[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H7620-H7643]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HUMAN SERVICES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1998
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 2206) to amend the Head Start Act, the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981, and the Community Services Block Grant
Act to reauthorize and make improvements to those Acts, to establish
demonstration projects that provide an opportunity for persons with
limited means to accumulate assets, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 2206
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Human
Services Reauthorization Act of 1998''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act
is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE HEAD START ACT
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Statement of purpose.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Financial assistance for Head Start programs.
Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 106. Allotment of funds.
Sec. 107. Designation of Head Start agencies.
Sec. 108. Quality standards.
Sec. 109. Powers and functions of Head Start agencies.
Sec. 110. Head Start transition.
Sec. 111. Submission of plans to governors.
Sec. 112. Participation in Head Start programs.
Sec. 113. Early Head Start programs for families with infants and
toddlers.
Sec. 114. Technical assistance and training.
Sec. 115. Professional requirements.
Sec. 116. Family literacy services.
Sec. 117. Research and evaluation.
Sec. 118. Reports.
Sec. 119. Repeal of consultation requirement.
Sec. 120. Repeal of Head Start Transition Project Act.
Sec. 121. Effective date; application of amendments.
TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT ACT
Sec. 201. Short title.
Sec. 202. Reauthorization.
Sec. 203. Related amendments.
Sec. 204. Assets for independence.
Sec. 205. Effective date; application of amendments.
TITLE III--AMENDMENTS TO THE LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE ACT OF
1981
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Authorization.
[[Page H7621]]
Sec. 303. Definitions.
Sec. 304. Natural disasters and other emergencies.
Sec. 305. State allotments.
Sec. 306. Administration.
Sec. 307. Payments to States.
Sec. 308. Residential energy assistance challenge option.
TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO THE HEAD START ACT
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Head Start Amendments Act
of 1998''.
SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
Section 636 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831) is
amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
``It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote school
readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development
of low-income children through the provision, to low-income
children and their families, of health, educational,
nutritional, social, and other services that are determined,
based on family needs assessments, to be necessary.''.
SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.
Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (14) as
paragraphs (4) through (15), respectively;
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands'';
(ii) by inserting ``of the United States, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but for fiscal
years ending before October 1, 2001, also means'' after
``Virgin Islands''; and
(iii) by inserting ``and'' after ``Marshall Islands'';
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) The term `child with a disability' means--
``(A) a child with a disability, as defined in section
602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;
and
``(B) an infant or toddler with a disability, as defined in
section 632(5) of such Act.'';
(4) by striking paragraph (5) (as redesignated in paragraph
(1)) and inserting the following:
``(5) The term `family literacy services' means services
that--
``(A) are provided to participants who receive the services
on a voluntary basis;
``(B) are of sufficient intensity, and of sufficient
duration, to make sustainable changes in a family (such as
eliminating or reducing dependence on income-based public
assistance); and
``(C) integrate each of--
``(i) interactive literacy activities between parents and
their children;
``(ii) training for parents on being partners with their
children in learning;
``(iii) parent literacy training, including training that
contributes to economic self-sufficiency; and
``(iv) appropriate instruction for children of parents
receiving the parent literacy training.'';
(5) in paragraph (7) (as redesignated in paragraph (1)), by
adding at the end the following: ``Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to require an agency to provide services
to a child who has not reached the age of compulsory school
attendance for more than the number of hours per day
permitted by State law for the provision of services to such
a child.'';
(6) by striking paragraph (13) (as redesignated in
paragraph (1)) and inserting the following:
``(13) The term `migrant or seasonal Head Start program'
means--
``(A) with respect to services for migrant farmworkers, a
Head Start program that serves families who are engaged in
agricultural labor and who have changed their residence from
1 geographic location to another in the preceding 2-year
period; and
``(B) with respect to services for seasonal farmworkers, a
Head Start program that serves families who are engaged
primarily in seasonal agricultural labor and who have not
changed their residence to another geographic location in the
preceding 2-year period.''; and
(7) by adding at the end the following:
``(16) The term `reliable and replicable', used with
respect to research, means an objective, valid, scientific
study that--
``(A) includes a rigorously defined sample of subjects,
that is sufficiently large and representative to support the
general conclusions of the study;
``(B) relies on measurements that meet established
standards of reliability and validity;
``(C) is subjected to peer review before the results of the
study are published; and
``(D) discovers effective strategies for enhancing the
development and skills of children.''.
SEC. 104. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS.
Section 638(1) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833(1)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``aid the'' and inserting ``enable the'';
and
(2) by striking the semicolon and inserting ``and attain
school readiness;''.
SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by inserting ``$4,660,000,000 for fiscal year 1999
and'' after ``subchapter''; and
(B) by striking ``1995 through 1998'' and inserting ``2000
through 2003''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs (1) and (2)
and inserting the following:
``(1) for each of the fiscal years 1999 through 2003, not
more than $35,000,000 and not less than the aggregate amount
made available to carry out section 642(d) of this Act and
the Head Start Transition Project Act (42 U.S.C. 9855-9855g)
for fiscal year 1998, to carry out activities authorized
under section 642A;
``(2) not more than $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
1999 through 2003 to carry out impact studies under section
649(g);
``(3) not more than $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1999, and
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years
2000 through 2003, to carry out other research,
demonstration, and evaluation activities, including
longitudinal studies, under section 649; and
``(4) not less than $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
1999 through 2003, to carry out activities authorized under
section 648B.''.
SEC. 106. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.
(a) Allotments.--Section 640(a) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9835(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking ``and migrant'' the 1st place it appears
and all that follows through ``handicapped children'', and
inserting ``Head Start programs and services for children
with disabilities and migrant or seasonal Head Start
programs''; and
(ii) by striking ``and migrant'' each other place it
appears and inserting ``Head Start programs and by migrant or
seasonal''; and
(iii) by striking ``1994'' and inserting ``1998'';
(B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``(B) payments'' and
all that follows through ``Virgin Islands'' and inserting the
following:
``(B) payments, subject to paragraph (7)--
``(i) to Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the
United States; and
``(ii) for fiscal years ending before October 1, 2001, to
the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, and Palau;'';
(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(D) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``related to the
development and implementation of quality improvement plans
under section 641A(d)(2)).'' and inserting ``carried out
under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 641A(d) relating
to correcting deficiencies and conducting proceedings to
terminate the designation of Head Start agencies); and'';
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
``(E) payments for research and evaluation activities under
section 649.''; and
(F) by adding at the end the following: ``In carrying out
this subchapter, the Secretary shall continue the
administrative arrangement responsible for meeting the needs
of children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and Indian
children, and shall ensure that appropriate funding is
provided to meet such needs.'';
(2) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i) by striking ``equal'' and all
that follows through ``activities'' and inserting ``subject
to subsection (m)'';
(B) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) in clause (ii)--
(I) by striking ``adequate qualified staff'' and inserting
``adequate numbers of qualified staff''; and
(II) by inserting ``and children with disabilities'' before
``, when'';
(ii) in clause (iv) by inserting ``and to encourage the
staff to continually improve their skills and expertise by
informing staff of the availability of State and Federal loan
forgiveness programs for professional development'' before
the period at the end;
(iii) in clause (v) by inserting ``and collaboration
efforts for such programs'' before the period at the end; and
(iv) by amending clause (vi) to read as follows:
``(vi) Ensuring that such programs have adequate numbers of
qualified staff that can promote language skills and literacy
growth of children and that provide children with a variety
of skills that have been identified, through research that is
reliable and replicable, as predictive of later reading
achievement.''; and
(C) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in clause (i)(I)--
(I) by striking ``of staff'' and inserting ``of classroom
teachers and other staff''; and
(II) by striking ``such staff'' and inserting ``qualified
staff, including recruitment and retention pursuant to
achieving the requirements set forth in section 648A(a)'';
(ii) by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause (III);
(iii) by inserting after subclause (I) the following:
``(II) Preferences in awarding salary increases, in excess
of cost of living allowances, shall be granted to classroom
teachers and staff who obtain additional training or
education related to their responsibilities as employees of a
Head Start program.'';
(iv) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:
``(ii) Of the amount remaining after carrying out clause
(i), the highest priority shall be placed on training
classroom teachers and other staff to meet the education
performance standards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B),
through activities--
[[Page H7622]]
``(I) to promote children's language and literacy growth,
through techniques identified through reliable, replicable
research;
``(II) to promote the acquisition of the English language
for non-English background children and families;
``(III) to foster children's school readiness skills
through activities described in section 648A(a)(1); and
``(IV) to provide training necessary to improve the
qualifications of the staff of the Head Start agencies and to
support staff training, child counseling, and other services
necessary to address the problems of children participating
in Head Start programs, including children from dysfunctional
families, children who experience chronic violence in their
communities, and children who experience substance abuse in
their families.'';
(v) by striking clause (v);
(vi) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause (v); and
(vii) by inserting after clause (v), as so redesignated,
the following:
``(vi) To carry out any or all of such activities, but none
of such funds may be used for construction or renovation
(including nonstructural or minor structural changes).'';
(D) in subparagraph (D)(i)(II) by striking ``and migrant''
and inserting ``Head Start programs and by migrant or
seasonal'';
(3) in paragraph (4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``1981'' and inserting
``1998'';
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
``(B) any amount available after all allotments are made
under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year shall be
distributed proportionately on the basis of the number of
children less than 5 years of age who live with families
whose income is below the poverty line.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``For each fiscal year the Secretary shall use the most
recent data available on the number of children under the age
of 5, from families below the poverty level that is
consistent with that published for counties, by the
Department of Commerce, unless the Secretary and the
Secretary of Commerce determine that use of the updated
poverty data would be inappropriate or unreliable. If the
Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce determine that some
or all of the data referred to in this paragraph are
inappropriate or unreliable, they shall issue a report
setting forth their reasons in detail.'';
(4) in paragraph (5)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period the
following ``and encourage Head Start agencies to actively
collaborate with entities involved in State and local
planning processes in order to better meet the needs of low-
income children and families'';
(B) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in clause (i)(I), by inserting ``the appropriate
regional office of the Administration for Children and
Families and'' before ``agencies'';
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(iii) in clause (iv)--
(I) by striking ``education, and national service
activities,'' and inserting ``and education and community
service activities,'';
(II) by striking ``and activities'' and inserting
``activities''; and
(III) by striking the period and inserting ``(including
coordination with those State officials who are responsible
for administering part C and section 619 of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431-1445, 1419)),
and services for homeless children;''; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) include representatives of the State Head Start
Association and local Head Start agencies in unified planning
regarding early care and education services at both the State
and local levels, including collaborative efforts to plan for
the provision of full-working-day, full-calendar-year early
care and education services for children;
``(vi) encourage local Head Start agencies to appoint a
State level representative to speak on behalf of Head Start
agencies within the State on collaborative efforts described
in subparagraphs (B) and (D), and in clause (v); and
``(vii) encourage Head Start agencies to collaborate with
entities involved in State and local planning processes
(including the State lead agency administering the financial
assistance received under the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the
entities providing resource and referral services in the
State) in order to better meet the needs of low-income
children and families.'';
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (F);
and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
``(D) Following the award of collaboration grants described
in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide, from the
reserved sums, supplemental funding for collaboration
grants--
``(i) to States that develop statewide, regional, or local
unified plans for early childhood education and child care
that include the participation of Head Start agencies; and
``(ii) to States that engage in other innovative
collaborative initiatives, including plans for collaborative
training and professional development initiatives for child
care, early childhood education and Head Start service
managers, providers, and staff.
``(E)(i) The Secretary shall--
``(I) review on an ongoing basis evidence of barriers to
effective collaboration between Head Start programs and other
Federal child care and early childhood education programs and
resources;
``(II) develop initiatives, including providing additional
training and technical assistance and making regulatory
changes, in necessary cases, to eliminate barriers to the
collaboration; and
``(III) develop a mechanism to resolve administrative and
programmatic conflicts between such programs that would be a
barrier to service providers, parents, or children, related
to the provision of unified services in the consolidation of
funding for child care services
``(ii) In the case of a collaborative activity funded under
this subchapter and another provision of law providing for
Federal child care or early childhood education, the use of
equipment and nonconsumable supplies purchased with funds
made available under this subchapter or such provision shall
not be restricted to children enrolled or otherwise
participating in the program carried out under that
subchapter or provision, during a period in which the
activity is predominantly funded under this subchapter or
such provision.'';
(5) by amending paragraph (6) to read as follows:
``(6)(A) From the amounts reserved and allotted pursuant to
paragraphs (2) and (4), and except as provided in
subparagraph (C)(i), the Secretary shall use for grants for
programs described in section 645A(a) a portion of the
combined total of such amount equal to--
``(i) 7.5 percent for fiscal year 1999;
``(ii) 8 percent for fiscal year 2000;
``(iii) 8.5 percent for fiscal year 2001;
``(iv) not less than 8.5 and not more than 10 percent for
fiscal year 2002; and
``(v) not less than 8.5 and not more than 10 percent for
fiscal year 2003;
of the amount appropriated pursuant to section 639(a) for the
respective fiscal year.
``(B) If the Secretary does not submit to--
``(i) the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives;
and
``(ii) to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
by January 1, 2001, a report on the results of the Early Head
Start impact study currently being conducted by the
Secretary, then the amount required to be used in accordance
with subparagraph (A) for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 shall be
8.5 percent of the amount appropriated pursuant to section
639(a) for the respective fiscal year.
