113 HR 2182 IH: Half in Ten Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-05-23
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Half in Ten Act of
2013
.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)The persistence of
poverty, and especially intergenerational poverty, in America can be seen as a
deep, structural problem that implicates our value system and our educational
and economic institutions.
(2)Poverty may be
defined as the lack of basic necessities of life such as food, shelter,
clothing, health care, education, economic security, and economic
opportunity.
(3)Policy initiatives
and many safety net programs addressing poverty have not kept pace with the
needs of millions of Americans.
(4)The lack of an
equitable distribution of housing choices across the country leads to isolation
and concentrated poverty.
(5)The number of
Americans living in poverty rose by over 2.6 million from 2009 to 2010 (U.S.
Census Bureau, September 2011).
(6)There were 46.2
million Americans living in poverty in 2010, consisting of 15.1 percent of the
American people (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2011).
(7)Poverty has a
disproportionate impact on minority communities in America with 27.4 percent of
African-Americans, 26.6 percent of Hispanics, 12.1 percent of Asian Americans,
and 9.9 percent of Whites living in poverty in the United States in 2010 (U.S.
Census Bureau, September 2011).
(8)In 2010 a family
of 4 was considered poor under the U.S. Census Bureau’s official measure if the
family’s income was below $22,314.
(9)The economic
consequences of poverty in the United States are estimated to be at least $500
billion per year (Center for American Progress, 2007).
(10)Children who grow
up in poverty experience higher crime rates, decreased productivity, and higher
health costs over their lives (Center for American Progress, 2007).
(11)3,500,000 seniors
lived in poverty in 2010 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
(12)Young Americans,
ages 18–24, experience a higher poverty rate than the national average (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2011).
(13)16,400,000
children lived in poverty in 2010—more than one in every five American children
(U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
(14)Almost 35 percent
of African-American children and over 30 percent of Hispanic children lived in
poverty in 2009 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).
(15)The 46,180,000 of
Americans in poverty in 2010 was the largest number yet recorded in the 52
years for which poverty estimates are available (U.S. Census Bureau,
2011).
(16)Individuals and
families in poverty are more socially vulnerable to natural disasters, extreme
weather and impacts of climate change and have greater difficulty preparing
for, responding to and recovering from such events (Oxfam America,
2009).
(17)Children who live
in families who fall into poverty for even short periods of time are at greater
risk of a lifetime of lower earnings, lower educational attainment, and
increased reliance on public services and increased rates of incarceration
(First Focus, 2008).
(18)It is estimated
that the additional 3 million children who were forced into poverty due to the
recession of 2008, resulted in $35 billion in economic losses annually, and
will cause at least $1.7 trillion in economic losses to the United States
during their lifetimes (First Focus, 2008).
(19)Reducing poverty,
especially child poverty, not only reduces costs for Federal, State, and local
social services and benefits programs, but also increases tax revenue at all
levels of government (Children’s Defense Fund, 2009).
(20)The House of
Representatives, on January 22, 2008, has resolved that it is the sense of
Congress that the United States should set a national goal of cutting poverty
in half over the next 10 years.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term Federal agency means any executive
department, Government corporation, Government-controlled corporation, or other
establishment in the executive branch of the Government (including the
Executive Office of the President), or any independent regulatory
agency.
(2)The
term poverty means an income level and living standard associated
with and based on the official poverty measure as established and updated by
the U.S. Census Bureau which establishes a threshold of minimum income
necessary to achieve a standard of living free from deprivation of basic
needs.
(3)The term extreme poverty means having an
income level or living standard at a level of extreme deprivation based on
living with income below 50 percent of the Federal poverty line as established
by the U.S. Census.
(4)The term near poverty means having a level
of household income below 200 percent of the Federal poverty line.
(5)The term child poverty means poverty which
impacts those persons under 18 years of age.
(6)The
term deprivation means lacking some or all basic human
needs.
(7)The term decent living standard means the
amount of annual income that would allow an individual to live beyond
deprivation at a safe and decent, but modest, standard of living.
