(EE) American Opportunity Tax Credit
22
(refundable portion).
23
(FF) Healthy Start.
24
(GG) Job Corps.
25
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•S 4679 IS
(HH) Head Start (including Early Head
1
Start).
2
(II) Weatherization Assistance.
3
(JJ) Chafee Foster Care Independence
4
Program.
5
(KK) Child Care Subsidies from the Child
6
Care and Development Fund.
7
(LL) Child Care from the Temporary As-
8
sistance for Needy Families Block Grant.
9
(MM) Emergency Assistance to Needy
10
Families with Children.
11
(NN) Senior Community Service Employ-
12
ment Program.
13
(OO) Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers
14
Training Program.
15
(PP) Indian and Native American Employ-
16
ment and Training Program.
17
(QQ) Independent Living Education and
18
Training Vouchers.
19
(2) RESOURCE
UNIT.—The term ‘‘resource
20
unit’’ means all co-resident individuals who are re-
21
lated by birth, marriage, or adoption, plus any co-
22
resident unrelated children, foster children, and un-
23
married partners and their relatives.
24
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•S 4679 IS
(3) EARNED INCOME.—The term ‘‘earned in-
1
come’’ means individual income from the following:
2
(A) Earnings.
3
(B) Interest.
4
(C) Dividends.
5
(D) Rents, royalties, and estates and
6
trusts.
7
(E) The monetary value of employer-spon-
8
sored health insurance benefits.
9
(F) Other forms of income, as determined
10
by the Director.
11
(4) ENTITLEMENT AND OTHER INCOME.—The
12
term ‘‘entitlement and other income’’ means income
13
from the following:
14
(A) Unemployment (insurance) compensa-
15
tion.
16
(B) Workers’ compensation.
17
(C) Social Security.
18
(D) Veterans’ payments and benefits.
19
(E) Survivor benefits.
20
(F) Disability benefits (not including bene-
21
fits under the Supplemental Security Income
22
program).
23
(G) Pension or retirement income.
24
(H) Alimony.
25
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•S 4679 IS
(I) Child support.
1
(J) Financial assistance from outside of
2
the household.
3
(K) Medicare.
4
(5) ENTITLEMENT
AND
EARNED
UNIT
IN-
5
COME.—The term ‘‘entitlement and earned unit in-
6
come’’ means the sum of all earned income and enti-
7
tlement and other income.
8
(6) INCOME TAX DATA.—The term ‘‘income tax
9
data’’ means return information, as such term is de-
10
fined under section 6103(b)(2) of the Internal Rev-
11
enue Code of 1986.
12
(7) ADMINISTERING AGENCY.—The term ‘‘ad-
13
ministering agency’’ means a State or Federal agen-
14
cy responsible for administering a Federal benefit.
15
(8) TOTAL
RESOURCE
UNIT
INCOME.—The
16
term ‘‘total resource unit income’’ means, with re-
17
spect to a resource unit, an amount equal to—
18
(A) the sum of—
19
(i) all earned income attributable to
20
members of the unit;
21
(ii) all entitlement and other income
22
attributable to members of the unit; and
23
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•S 4679 IS
(iii) an amount, or cash equivalent, of
1
all Federal benefits received by members of
2
the unit; minus
3
(B) all State and Federal income and pay-
4
roll taxes attributable to members of the unit.
5
(9) EARNED
RESOURCE
UNIT
INCOME.—The
6
term ‘‘earned resource unit income’’ means, with re-
7
spect to a resource unit, all earned income attrib-
8
utable to members of the unit.
9
(10) PERSONALLY
IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMA-
10
TION.—The term ‘‘personally identifiable informa-
11
tion’’ means any information that identifies an indi-
12
vidual or could reasonably be used to identify an in-
13
dividual that is—
14
(A) collected pursuant to a survey con-
15
ducted by the Bureau of the Census; or
16
(B) disclosed to the Bureau of the Census
17
by an administering agency for the purpose of
18
carrying out subsection (b).
19
(11) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
20
the Director of the Bureau of the Census.
21
(b) VERIFICATION OF DATA COLLECTED IN THE AN-
22
NUAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC SUPPLEMENT TO THE CUR-
23
RENT POPULATION SURVEY.—
24
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•S 4679 IS
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal year
1
2021, in order to more accurately determine the ex-
2
tent of poverty in the United States and the anti-
3
poverty effectiveness of Federal benefit programs,
4
the Director shall supplement the data collected
5
under the Annual Social and Economic Supplement
6
to the Current Population Survey with data from
7
the appropriate administering agencies related to the
8
following:
9
(A) Participation in any Federal benefit
10
program and the monetary or cash equivalent
11
value of such benefit for an individual, where
12
possible, and otherwise for resource units or
13
households.
14
(B) The total amount of earned income for
15
individuals.
16
(C) The total amount of entitlement and
17
other income for individuals.
18
(D) Payment of income taxes and payroll
19
taxes for individuals.
20
(E) Total resource unit income.
21
(F) Total earned resource unit income.
22
(2) ADMINISTERING AGENCY DATA.—Not later
23
than 6 months after receiving a request from the Di-
24
rector, the head of each administering agency shall
25
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•S 4679 IS
make available to the Director such data (including
1
income tax data) as the Director shall require for
2
the purpose of carrying out this subsection and for
3
the purposes outlined in section 6 of title 13, United
4
States Code.