``(C)(i) For any fiscal year for which the Secretary
determines that the amount appropriated under section 639(a)
is not sufficient to permit the Secretary to use the portion
described in subparagraph (A) without reducing the number of
children served by Head Start programs or negatively
impacting the quality of Head Start services, relative to the
number of children served and the quality of the services
during the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary may reduce
the percentage of funds required to be used as the portion
described in subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year for which
the determination is made, but not below the percentage
required to be so used for the preceding fiscal year.
``(ii) For any fiscal year for which the amount
appropriated under section 639(a) requires a reduction in the
amount made available under this subchapter to Head Start
agencies and entities described in section 645A, relative to
the amount made available to the agencies and entities for
the preceding fiscal year, adjusted as described in paragraph
(3)(A)(ii), the Secretary shall proportionately reduce--
``(I) the amounts made available to the entities for
programs carried out under section 645A; and
``(II) the amounts made available to Head Start agencies
for Head Start programs.''; and
(6) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and
(7) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7)(A) For purposes of paragraph (2)(A), in determining
the need and demand for migrant or seasonal Head Start
programs (and services provided through such programs), the
Secretary shall consult with appropriate entities, including
providers of services for migrant or seasonal Head Start
programs. The Secretary shall, after taking into
consideration the need and demand for migrant or seasonal
Head Start programs (and such services), ensure that there is
an adequate level of such services for eligible children of
migrant farmworkers before approving an increase in the
allocation provided for unserved eligible children of
seasonal farmworkers. In serving the children of seasonal
farmworkers, the Secretary shall ensure that services
provided by migrant or seasonal Head Start programs do not
duplicate or overlap with other Head Start services available
in the same geographical area.
``(B)(i) Funds available under this subsection for payments
to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, and Palau shall be used by the Secretary to
make grants on a competitive basis, pursuant to
recommendations submitted to the Secretary by the Pacific
Region Educational Laboratory of the Department of Education,
to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, American Samoa, and
[[Page H7623]]
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, for the
purpose of carrying out Head Start programs in accordance
with this subchapter.
``(ii) Not more than 5 percent of such funds may be used by
the Secretary to compensate the Pacific Region Educational
Laboratory of the Department of Education for administrative
costs incurred in connection with making recommendations
under clause (i).
``(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, and Palau shall not receive any funds under this
subchapter for any fiscal year that begins after September
30, 2001.''.
(b) Children With Disabilities.--Section 640(d) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(d)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``1982'' and inserting ``1999'';
(2) by striking ``(as defined in section 602(a) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``Such policies and procedures shall require Head Start
programs to coordinate programmatic efforts with efforts to
implement part C and section 619 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C 1431-1445, 1419).''.
(c) Increased Appropriations.--Section 640(g) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting at the end the
following: ``In awarding funds to serve an increased number
of children, the Secretary shall give priority to those
applicants that provide full-working-day, full-calendar year
Head Start services through collaboration with entities
carrying out programs that are in existence on the date of
the allocation and with other private, nonprofit agencies.
Any such additional funds remaining may be used to make
nonstructural and minor structural changes, and to acquire
and install equipment, for the purpose of improving
facilities necessary to expand the availability of Head Start
programs and to serve an increased number of children.'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``, and the performance history of the applicant in
providing services under other Federal programs (other than
the program carried out under this subchapter);'';
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``, and organizations and public entities serving
children with disabilities;'';
(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``and the extent to which, and manner in which, the
applicant demonstrates the ability to collaborate and
participate with other local community providers of child
care or preschool services to provide full-working-day full-
calendar-year services;'';
(D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``program; and'' and
inserting ``or any other early childhood program;'';
(E) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(G) the extent to which the applicant proposes to foster
partnerships with other service providers in a manner that
will enhance the resource capacity of the applicant; and
``(H) the extent to which the applicant, in providing
services, will plan to coordinate with the local educational
agency serving the community involved and with schools in
which children participating in a Head Start program operated
by such agency will enroll following such program, regarding
the education services provided by such local educational
agency.'';
(3) in paragraph (3) by striking ``In'' and inserting
``Subject to subsection (m), in''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), after taking into
account subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may allocate a
portion of the remaining additional funds under subsection
(a)(2)(A) for the purpose of increasing funds available for
activities described in such subsection.''.
(d) References.--Section 640(l) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9835(l)) is amended by inserting ``or seasonal'' after
``migrant'' each place it appears.
(e) Relative Availability of Funds for Quality and for
Expansion.--Section 640 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9835) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m)(1) After complying with the requirement in subsection
(g)(1) relating to maintaining the level of services provided
during the previous year, the Secretary shall make the amount
(if any) by which the funds appropriated under section 639(a)
for a fiscal year exceed the adjusted prior year
appropriation (as defined in subsection (a)(3)(ii)),
available as follows:
Percent of Amount
Exceeding Adjusted
Percent of Amount Percent of Amount Prior Year
Exceeding Adjusted Exceeding Adjusted Appropriation To Be
Prior Year Prior Year Available to Qualifying
``For Fiscal Year: Appropriation To Be Appropriation To Be Head Start Programs for
Available for Quality Available for Expansion Quality and Expansion
Activities Under Activities Under Activities Under
Subsection (a)(3)(C): Subsection (g): Subsections (a)(3)(C)
and (g):
1999 65 25 10
2000 65 25 10
2001 45 45 10
2002 45 45 10
2003 25 65 10.
``(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term `qualifying
Head Start program' means a Head Start agency or Head Start
program that is--
``(A) in compliance with the quality standards and result-
based performance measures applicable under subsections (a)
and (b) of section 641A;
``(B) not required under subsection (d) of such section to
take a corrective action; and
``(C) making progress toward complying with requirements
applicable under section 648A(a)(2).
``(3) Funds required to be made available under this
subsection to qualifying Head Start programs shall be made
available on the same basis as allotments are determined
under subsection (a)(4).''.
(f) Conforming Amendment.--Section 644(f)(2) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9839(f)(2)) is amended by striking
``640(a)(3)(C)(v)'' and inserting ``640(g)''.
SEC. 107. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
Section 641 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting ``(in consultation with
the chief executive officer of the State involved, if such
State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start
programs)'' after ``Secretary'' the last place it appears;
(2) in subsection (b) by striking ``area designated by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs as near-reservation'' and inserting
``off-reservation area designated by an appropriate tribal
government'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by inserting ``, in consultation with the chief
executive officer of the State if such State expends non-
Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs,'' after
``shall''; and
(ii) by striking ``makes a finding'' and all that follows
through the period at the end, and inserting the following:
``determines that the agency involved fails to meet program
and financial management requirements, performance standards
described in section 641A(a)(1), results-based performance
measures described in section 641A(b), and other requirements
established by the Secretary.'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``, in consultation with
the chief executive officer of the State if such State
expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs,''
after ``shall''; and
(C) by aligning the left margin of paragraphs (2) and (3)
with the left margin of paragraph (1); and
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
after the 1st sentence the following:
``In selecting from among qualified applicants for
designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall give
priority to any qualified agency that functioned as a Head
Start delegate agency in the community and carried out a Head
Start program that the Secretary determines met or exceeded
such performance standards and such results-based performance
measures.'';
(B) in paragraph (3) by inserting ``and programs under part
C and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C 1431-1445, 1419)'' after ``(20 U.S.C.
2741 et seq.)'';
(C) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``(at home and in the
center involved where practicable)'' after ``activities'';
(ii) in subparagraph (D)--
(I) in clause (iii) by adding ``or'' at the end;
(II) by striking clause (iv); and
(III) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (iv);
(iii) in subparagraph (E) by striking ``and (D)'' and
inserting ``and (E)'';
(iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E) and
subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
(v) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
``(D) to offer to parents of participating children
substance abuse counseling (either directly or through
referral to local entities), including information on drug-
exposed infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;'';
(D) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows:
``(7) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of non-
English background children and their families, including
needs related to the acquisition of the English language;'';
(E) in paragraph (8)--
(i) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(ii) by redesignating such paragraph as paragraph (9);
(F) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of
children with disabilities;''; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
``(10) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with other
entities carrying out early childhood education and child
care programs in the community.''; and
(5) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:
``(e) If no agency in the community receives priority
designation and if there is no
[[Page H7624]]
qualified applicant in the community, then the Secretary
shall designate an agency to carry out the Head Start program
in the community on an interim basis until a qualified
applicant from the community is so designated.''.
SEC. 108. QUALITY STANDARDS.
(a) Quality Standards.--Section 641A(a) of the Head Start
Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting
``, including minimum levels of overall accomplishment,''
after ``regulation standards'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``education,'';
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (D) as
subparagraphs (C) through (E), respectively; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
``(B)(i) education performance standards to ensure the
school readiness of children participating in a Head Start
program, on completion of the Head Start program and prior to
entering school; and
``(ii) additional school readiness performance standards
(based on cognitive learning abilities) to ensure that the
children participating in the program, at a minimum--
``(I) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness;
``(II) understand and use oral language to communicate for
different purposes;
``(III) understand and use increasingly complex and varied
vocabulary;
``(IV) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of books;
and
``(V) in the case of non-English background children,
progress toward acquisition of the English language.'';
(2) by striking paragraph (2);
(3) in paragraph (3)--
(A) in subparagraph (B)(iii) by striking ``child'' and
inserting ``early childhood education and''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) in clause (i)--
(I) by striking ``not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section,''; and
(II) by striking ``section 651(b)'' and all that follows
through ``section'' and inserting ``this subsection''; and
(ii) in subclause (ii), by striking ``November 2, 1978''
and inserting ``the date of enactment of the Head Start
Amendments Act of 1998''; and
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively.
(b) Performance Measures.--Section 641A(b) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(b)) is amended--
(1) in the heading, by inserting ``Results-Based'' before
``Performance'';
(2) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, the'' and inserting ``The'';
(B) by striking ``child'' and inserting ``early childhood
education and''; and
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``, and
the impact of the services provided through the programs to
children and their families.'';
(3) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Design'' and inserting
``Characteristics'';
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
``be designed'' and inserting ``include the education and
school-based readiness performance standards described in
subsection (a)(1)(B) and shall'';
(C) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``to assess'' and
inserting ``assess the impact of'';
(D) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) by striking ``to'';
(ii) by striking ``and peer review'' and inserting ``, peer
review, and program evaluation''; and
(iii) by inserting ``not later than January 1, 1999''
before the semicolon at the end; and
(E) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``be developed''
before ``for other'';
(4) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking ``and by region'' and
inserting ``, regionally, and locally''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Required results-based performance measures.--Such
results-based performance measures shall ensure that such
children--
``(A) know that letters of the alphabet are a special
category of visual graphics that can be individually named;
``(B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
``(C) identify at least 10 letters of the alphabet; and
``(D) associate sounds with written words.
``(5) Other results-based performance measures.--In
addition to other applicable results-based performance
measures, Head Start agencies may establish their own
results-based school readiness performance measures.''.
(c) Monitoring.--Section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ``and results-based
performance measures'' after ``standards''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C)--
(i) by inserting ``(including children with disabilities)''
after ``eligible children''; and
(ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting a
semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) include as part of the reviews of the programs, a
review and assessment of program effectiveness, as measured
in accordance with the results-based performance measures
developed pursuant to subsection (b) and with the performance
standards established pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B)
of subsection (a)(1); and
``(E) seek information from the community and the State
about the performance of the program and its efforts to
collaborate with other entities carrying out early childhood
education and child care programs in the community.''.
(d) Termination.--Section 641A(d) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(d)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by inserting ``or results-based performance measures
described in subsection (b)'' after ``subsection (a)''; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
``(B) with respect to each identified deficiency, require
the agency--
``(i) to correct the deficiency immediately, if the
Secretary finds that the deficiency threatens the health or
safety of staff or program participants or poses a threat to
the integrity of Federal funds;
``(ii) to correct the deficiency not later than 90 days
after the identification of the deficiency if the Secretary
finds, in the discretion of the Secretary, that such a 90-day
period is reasonable, in light of the nature and magnitude of
the deficiency; or
``(iii) in the discretion of the Secretary (taking into
consideration the seriousness of the deficiency and the time
reasonably required to correct the deficiency) to comply with
the requirements of paragraph (2) concerning a quality
improvement plan; and''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by striking ``immediately'' and inserting ``immediately
or during a 90-day period under clause (i) or (ii) of
paragraph (1)(B)''.
(e) Report.--Section 641A(e) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the
following: ``Such report shall be widely disseminated and
available for public review in both written and electronic
formats.''.
SEC. 109. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
Section 642 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (6)--
(i) by striking subparagraph (D); and
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F) and
subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively;
(B) in paragraph (8) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) in paragraph (9) by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and'';
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) as
paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively;
(E) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) offer to parents of participating children substance
abuse counseling (either directly or through referral to
local entities), including information on drug-exposed
infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;''; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
``(11)(A) inform custodial parents in single-parent
families that participate in programs, activities, or
services carried out under this subtitle about the
availability of child support services for purposes of
establishing paternity and acquiring child support;
``(B) refer eligible parents to the child support offices
of State and local governments; and
``(C) establish referral arrangements with such offices.'';
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by inserting ``and collaborate'' after ``coordinate'';
(B) by inserting ``and part C and section 619 of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C 1431-
1445, 1419)'' after ``(20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)''; and
(C) by striking ``section 402(g) of the Social Security
Act, and other'' and inserting ``the State program carried
out under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and other early childhood
education and development''; and
(3) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``carry out'' and all that follows through
``maintain'' and inserting ``take steps to ensure, to the
maximum extent possible, that children maintain'';
(ii) by inserting ``and educational'' after
``developmental''; and
(iii) by striking ``to build'' and inserting ``build'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as
paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively.