(8)Alternative
Poverty MeasuresThe term
alternative poverty measures means measures and indicators, other
than the traditional income based measure of poverty, which can provide a more
detailed picture of the low-income and poverty stricken populations, such as
the number of people who were kept above poverty by Government supports, the
number of people who are poor due to medical expenses, child care, and work
expenses, the rates of food insecurity, the number of people who are asset poor
(with less than three months of income saved), the number of disconnected
youth, teen birth rates, participation rates in Federal anti-poverty programs
for all eligible populations, and the number of people who are unbanked.
(9)The term regional costs of living means a
measure of the differing costs of maintaining a given living standard in
varying regional, geographic, urban or rural regions.
(10)The term economic insecurity means the
inability of individuals and households to cope with routine adverse or costly
life events and the lack of means to maintain a decent standard of living and
to recover from the costly consequences of those events.
(11)The term economic stability means
individuals and households have access to the means and support systems
necessary to effectively cope with adverse or costly life events and have the
ability to effectively recover from the consequences of those events while
maintaining their standard of living or maintaining a decent standard of
living.
(12)The term digital divide means the gap between
individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas at different
socio-economic levels with regard to both their access information and
communications technologies and including the imbalance both in physical access
to technology and the resources, education and skills needed to effectively use
computer technology and the Internet for a wide variety of activities.
(13)The
term outcomes means change in the economic status, economic
instability or economic security of an individual, household or other
population which is attributable to a planned intervention, benefit, or service
or series of interventions, benefits, and services, regardless of whether such
an intervention was intended to change such economic status.
(14)The term disparate impact refers to the
historic and ongoing impacts of the pattern and practice of discrimination in
employment, education, housing, banking and nearly every other aspect of
American life in the economy, society or culture that have an adverse impact on
minorities, women, or other protected groups, regardless of whether such
practices were motivated by discriminatory intent.
4.Establishment of
the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty
(a)Establishment of
Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing PovertyThere is
established within the Department of Health and Human Services, a Federal
Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty, which shall be chaired by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and whose members shall be selected by
their respective agency heads from the senior ranks of their agencies, which
shall—
(1)develop, within 180 days of enactment, a
National Strategy to reduce the number of persons living in poverty in America
in half within 10 years of the release of the 2012 Census report on Income,
Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011, that includes
goals and objectives relating to—
(A)reducing in half the number of Americans
living in poverty as reported by the 2012 Census report on Income, Poverty and
Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011;
(B)eliminating child
poverty in America;
(C)eliminating
extreme poverty in America;
(D)improving the
effectiveness and outcomes of poverty related programs by improving our
understanding of the root causes of poverty, the social, economic, and the
cultural contributors to persistent intergenerational poverty;
(E)improving the
measure of poverty to include more indicators and measures that can
meaningfully account for other aspects relating to the measure of poverty, such
as regional differences in costs of living, the impact of rising income
inequality, the impact of the persistent digital divide
,
expanding the understanding of poverty by distinguishing a standard that
measures a level of freedom from deprivation versus a standard that measures a
standard of economic adequacy provided by a living wage and access to a decent
living standard, and the impact of poverty on other measures of economic
stability and economic outcomes, such as educational attainment, rates of
incarceration, lifetime earnings, access to health care, health care outcomes,
access to housing, and including other measures as necessary to improve our
understanding of why poverty persists in America;
(F)eliminating the
disparate rates of poverty based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, or sexual
orientation and identity, especially among children in those households so
impacted;
(G)measuring
effectiveness of poverty related programs on the basis of long-term outcomes,
including the long-term savings and value of preventive practice and policy,
and employing fact based measures of programs to make improvements;
(H)improving the
accessibility of benefit and social services programs, reducing the complexity
and difficulty of enrollment, and improving the rates of enrollment in need
based programs for all eligible recipients to maximize the impact of benefits
and social services programs on reducing the impacts of poverty and improving
economic outcomes;
(I)making more
uniform eligibility requirements to improve the coordination of service
delivery, reduce gaps in eligibility, and improve outcomes of programs
addressing poverty in the Federal Government;
(J)reducing the
negative impacts of asset limits for eligibility which impact Federal, State
