[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3659 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3659

  To reauthorize the program of block grants to States for temporary 
 assistance for needy families through fiscal year 2012, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2011

  Mr. Paulsen (for himself, Mr. Davis of Kentucky, Mr. Boustany, Mr. 
   Schock, and Mrs. Black) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reauthorize the program of block grants to States for temporary 
 assistance for needy families through fiscal year 2012, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Welfare Integrity and Data 
Improvement Act''.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Extension of program.
Sec. 4. Data standardization.
Sec. 5. Spending policies for assistance under State TANF programs.
Sec. 6. Technical corrections.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.

    (a) Family Assistance Grants.--Section 403(a)(1) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking `` each of fiscal 
        years 1996'' and all that follows through ``2003'' and 
        inserting ``fiscal year 2012'';
            (2) in subparagraph (B)--
                    (A) by inserting ``(as in effect just before the 
                enactment of the Welfare Integrity and Data Improvement 
                Act)'' after ``this paragraph'' the 1st place it 
                appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``(as so in effect)'' after ``this 
                paragraph'' the 2nd place it appears; and
            (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``2003'' and inserting 
        ``2012''.
    (b) Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood Grants.--
Section 403(a)(2)(D) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended by 
striking ``2011'' and inserting ``2012''.
    (c) Maintenance of Effort Requirement.--Section 409(a)(7) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``fiscal year'' and 
        all that follows through ``2013'' and inserting ``a fiscal 
        year''; and
            (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii)--
                    (A) by striking ``for fiscal years 1997 through 
                2012,''; and
                    (B) by striking ``407(a) for the fiscal year,'' and 
                inserting ``407(a),''.
    (d) Tribal Grants.--Section 412(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 612(a)) 
is amended in each of paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A) by striking ``each 
of fiscal years 1997'' and all that follows through ``2003'' and 
inserting ``fiscal year 2012''.
    (e) Studies and Demonstrations.--Section 413(h)(1) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 613(h)(1)) is amended by striking ``each of fiscal years 1997 
through 2002'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2012''.
    (f) Census Bureau Study.--Section 414(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
614(b)) is amended by striking ``each of fiscal years 1996'' and all 
that follows through ``2003'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2012''.
    (g) Child Care Entitlement.--Section 418(a)(3) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is amended by striking ``appropriated'' and all that 
follows and inserting ``appropriated $2,917,000,000 for fiscal year 
2012.''.
    (h) Grants to Territories.--Section 1108(b)(2) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1308(b)(2)) is amended by striking ``for fiscal years 1997 
through 2003'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2012''.
    (i) Prevention of Duplicate Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2012.--
Expenditures made pursuant to the Short-Term TANF Extension Act (Public 
Law 112-35) or section 403(b) of the Social Security Act for fiscal 
year 2012 shall be charged to the applicable appropriation or 
authorization provided by the amendments made by this section for such 
fiscal year.
    (j) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDIZATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 411 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
611) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Data Standardization.--
            ``(1) Standard data elements.--
                    ``(A) Designation.--The Secretary, in consultation 
                with an interagency work group which shall be 
                established by the Office of Management and Budget, and 
                considering State and tribal perspectives, shall, by 
                rule, designate standard data elements for any category 
                of information required to be reported under this part.
                    ``(B) Requirements.--In designating the standard 
                data elements, the Secretary shall, to the extent 
                practicable--
                            ``(i) ensure that the data elements are 
                        nonproprietary and interoperable;
                            ``(ii) incorporate interoperable standards 
                        developed and maintained by an international 
                        voluntary consensus standards body, as defined 
                        by the Office of Management and Budget, such as 
                        the International Organization for 
                        Standardization;
                            ``(iii) incorporate interoperable standards 
                        developed and maintained by intergovernmental 
                        partnerships, such as the National Information 
                        Exchange Model; and
                            ``(iv) incorporate interoperable standards 
                        developed and maintained by Federal entities 
                        with authority over contracting and financial 
                        assistance, such as the Federal Acquisition 
                        Regulatory Council.
            ``(2) Data reporting standards.--
                    ``(A) Designation.--The Secretary, in consultation 
                with an interagency work group established by the 
                Office of Management and Budget, and considering State 
                and tribal perspectives, shall, by rule, designate 
                standards to govern the data reporting required under 
                this part.
                    ``(B) Requirements.--In designating the data 
                reporting standards, the Secretary shall, to the extent 
                practicable, incorporate existing nonproprietary 
                standards, such as the eXtensible Business Reporting 
                Language. Such standards shall, to the extent 
                practicable--
                            ``(i) incorporate a widely-accepted, 
                        nonproprietary, searchable, computer-readable 
                        format;
                            ``(ii) be consistent with and implement 
                        applicable accounting principles; and
                            ``(iii) be capable of being continually 
                        upgraded as necessary.''.
    (b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this subsection shall 
apply with respect to information required to be reported on or after 
October 1, 2012.