SEC. 110. HEAD START TRANSITION.
The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 642 the following:
``SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION.
``Each Head Start agency shall take steps to coordinate
with the local educational agency serving the community
involved and with schools in which children participating in
a Head Start program operated by such agency will enroll
following such program, including--
``(1) developing and implementing a systematic procedure
for transferring, with parental consent, Head Start program
records
[[Page H7625]]
for each participating child to the school in which such
child will enroll;
``(2) establishing channels of communication between Head
Start staff and their counterparts in the schools (including
teachers, social workers, and health staff) to facilitate
coordination of programs;
``(3) conducting meetings involving parents, kindergarten
or elementary school teachers, and Head Start program
teachers to discuss the educational, developmental, and other
needs of individual children;
``(4) organizing and participating in joint transition-
related training of school staff and Head Start staff;
``(5) developing and implementing a family outreach and
support program in cooperation with entities carrying out
parental involvement efforts under title I of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.);
``(6) assisting families, administrators, and teachers in
enhancing educational and developmental continuity between
Head Start services and elementary school classes; and
``(7) linking the services provided in such program with
the education services provided by such local education
agency.''.
SEC. 111. SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS.
The first sentence of section 643 of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9838) is amended--
(1) by striking ``30 days'' and inserting ``45 days'';
(2) by striking ``so disapproved'' and inserting
``disapproved (for reasons other than failure to comply with
State health, safety, and child care laws, including
regulations applicable to comparable child care programs in
the State)''; and
(3) by inserting before the period ``, as evidenced by a
written statement of the Secretary's findings transmitted to
such officer''.
SEC. 112. PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS.
Section 645(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840(a)) is
amended--
(1) in the last sentence of paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``provide (A) that'' and inserting the
following:
``provide--
``(A) that''; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
``(B) pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary shall
prescribe, that programs assisted under this subchapter may--
``(i) include a child who has been determined to meet the
low-income criteria and who is participating in a Head Start
program in a program year shall be considered to continue to
meet the low-income criteria through the end of the
succeeding program year. In determining, for purposes of this
paragraph, whether a child who has applied for enrollment in
a Head Start program meets the low-income criteria, an entity
may consider evidence of family income during the 12 months
preceding the month in which the application is submitted, or
during the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which
the application is submitted, whichever more accurately
reflects the needs of the family at the time of application;
``(ii) permit not more than 25 percent of the children
enrolled in a Head Start program to be children (without
counting children with disabilities) whose family income does
not exceed 140 percent of the poverty line if the Head Start
agency carrying out such program--
``(I) has a community needs assessment that demonstrates a
need to provide Head Start services to more of such children
who are members of families with incomes that exceed the
poverty line but do not exceed 140 percent of the poverty
line; and
``(II) ensures that, as a result of enrolling a greater
percentage of children described in this clause, there will
not be a reduction in, or denial of, Head Start services to
children who are eligible under subparagraph (A);
``(iii) subject to the approval of the Secretary, permit
such Head Start agency that demonstrates to the Secretary
that it has made reasonable efforts to enroll children
eligible under subparagraph (A) in the Head Start program
carried out by such agency, to charge participation fees for
children described in clause (ii), consistent with the
sliding fee schedule established by the State under section
658E(c)(5) of the of the Child Care and Development Block
Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858c(c)(5)).'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) A Head Start agency that provides a Head Start
program with full-working-day services in collaboration with
other agencies or entities may collect a family copayment to
support extended day services if a copayment is required in
conjunction with the partnership. The copayment shall not
exceed the copayment charged to families with similar incomes
and circumstances who are receiving the services through
participation in a program carried out by another agency or
entity.''.
SEC. 113. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WITH INFANTS
AND TODDLERS.
(a) Program.--Section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9840a) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``EARLY HEAD
START'' before ``PROGRAMS FOR'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
period;
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) by striking ``for--'' and all that follows through
``(1)'', and inserting ``for'';
(3) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (5), by inserting ``(including programs
for infants and toddlers with disabilities)'' after
``community'';
(B) in paragraph (7) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(C) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9); and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
``(8) ensure formal linkages with the agencies described in
section 644(b) of the Individuals With Disabilities Education
Act Amendments of 1997 and providers of early intervention
services for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400
et seq.); and'';
(4) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``(a)(1)'' and inserting ``(a)''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``(or under'' and all
that follows through ``(e)(3))'';
(5) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``and'' at the end;
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) in paragraph (3) by redesignating such paragraph as
paragraph (2);
(6) by striking subsection (e);
(7) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections
(e) and (f), respectively;
(8) in subsection (e) (as redesignated in paragraph (7))--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Other''; and
(B) by striking ``From the balance remaining of the portion
specified in section 640(a)(6), after making grants to the
eligible entities specified in subsection (e),'' and
inserting ``From the portion specified in section
640(a)(6),'';
(9) by striking subsection (h); and
(10) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Monitoring, Training, Technical Assistance, and
Evaluation.--
``(1) Requirement.--In order to ensure the successful
operation of programs assisted under this section, the
Secretary shall use funds from the portion specified in
section 640(a)(6) to monitor the operation of such programs,
evaluate their effectiveness, and provide training and
technical assistance tailored to the particular needs of such
programs.
``(2) Training and technical assistance account.--
``(A) In general.--Of the amount made available to carry
out this section for any fiscal year, not less than 5 percent
and not more than 10 percent shall be reserved to fund a
training and technical assistance account.
``(B) Activities.--Funds in the account may be used for
purposes including--
``(i) making grants to, and entering into contracts with,
organizations with specialized expertise relating to infants,
toddlers, and families and the capacity needed to provide
direction and support to a national training and technical
assistance system, in order to provide such direction and
support;
``(ii) providing ongoing training and technical assistance
for regional and program staff charged with monitoring and
overseeing the administration of the program carried out
under this section;
``(iii) providing ongoing training and technical assistance
for existing recipients of grants under subsection (a) and
support and program planning and implementation assistance
for new recipients of such grants; and
``(iv) providing professional development and personnel
enhancement activities, including the provision of funds to
recipients of grants under subsection (a) for the recruitment
and retention of qualified staff with an appropriate level of
education and experience.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 640(a)(5)(F) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(a)(5)(F)), as so redesignated by
section 106, is amended by striking ``section 645(a)(1)(A)''
and inserting ``section 645(a)''.
SEC. 114. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.
Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) ensure the provision of technical assistance to
assist Head Start agencies, entities carrying out other child
care and early childhood programs, communities, and States in
collaborative efforts to provide quality full-working-day,
full-calendar-year services, including technical assistance
related to identifying and assisting in resolving barriers to
collaboration.''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) give priority consideration to--
``(A) activities to correct program and management
deficiencies identified through reviews pursuant to section
641A(c) (including the provision of assistance to local
programs in the development of quality improvement plans
under section 641A(d)(2)); and
``(B) assisting Head Start agencies in--
``(i) ensuring the school readiness of children; and
[[Page H7626]]
``(ii) meeting the education and school readiness
performance standards described in this subchapter;'';
(B) in paragraph (2) by inserting ``supplement amounts
provided under section 640(a)(3)(C)(ii),'' after ``(2)'';
(C) in paragraph (4)--
(i) by inserting ``and implementing'' after ``developing'';
and
(ii) by striking ``a longer day'' and inserting the
following: ``the day, and assist the agencies and programs in
expediting the sharing of information about innovative models
for providing full-working-day, full-calendar-year services
for children'';
(D) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(E) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (8) as
paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively; and
(F) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) assist Head Start agencies in the development of
collaborative initiatives with States and other entities
within the States, to foster effective early childhood
professional development systems;
``(4) assist classroom and non-classroom staff, including
individuals in management and leadership capacities, to
understand the components of effective family literacy
services, gain knowledge about proper implementation of such
services within a Head Start program, and receive assistance
to achieve successful collaboration agreements with other
service providers that allow the effective integration of
family literacy services with the Head Start program;''.
SEC. 115. PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a) is
amended--
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
``(a) Classroom Teachers.--
``(1) Professional requirements.--The Secretary shall
ensure that each Head Start classroom in a center-based
program is assigned 1 teacher who has demonstrated competency
to perform functions that include--
``(A) planning and implementing learning experiences that
advance the intellectual and physical development of
children, including improving readiness of children for
school by developing their literacy and phonemic, print, and
numeracy awareness, their understanding and use of oral
language, their understanding and use of increasingly complex
and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of books and their
problem solving abilities;
``(B) establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy learning
environment;
``(C) supporting the social and emotional development of
children; and
``(D) encouraging the involvement of the families of the
children in a Head Start program and supporting the
development of relationships between children and their
families.
``(2) Degree requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that
not later than September 30, 2003, at least 50 percent of all
Head Start classrooms in a center-based program are assigned
1 teacher who has an associate, baccalaureate, or an advanced
degree in early childhood education or development and shall
require Head Start agencies to demonstrate continuing
progress each year to reach that result. In the remaining
balance of such classrooms, there shall be assigned one
teacher who has--
``(A) a child development associate (CDA) credential that
is appropriate to the age of the children being served in
center-based programs;
``(B) a State-awarded certificate for preschool teachers
that meets or exceeds the requirements for a child
development associate credential; or
``(C) a degree in a field related to early childhood
education with experience in teaching preschool children and
a State-awarded certificate to teach in a preschool program.
``(3) Assessment.--Head Start agencies shall adopt, in
consultation with experts in child development and with
classroom teachers, an assessment to be used when hiring or
evaluating any classroom teacher in a center-based Head Start
program. Such assessment shall measure whether such teacher
has mastered the functions described in paragraph (1)(A).'';
and
(2) in subsection (b)(2)(B)--
(A) by striking ``staff,'' and inserting ``staff or''; and
(B) by striking ``, or that'' and all that follows through
``families''.
SEC. 116. FAMILY LITERACY SERVICES.
The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 648A the following:
``SEC. 648B. FAMILY LITERACY SERVICES.
``From funds reserved under section 639(b)(4), the
Secretary--
``(1) shall provide grants through a competitive process,
based upon the quality of the family literacy service
proposal and taking into consideration geographic and urban/
rural representation, for not more than 100 Head Start
agencies to initiate provision of family literacy services
through collaborative partnerships with entities that provide
adult education services, entities carrying out Even Start
programs under part B of chapter 1 of title 1 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 274
et seq.), or entities that provide other services deemed
necessary for the provision of family literacy services; and
``(2) may--
``(A) provide training and technical assistance to Head
Start agencies that already provide family literacy services;
``(B) designate as mentor programs, and provide financial
assistance to, Head Start agencies that demonstrate effective
implementation of family literacy services, based on improved
outcomes of children and their parents, to enable such
agencies to provide training and technical assistance to
other agencies that seek to implement, or improve
implementation of, family literacy services; and
``(C) award grants or make other assistance available to
facilitate training and technical assistance to programs for
development of collaboration agreements with other service
providers.
In awarding such grants or assistance, the Secretary shall
give special consideration to an organization that has
experience in the development and operation of successful
family literacy services.''.
SEC. 117. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.
Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(B) in paragraph (7) by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and'';
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (7) as
paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively;
(D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) over a 5-year period, lead to the development and
rigorous evaluation of models for the integration of family
literacy services with Head Start programs, that demonstrate
the ability to make positive gains for children participating
in Head Start programs and their parents, and dissemination
of information about such models;''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) study the experiences of small, medium, and large
States with Head Start programs in order to permit
comparisons of children participating in the programs with
eligible children who did not participate in the programs,
which study--
``(A) may include the use of a data set that existed prior
to the initiation of the study; and
``(B) shall compare the educational achievement, social
adaptation, and health status of the participating children
and the eligible nonparticipating children.
The Secretary shall ensure that an appropriate entity carries
out a study described in paragraph (9), and prepares and
submits to the appropriate committees of the Congress a
report containing the results of the study, not later than
September 30, 2002.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) National Head Start Impact Research.--
``(1) Analyses of data bases.--The Secretary shall obtain
analyses of the following existing databases to guide the
evaluation recommendations of the expert panel appointed
under paragraph (2) and to provide Congress with initial
reports of potential Head Start outcomes--
``(A) by use of The Survey of Income and Program
Participation (SIPP) conduct an analysis of the different
income levels of Head Start participants compared to
comparable persons who did not attend Head Start;
``(B) by use of The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
(NLSY) which began gathering data on children who attended
Head Start from 1988 on, examine the wide range of outcomes
measured within the Survey, including cognitive, socio-
emotional, behavioral, and academic development;
``(C) by use of The Survey of Program Dynamics, the new
longitudinal survey required by the Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, to begin
annual reporting, through the duration of the Survey, on Head
Start attendees' academic readiness performance and
improvements; and
``(D) to ensure that The Survey of Program Dynamics be
linked with the NLSY at least once by the use of a common
performance test, to be determined by the expert panel, for
the greater national usefulness of the NLSY database.