and local poverty programs on the effectiveness of programs where limited
eligibility creates gaps in necessary service and benefit delivery, and
restricts access to benefits as individuals and families attempt to transition
off of assistance programs and which can prevent needy beneficiaries from
improving long-term outcomes and achieving long-term economic independence from
need based programs;
(K)identifying
Federal programs, including those related to disaster relief, hazard
mitigation, extreme weather and climate change, and necessary reforms to better
target resources towards disproportionately impacted socially vulnerable, low
income and disadvantaged communities may provide greater socio-economic
benefits;
(L)improving the
ability of community-based organizations to participate in the development,
oversight and implementation of Federal poverty-related programs;
(M)improving access
to good jobs with adequate wages and benefits by individuals living in poverty,
low-income households, and the unemployed;
(N)expanding and
stabilizing poor and low income persons connection to work and access to
critical job training and/or skills upgrade training that will lead to re-entry
in the workforce;
(O)developing a
comprehensive strategy to connect low-income young people and to re-connect
currently disconnected youth to education, work, and their community;
and
(P)shifting the focus
of poverty and means tested programs across the Federal Government beyond the
relief of deprivation and instead setting goals, measures, and outcomes more
focused on measuring the success of programs in supporting and improving how
capable individuals and families can access educational and economic
opportunities to successfully transition away from accessing public assistance
and benefits and achieving long-term economic stability which will reduce
long-term costs in domestic social needs programs, reduce long-term health care
costs due to the improved health of formerly poverty stricken households,
increase the number of taxpaying individuals which will increase revenue, and
lower the enrollment and costs in need based benefits and services programs,
thus improving the economy and reducing long-term deficits for Federal, State,
and local governments;
(2)oversee,
coordinate, and integrate all policies and activities of the Federal
Government, in coordination and consultation with the Domestic Policy Council
and the National Economic Council, across all agencies relating to reducing the
number of individuals, families, and children living below the Federal poverty
line, in extreme poverty or near poverty and increasing the number of
households able to achieve long-term economic stability with assets sufficient
to maintain a decent living standard without relying on public supports—
(A)economic,
commercial, and programmatic policies that can effect or relieve the effects of
poverty through job creation, and economic development targeted to low income,
minority, rural, urban and other populations who suffer disparate rates of
poverty, among Federal agencies; and
(B)services and
benefits including emergency programs, discretionary economic programs, and
other policies and activities necessary to ensure that the Federal Government
is able to mount effective responses to economic downturns and increases in the
rates of poverty;
(3)ensure that all
relevant Federal agencies comply with appropriate guidelines, policies, and
directives from the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty and
the Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal agencies with
responsibilities relating to poverty reduction or improving economic stability
and independence;
(4)ensure that
Federal agencies, State governments and relevant congressional committees have
access to, receive, and appropriately disseminate best practices in the
administration of programs, have adequate resources to maximize the public
awareness of programs, increase the reach of those programs, especially into
historically disenfranchised communities, maximize enrollment for all eligible
Americans, share relevant data, and issue relevant guidance in consultation
with non-government organizations and policy experts in the field and State and
local government officials who administer or direct policy for anti-poverty
programs in increasing and maximizing the enrollment into and administration of
programs and services designed to alleviate poverty;
(5)enact best
practices for improved data collection, relevant to—
(A)reducing
poverty;
(B)reducing the
racial, ethnic, age, gender, and sexual orientation or sexual identity based
disparities in the rates of poverty;
(C)adequately
measuring the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of programs on the outcomes
for individuals, families and communities who receive benefits and
services;
(D)streamlining
enrollment and eligibility for programs;
(E)improving
long-term outcomes for individuals who are enrolled in service and benefit
programs;
(F)reducing reliance
on public programs;
(G)improving
connections to work;
(H)improving economic
stability;
(I)improving savings
and investment, access to capital, increasing rates of entrepreneurship;
(J)improving our
understanding of the impact of extreme weather and natural disasters on
economically vulnerable communities and improving those communities’ resilience
to and recovery from extreme weather and natural disasters;
(K)improving access
to living wage employment; and
(L)improving access
to employment based benefits; and
(6)study the
feasibility of and test different interagency, State and local, public/private
models of cooperative service and benefit delivery by creating necessary
exemptions, waivers and funding sources to allow improved cooperation and
innovation in the development of programs, practices, policies and procedures
that advance the goal of reducing poverty and increasing economic
opportunity.