SEC. 5. SPENDING POLICIES FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER STATE TANF PROGRAMS.

    (a) State Requirement.--Section 408(a) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(12) State requirement to prevent unauthorized spending 
        of benefits.--
                    ``(A) In general.--A State to which a grant is made 
                under section 403 shall maintain policies and practices 
                as necessary to prevent assistance provided under the 
                State program funded under this part from being used in 
                any electronic benefit transfer transaction in--
                            ``(i) any liquor store;
                            ``(ii) any casino, gambling casino, or 
                        gaming establishment; or
                            ``(iii) any retail establishment which 
                        provides adult-oriented entertainment in which 
                        performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed 
                        state for entertainment.
                    ``(B) Definitions.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (A)--
                            ``(i) Liquor store.--The term `liquor 
                        store' means any retail establishment which 
                        sells exclusively or primarily intoxicating 
                        liquor. Such term does not include a grocery 
                        store which sells both intoxicating liquor and 
                        groceries including staple foods (within the 
                        meaning of section 3(r) of the Food and 
                        Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(r))).
                            ``(ii) Casino, gambling casino, or gaming 
                        establishment.--The terms `casino', `gambling 
                        casino', and `gaming establishment' do not 
                        include a grocery store which sells groceries 
                        including such staple foods and which also 
                        offers, or is located within the same building 
                        or complex as, casino, gambling, or gaming 
                        activities.
                            ``(iii) Electronic benefit transfer 
                        transaction.--The term `electronic benefit 
                        transfer transaction' means the use of a credit 
                        or debit card service, automated teller 
                        machine, point-of-sale terminal, or access to 
                        an online system for the withdrawal of funds or 
                        the processing of a payment for merchandise or 
                        a service.''.
    (b) Penalty.--Section 409(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(16) Penalty for failure to enforce spending policies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If, within 2 years after the 
                date of the enactment of this paragraph, any State has 
                not reported to the Secretary on such State's 
                implementation of the policies and practices required 
                by section 408(a)(12), or the Secretary determines, 
                based on the information provided in State reports, 
                that any State has not implemented and maintained such 
                policies and practices, the Secretary shall reduce, by 
                an amount equal to 5 percent of the State family 
                assistance grant, the grant payable to such State under 
                section 403(a)(1) for--
                            ``(i) the fiscal year immediately 
                        succeeding the year in which such 2-year period 
                        ends; and
                            ``(ii) each succeeding fiscal year in which 
                        the State does not demonstrate that such State 
                        has implemented and maintained such policies 
                        and practices.
                    ``(B) Reduction of applicable penalty.--The 
                Secretary may reduce the amount of the reduction 
                required under subparagraph (A) based on the degree of 
                noncompliance of the State.
                    ``(C) State not responsible for individual 
                violations.--Fraudulent activity by any individual in 
                an attempt to circumvent the policies and practices 
                required by section 408(a)(12) shall not trigger a 
                State penalty under subparagraph (A).''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 409(c)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
609(c)(4)) is amended by striking ``or (13)'' and inserting ``(13), or 
(16)''.

SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.

    (a) Section 404(d)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
604(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ``subtitle 1 of Title'' and 
inserting ``Subtitle 1 of title''.
    (b) Sections 407(c)(2)(A)(i) and 409(a)(3)(C) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(A)(i) and 609(a)(3)(C)) are each amended by striking 
``403(b)(6)'' and inserting ``403(b)(5)''.
    (c) Section 409(a)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(2)(A)) is 
amended by moving clauses (i) and (ii) 2 ems to the right.
    (d) Section 409(c)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(c)(2)) is amended 
by inserting a comma after ``appropriate''.
    (e) Section 411(a)(1)(A)(ii)(III) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
611(a)(1)(A)(ii)(III)) is amended by striking the last close 
parenthesis.
                                 <all>