``(2) Expert panel.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall appoint an
independent panel consisting of experts in program evaluation
and research, education, and early childhood programs--
``(i) to review, and make recommendations on, the design
and plan for the research (whether conducted as a single
assessment or as a series of assessments), described in
paragraph (3), within 1 year after the date of enactment of
the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998;
``(ii) to maintain and advise the Secretary regarding the
progress of the research; and
``(iii) to comment, if the panel so desires, on the interim
and final research reports submitted under paragraph (8).
``(B) Travel expenses.--The members of the panel shall not
receive compensation for the performance of services for the
panel, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per
diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for
employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of
title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or
regular places of business in the performance of services for
the panel. Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United
States Code, the Secretary may accept the voluntary and
uncompensated services of members of the panel.
[[Page H7627]]
``(3) General authority.--After reviewing the
recommendations of the expert panel the Secretary shall enter
into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement with an
organization to conduct independent research that provides a
national analysis of the impact of Head Start programs. The
Secretary shall ensure that the organization shall have
expertise in program evaluation, and research, education, and
early childhood programs.
``(4) Designs and techniques.--The Secretary shall ensure
that the research uses rigorous methodological designs and
techniques (based on the recommendations of the expert
panel), including longitudinal designs, control groups,
nationally recognized standardized measures, and random
selection and assignment, as appropriate. The Secretary may
provide that the research shall be conducted as a single
comprehensive assessment or as a group of coordinated
assessments designed to provide, when taken together, a
national analysis of the impact of Head Start programs.
``(5) Programs.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
research focuses primarily on Head Start programs that
operate in the several States, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, or the District of Columbia and that do not
specifically target special populations.
``(6) Analysis.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
organization conducting the research--
``(A)(i) determines if, overall, the Head Start programs
have impacts consistent with their primary goal of increasing
the social competence of children, by increasing the everyday
effectiveness of the children in dealing with their present
environments and future responsibilities, and increasing
their school readiness;
``(ii) considers whether the Head Start programs--
``(I) enhance the growth and development of children in
cognitive, emotional, and physical health areas;
``(II) strengthen families as the primary nurturers of
their children; and
``(III) ensure that children attain school readiness; and
``(iii) examines--
``(I) the impact of the Head Start programs on increasing
access of children to such services as educational, health,
and nutritional services, and linking children and families
to needed community services; and
``(II) how receipt of services described in subclause (I)
enriches the lives of children and families participating in
Head Start programs;
``(B) examines the impact of Head Start programs on
participants on the date the participants leave Head Start
programs, at the end of kindergarten, and at the end of first
grade, by examining a variety of factors, including
educational achievement, referrals for special education or
remedial course work, and absenteeism;
``(C) makes use of random selection from the population of
all Head Start programs described in paragraph (5) in
selecting programs for inclusion in the research; and
``(D) includes comparisons of individuals who participate
in Head Start programs with control groups (including
comparison groups) composed of--
``(i) individuals who participate in other early childhood
programs (such as preschool programs and day care); and
``(ii) individuals who do not participate in any other
early childhood program.
``(7) Consideration of sources of variation.--In designing
the research, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable,
consider addressing possible sources of variation in impact
of Head Start programs, including variations in impact
related to such factors as--
``(A) Head Start program operations;
``(B) Head Start program quality;
``(C) the length of time a child attends a Head Start
program;
``(D) the age of the child on entering the Head Start
program;
``(E) the type of organization (such as a local educational
agency or a community action agency) providing services for
the Head Start program;
``(F) the number of hours and days of program operation of
the Head Start program (such as whether the program is a
full-working-day full-calendar-year program, a part-day
program or a part-year program); and
``(G) other characteristics and features of the Head Start
program (such as geographic location, location in an urban or
a rural service area, or participant characteristics), as
appropriate.
``(8) Reports.--
``(A) Submission of interim reports.--The organization
shall prepare and submit to the Secretary 2 interim reports
on the research. The first interim report shall describe the
design of the research, and the rationale for the design,
including a description of how potential sources of variation
in impact of Head Start programs have been considered in
designing the research. The second interim report shall
describe the status of the research and preliminary findings
of the research, as appropriate.
``(B) Submission of final report.--The organization shall
prepare and submit to the Secretary a final report containing
the findings of the research.
``(C) Transmittal of reports to congress.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall transmit, to the
committees described in clause (ii), the first interim report
by September 30, 1999, the second interim report by September
30, 2001, and the final report by September 30, 2003.
``(ii) Committees.--The committees referred to in clause
(i) are the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human
Resources of the Senate.
``(9) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `impact',
used with respect to a Head Start program, means a difference
in an outcome for a participant in the program that would not
have occurred without the participation in the program.
``(h) Quality Improvement Study.--
``(1) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a study regarding
the use and effects of use of the quality improvement funds
made available under section 640(a)(3) since fiscal year
1991.
``(2) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare and submit to
Congress not later than September 2000 a report containing
the results of the study, including--
``(A) the types of activities funded with the quality
improvement funds;
``(B) the extent to which the use of the quality
improvement funds has accomplished the goals of section
640(a)(3)(B); and
``(C) the effect of use of the quality improvement funds on
teacher training, salaries, benefits, recruitment, and
retention.''.
SEC. 118. REPORTS.
Section 650 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9846) is
amended--
(1) by inserting ``(a) Status of Children.--'' before
``At'';
(2) by striking ``and Labor'' each place it appears and
inserting ``and the Workforce'';
(3) in paragraph (14) by striking ``and seasonal'' and
inserting ``or seasonal''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Facilities.--At least once during every 5-year
period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human
Resources of the Senate, a report concerning the condition,
location, and ownership of facilities used, or available to
be used, by Indian Head Start agencies.''.
SEC. 119. REPEAL OF CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.
Section 657A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9852a) is
repealed.
SEC. 120. REPEAL OF HEAD START TRANSITION PROJECT ACT.
The Head Start Transition Project Act (42 U.S.C. 9855-
9855g) is repealed.
SEC. 121. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.
(a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
this title and the amendments made by this title shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this
title shall not apply with respect to any fiscal year ending
before October 1, 1998.
TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT ACT
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Community Services
Authorization Act of 1998''.
SEC. 202. REAUTHORIZATION.
The heading for subtitle B, and sections 671 through 680,
of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901-
9909) are amended to read as follows:
``Subtitle B--Community Services Block Grant Program
``SEC. 671. SHORT TITLE.
``This subtitle may be cited as the `Community Services
Block Grant Act'.
``SEC. 672. PURPOSES AND GOALS.
``The purpose of this subtitle is to provide assistance to
States and local communities, working through a network of
community action agencies and other neighborhood-based
organizations, for the reduction of poverty, the
revitalization of low-income communities, and the empowerment
of low-income families and individuals in rural and urban
areas to become fully self-sufficient (particularly families
who are attempting to transition off a State program carried
out under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.)). Such goals may be accomplished
through--
``(1) the strengthening of community capabilities for
planning, coordinating, and utilizing a broad range of
Federal, State, local, and private resources for the
elimination of poverty, and for helping individuals and
families achieve self-sufficiency;
``(2) greater use of innovative and effective, community-
based approaches to attacking the causes and effects of
poverty and of community breakdown;
``(3) the maximum participation of residents of the low-
income communities and members of the groups served by
programs assisted through the block grant to empower such
individuals to respond to the unique problems and needs
within their communities; and
``(4) the broadening of the resource base of programs
directed to the elimination of poverty so as to secure a more
active role for private, faith-based, charitable, and
neighborhood organizations in the provision of services as
well as individual citizens, business, labor, and
professional groups who are able to influence the quantity
and quality of opportunities and services for the poor.
``SEC. 673. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subtitle:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an
entity--
``(A) that is an eligible entity described in section
673(1) (as in effect on the day before
[[Page H7628]]
the date of enactment of the Human Services Reauthorization
Act of 1998) as of such date of enactment or is designated by
the process described in section 676A (including an
organization serving migrant or seasonal farmworkers that is
so described or designated); and
``(B) that has a tripartite board or other mechanism
described in subsection (a) or (b), as appropriate, of
section 676B.
``(2) Poverty line.--The term `poverty line' means the
official poverty line defined by the Office of Management and
Budget based on the most recent data available from the
Bureau of the Census. The Secretary shall revise the poverty
line annually (or at any shorter interval the Secretary
determines to be feasible and desirable) which shall be used
as a criterion of eligibility in the community services block
grant program established under this subtitle. The required
revision shall be accomplished by multiplying the official
poverty line by the percentage change in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers during the annual or other
interval immediately preceding the time at which the revision
is made. Whenever 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.
``(3) Private, nonprofit organization.--The term `private,
nonprofit organization' includes a faith-based organization,
to which the provisions of section 679 shall apply.
``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
``(5) State.--The term `State' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa,
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but for
fiscal years ending before October 1, 2001, includes the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of he Marshall
Islands, and Palau.
``SEC. 674. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated
$535,000,000 for fiscal year 1999 and such sums as may be
necessary for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2003 to carry
out the provisions of this subtitle (other than sections 681
and 682).
``(b) Reservations.--Of the amounts appropriated under
subsection (a) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall
reserve--
``(1) \1/2\ of 1 percent for carrying out section 675A
(relating to payments for territories);
``(2) 1 \1/2\ percent for activities authorized in sections
678A through 678F, of which--
``(A) not less than \1/2\ of the amount reserved by the
Secretary under this paragraph shall be distributed directly
to local eligible entities or to statewide organizations
whose membership is composed of eligible entities, as
required under section 678A(c) for the purpose of carrying
out activities described in section 678A; and
``(B) \1/2\ of the remainder of the amount reserved by the
Secretary under this paragraph shall be used to carry out
monitoring, evaluation, and corrective activities described
in sections 678B(c) and 678A; and
``(3) not more than 9 percent for carrying out section 680
(relating to discretionary activities).
``SEC. 675. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.
``The Secretary is authorized to establish a community
services block grant program and make grants through the
program to States to ameliorate the causes of poverty in
communities within the States.
``SEC. 675A. DISTRIBUTION TO TERRITORIES.
``(a) Apportionment.--The Secretary shall apportion the
amount reserved under section 674(b)(1)--
(1) for each fiscal year on the basis of need among Guam,
American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and
(2) for fiscal years ending before October 1, 2001, and
subject to subsection (c), on the basis of need among the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, and Palau.
``(b) Application.--Each jurisdiction to which subsection
(a) applies may receive a grant under this subtitle for the
amount apportioned under subsection (a) on submitting to the
Secretary, and obtaining approval of, an application
containing provisions that describe the programs for which
assistance is sought under this subtitle, and that are
consistent with the requirements of section 676.
``(c) Limitation.--(1) Funds apportioned under subsection
(a) for the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of
the Marshall Islands, and Palau shall be used by the
Secretary to make grants on a competitive basis, pursuant to
recommendations submitted to the Secretary by the Pacific
Region Educational Laboratory of the Department of Education,
to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, for the purpose
of carrying out programs in accordance with this subtitle.
``(2) Not more than 5 percent of such funds may be used by
the Secretary to compensate the Pacific Region Educational
Laboratory of the Department of Education for administrative
costs incurred in connection with making recommendations
under paragraph (1).
``(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, and Palau shall not receive any funds under this
subtitle for any fiscal year that begins after September 30,
2001.
``SEC. 675B. ALLOTMENTS AND PAYMENTS TO STATES.
``(a) Allotments in General.--The Secretary shall, from the
amount appropriated under section 674(a) for each fiscal year
that remains after the Secretary makes the reservations
required in section 674(b), allot to each State, subject to
section 677, an amount that bears the same ratio to such
remaining amount as the amount received by the State for
fiscal year 1981 under section 221 of the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964 bore to the total amount received by
all States for fiscal year 1981 under such section, except
that no State shall receive less than \1/4\ of 1 percent of
the amount appropriated under section 674(a) for such fiscal
year.
``(b) Allotments in Years With Greater Available Funds.--
``(1) Minimum allotments.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and
(3), if the amount appropriated under section 674(a) for a
fiscal year that remains after the Secretary makes the
reservations required in section 674(b) exceeds $345,000,000,
the Secretary shall allot to each State not less than \1/2\
of 1 percent of the amount appropriated under section 674(a)
for such fiscal year.
``(2) Maintenance of fiscal year 1990 levels.--Paragraph
(1) shall not apply with respect to a fiscal year if the
amount allotted under subsection (a) to any State for that
year is less than the amount allotted under subsection (a) to
such State for fiscal year 1990.
``(3) Maximum allotments.--The amount allotted under
paragraph (1) to a State shall be reduced for a fiscal year,
if necessary, so that the aggregate amount allotted to such
State under such paragraph and subsection (a) does not exceed
140 percent of the aggregate amount allotted to such State
under the corresponding provisions of this subtitle for the
fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which a
determination is made under this subsection.
``(c) Allotment of Additional Funds.--Notwithstanding
subsections (a) and (b), in any fiscal year in which the
amount appropriated under section 674(a) exceeds the amount
appropriated under such section for fiscal year 1999, such
excess shall be allotted among the States proportionately
based on--
``(1) the number of public assistance recipients in the
respective States;
``(2) the number of unemployed individuals in the
respective States; and
``(3) the number of individuals with incomes below the
poverty line in the respective States.