5
(3) PUBLICATION OF DATA.—
6
(A) RATES AND OTHER DATA.—
7
(i) REPORT.—The Director shall sub-
8
mit to Congress, not later than January 1,
9
2023, a report detailing the implementa-
10
tion of this Act, including—
11
(I) the availability of related
12
data;
13
(II) the quality of the data; and
14
(III) the methodology proposed
15
for assigning dollar values to the re-
16
ceipt of noncash Federal benefits.
17
(ii) TABLES AND GRAPHS.—The Di-
18
rector shall produce tables and graphs
19
showing for each year the poverty rates
20
and related data calculated using data col-
21
lected under paragraph (1), including—
22
(I) the total resource unit income
23
for survey respondents;
24
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•S 4679 IS
(II) the total earned resource
1
unit income for survey respondents;
2
(III) a breakdown of the amount
3
of income taxes and payroll taxes at-
4
tributable to survey respondents; and
5
(IV) for 2024 and subsequent
6
years, poverty rates calculated using
7
updated poverty thresholds as de-
8
scribed in clause (iii).
9
(iii) UPDATED
POVERTY
THRESH-
10
OLDS.—For 2024 and subsequent years,
11
the Director shall adjust the poverty
12
thresholds used for determining poverty
13
rates by using the personal consumption
14
expenditure price index (as published by
15
the Bureau of Economic Analysis).
16
(B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Consistent with
17
the provisions of sections 8, 9, and 23(c) of title
18
13, United States Code, the Director shall en-
19
sure the confidentiality of information furnished
20
to the Director under this subsection.
21
(c) PROTECTION AND DISCLOSURE OF PERSONALLY
22
IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.—
23
(1) IN GENERAL.—The security, disclosure, and
24
confidentiality provisions set forth in sections 9 and
25
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23 of title 13, United States Code, shall apply to
1
personally identifiable information obtained by the
2
Bureau of the Census pursuant to this Act.
3
(2) RESTRICTED
ACCESS
TO
PERSONALLY
4
IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION.—Access to personally
5
identifiable information collected to supplement the
6
restricted-use Current Population Survey Annual So-
7
cial and Economic Supplements in accordance with
8
subsection (b)(1) shall be available only to those who
9
have access to the Current Population Survey data
10
with the permission of the Bureau of the Census and
11
in accordance with any other applicable provision of
12
law.
13
(3) PENALTIES.—Any individual who knowingly
14
accesses or discloses personally identifiable informa-
15
tion in violation of this section shall be guilty of a
16
felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in
17
an amount of not more than $300,000 under title
18
18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more
19
than five years, or both.
20
(d) STATE REPORTING OF FEDERAL DATA.—Begin-
21
ning with the first full calendar year that begins after the
22
date of enactment of this Act, with respect to any Federal
23
benefit that is administered at the State level by a State
24
administering agency, such State administering agency
25
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•S 4679 IS
shall submit each year to the Federal administering agen-
1
cy responsible for administering the benefit at the Federal
2
level a report that identifies each resource unit that re-
3
ceived such benefits during such year by the personally
4
identifiable information of the head of the resource unit
5
and the amount, or cash equivalent, of such benefit re-
6
ceived by such resource unit.
7
SEC. 3. COMMISSION ON VALUATION OF GOVERNMENT
8
BENEFITS.
9
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within
10
the United States Census Bureau a commission, to be
11
known as the ‘‘Commission on Valuation of Federal Bene-
12
fits’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Commission’’).
13
(b) COMPOSITION.—
14
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Commission shall be
15
composed of 8 members, of whom—
16
(A) 2 members shall be appointed by the
17
majority leader of the Senate;
18
(B) 2 members shall be appointed by the
19
minority leader of the Senate;
20
(C) 2 members shall be appointed by the
21
Speaker of the House of Representatives; and
22
(D) 2 members shall be appointed by the
23
minority leader of the House of Representa-
24
tives.
25
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•S 4679 IS
(2) CO-CHAIRS.—Of the members of the Com-
1
mission—
2
(A) 1 co-chair shall be designated by the
3
majority leader of the Senate; and
4
(B) 1 co-chair shall be designated by the
5
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
6
(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each member appointed
7
to the Commission shall have experience in—
8
(A) quantitative policy research; and
9
(B) welfare or poverty studies.
10
(c) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days after
11
the date on which the last member is appointed under sub-
12
section (b), the Commission shall hold an initial meeting.
13
(d) QUORUM.—Six members of the Commission shall
14
constitute a quorum.
15
(e) NO PROXY VOTING.—Proxy voting by members
16
of the Commission shall be prohibited.
17
(f) STAFF.—The Director of the Census Bureau shall
18
appoint an executive director of the Commission.
19
(g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the Commis-
20
sion shall serve without pay, but shall receive travel ex-
21
penses in accordance with sections 5702 and 5703 of title
22
5, United States Code.
23
(h) DUTIES OF COMMISSION.—
24
(1) RECOMMENDATIONS.—
25
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•S 4679 IS
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission s
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