[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3214 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3214

  To amend the Assets for Independence Act (Title IV of the Community 
 Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services 
  Act of 1998) to enhance program flexibility, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 18 (legislative day, September 22), 2000

  Mr. Gregg (for himself, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Assets for Independence Act (Title IV of the Community 
 Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services 
  Act of 1998) to enhance program flexibility, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    That this Act may be cited as the ``Assets for Independence Act 
Amendments of 2000''.

 SEC. 2. MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS UNAVAILABLE FOR EMERGENCY WITHDRAWALS.

    Section 404(5)(A)(v) of the Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 
604 note) is amended by striking ``, or enabling the eligible 
individual to make an emergency withdrawal''.

 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL QUALIFIED ENTITIES.

    Section 404(7)(A) of the Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 
note) is amended--
            (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end thereof;
            (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new clause:
                            ``(iii) an entity that--
                                    ``(I) is--
                                            ``(aa) a credit union 
                                        designated as a low-income 
                                        credit union by the National 
                                        Credit Union Administration 
                                        (NCUA); or
                                            ``(bb) an organization 
                                        designated as a community 
                                        development financial 
                                        institution by the Secretary of 
                                        the Treasury (or the Community 
                                        Development Financial 
                                        Institutions Fund); and
                                    ``(II) can demonstrate a 
                                collaborative relationship with a local 
                                community-based organization whose 
                                activities are designed to address 
                                poverty in the community and the needs 
                                of community members for economic 
                                independence and stability.''.

 SEC. 4. HOME PURCHASE COSTS.

    Section 404(8)(B)(i) of the Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 
604 note) is amended by striking ``100'' and inserting ``120''.

SEC. 5. INCREASED SET-ASIDE FOR ECONOMIC LITERACY TRAINING AND 
              ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

    Section 407(c)(3) of the Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 
note) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``9.5'' and inserting ``15''; and
            (2) by inserting after the first sentence the following: 
        ``Of the total amount specified in this paragraph, not more 
        than 7.5 percent shall be used for administrative functions 
        under paragraph (1)(C), including program management, reporting 
        requirements, recruitment and enrollment of individuals, and 
        monitoring. The remainder of the total amount specified in this 
        paragraph (not including the amount specified for use for the 
        purposes described in paragraph (1)(D)) shall be used for 
        nonadministrative functions described in paragraph (1)(A), 
        including case management, budgeting, economic literacy, and 
        credit counseling. If the cost of nonadministrative functions 
        described in paragraph (1)(A) is less than 5.5 percent of the 
        total amount specified in this paragraph, such excess funds may 
        be used for administrative functions.''.

SEC. 6. ALTERNATIVE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.

    Section 408(a)(1) of the Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 
note) is amended by striking ``does not exceed'' and inserting ``is 
equal to or less than 200 percent of the poverty line (as determined by 
the Office of Management and Budget) or''.

SEC. 7. REVISED ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT DEADLINE.

    (a) In General.--Section 412(c) of the Assets for Independence Act 
(42 U.S.C. 604 note) is amended by striking ``calendar'' and inserting 
``project''.
    (b) Transitional Deadline.--Notwithstanding the amendment made by 
subsection (a), the submission of the initial report of a qualified 
entity under section 412(c) shall not be required prior to the date 
that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. REVISED INTERIM EVALUATION REPORT DEADLINE.

    (a) In General.--Section 414(d)(1) of the Assets for Independence 
Act (42 U.S.C. 604 note) is amended by striking ``calendar'' and 
inserting ``project''.
    (b) Transitional Deadline.--Notwithstanding the amendment made by 
subsection (a), the submission of the initial interim report of the 
Secretary under section 412(c) shall not be required prior to the date 
that is 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 9. INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS FOR EVALUATION EXPENSES.

    Subsection (e) of section 414 of the Assets for Independence Act 
(42 U.S.C. 604 note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e) Evaluation Expenses.--Of the amount appropriated under 
section 416 for a fiscal year, the Secretary may expend not more than 
$500,000 for such fiscal year to carry out the objectives of this 
section.''.

SEC. 10. NO REDUCTION IN BENEFITS.

    Section 415 of the Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 note) 
is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 415. NO REDUCTION IN BENEFITS.

    ``Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal law (other than 
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) that requires consideration of 1 or 
more financial circumstances of an individual, for the purpose of 
determining eligibility to receive, or the amount of, any assistance or 
benefit authorized by such law to be provided to or for the benefit of 
such individual, funds (including interest accruing) in an individual 
development account under this Act shall be disregarded for such 
purpose with respect to any period during which such individual 
maintains or makes contributions into such an account.''.
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