What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new child assistance program that pays money to children who meet certain requirements. The bill also removes two existing tax credits (the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit) and creates two new tax credits for adults and people with adult dependents.
##
Who It Affects
- Children under age 19 who live in the United States and are U.S. citizens, nationals, or qualified aliens
- Parents or guardians who apply for payments on behalf of qualifying children
- The Social Security Administration, which will run the new program
- Taxpayers who previously claimed the child tax credit or earned income tax credit
- Adults ages 19 to 64 and people with adult dependents over age 18
##
Key Provisions
- The government creates an Office of Universal Child Assistance within the Social Security Administration to manage and make monthly payments to qualifying children (Sec. 2(b))
- Each qualifying child receives a monthly payment equal to one-twelfth of the difference between the federal poverty guideline for a two-person household and a single individual from the prior year (Sec. 2(c))
- Children automatically receive payments if they are identified through tax records, unless their parent or guardian chooses to opt out (Sec. 2(d))
- The child tax credit and earned income tax credit are repealed (Sec. 3)
- Adults ages 19 to 64 receive a refundable tax credit of $600 per year, or $1,200 for married couples filing jointly, which reduces as income increases (Sec. 5)
- Adults with dependents over age 18 receive a tax credit of $600 for each qualifying dependent (Sec. 4)
##
What Changes
The law creates a completely new monthly assistance program for children. The existing child tax credit and earned income tax credit disappear and are replaced with different tax credits. Parents no longer claim child tax credits on their tax returns. Eligible children and adults receive direct payments or tax credits instead. The Social Security Administration takes on new responsibilities to determine who qualifies and distribute payments.
##
Important Definitions
- **Qualifying child**: A person under age 19 who lives in the United States and is a U.S. citizen, national, or qualified alien (Sec. 2(a))
- **Commissioner**: The Commissioner of Social Security (Sec. 2(a))
- **Deputy Commissioner**: The head of the new Office of Universal Child Assistance (Sec. 2(a))
- **Qualified alien**: Not specifically defined in this bill, but refers to the definition in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Sec. 2(a))
##
Effective Date
The child assistance payments begin after the bill is enacted (Sec. 2(c)). The tax credit changes apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2022 (Sec. 3(d), Sec. 4(c), Sec. 5(c)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2540
To establish a universal child assistance program, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 6, 2023
Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To establish a universal child assistance program, 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 ‘‘End Child Poverty
4
Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL CHILD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
6
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
7
(1)
COMMISSIONER.—The
term
‘‘Commis-
8
sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Social Security.
9
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(2) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Dep-
1
uty Commissioner’’ means the Deputy Commissioner
2
of the Office of Universal Child Assistance.
3
(3) QUALIFYING CHILD.—The term ‘‘qualifying
4
child’’ means, with respect to a month, an individual
5
who—
6
(A) resides in the United States;
7
(B) is—
8
(i) a citizen or national of the United
9
States; or
10
(ii) a qualified alien (as defined in
11
section 431 of the Personal Responsibility
12
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
13
of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641)); and
14
(C) is less than 19 years old on the last
15
day of such month.
16
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF OFFICE
OF UNIVERSAL
17
CHILD ASSISTANCE.—
18
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within
19
the Social Security Administration an office to be
20
known as the Office of Universal Child Assistance.
21
The Office shall be headed by a Deputy Commis-
22
sioner who shall be appointed by the Commissioner
23
of Social Security.
24
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(2) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
DEPUTY
COMMIS-
1
SIONER.—The Commissioner, acting through the
2
Deputy Commissioner, shall be responsible for—
3
(A) hiring personnel and making employ-
4
ment decisions with regard to such personnel;
5
(B) issuing such regulations as may be
6
necessary to carry out the purposes of this sec-
7
tion;
8
(C) entering into cooperative agreements
9
with other agencies and departments to ensure
10
the efficiency of the administration of the pro-
11
gram;
12
(D) determining eligibility for child assist-
13
ance payments under subsection (c);
14
(E) making timely child assistance pay-
15
ments to qualified children in accordance with
16
this section;
17
(F) establishing and maintaining a system
18
of records relating to the administration of this
19
section;
20
(G) preventing fraud and abuse relating to
21
child assistance payments;
22
(H) providing information on request re-
23
garding eligibility requirements, the application
24
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•HR 2540 IH
process, payment amounts, and limitations on
1
payments; and
2
(I) tailoring culturally and linguistically
3
competent education and outreach toward in-
4
creasing utilization rates of payments under
5
this section.
6
(3) AVAILABILITY
OF
DATA.—The Commis-
7
sioner shall make available to the Deputy Commis-
8
sioner such data as the Commissioner determines
9
necessary to enable the Deputy Commissioner to ef-
10
fectively carry out the responsibilities described in
11
paragraph (2).
