[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5776 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5776

   To establish a pilot program providing certain individuals with a 
guaranteed monthly income, to study the effect of a guaranteed monthly 
          income on such individuals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2023

Mrs. Watson Coleman (for herself, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Payne, Mr. Torres 
of New York, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Lee of California, 
   Mr. Mullin, Ms. Norton, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Crockett, and Ms. Jacobs) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a pilot program providing certain individuals with a 
guaranteed monthly income, to study the effect of a guaranteed monthly 
          income on such individuals, 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 ``Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Too many Americans cannot achieve financial stability 
        due to income volatility, the rising cost of living, wage 
        stagnation, and a lack of affordable housing.
            (2) Real wages have failed to keep pace with inflation, 
        meaning the purchasing power of American households has not 
        changed in decades.
            (3) Income volatility, defined as an annual income 
        fluctuation of 25 percent or more, impacts millions of American 
        households.
            (4) Two-thirds of Americans are worried they wouldn't be 
        able to cover their living expenses for just 1 month if they 
        lose their primary source of income, while 57 percent of 
        American adults are currently unable to cover a $1,000 
        emergency expense. That percentage is higher for millennials at 
        79 percent, and Generation Z at 85 percent, unable to cover an 
        emergency expense.
            (5) Full-time minimum wage earners cannot afford an average 
        2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.
            (6) The changing nature of the economy, including the rise 
        of the gig economy, unemployment risks posed by automation, and 
        the fluctuating nature of waged labor, will result in increased 
        income volatility and prohibit upward economic mobility.
            (7) During the height of COVID-19, the Federal Government 
        provided stimulus checks to the American people in response to 
        the economic hardship of the pandemic. The Census Bureau 
        complied an analysis that showed that material hardship in 
        United States households fell sharply following the passage of 
        the COVID-19 relief bill in late December 2020, and the 
        American Rescue Plan in March 2021. From December 2020 to April 
        2021, food insufficiently fell by over 40 percent, financial 
        instability fell by 45 percent, and reported adverse mental 
        health symptoms fell by 20 percent.

SEC. 3. GUARANTEED INCOME PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall establish and implement a 3-
year pilot program (hereinafter referred to as the ``program'') to 
provide a guaranteed monthly income to certain eligible individuals in 
accordance with this section.
    (b) Income Subsidy.--
            (1) Selection of participating eligible individuals.--The 
        Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner and the 
        external partner selected pursuant to subsection (d), shall 
        develop selection criteria that the Secretary will use to 
        select 20,000 total eligible individuals for participation in 
        the program.
            (2) Amount of income subsidy.--Of the eligible individuals 
        participating in the program, 10,000 shall receive a cash 
        payment each month equal to the fair market rent for a 2-
        bedroom home in the ZIP Code in which the eligible individual 
        resides, or a substantially similar amount as determined by the 
        Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner and the 
        external partner.
            (3) Monthly distribution of income subsidy.--Each 
        participating eligible individual shall receive the cash 
        payment on the 15th day of each month.
    (c) Responsibilities of Commissioner of Internal Revenue.--The 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for--
            (1) providing the Secretary access to tax records to 
        administer and study the program under this section;
            (2) updating the Secretary and the external partner on 
        changes to the taxable income of a participating eligible 
        individual.
    (d) External Partner.--
            (1) Selection.--The Secretary shall select an external 
        partner to provide assistance with the design, administration, 
        and evaluation of the program.
            (2) Qualifications.--An organization selected to be the 
        external partner shall have demonstrated experience in--
                    (A) mixed-methods experimental design; and
                    (B) implementing cash-transfer programs.
            (3) Confidentiality.--The external partner, and any 
        employee of the external partner, shall be treated as a Federal 
        employee for purposes of section 6103 of the Internal Revenue 
        Code of 1986.
            (4) Data collection.--The external partner shall collect 
        data from participating eligible individuals as necessary to 
        complete the study and reports required under section 4, and to 
        conduct any additional research as the Secretary determines 
        necessary.
    (e) Disregard of Cash Payments for Purposes of All Federal and 
Federally Assisted Programs.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, any payment made to participating eligible individuals under this 
section shall not be taken into account as income, and shall not be 
taken into account as resources for a period of 12 months from receipt, 
for purposes of determining the eligibility of such eligible individual 
(or any other individual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount or 
extent of benefits or assistance) under any Federal program or any 
State or local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.

SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT.

    (a) Study on Pilot Program.--The Secretary, in collaboration with 
the Commissioner and the external partner, shall conduct a study on 
outcomes of the program.
    (b) Interim Report.--Not later than 24 months after participating 
eligible individuals have been begun participating in the program, the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
and the external partner, shall provide an interim report on the 
program under section 3 to the Congress.
    (c) Final Report.--Not later than 12 months after the conclusion of 
the program under section 3, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the external partner, shall 
provide a final report on the program to the Congress, including--
            (1) an analysis of--
                    (A) the effect of the monthly income subsidy 
                provided in section 3 on--
                            (i) micro-economic outcomes of 
                        participating eligible individuals;
                            (ii) the health of participating eligible 
                        individuals; and
                            (iii) the social costs of income 
                        volatility, including connections with income 
                        fluctuation and health, housing, education, 
                        employment, childcare, and other outcomes as 
                        determined appropriate by the Secretary; and
                    (B) the feasibility of expanding the program under 
                section 3 to include a larger number of participants; 
                and
            (2) the results of interviews and focus groups conducted 
        with consenting participants of the program.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the 
        Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
            (2) Eligible individual.--The term ``eligible individual'' 
        means an individual taxpayer between the ages of 18-65.
            (3) External partner.--The term ``external partner'' means 
        a non-partisan research agency or a non-profit academic 
        institution with expertise in social science experimentation.
            (4) Fair market rent.--The term ``fair market rent'' means 
        the applicable fair market rent established under section 8(c) 
        of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$495,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
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