``(d) Payments.--The Secretary shall make payments to
eligible States from the allotments made under this section.
The Secretary shall make payments for the grants in
accordance with section 6503(a) of title 31, United States
Code.
``(e) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term
`State' does not include Guam, American Samoa, the United
States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.
``SEC. 675C. USES OF FUNDS.
``(a) Grants to Local Eligible Entities and Other
Organizations.--
``(1) In general.--Not less than 90 percent of the funds
allotted to a State under section 675B shall be used by the
State to make grants for the purposes described in section
672 to eligible entities.
``(2) Obligational authority.--Funds distributed to
eligible entities through grants made in accordance with
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall be available for
obligation during that fiscal year and the succeeding fiscal
year, in accordance with paragraph (3).
``(3) Recapture and redistribution of unobligated funds.--
``(A) Amount.--Beginning on October 1, 2000, a State may
recapture and redistribute funds distributed to an eligible
entity through a grant made under paragraph (1) that are
unobligated at the end of a fiscal year if such unobligated
funds exceed 20 percent of the amount so distributed to such
eligible entity for such fiscal year.
``(B) Redistribution.--In redistributing funds recaptured
in accordance with this paragraph, States shall redistribute
such funds to an eligible entity, or require the original
recipient of the funds to redistribute the funds to a
private, nonprofit organization, located within the community
served by the original recipient of the funds, for activities
consistent with the purposes of this subtitle.
``(b) Statewide Activities.--
``(1) Use of remainder.--If a State uses less than 100
percent of the State allotment to make grants under
subsection (a), the State shall use the remainder of the
allotment (subject to paragraph (2)) for activities which may
include--
``(A) providing training and technical assistance to those
entities in need of such training and assistance;
``(B) coordinating State-operated programs and services
targeted to low-income children and families with services
provided by eligible entities and other organizations funded
under this subtitle, including detailing appropriate
employees of State or local agencies to entities funded under
this subtitle, to ensure increased access to services
provided by such State or local agencies;
``(C) supporting statewide coordination and communication
among eligible entities;
[[Page H7629]]
``(D) analyzing the distribution of funds made available
under this subtitle within the State to determine if such
funds have been targeted to the areas of greatest need;
``(E) supporting asset-building programs for low-income
individuals, such as programs supporting individual
development accounts;
``(F) supporting innovative programs and activities
conducted by community action agencies or other neighborhood-
based organizations to eliminate poverty, promote self-
sufficiency, and promote community revitalization;
``(G) supporting other activities, consistent with the
purposes of this subtitle; and
``(H) State charity tax credits as described in subsection
(c).
``(2) Administrative cap.--No State may spend more than the
greater of $55,000, or 5 percent, of the State's allotment
received under section 675B for administrative expenses,
including monitoring activities. Funds to be spent for such
expenses shall be taken from the portion of the State
allotment that remains after the State makes grants to
eligible entities under subsection (a). The cost
of activities conducted under paragraph (1)(A) shall not be
considered to be administrative expenses.
``(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if there is in effect
under State law a charity tax credit, then the State may use
for any purpose the amount of the allotment that is available
for expenditure under subsection (b).
``(2) The aggregate amount a State may use under paragraph
(1) during a fiscal year shall not exceed 100 percent of the
revenue loss of the State during the fiscal year that is
attributable to the charity tax credit, as determined by the
Secretary of the Treasury without regard to any such revenue
loss occurring before January 1, 1999.
``(3) For purposes of this subsection:
``(A) Charity tax credit.--The term `charity tax credit'
means a nonrefundable credit against State income tax (or, in
the case of a State which does not impose an income tax, a
comparable benefit) which is allowable for contributions, in
cash or in kind, to qualified charities.
``(B) Qualified Charity.--
``(i) In General.--The term `qualified charity' means any
organization--
``(I) which is--
``(aa) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a)
of such Code;
``(bb) a community action agency as defined in the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964; or
``(cc) a public housing agency as defined in section
3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437A(b)(6));
``(II) which is certified by the appropriate State
authority as meeting the requirements of clauses (iii) and
(iv); and
``(III) if such organization is otherwise required to file
a return under section 6033 of such Code, which elects to
treat the information required to be furnished by clause (v)
as being specified in section 6033(b) of such Code.
``(ii) Certain contributions to collection organizations
treated as contributions to qualified charity.--
``(I) In general.--A contribution to a collection
organization shall be treated as a contribution to a
qualified charity if the donor designates in writing that the
contribution is for the qualified charity.
``(II) Collection organization.--The term `collection
organization' means an organization described in section
501(c)(3) of such Code and exempt from tax under section
501(a) of such Code--
``(aa) which solicits and collects gifts and grants which,
by agreement, are distributed to qualified charities
described in clause (i);
``(bb) which distributes to qualified charities described
in clause (i) at least 90 percent of the gifts and grants it
receives that are designated for such qualified charities;
and
``(cc) which meets the requirements of clause (vi).
``(iii) Charity must primarily assist poor individuals.--
``(I) In general.--An organization meets the requirements
of this clause only if the appropriate State authority
reasonably expects that the predominant activity of such
organization will be the provision of direct services within
the United States to individuals and families whose annual
incomes generally do not exceed 185 percent of the official
poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and
Budget) in order to prevent or alleviate poverty among such
individuals and families.
``(II) No recordkeeping in certain cases.--An organization
shall not be required to establish or maintain records with
respect to the incomes of individuals and families for
purposes of subclause (I) if such individuals or families are
members of groups which are generally recognized as including
substantially only individuals and families described in
subclause (I).
``(III) Food aid and homeless shelters.--Except as
otherwise provided by the appropriate State authority, for
purposes of subclause (I), services to individuals in the
form of--
``(aa) donations of food or meals; or
``(bb) temporary shelter to homeless individuals;
shall be treated as provided to individuals described in
subclause (I) if the location and operation of such services
are such that the service provider may reasonably conclude
that the beneficiaries of such services are predominantly
individuals described in subclause (I).
``(iv) Minimum expense requirement.--
``(I) In general.--An organization meets the requirements
of this clause only if the appropriate State authority
reasonably expects that the annual poverty program expenses
of such organization will not be less than 75 percent of the
annual aggregate expenses of such organization.
``(II) Poverty program expense.--For purposes of subclause
(I)--
``(aa) In general.--The term `poverty program expense'
means any expense in providing program services referred to
in clause (iii).
``(bb) Exceptions.--Such term shall not include any
management or general expense, any expense for the purpose of
influencing legislation (as defined in section 4911(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986), any expense for the purpose
of fundraising, any expense for a legal service provided on
behalf of any individual referred to in clause (iii), any
expense for providing tuition assistance relating to
compulsory school attendance, and any expense which consists
of a payment to an affiliate of the organization.
``(v) Reporting requirement.--The information required to
be furnished under this clause is--
``(i) the percentages determined by dividing the following
categories of the organization's expenses for the year by its
total expenses for the year: program services, management
expenses, general expenses, fundraising expenses, and
payments to affiliates; and
``(ii) the category or categories (including food, shelter,
education, substance abuse, job training, or otherwise) of
services which constitute its predominant activities.
``(vi) Additional requirements for collection
organizations.--The requirements of this clause are met if
the organization--
``(I) maintains separate accounting for revenues and
expenses; and
``(II) makes available to the public its administrative and
fundraising costs and information as to the organizations
receiving funds from it and the amount of such funds.
``(vii) Special rule for states requiring tax uniformity.--
In the case of a State--
``(I) which has a constitutional requirement of tax
uniformity; and
``(II) which, as of December 31, 1997, imposed a tax on
personal income with--
``(aa) a single flat rate applicable to all earned and
unearned income (except insofar as any amount is not taxed
pursuant to tax forgiveness provisions); and
``(bb) no generally available exemptions or deductions to
individuals;
the requirement of paragraph (2) shall be treated as met if
the amount of the credit is limited to a uniform percentage
(but not greater than 25 percent) of State personal income
tax liability (determined without regard to credits).
``(4) No part of the aggregate amount a State uses under
paragraph (1) may be used to supplant non-Federal funds that
would be available, in the absence of Federal funds, to
offset a revenue loss of the State attributable to a charity
tax credit.
``SEC. 676. APPLICATION AND PLAN.
``(a) Designation of Lead Agency.--
``(1) Designation.--The chief executive officer of a State
desiring to receive an allotment under this subtitle shall
designate, in an application submitted to the Secretary under
subsection (b), an appropriate State agency that complies
with the requirements of paragraph (2) to act as a lead
agency for purposes of carrying out State activities under
this subtitle.
``(2) Duties.--The lead agency shall--
``(A) develop the State plan to be submitted to the
Secretary under subsection (b);
``(B) in conjunction with the development of the State plan
as required under subsection (b), hold at least 1 hearing in
the State with sufficient time and statewide distribution of
notice of such hearing, to provide to the public an
opportunity to comment on the proposed use and distribution
of funds to be provided through the allotment for the period
covered by the State plan; and
``(C) conduct reviews of eligible entities under section
678B.
``(3) Legislative hearing.--The State shall hold at least 1
legislative hearing every 3 years in conjunction with the
development of the State plan.
``(b) State Application and Plan.--Beginning with fiscal
year 2000, to be eligible to receive an allotment under this
subtitle, a State shall prepare and submit to the Secretary
an application and State plan covering a period of not less
than 1 fiscal year and not more than 2 fiscal years. The plan
shall be submitted not later than 30 days prior to the
beginning of the first fiscal year covered by the plan, and
shall contain such information as the Secretary shall
require, including--
``(1) an assurance that funds made available through the
allotment will be used to support activities that are
designed to assist low-income families and individuals,
including families and individuals receiving assistance under
title IV of the Social Security Act, homeless families and
individuals, migrant or seasonal farmworkers, and elderly
low-income individuals and families, and a description of how
such activities will enable the families and individuals--
``(A) to remove obstacles and solve problems that block the
achievement of self-sufficiency (particularly for families
and individuals who are attempting to transition off a State
program carried out under title IV of the Social Security
Act);
[[Page H7630]]
``(B) to secure and retain meaningful employment;
``(C) to attain an adequate education with particular
attention toward improving literacy skills of the low-income
families in the community, which may include family literacy
initiatives;
``(D) to make better use of available income;
``(E) to obtain and maintain adequate housing and a
suitable living environment;
``(F) to obtain emergency assistance through loans, grants,
or other means to meet immediate and urgent individual and
family needs;
``(G) to achieve greater participation in the affairs of
the community, including activities that strengthen and
improve the relationship with local law enforcement agencies,
which may include activities such as neighborhood or
community policing efforts;
``(H) to address the needs of youth in low-income
communities through youth development programs that support
the primary role of the family, give priority to prevention
of youth problems and crime, promote increased community
coordination and collaboration in meeting the needs of youth,
and support development and expansion of innovative
community-based youth development programs, which may include
after-school child care programs; and
``(I) to make more effective use of, and to coordinate
with, other programs related to the purposes of this subtitle
(including State welfare reform efforts);
``(2) a description of how the State intends to use
discretionary funds made available from the remainder of the
allotment described in section 675C(b) in accordance with
this subtitle, including a description of how the State will
support innovative community and neighborhood-based
initiatives related to the purposes of this subtitle;
``(3) based on information provided by eligible entities in
the State, a description of--
``(A) the service delivery system, for services provided or
coordinated with funds made available through the allotment,
targeted to low-income individuals and families in
communities within the State;
``(B) a description of how linkages will be developed to
fill identified gaps in the services, through the provision
of information, referrals, case management, and followup
consultations;
``(C) a description of how funds made available through the
allotment will be coordinated with other public and private
resources; and
``(D) a description of how the funds will be used to
support innovative community and neighborhood-based
initiatives related to the purposes of this subtitle which
may include fatherhood and other initiatives with the goal of
strengthening families and encouraging parental
responsibility;
``(4) an assurance that local eligible entities in the
State will provide, on an emergency basis, for the provision
of such supplies and services, nutritious foods, and related
services, as may be necessary to counteract conditions of
starvation and malnutrition among low-income individuals;
``(5) an assurance that the State and the local eligible
entities in the State will coordinate, and establish linkages
between, governmental and other social services programs to
assure the effective delivery of such services to low-income
individuals and to avoid duplication of such services
(including a description of how the State and the local
eligible entities will coordinate with State and local
workforce investment systems in the provision of employment
and training services in the State and in local communities);
``(6) an assurance that the State will ensure coordination
between antipoverty programs in each community, and ensure,
where appropriate, that emergency energy crisis intervention
programs under title XXVI (relating to low-income home energy
assistance) are conducted in such community;
``(7) an assurance that the State will permit and cooperate
with Federal investigations undertaken in accordance with
section 678D;
``(8) an assurance that any eligible entity that received
funding in the previous fiscal year under this subtitle will
not have its funding terminated under this subtitle, or
reduced below the proportional share of funding the entity
received in the previous fiscal year unless, after providing
notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, the
State determines that cause exists for such termination or
such reduction, subject to review by the Secretary as
provided in section 678C(b);
``(9) an assurance that local eligible entities in the
State will, to the maximum extent possible, coordinate
programs with and form partnerships with other organizations
serving low-income residents of the communities and members
of the groups served by the State, including faith-based
organizations, charitable groups, and community
organizations;
``(10) an assurance that the State will require each
eligible entity to establish procedures under which a low-
income individual, community organization, or faith-based
organization, or representative of low-income individuals
that considers its organization, or low-income individuals,
to be inadequately represented on the board (or other
mechanism) of the eligible entity to petition for adequate
representation;
``(11) an assurance that the State will secure from each
eligible entity, as a condition to receipt of funding by the
entity under this subtitle for a program, a community action
plan (which shall be submitted to the Secretary, at the
request of the Secretary, with the State plan) that includes
a community-needs assessment for the community served, which
may be coordinated with community-needs assessments conducted
for other programs;
``(12) an assurance that the State and all eligible
entities in the State will, not later than fiscal year 2001,
participate in the Results Oriented Management and
Accountability System, another performance measure system
established pursuant to section 678E(b), or an alternative
system for measuring performance and results that meets the
requirements of that section, and a description of outcome
measures to be used to measure eligible entity performance in
promoting self-sufficiency, family stability, and community
revitalization; and
``(13) information describing how the State will carry out
the assurances described in this subsection.