12
(c) CHILD ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.—
13
(1) IN GENERAL.—For every month beginning
14
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
15
sioner shall pay to each qualified child who has in
16
effect an application approved under subsection (d)
17
a child assistance payment in an amount equal to
18
the child assistance amount for the month (as deter-
19
mined under paragraph (2)).
20
(2) CHILD
ASSISTANCE
AMOUNT.—For pur-
21
poses of paragraph (1), the child assistance amount
22
for a month shall be an amount equal to 1⁄12 of the
23
excess of—
24
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•HR 2540 IH
(A) the annual poverty guideline for the
1
calendar year preceding the calendar year in
2
which such month occurs (as updated annually
3
in the Federal Register by the Department of
4
Health and Human Services under the author-
5
ity of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget
6
Reconciliation Act of 1981) as applicable to a
7
two-person household, over
8
(B) the annual poverty guideline for such
9
preceding calendar year applicable to a single
10
individual.
11
(3) REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES.—Section 205(j)
12
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(j)) shall
13
apply to the payment of child assistance payments
14
under this section in the same manner as such sec-
15
tion 205(j) applies to the payment of benefits under
16
title II of such Act.
17
(4) PENALTIES.—Section 208 of the Social Se-
18
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 408) shall apply with respect
19
to child assistance payments under this section in
20
the same manner as such section 208 applies with
21
respect to monthly insurance benefits under title II
22
of such Act.
23
(d) APPLICATION.—
24
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•HR 2540 IH
(1) IN GENERAL.—No child assistance payment
1
shall be made to an individual unless the Commis-
2
sioner has approved an application for such payment
3
in accordance with the requirements of this para-
4
graph.
5
(2) APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—An indi-
6
vidual applying for a child assistance payment as (or
7
on behalf of) a qualifying child under this section
8
shall provide the Commissioner with an application
9
in such form and manner as the Commissioner shall
10
require, and such application shall include—
11
(A) the name, date of birth, and social se-
12
curity number or taxpayer identification num-
13
ber of the qualifying child; and
14
(B) such other information as the Commis-
15
sioner deems necessary.
16
(3) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION.—The Com-
17
missioner shall treat an application for a social secu-
18
rity account number for a qualifying child as an ap-
19
plication for a child assistance payment under this
20
section, unless the applicant affirmatively indicates
21
on such application an intent to opt out of such
22
child assistance payments.
23
(4) DEEMED
APPLICATIONS.—In the case of
24
any qualifying child identified to the Commissioner
25
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•HR 2540 IH
under the data sharing procedures described in sec-
1
tion 6103(l)(23) of the Internal Revenue Code of
2
1986 (as amended by subsection (e)) who has not
3
otherwise submitted an application for child assist-
4
ance payments under this section, the Commissioner
5
shall treat such qualifying child as having so applied,
6
unless the applicant affirmatively indicates to the
7
Commissioner, under such procedures as the Com-
8
missioner may establish, an intent to opt out of such
9
child assistance payments.
10
(5) TERM
OF
APPLICATION.—The Commis-
11
sioner may provide that an approval of an individ-
12
ual’s application for a child assistance payment
13
under this subsection shall expire after a specified
14
number of months, after which the individual shall
15
not be eligible for a child assistance payment until
16
a new application is approved under this subsection.
17
(e) IRS DATA SHARING WITH COMMISSIONER OF
18
SOCIAL SECURITY.—Section 6103(l) of the Internal Rev-
19
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the
20
following new paragraph:
21
‘‘(23) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION
22
TO
SOCIAL
SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION
FOR
PUR-
23
POSES OF CHILD ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.—The Sec-
24
retary shall, upon written request from the Commis-
25
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•HR 2540 IH
sioner of Social Security, disclose to the Commis-
1
sioner any available taxpayer identity information
2
from the individual master files of the Internal Rev-
3
enue Service that the Commissioner deems relevant
4
to identifying children of taxpayers or children who
5
are taxpayers who qualify for a child assistance pay-
6
ment under section 2(c) of the End Child Poverty
7
Act, including information relating to—
8
‘‘(A) citizenship status of a child,
9
‘‘(B) age of a child, and
10
‘‘(C) country of residence of a child.’’.
11
(f) INCOME DISREGARD.—A child assistance pay-
12
ment made under this section shall not be taken into ac-
13
count as income and shall not be taken into account as
14
resources for purposes of determining the eligibility of
15
such individual or any other individual for benefits or as-
16
sistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance,
17
under any Federal program or under any State or local
18
program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.
19
(g) APPROPRIATION.—There are appropriated to the
20
Commissioner for fiscal year 2023 and each subsequent
21
fiscal year such sums as are necessary to carry out this
22
section.
