[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6639 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6639

 To amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to update the Federal 
                 poverty line, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 6, 2023

Mr. Mullin (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Thanedar, 
   Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Mrs. 
 Ramirez, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Lee of California, 
 Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, and Mr. Gomez) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
   the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 
   Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to update the Federal 
                 poverty line, 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 ``Poverty Line Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to update the calculation of the Federal 
poverty line, updated periodically in the Federal Register under the 
authority of section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 
U.S.C. 9902(2)), to expand eligibility for and utilization of Federal 
assistance and benefits such that it incorporates more accurate costs 
of basic needs, keeps pace with changing household spending norms, 
accounts for regional variations in the cost of living, and reflects 
the minimum expenditures required by a household to have the 
opportunity to achieve social and economic mobility.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF POVERTY LINE.

    Section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 
9902(2)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(2) Poverty line.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `poverty line' means 
                the official poverty line defined by the Office of 
                Management and Budget according to the Secretary's 
                published poverty line under subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Revision and publication.--In coordination 
                with the Bureau of the Census, the Secretary shall 
                revise and publish the poverty line in the manner 
                described in subparagraph (C) at least annually (or at 
                any shorter interval the Secretary determines to be 
                feasible and desirable).
                    ``(C) Revision.--
                            ``(i) The poverty line as revised shall be 
                        calculated at household sizes from 1 to 8 
                        members and shall be the sum of--
                                    ``(I) a 5-year rolling average of 
                                household expenditures for food, 
                                clothing, telephone, and internet, 
                                calculated at 83 percent of the 
                                averages of the 47th through the 53rd 
                                percentiles of spending in the Consumer 
                                Expenditure Survey of the Bureau of 
                                Labor Statistics, adjusted for 
                                inflation as measured by the Consumer 
                                Price Index for All Urban Consumers 
                                (CPI-U), and multiplied by the other 
                                basic goods factor set under clause 
                                (iv);
                                    ``(II) the cost of a rental housing 
                                unit with the number of bedrooms 
                                appropriate for the household size as 
                                determined by the Secretary of Housing 
                                and Urban Development under Fair Market 
                                Rents estimate determined by such 
                                Secretary as required under section 8 
                                of the United States Housing Act of 
                                1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), and multiplied 
                                by the other basic goods factor set 
                                under clause (iv);
                                    ``(III) for up to 6 household 
                                members who are under 5 years, the cost 
                                of average child care prices for such 
                                children as determined by National 
                                Database of Childcare Prices of the 
                                Department of Labor;
                                    ``(IV) for up to 6 household 
                                members enrolled in employer-sponsored 
                                health care plans, the median non-
                                premium out-of-pocket costs for such 
                                members as determined by the Secretary 
                                based on the Household Component of the 
                                Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to the 
                                extent practicable;
                                    ``(V) for up to 6 household members 
                                who are not otherwise enrolled in an 
                                employer-sponsored health care plan or 
                                are eligible for Medicare, the sum of 
                                the premium of an Essential Health 
                                Benefits Benchmark Plan defined by the 
                                Secretary as required under title I of 
                                the Patient Protection and Affordable 
                                Care Act and, to the extent 
                                practicable, the median non-premium 
                                out-of-pocket costs for those enrolled 
                                in such a plan as determined by the 
                                Secretary based on the Household 
                                Component of the Medical Expenditure 
                                Panel Survey; and
                                    ``(VI) for up to 6 household 
                                members who are eligible for Medicare, 
                                the sum of the cost of the premium for 
                                the lowest cost Medicare Advantage plan 
                                available that provides prescription 
                                drug coverage and, to the extent 
                                practicable, the median non-premium 
                                out-of-pocket costs for those enrolled 
                                in such a plan as determined by the 
                                Secretary based on the Household 
                                Component of the Medical Expenditure 
                                Panel Survey.
                            ``(ii) The Secretary shall calculate the 
                        average incremental cost of each additional 
                        household member for households with more than 
                        8 members.
                            ``(iii) For each factor determined under 
                        clauses (i) and (ii), the Secretary shall--
                                    ``(I) use State-level data, any 
                                available county-level data, and, for 
                                clauses (i)(V) and (VI), geographic 
                                rating area data, and
                                    ``(II) subject to clause (viii), 
                                produce poverty line variants for each 
                                such geographic area.
                            ``(iv) The Secretary shall set the other 
                        basic goods factor at the county level at a 
                        number that reflects spending on goods and 
                        services on which a household relies for basic 
                        needs, including transportation (where 
                        appropriate), and is otherwise not reflected in 
                        such clause but at not less than at 1.2.
                            ``(v) The Secretary may issue rules that 
                        require the use of data sources in lieu of the 
                        data sources specified in clause (i) for 
                        determining any factor applicable under this 
                        subparagraph if the Secretary determines that 
                        such specified sources do not accurately 
                        reflect changes in otherwise applicable average 
                        household expenditures due to a significant 
                        economic event (such as a national emergency or 
                        above-average price inflation) or a substantial 
                        change in the underlying methodology or 
                        availability of such sources.
                            ``(vi) The Secretary shall apply 
                        appropriate multipliers to each factor 
                        determined under in clause (i) to reflect 
                        economies or diseconomies of scale with 
                        additional household members.
                            ``(vii) The Director may create simplified 
                        poverty line variants or per-person cost 
                        calculations for administrative purposes in 
                        determining household program eligibility as 
                        long as such variants or calculations 
                        materially incorporate all applicable costs 
                        specified under this subparagraph.
                            ``(viii) The Director shall provide a 
                        lookup tool on the website of the Department of 
                        Health and Human Services for use by States, 
                        counties, and the public to determine the 
                        poverty line of a given household based on the 
                        factors in this paragraph.
                    ``(D) Block grant program usage.--
                            ``(i) If a State determines that it serves 
                        the objectives of the block grant program 
                        established under this subtitle, the State may 
                        revise the poverty line to not to exceed 125 
                        percent of the official poverty line otherwise 
                        applicable under this paragraph.
                            ``(ii) The poverty line shall be used as a 
                        criterion of eligibility in the community 
                        services block grant program established under 
                        this subtitle.
                    ``(E) Safe harbors.--
                            ``(i) The poverty line applicable to a 
                        participant or household in a Federal program 
                        on the date the participant moves from one 
                        geographic location to another shall not be 
                        reduced by reason of the move for the 2-year 
                        period beginning on the date of the move.
                            ``(ii) The Secretary shall not set the 
                        poverty line for any State or county below the 
                        poverty line as determined under this paragraph 
                        prior to the date of enactment of the Poverty 
                        Line Act of 2023 and adjusted for inflation up 
                        to the present time.''.

SEC. 4. TRANSITION.

    Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this Act, the 
Director of Office of Management and Budget shall submit to Congress a 
report that specifies the Federal laws and regulations that apply the 
Federal poverty line in effect under section 673(2) of the Community 
Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) as a factor in determining 
eligibility for Federal programs and that the Director recommends be 
updated to reflect the changes required by the amendment made by this 
Act.

SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND REPORT.

    In the 4th year after the effective date of this Act, and at least 
once every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall--
            (1) evaluate the efficacy of the poverty line as determined 
        under section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act 
        (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), as amended by this Act,
            (2) publish a report on the results of the evaluation, and
             (3) propose any change to such poverty line that would 
        better achieve the purpose of this Act.

SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude the Bureau of 
the Census or any other Federal agency from collecting, calculating, or 
publishing other measures of poverty for other purposes.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendment made by this Act shall take effect 3 
years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>