(b)Director of
National Poverty PolicyThere
shall be a Staff Director of National Poverty Policy, who shall be the head of
the Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty.
5.Appointment and
responsibilities of the Director
(a)
(1)The Staff Director shall be appointed by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development.
(2)The
Secretary shall appoint the Staff Director from among individuals who have
demonstrated ability and knowledge in social policy, improving outcome based
management, issues of equity and equal opportunity and access to services and
economic opportunity.
(b)The
Staff Director shall—
(1)advise the
Secretary and all relevant cabinet secretaries, and agency officials regarding
the establishment of policies, goals, objectives, and priorities for reducing
poverty in America in half in ten years, ending child poverty, ending extreme
poverty and eliminating racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identity and
orientation based disparities in the rates of poverty;
(2)advise the Secretary, when directed by the
Secretary, advise relevant cabinet secretaries, heads of independent Federal
agencies and other entities within the Executive Office of the President
regarding mechanisms to improve the effectiveness, coordination, impact, and
outcomes of social services, benefits, and other poverty reduction and economic
opportunity programs, in collaboration with experts in the field,
non-governmental organizations, and other governments;
(3)work with Federal
agencies to oversee, coordinate, and integrate the implementation of the
National Plan or Strategy, including consultation with independent
non-governmental policy experts and service provider groups engaged in serving
low-income persons, children and households, State and local government
officials who administer or direct policy for anti-poverty programs, and with
as many groups that directly represent low-income people, such as public
housing tenants’ associations, or other similar groups; and
(4)resolve any
disputes that arise between Federal agencies relating to the National Plan to
reduce poverty in half in ten years or other matters within the responsibility
of the Office.
6.
(a)The Director may
consult and obtain recommendations from, as needed, such Presidential and other
advisory entities such as consultation with independent non-governmental policy
experts and service provider groups engaged in serving low-income persons,
children, and households; State and local government officials who administer
or direct policy for anti-poverty programs, and groups made up of low-income
people, such as public housing tenants’ associations, or other similar groups
as the Director determines will assist in carrying out the mission of the
Office, including, but not limited to—
(1)the Administration
for Children and Families (ACF);
(2)the Administration on Aging (AoA);
(3)the Department of Agriculture
(USDA);
(4)the Bankruptcy Courts;
(5)the Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection;
(6)the Bureau of Economic Analysis
(BEA);
(7)the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA);
(8)the Bureau of the Census;
(9)the Center for Nutrition Policy and
Promotion;
(10)the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration);
(11)the Commission on Civil Rights;
(12)the Office of Community Planning and
Development;
(13)the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau;
(14)the Coordinating Council on Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention;
(15)the Corporation for National and Community
Service;
(16)the Council of Economic Advisers;
(17)the Department of Agriculture
(USDA);
(18)the Department of Commerce (DOC);
(19)the Department of Defense (DOD);
(20)the Department of Education (ED);
(21)the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS);
(22)the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD);
(23)the Department of Justice (DOJ);
(24)the Department of Labor (DOL);
(25)the Department of the Treasury;
(26)the Department of Transportation
(DOT);
(27)the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA);
(28)the Disability Employment Policy
Office;
(29)the Domestic Policy Council;
(30)the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA);
(31)the Economic Development
Administration;
(32)the Economic Research Service;
(33)the English Language Acquisition
Office;
(34)the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC);
(35)the Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity;
(36)the Federal Bureau of Prisons;
(37)the Federal Housing Finance Board;
(38)the Federal Labor Relations
Authority;
(39)the Federal Trade Commission (FTC);
(40)the Food and Nutrition Service;
(41)the Indian Health Service;
(42)the Interagency Council on
Homelessness;
(43)the Internal Revenue Service (IRS);
(44)the Legal Services Corporation;
(45)the National AIDS Policy Office;
(46)the National Credit Union
Administration;
(47)the National Economic Council;
(48)the National Institutes of Health
(NIH);
(49)the National Labor Relations Board;
(50)the Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA);
(51)the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB);
(52)the Office of Refugee Resettlement;
(53)the Office of Policy Development and
Research (Housing and Urban Development Department);
(54)the Small Business Administration
(SBA);
(55)the Social Security Administration
(SSA);
(56)the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration;
(57)the Veterans’ Employment and Training
Service; and
(58)the Women’s Bureau (Labor
Department).