23
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•HR 2540 IH
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF CHILD TAX CREDIT AND EARNED IN-
1
COME TAX CREDIT.
2
(a) CHILD TAX CREDIT.—Section 24 of the Internal
3
Revenue Code of 1986 is hereby repealed.
4
(b) EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.—Section 32 of
5
such Code is hereby repealed.
6
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
7
(1) The table of sections for subpart A of part
8
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of subtitle A of
9
such Code is amended by striking the item relating
10
to section 24.
11
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of such
12
part is amended by striking the item relating to sec-
13
tion 32.
14
(3) Section 45R(f)(3)(B) of the Internal Rev-
15
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘(as in
16
effect on the day before the date of enactment of the
17
Universal Child Assistance Act of 2018)’’ after ‘‘sec-
18
tion 24(d)(2)(C)’’.
19
(4) Section 25A(g)(2)(B) of such Code is
20
amended by striking ‘‘, 32’’.
21
(5) Section 86(f) of such Code is amended by
22
striking paragraph (2).
23
(6) Section 129(e)(2) of such Code is amended
24
to read as follows:
25
‘‘(2) EARNED INCOME.—
26
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•HR 2540 IH
‘‘(A) The term ‘earned income’—
1
‘‘(i) means—
2
‘‘(I) wages, salaries, tips, and
3
other employee compensation, but
4
only if such amounts are includible in
5
gross income for the taxable year,
6
plus
7
‘‘(II) the amount of the tax-
8
payer’s net earnings from self-employ-
9
ment for the taxable year (within the
10
meaning of section 1402(a)), but such
11
net earnings shall be determined with
12
regard to the deduction allowed to the
13
taxpayer by section 164(f), and
14
‘‘(ii) does not include any amounts
15
paid or incurred by an employer for de-
16
pendent care assistance to an employee.
17
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)—
18
‘‘(i) the earned income of an indi-
19
vidual shall be computed without regard to
20
any community property laws,
21
‘‘(ii) no amount received as a pension
22
or annuity shall be taken into account,
23
‘‘(iii) no amount to which section
24
871(a) applies (relating to income of non-
25
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•HR 2540 IH
resident alien individuals not connected
1
with United States business) shall be taken
2
into account,
3
‘‘(iv) no amount received for services
4
provided by an individual while the indi-
5
vidual is an inmate at a penal institution
6
shall be taken into account,
7
‘‘(v) no amount described in subpara-
8
graph (A) received for service performed in
9
work activities as defined in paragraph (4)
10
or (7) of section 407(d) of the Social Secu-
11
rity Act to which the taxpayer is assigned
12
under any State program under part A of
13
title IV of such Act shall be taken into ac-
14
count, but only to the extent such amount
15
is subsidized under such State program,
16
and
17
‘‘(vi) a taxpayer may elect to treat
18
amounts excluded from gross income by
19
reason of section 112 as earned income.’’.
20
(7) Section 135(d)(1)(B) of such Code is
21
amended by striking ‘‘32,’’.
22
(8) Section 152(f)(6)(B) of such Code is
23
amended—
24
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•HR 2540 IH
(A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and
1
inserting a period,
2
(B) by striking clauses (ii) and (iv), and
3
(C) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause
4
(ii).
5
(9) Section 501 of such Code is amended—
6
(A) in subsection (c)(26), by striking ‘‘(as
7
defined in section 24(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(as de-
8
fined in subsection (g))’’, and
9
(B) by amending subsection (g) to read as
10
follows:
11
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—
12
‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL.—For purposes of sub-
13
section (c)(5), the term ‘agricultural’ includes the
14
art or science of cultivating land, harvesting crops or
15
aquatic resources, or raising livestock.
16
‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CHILD.—
17
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub-
18
section (c)(26), the term ‘qualifying child’
19
means a qualifying child of the taxpayer (as de-
20
fined in section 152(c)) who has not attained
21
age 17.
22
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN NONCITI-
23
ZENS.—The term ‘qualifying child’ shall not in-
24
clude any individual who would not be a de-
25
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•HR 2540 IH
pendent
if
subparagraph
(A)
of
section
1
152(b)(3) were applied without regard to all
2
that follows ‘resident of the United States’.’’.
3
(10) Section 995(f)(2)(C) of such Code is
4
amended by striking ‘‘32,’’.
5
(11) Section 3402(f)(1) of such Code is amend-
6
ed by striking subparagraph (C) and by redesig-
7
nating subparagraphs (D) through (F) as subpara-
8
graphs (C) through (E), respectively.
9
(12) Section 4293 of such Code is amended by
10
striking ‘‘chapter 32 (oth
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]