``(c) Funding Termination or Reductions.--For purposes of
making a determination in accordance with subsection (b)(8)
with respect to--
``(1) a funding reduction, the term `cause' includes--
``(A) a statewide redistribution of funds provided under
this subtitle to respond to--
``(i) the results of the most recently available census or
other appropriate data;
``(ii) the designation of a new eligible entity; or
``(iii) severe economic dislocation; or
``(B) the failure of an eligible entity to comply with the
terms of an agreement to provide services under this
subtitle; and
``(2) a termination, the term `cause' includes the material
failure of an eligible entity to comply with the terms of
such an agreement and the State plan to provide services
under this subtitle or the consistent failure of the entity
to achieve performance measures as determined by the State.
``(d) Procedures and Information.--The Secretary may
prescribe procedures only for the purpose of assessing the
effectiveness of eligible entities in carrying out the
purposes of this subtitle.
``(e) Revisions and Inspection.--
``(1) Revisions.--The chief executive officer of each State
may revise any plan prepared under this section and shall
submit the revised plan to the Secretary.
``(2) Public inspection.--Each plan or revised plan
prepared under this section shall be made available for
public inspection within the State in such a manner as will
facilitate review of, and comment on, the plan.
``SEC. 676A. DESIGNATION AND REDESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES IN UNSERVED AREAS.
``(a) Qualified Organization In or Near Area.--
``(1) In general.--If any geographic area of a State is
not, or ceases to be, served by an eligible entity under this
subtitle, and if the chief executive officer of the State
decides to serve such area, the chief executive officer may
solicit applications from, and designate as an eligible
entity--
``(A) a private nonprofit eligible entity located in an
area contiguous to or within reasonable proximity of the
unserved area that is already providing related services in
the unserved area; or
``(B) a private nonprofit organization that is
geographically located in the unserved area that is capable
of providing a broad range of services designed to eliminate
poverty and foster self-sufficiency and that meets the
requirements of this subtitle.
``(2) Requirement.--In order to serve as the eligible
entity for the area, an entity described in paragraph (1)(B)
shall agree to add additional members to the board of the
entity to ensure adequate representation--
``(A) in each of the 3 required categories described in
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 676B(a)(2), by
members that reside in the community comprised by the
unserved area; and
``(B) in the category described in section 676B(a)(2), by
members that reside in the neighborhood served.
``(b) Special Consideration.--In designating an eligible
entity under subsection (a), the chief executive officer
shall grant the designation to an organization of
demonstrated effectiveness in meeting the goals and purposes
of this subtitle and may give priority, in granting the
designation, to local eligible entities that are already
providing related services in the unserved area, consistent
with the needs identified by a community-needs assessment.
``(c) No Qualified Organization in or Near Area.--If no
private, nonprofit organization is identified or determined
to be qualified under subsection (a) to serve the unserved
area as an eligible entity the chief executive officer may
designate an appropriate political subdivision of the State
to serve as an eligible entity for the area. In order to
serve as the eligible entity for that area, the political
subdivision shall have a board or other mechanism as required
in section 676B(b).
``SEC. 676B. TRIPARTITE BOARDS.
``(a) Private Nonprofit Entities.--
``(1) Board.--In order for a private, nonprofit entity to
be considered to be an eligible entity for purposes of
section 673(1), the entity shall administer the community
services block grant program through a tripartite board
described in paragraph (2) that fully participates in the
development and
[[Page H7631]]
implementation of the program to serve low-income communities
or groups.
``(2) Selection and composition of board.--The members of
the board referred to in paragraph (1) shall be selected by
the entity and the board shall be composed so as to assure
that--
``(A) \1/3\ of the members of the board are elected public
officials, holding office on the date of selection, or their
representatives, except that if the number of elected
officials reasonably available and willing to serve on the
board is less than \1/3\ of the membership of the board,
membership on the board of appointive public officials or
their representatives may be counted in meeting such \1/3\
requirement;
``(B) not fewer than \1/3\ of the members are persons
chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures
adequate to assure that these members are representative of
low-income individuals and families in the neighborhood
served;
``(C) the remainder of the members are officials or members
of business, industry, labor, religious, law enforcement,
education, or other major groups and interests in the
community served; and
``(D) each representative of low-income individuals and
families selected to represent a specific neighborhood within
a community under subparagraph (B) resides in the
neighborhood represented by the member.
``(b) Public Organizations.--In order for a public
organization to be considered to be an eligible entity for
purposes of section 673(1), the entity shall administer the
community services block grant program through--
``(1) a tripartite board, which shall have members selected
by the organization and shall be composed so as to assure
that not fewer than \1/3\ of the members are persons chosen
in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate
to assure that these members--
``(A) are representative of low-income individuals and
families in the neighborhood served;
``(B) reside in the neighborhood served; and
``(C) are able to participate actively in the planning and
implementation of programs funded under this subtitle; or
``(2) another mechanism specified by the State to assure
decisionmaking and participation by low-income individuals in
the planning, administration, and evaluation of programs
funded under this subtitle.
``SEC. 677. PAYMENTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.
``(a) Reservation.--If, with respect to any State, the
Secretary--
``(1) receives a request from the governing body of an
Indian tribe or tribal organization within the State that
assistance under this subtitle be made directly to such tribe
or organization; and
``(2) determines that the members of such tribe or tribal
organization would be better served by means of grants made
directly to provide benefits under this subtitle,
the Secretary shall reserve from amounts that would otherwise
be allotted to such State under section 675B for the fiscal
year the amount determined under subsection (b).
``(b) Determination of Reserved Amount.--The Secretary
shall reserve for the purpose of subsection (a) from amounts
that would otherwise be allotted to such State, not less than
100 percent of an amount that bears the same ratio to the
State allotment for the fiscal year involved as the
population of all eligible Indians for whom a determination
has been made under subsection (a) bears to the population of
all individuals eligible for assistance under this subtitle
in such State.
``(c) Awards.--The sums reserved by the Secretary on the
basis of a determination made under subsection (a) shall be
made available by grant to the Indian tribe or tribal
organization serving the individuals for whom such a
determination has been made.
``(d) Plan.--In order for an Indian tribe or tribal
organization to be eligible for a grant award for a fiscal
year under this section, the tribe or organization shall
submit to the Secretary a plan for such fiscal year that
meets such criteria as the Secretary may prescribe by
regulation.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms `Indian
tribe' and `tribal organization' mean a tribe, band, or other
organized group of Indians recognized in the State in which
the tribe, band, or group resides, or considered by the
Secretary of the Interior, to be an Indian tribe or an Indian
organization for any purpose.
``(2) Indian.--The term `Indian' means a member of an
Indian tribe or of a tribal organization.
``SEC. 678. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES.
``(a) Office.--The Secretary shall carry out the functions
of this subtitle through an Office of Community Services,
which shall be established in the Department of Health and
Human Services. The Office shall be headed by a Director.
``(b) Grants, Contracts, Cooperative Agreements.--The
Secretary shall carry out functions of this subtitle through
grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.
``SEC. 678A. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
``(a) Activities.--The Secretary shall use the amounts
reserved in section 674(b)(2) for training, technical
assistance, planning, evaluation, performance measurement,
corrective action activities (to correct programmatic
deficiencies of eligible entities), reporting, and data
collection activities related to programs carried out under
this subtitle, and in accordance with subsection (c).
Training and technical assistance activities may be carried
out by the Secretary through grants, contracts, or
cooperative agreements with eligible entities or with
organizations or associations whose membership is composed of
eligible entities or agencies that administer programs for
eligible entities.
``(b) Process.--The process for determining the training
and technical assistance to be carried out under this section
shall--
``(1) ensure that the needs of eligible entities and
programs relating to improving program quality, including
financial management practices, are addressed to the maximum
extent feasible; and
``(2) incorporate mechanisms to ensure responsiveness to
local needs, including an ongoing procedure for obtaining
input from the national and State network of eligible
entities.
``(c) Distribution Requirement.--Of the amounts reserved
under section 674(b)(2) for activities to be carried out
under this section, not less than \1/2\ of such amounts shall
be distributed directly to local eligible entities or to
statewide organizations whose membership is composed of
eligible entities for the purpose of improving program
quality (including financial management practices),
management information and reporting systems, measurement of
program results, and for the purpose of ensuring
responsiveness to local neighborhood needs.
``SEC. 678B. MONITORING OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.
``(a) In General.--In order to determine whether eligible
entities meet the performance goals, administrative
standards, financial management requirements, and other
requirements of a State, the State shall conduct the
following reviews of eligible entities:
``(1) A full onsite review of each such entity at least
once during each 3-year period.
``(2) An onsite review of each newly designated entity
immediately after the completion of the first year in which
such entity receives funds through the community services
block grant program.
``(3) Followup reviews including prompt return visits to
eligible entities, and their programs, that fail to meet the
goals, standards, and requirements established by the State.
``(4) Other reviews as appropriate, including reviews of
entities with programs that have had other Federal, State, or
local grants terminated for cause.
``(b) Requests.--The State may request training and
technical assistance from the Secretary as needed to comply
with the requirements of this section.
``(c) Evaluations by the Secretary.--The Secretary shall
conduct in several States in each fiscal year evaluations and
investigations of the use of funds received by the States
under this subtitle in order to evaluate compliance with the
provisions of this subtitle, and especially with respect to
compliance with subsection (b) of section 676. A report of
such evaluations, together with recommendations of
improvements designed to enhance the benefit and impact to
people in need, shall be sent to each State evaluated. Upon
receiving the report the State shall submit a plan of action
in response to the recommendations contained in the report.
The results of the evaluations shall be submitted annually to
the Chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
of the House of Representatives and the Chairman of the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate as part
of the report submitted by the Secretary in accordance with
section 678E(b)(2).
``SEC. 678C. CORRECTIVE ACTION; TERMINATION AND REDUCTION OF
FUNDING.
``(a) Determination.--If the State determines, on the basis
of a review pursuant to subsection 678B, that an eligible
entity materially fails to comply with the terms of an
agreement, or the State plan, to provide services under this
subtitle or to meet appropriate standards, goals, and other
requirements established by the State (including performance
objectives), the State shall--
``(1) inform the entity of the deficiency to be corrected;
``(2) require the entity to correct the deficiency;
``(3)(A) offer training and technical assistance, if
appropriate, to help correct the deficiency, and prepare and
submit to the Secretary a report describing the training and
technical assistance offered; or
``(B) if the State determines that such training and
technical assistance are not appropriate, prepare and submit
to the Secretary a report stating the reasons for the
determination;
``(4)(A) at the discretion of the State (taking into
account the seriousness of the deficiency and the time
reasonably required to correct the deficiency), allow the
entity to develop and implement, within 60 days after being
informed of the deficiency, a quality improvement plan to
correct such deficiency within a reasonable period of time,
as determined by the State; and
``(B) not later than 30 days after receiving from an
eligible entity a proposed quality improvement plan pursuant
to subparagraph (A), either approve such proposed plan or
specify the reasons why the proposed plan cannot be approved;
and
``(5) after providing adequate notice and an opportunity
for a hearing, initiate proceedings to terminate the
designation of or reduce the funding under this subtitle of
the eligible entity unless the entity corrects the
deficiency.
``(b) Review.--A determination to terminate the designation
or reduce the funding of
[[Page H7632]]
an eligible entity is reviewable by the Secretary. The
Secretary shall, upon request, review such a determination.
The review shall be completed not later than 120 days after
the determination to terminate the designation or reduce the
funding. If the review is not completed within 120 days, the
determination of the State shall become final at the end of
the 120th day.
``(c) Direct Assistance.--Whenever a State violates the
assurances contained in section 676(b)(8) and terminates or
reduces the funding of an eligible entity prior to the
completion of the State's hearing and the Secretary's review
as required in subsection (b), the Secretary shall assume
responsibility for providing financial assistance to the
eligible entity affected until the violation is corrected. In
such case, the allotment for the State shall be reduced by an
amount equal to the funds provided under this subsection to
such eligible entity.
``SEC. 678D. FISCAL CONTROLS, AUDITS, AND WITHHOLDING.