(b)In developing and updating the National Strategy the
Executive Director shall consult with the Domestic Policy Council, the National
Economic Council, and, as appropriate, hold regional public hearings around the
country to collect information and feedback from the public on their efforts
and experience for the development and updating of the National Strategy and
make this information available to the public.
7.Reports to
Congress and the public
(a)The Chair of the
Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty shall submit an annual
report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the activities,
ongoing projects, and plans of the Federal Government designed to meet the
goals and objectives of the National Strategy on Poverty. The report shall
include an accounting of the savings to the Government from any increased
efficiencies in the delivery of services, any savings from reducing the numbers
of Americans living in poverty and reductions in the demand for need based
services and benefits for which persons living in and near poverty are
eligible, as well as an accounting of any increase in revenue collections due
to the numbers of persons who become gainfully employed and pay taxes into the
Treasury instead of drawing benefits and services from it.
(b)National academy
of sciences workshopWithin 90 days after funds are made
available to carry out this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall contract with the National Academy of Sciences (hereinafter in this
subsection referred to as the NAS
) to initiate a workshop series
to provide necessary background information to enable the Working Group on
Reducing Poverty to develop and finalize its plan.
(1)The NAS shall
convene a steering committee to organize, plan, and conduct a public workshop
on what is known about the economic and social costs of poverty, including, but
not limited to the following:
(A)Macroeconomic
costs (effects on productivity and economic output).
(B)Health costs
(effects on health expenditures and health status).
(C)Crime and other
social costs.
(D)Direct Federal
budget effects (e.g., outlays for income support and other poverty reduction
programs).
(E)Natural Disaster
related risks and costs.
(F)The workshop shall
also consider poverty metrics (e.g., income poverty, food insecurity, and other
measures of deprivation), and their role in assessing the effects of poverty
and the performance of anti-poverty programs.
The NAS
shall commission experts to prepare papers that summarize and critique the
relevant literature estimating monetary and non-monetary economic and social
impacts of poverty. A workshop summary shall be produced that, along with the
papers, shall be available electronically on the NAS website. This workshop
shall be convened within 6 months of receipt of a contract, the papers posted
immediately, and the summary released by the end of month.(2)The NAS steering
committee shall organize, plan, and conduct a second public workshop on what is
known about the economic and social costs and benefits of a variety of programs
and strategies to reduce and prevent poverty. It shall take account of such
issues as the following:
(A)Short-term versus
long-term effects, including budget implications.
(B)Effects for
different population groups, such as children, the elderly, immigrants,
long-term single-parent families, displaced older workers, young people with
large loans, people in areas of concentrated poverty and other social ills
(e.g., Indian reservations, some inner city areas, some rural areas).
(C)Effects by depth
of poverty and near-poverty (e.g., income to poverty ratios of less than 50
percent, less than 100 percent, less than 200 percent).
This second
workshop shall be convened within 9 months of receipt of a contract, the papers
posted immediately, and a summary released by the end of month 12.(c)The
relevant sections of the report shall be posted on each agency’s website on the
plans and impacts specific to their agency.
(d)A version of each report submitted under this section
shall be made available to the public.
(e)The Working Group on Reducing Poverty shall submit, as
necessary, legislative language, including specific legislative recommendations
to the Congress of the United States towards achieving the national
goals.