``(a) Fiscal Controls, Procedures, Audits, and
Inspections.--
``(1) In general.--A State that receives funds under this
subtitle shall--
``(A) establish fiscal control and fund accounting
procedures necessary to assure the proper disbursal of and
accounting for Federal funds paid to the State under this
subtitle, including procedures for monitoring the funds
provided under this subtitle;
``(B) ensure that cost and accounting standards of the
Office of Management and Budget apply to a recipient of funds
under this subtitle;
``(C) prepare, at least every year in accordance with
paragraph (2) an audit of the expenditures of the State of
amounts received under this subtitle and amounts transferred
to carry out the purposes of this subtitle; and
``(D) make appropriate books, documents, papers, and
records available to the Secretary and the Comptroller
General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized
representatives, for examination, copying, or mechanical
reproduction on or off the premises of the appropriate entity
upon a reasonable request for the items.
``(2) Audits.--Each audit required by subsection (a)(1)(C)
shall be conducted by an entity independent of any agency
administering activities or services carried out under this
subtitle and shall be conducted in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. Within 30 days after the
completion of each such audit in a State, the chief executive
officer of the State shall submit a copy of such audit to any
eligible entity that was the subject of the audit at no
charge, to the legislature of the State, and to the
Secretary.
``(3) Repayments.--The State shall repay to the United
States amounts found not to have been expended in accordance
with this subtitle or the Secretary may offset such amounts
against any other amount to which the State is or may become
entitled under this subtitle.
``(b) Withholding.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, after providing
adequate notice and an opportunity for a hearing conducted
within the affected State, withhold funds from any State that
does not utilize the State allotment substantially in
accordance with the provisions of this subtitle, including
the assurances such State provided under section 676.
``(2) Response to complaints.--The Secretary shall respond
in an expeditious and speedy manner to complaints of a
substantial or serious nature that a State has failed to use
funds in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle,
including the assurances provided by the State under section
676. For purposes of this paragraph, a complaint of a failure
to meet any 1 of the assurances provided under section 676
that constitutes disregarding that assurance shall be
considered to be a complaint of a serious nature.
``(3) Investigations.--Whenever the Secretary determines
that there is a pattern of complaints of failures described
in paragraph (2) from any State in any fiscal year, the
Secretary shall conduct an investigation of the use of funds
received under this subtitle by such State in order to ensure
compliance with the provisions of this subtitle.
``SEC. 678E. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) State Accountability and Reporting Requirements.--
``(1) Performance measurement.--
``(A) In general.--By October 1, 2001, each State that
receives funds under this subtitle shall participate, and
shall ensure that all eligible entities in the State
participate, in a performance measurement system, which may
be a performance measurement system established by the
Secretary pursuant to subsection (b), or an alternative
system that meets the requirements of subsection (b).
``(B) Local agencies.--The State may elect to have local
agencies who are subcontractors of the eligible entities
under this subtitle participate in the performance
measurement system. If the State makes that election,
references in this section to eligible entities shall be
considered to include the local agencies.
``(2) Annual report.--Each State shall annually prepare and
submit to the Secretary a report on the measured performance
of the State and the eligible entities in the State. Each
State shall also include in the report an accounting of the
expenditure of funds received by the State through the
community services block grant program, including an
accounting of funds spent on indirect services or
administrative costs by the State and the eligible entities,
and funds spent by eligible entities on the direct delivery
of local services, and shall include information on the
number of and characteristics of clients served under this
subtitle in the State, based on data collected from the
eligible entities. The State shall also include in the report
a summary describing the training and technical assistance
offered by the State under section 678C(a)(3) during the year
covered by the report.
``(b) Secretary's Accountability and Reporting
Requirements.--
``(1) Performance measurement.--The Secretary, in
collaboration with the States and with eligible entities
throughout the Nation, shall facilitate the development of 1
or more model performance measurement systems, which may be
used by the States and by eligible entities to measure their
performance in carrying out the requirements of this subtitle
and in achieving the goals of their community action plans.
The Secretary shall provide technical assistance, including
support for the enhancement of electronic data systems, to
States and to eligible entities to enhance their capability
to collect and report data for such a system and to aid in
their participation in such a system.
``(2) Reporting requirements.--At the end of each fiscal
year beginning after September 30, 1999, the Secretary shall,
directly or by grant or contract, prepare a report
containing--
``(A) a summary of the planned use of funds by each State,
and the eligible entities in the State, under the community
services block grant program, as contained in each State plan
submitted pursuant to section 676;
``(B) a description of how funds were actually spent by the
State and eligible entities in the State, including a
breakdown of funds spent on indirect services or
administrative costs and on the direct delivery of local
services by eligible entities;
``(C) information on the number of entities eligible for
funds under this subtitle, the number of low-income persons
served under this subtitle, and such demographic data on the
low-income populations served by eligible entities as is
determined by the Secretary to be feasible;
``(D) a comparison of the planned uses of funds for each
State and the actual uses of the funds;
``(E) a summary of each State's performance results, and
the results for the eligible entities, as collected and
submitted by the States in accordance with subsection (a)(2);
and
``(F) any additional information that the Secretary
considers to be appropriate to carry out this subtitle, if
the Secretary informs the States of the need for such
additional information and allows a reasonable period of time
prior to the start of the fiscal year for the States to
collect and provide the information.
``(3) Submission.--The Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human
Resources of the Senate the report described in paragraph
(2), and any comments the Secretary may have with respect to
such report. The report shall include definitions of direct,
indirect, and administrative costs used by the Department of
Health and Human Services for programs funded under this
subtitle.
``(4) Costs.--Of the funds reserved under section
674(b)(3), not more than $350,000 shall be available to carry
out the reporting requirements contained in paragraph (2).
``SEC. 678F. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.
``(a) Construction of Facilities.--
``(1) Limitations.--Except as provided in paragraph (2),
grants made under this subtitle (other than amounts reserved
under section 674(b)(3)) may not be used by the State, or by
any other person with which the State makes arrangements to
carry out the purposes of this subtitle, for the purchase or
improvement of land, or the purchase, construction, or
permanent improvement (other than low-cost residential
weatherization or other energy-related home repairs) of any
building or other facility.
``(2) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the limitation
contained in paragraph (1) upon a State request for such a
waiver, if the Secretary finds that the request describes
extraordinary circumstances to justify the purchase of land
or the construction of facilities (or the making of permanent
improvements) and that permitting the waiver will contribute
to the ability of the State to carry out the purposes of this
subtitle.
``(b) Political Activities.--
``(1) Treatment as a state or local agency.--For purposes
of chapter 15 of title 5, United States Code, any entity that
assumes responsibility for planning, developing, and
coordinating activities under this subtitle and receives
assistance under this subtitle shall be deemed to be a State
or local agency. For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of
section 1502(a) of such title, any entity receiving
assistance under this subtitle shall be deemed to be a State
or local agency.
``(2) Prohibitions.--Programs assisted under this subtitle
shall not be carried on in a manner involving the use of
program funds, the provision of services, or the employment
or assignment of personnel, in a manner supporting or
resulting in the identification of such programs with--
``(A) any partisan or nonpartisan political activity or any
political activity associated
[[Page H7633]]
with a candidate, or contending faction or group, in an
election for public or party office;
``(B) any activity to provide voters or prospective voters
with transportation to the polls or similar assistance in
connection with any such election; or
``(C) any voter registration activity.
``(3) Rules and regulations.--The Secretary, after
consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, shall
issue rules and regulations to provide for the enforcement of
this subsection, which shall include provisions for summary
suspension of assistance or other action necessary to permit
enforcement on an emergency basis.
``(c) Nondiscrimination.--
``(1) In general.--No person shall, on the basis of race,
color, religion, national origin, or sex be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected
to discrimination under, any program or activity funded in
whole or in part with funds made available under this
subtitle. Any prohibition against discrimination on the basis
of age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C.
6101 et seq.) or with respect to an otherwise qualified
individual with a disability as provided in section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) or title II of
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131
et seq.) shall also apply to any such program or activity.
``(2) Action of secretary.--Whenever the Secretary
determines that a State that has received a payment under
this subtitle has failed to comply with paragraph (1) or an
applicable regulation, the Secretary shall notify the chief
executive officer of the State and shall request that the
officer secure compliance. If within a reasonable period of
time, not to exceed 60 days, the chief executive officer
fails or refuses to secure compliance, the Secretary is
authorized to--
``(A) refer the matter to the Attorney General with a
recommendation that an appropriate civil action be
instituted;
``(B) exercise the powers and functions provided by title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.),
the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.),
or section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
794), as may be applicable; or
``(C) take such other action as may be provided by law.
``(3) Action of attorney general.--When a matter is
referred to the Attorney General pursuant to paragraph (2),
or whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that
the State is engaged in a pattern or practice of
discrimination in violation of the provisions of this
subsection, the Attorney General may bring a civil action in
any appropriate United States district court for such relief
as may be appropriate, including injunctive relief.
``SEC. 679. OPERATIONAL RULE.
``(a) Faith-Based Organizations Included as Nongovernmental
Providers.--For any program carried out by the Federal
Government, or by a State or local government under this
subtitle, the government shall consider, on the same basis as
other nongovernmental organizations, faith-based
organizations to provide the assistance under the program, so
long as the program is implemented in a manner consistent
with the Establishment Clause of the first amendment to the
Constitution. Neither the Federal Government nor a State or
local government receiving funds under this subtitle shall
discriminate against an organization that provides assistance
under, or applies to provide assistance under, this subtitle,
on the basis that the organization has a faith-based
character.
``(b) Additional Safeguards.--Neither the Federal
Government nor a State or local government shall require a
faith-based organization to remove religious art, icons,
scripture, or other symbols in order to be eligible to
provide assistance under a program described in subsection
(a).
``(c) Limitations on Use of Funds for Certain Purposes.--No
funds provided to a faith-based organization to provide
assistance under any program described in subsection (a)
shall be expended for sectarian worship, instruction, or
proselytization.
``(d) Fiscal Accountability.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any
faith-based organization providing assistance under any
program described in subsection (a) shall be subject to the
same regulations as other nongovernmental organizations to
account in accord with generally accepted accounting
principles for the use of such funds provided under such
program.
``(2) Limited audit.--Such organization shall segregate
government funds provided under such program into a separate
account. Only the government funds shall be subject to audit
by the government.
``SEC. 680. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.
``(a) Grants, Contracts, Arrangements, Loans, and
Guarantees.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall, from funds reserved
under section 674(b)(3), make grants, loans, or guarantees to
States and public agencies and private, nonprofit
organizations, or enter into contracts or jointly financed
cooperative arrangements with States and public agencies and
private, nonprofit organizations (and for-profit
organizations, to the extent specified in (2)(E)) for each of
the objectives described in paragraphs (2) through (4).
``(2) Community economic development.--
``(A) Economic development activities.--The Secretary shall
make grants described in paragraph (1) on a competitive basis
to private, non-profit organizations that are community
development corporations to provide technical and financial
assistance for economic development activities designed to
address the economic needs of low-income individuals and
families by creating employment and business development
opportunities.
``(B) Consultation.--The Secretary shall exercise the
authority provided under subparagraph (A) after consultation
with other relevant Federal officials.
``(C) Governing boards.--For a community development
corporation to receive funds to carry out this paragraph, the
corporation shall be governed by a board that shall consist
of residents of the community and business and civic leaders
and shall have as a principal purpose planning, developing,
or managing low-income housing or community development
projects.
``(D) Geographic distribution.--In making grants to carry
out this paragraph, the Secretary shall take into
consideration the geographic distribution of funding among
States and the relative proportion of funding among rural and
urban areas.
``(E) Reservation.--Of the amounts made available to carry
out this paragraph, the Secretary may reserve not more than 1
percent for each fiscal year to make grants to private,
nonprofit organizations or to enter into contracts with
private, nonprofit or for-profit organizations to provide
technical assistance to aid community development
corporations in developing or implementing activities funded
to carry out this paragraph and to evaluate activities funded
to carry out this paragraph.
``(3) Rural community development activities.--The
Secretary shall provide the assistance described in paragraph
(1) for rural community development activities, which shall
include--
``(A) grants to private, nonprofit corporations that
provide assistance concerning home repair to rural low-income
families and planning and developing low-income rural rental
housing units; and
``(B) grants to multistate, regional, private, nonprofit
organizations to provide training and technical assistance to
small, rural communities in meeting their community facility
needs.
``(4) Neighborhood innovation projects.--The Secretary
shall provide the assistance described in paragraph (1) for
neighborhood innovation projects, which shall include grants
to neighborhood-based private, nonprofit organizations to
test or assist in the development of new approaches or
methods that will aid in overcoming special problems
identified by communities or neighborhoods or otherwise
assist in furthering the purposes of this subtitle, and which
may include projects that are designed to serve low-income
individuals and families who are not being effectively served
by other programs.
``(b) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall require all
activities receiving assistance under this section to be
evaluated for their effectiveness. Funding for such
evaluations shall be provided as a stated percentage of the
assistance or through a separate grant awarded by the
Secretary specifically for the purpose of evaluation of a
particular activity or group of activities.
``(c) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall compile an annual
report containing a summary of the evaluations required in
subsection (b) and a listing of all activities assisted under
this section. The Secretary shall annually submit the report
to the Chairperson of the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Chairperson
of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the
Senate.''.
SEC. 203. RELATED AMENDMENTS.
The Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) by striking section 681;
(2) in section 681A--
(A) by striking ``681A'' and inserting ``681'';
(B) in subsection (c) by striking ``Labor'' and inserting
``the Workforce''; and
(C) in subsection (d) by striking ``$25,000,000'' and all
that follows through ``1998'', and inserting ``$5,000,000 for
fiscal year 1999, and such sums as may be necessary for
fiscal years 2000 through 2003'';
(3) in section 682--
(A) in subsection (c)--
(i) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs
(4) and (5), respectively; and
(ii) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) the applicant shall, in each community in which a
program is funded under this section--
``(A) ensure that--
``(i) a community-based advisory committee, composed of
representatives of local youth, family, and social service
organizations, schools, entities that provide park and
recreation services, entities that provide training services,
and community-based organizations that serve high-risk youth,
is established; or
``(ii) an existing community-based advisory board,
commission, or committee with similar membership is used; and
``(B) enter into formal partnerships with youth-serving
organizations or other appropriate social service entities in
order to link program participants with year-round services
in their home communities that support and continue the
objectives of this subtitle;''; and
[[Page H7634]]
(B) in subsection (f) by striking ``each fiscal year'' and
all that follows through ``1998'', and inserting ``for fiscal
year 1999, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years
2000 through 2003''; and
(4) by striking sections 683 and 684, and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 683. DRUG TESTING AND PATERNITY DETERMINATIONS.
``(a) Drug Testing Permitted.--(1) Nothing in this subtitle
shall be construed to prohibit a State from testing
participants in programs, activities, or services carried out
under this subtitle for controlled substances or from
imposing sanctions on such participants who test positive for
any of such substances.
``(2) Any funds provided under this subtitle expended for
such testing shall be considered to be expended for
administrative expenses and shall be subject to the
limitation specified in section 675C(b)(2).
``(b) Paternity Determinations.--During each fiscal year
for which an eligible entity receives a grant under section
675C, such entity shall--
``(1) inform custodial parents in single-parent families
that participate in programs, activities, or services carried
out under this subtitle about the availability of child
support services;
``(2) refer eligible parents to the child support offices
of State and local governments; and
``(3) establish referral arrangements with such offices.
``SEC. 684. REFERENCES.
``Any reference in any provision of law to the poverty line
set forth in section 624 or 625 of the Economic Opportunity
Act of 1964 shall be construed to be a reference to the
poverty line defined in section 673 of this subtitle. Any
reference in any provision of law to any community action
agency designated under title II of the Economic Opportunity
Act of 1964 shall be construed to be a reference to an entity
eligible to receive funds under the community services block
grant program.''.
SEC. 204. ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE.
The Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901-
9912), as amended by sections 202 and 203, is amended--
(1) by striking ``this subtitle' each place it appears
(other than in section 671) and inserting ``this part'', and
(2) by inserting the following after section 671:
``CHAPTER 1--COMMUNITY SERVICES GRANTS'',
and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``CHAPTER 2--ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE
``SEC. 685. SHORT TITLE.
``This chapter may be cited as the `Assets for Independence
Act'.
``SEC. 686. FINDINGS.
``Congress makes the following findings:
``(1) Economic well-being does not come solely from income,
spending, and consumption, but also requires savings,
investment, and accumulation of assets because assets can
improve economic independence and stability, connect
individuals with a viable and hopeful future, stimulate
development of human and other capital, and enhance the
welfare of offspring.
``(2) Fully \1/2\ of all Americans have either no,
negligible, or negative assets available for investment, just
as the price of entry to the economic mainstream, the cost of
a house, an adequate education, and starting a business, is
increasing. Further, the household savings rate of the United
States lags far behind other industrial nations presenting a
barrier to economic growth.
``(3) In the current tight fiscal environment, the United
States should invest existing resources in high-yield
initiatives. There is reason to believe that the financial
returns, including increased income, tax revenue, and
decreased welfare cash assistance, resulting from individual
development accounts will far exceed the cost of investment
in those accounts.
``(4) Traditional public assistance programs concentrating
on income and consumption have rarely been successful in
promoting and supporting the transition to increased economic
self-sufficiency. Income-based domestic policy should be
complemented with asset-based policy because, while income-
based policies ensure that consumption needs (including food,
child care, rent, clothing, and health care) are met, asset-
based policies provide the means to achieve greater
independence and economic well-being.
``SEC. 687. PURPOSES.
``The purposes of this chapter are to provide for the
establishment of demonstration projects designed to
determine--
``(1) the social, civic, psychological, and economic
effects of providing to individuals and families with limited
means an incentive to accumulate assets by saving a portion
of their earned income;
``(2) the extent to which an asset-based policy that
promotes saving for postsecondary education, homeownership,
and microenterprise development may be used to enable
individuals and families with limited means to increase their
economic self-sufficiency; and
``(3) the extent to which an asset-based policy stabilizes
and improves families and the community in which they live.
``SEC. 688. DEFINITIONS.
``In this chapter:
``(1) Applicable period.--The term `applicable period'
means, with respect to amounts to be paid from a grant made
for a project year, the calendar year immediately preceding
the calendar year in which the grant is made.
``(2) Eligible individual.--The term `eligible individual'
means an individual who is selected to participate by a
qualified entity under section 693.
``(3) Emergency withdrawal.--The term `emergency
withdrawal' means a withdrawal by an eligible individual
that--
``(A) is a withdrawal of only those funds, or a portion of
those funds, deposited by the individual in the individual
development account of the individual;
``(B) is permitted by a qualified entity on a case-by-case
basis; and
``(C) is made for--
``(i) expenses for medical care or necessary to obtain
medical care, for the individual or a spouse or dependent of
the individual described in paragraph (8)(D);
``(ii) payments necessary to prevent the eviction of the
individual from the residence of the individual, or
foreclosure on the mortgage for the principal residence of
the individual, as defined in paragraph (8)(B); or
``(iii) payments necessary to enable the individual to meet
necessary living expenses following loss of employment.
``(4) Household.--The term `household' means all
individuals who share use of a dwelling unit as primary
quarters for living and eating separate from other
individuals.
``(5) Individual development account.--
``(A) In general.--The term `individual development
account' means a trust created or organized in the United
States exclusively for the purpose of paying the qualified
expenses of an eligible individual, or enabling the eligible
individual to make an emergency withdrawal, but only if the
written governing instrument creating the trust meets the
following requirements:
``(i) No contribution will be accepted unless it is in cash
or by check.
``(ii) The trustee is a federally insured financial
institution, or a State insured financial institution if no
federally insured financial institution is available.
``(iii) The assets of the trust will be invested in
accordance with the direction of the eligible individual
after consultation with the qualified entity providing
deposits for the individual under section 694.
``(iv) The assets of the trust will not be commingled with
other property except in a common trust fund or common
investment fund.
``(v) Except as provided in clause (vi), any amount in the
trust which is attributable to a deposit provided under
section 694 may be paid or distributed out of the trust only
for the purpose of paying the qualified expenses of the
eligible individual, or enabling the eligible individual to
make an emergency withdrawal.
``(vi) Any balance in the trust on the day after the date
on which the individual for whose benefit the trust is
established dies shall be distributed within 30 days of that
date as directed by that individual to another individual
development account established for the benefit of an
eligible individual.
``(B) Custodial accounts.--For purposes of subparagraph
(A), a custodial account shall be treated as a trust if the
assets of the custodial account are held by a bank (as
defined in section 408(n) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986) or another person who demonstrates, to the satisfaction
of the Secretary, that the manner in which such person will
administer the custodial account will be consistent with the
requirements of this chapter, and if the custodial account
would, except for the fact that it is not a trust, constitute
an individual development account described in subparagraph
(A). For purposes of this chapter, in the case of a custodial
account treated as a trust by reason of the preceding
sentence, the custodian of that custodial account shall be
treated as the trustee thereof.
``(6) Project year.--The term `project year' means, with
respect to a demonstration project, any of the 5 consecutive
12-month periods beginning on the date the project is
originally authorized to be conducted.
``(7) Qualified entity.--
``(A) In general.--The term `qualified entity' means--
``(i) one or more not-for-profit organizations described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; or
``(ii) a State or local government agency, or a tribal
government, submitting an application under section 689
jointly with an organization described in clause (i).
``(B) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed as preventing an organization described in
subparagraph (A)(i) from collaborating with a financial
institution or for-profit community development corporation
to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
``(8) Qualified expenses.--The term `qualified expenses'
means 1 or more of the following, as provided by the
qualified entity:
``(A) Postsecondary educational expenses.--Postsecondary
educational expenses paid from an individual development
account directly to an eligible educational institution. In
this subparagraph:
``(i) Postsecondary educational expenses.--The term
`postsecondary educational expenses' means the following:
``(I) Tuition and fees.--Tuition and fees required for the
enrollment or attendance of
[[Page H7635]]
a student at an eligible educational institution.
``(II) Fees, books, supplies, and equipment.--Fees, books,
supplies, and equipment required for courses of instruction
at an eligible educational institution.
``(ii) Eligible educational institution.--The term
``eligible educational institution' means the following:
``(I) Institution of higher education.--An institution
described in section 481(a)(1) or 1201(a) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088(a)(1) or 1141(a)), as
such sections are in effect on the date of enactment of this
chapter.
``(II) Postsecondary vocational education school.--An area
vocational education school (as defined in subparagraph (C)
or (D) of section 521(4) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational
and Applied Technology Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2471(4)))
which is in any State (as defined in section 521(33) of such
Act), as such sections are in effect on the date of enactment
of this chapter.
``(B) First-home purchase.--Qualified acquisition costs
with respect to a principal residence for a qualified first-
time homebuyer, if paid from an individual development
account directly to the persons to whom the amounts are due.
In this subparagraph:
``(i) Principal residence.--The term `principal residence'
means a principal residence, the qualified acquisition costs
of which do not exceed 100 percent of the average area
purchase price applicable to such residence.
``(ii) Qualified acquisition costs.--The term `qualified
acquisition costs' means the costs of acquiring,
constructing, or reconstructing a residence. The term
includes any usual or reasonable settlement, financing, or
other closing costs.
``(iii) Qualified first-time homebuyer.--
``(I) In general.--The term `qualified first-time
homebuyer' means an individual participating in the project
(and, if married, the individual's spouse) who has no present
ownership interest in a principal residence during the 3-year
period ending on the date of acquisition of the principal
residence to which this subparagraph applies.
``(II) Date of acquisition.--The term `date of acquisition'
means the date on which a binding contract to acquire,
construct, or reconstruct the principal residence to which
this subparagraph applies is entered into.
``(C) Business capitalization.--Amounts paid from an
individual development account directly to a business
capitalization account which is established in a federally
insured financial institution (or in a State insured
financial institution if no federally insured financial
institution is available) and is restricted to use solely for
qualified business capitalization expenses. In this
subparagraph:
``(i) Qualified business capitalization expenses.--The term
``qualified business capitalization expenses' means qualified
expenditures for the capitalization of a qualified business
pursuant to a qualified plan.
``(ii) Qualified expenditures.--The term `qualified
expenditures' means expenditures included in a qualified
plan, including capital, plant, equipment, working capital,
and inventory expenses.
``(iii) Qualified business.--The term `qualified business'
means any business that does not contravene any law or public
policy (as determined by the Secretary).
``(iv) Qualified plan.--The term `qualified plan' means a
business plan, or a plan to use a business asset purchased,
which--
``(I) is approved by a financial institution, a
microenterprise development organization, or a nonprofit loan
fund having demonstrated fiduciary integrity;
``(II) includes a description of services or goods to be
sold, a marketing plan, and projected financial statements;
and
``(III) may require the eligible individual to obtain the
assistance of an experienced entrepreneurial adviser.
``(D) Transfers to idas of family members.--Amounts paid
from an individual development account directly into another
such account established for the benefit of an eligible
individual who is--
``(i) the individual's spouse; or
``(ii) any dependent of the individual with respect to whom
the individual is allowed a deduction under section 151 of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
``(9) Qualified savings of the individual for the period.--
The term `qualified savings of the individual for the period'
means the aggregate of the amounts contributed by the
individual to the individual development account of the
individual during the period.
``(10) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
``(11) Tribal government.--The term `tribal government'
means a tribal organization, as defined in section 4 of the
Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25
U.S.C. 450b) or a Native Hawaiian organization, as defined in
section 9212 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 U.S.C.
7912).
``SEC. 689. APPLICATIONS.
``(a) Announcement of Demonstration Projects.--Not later
than 3 months after the date of enactment of this chapter,
the Secretary shall publicly announce the availability of
funding under this chapter for demonstration projects and
shall ensure that applications to conduct the demonstration
projects are widely available to qualified entities.
``(b) Submission.--Not later than 6 months after the date
of enactment of this chapter, a qualified entity may submit
to the Secretary an application to conduct a demonstration
project under this chapter.
``(c) Criteria.--In considering whether to approve an
application to conduct a demonstration project under this
chapter, the Secretary shall assess the following:
``(1) Sufficiency of project.--The degree to which the
project described in the application appears likely to aid
project participants in achieving economic self-sufficiency
through activities requiring qualified expenses. In making
such assessment, the Secretary shall consider the overall
quality of project activities in making any particular kind
or combination of qualified expenses to be an essential
feature of any project.
``(2) Administrative ability.--The experience and ability
of the applicant to responsibly administer the project.
``(3) Ability to assist participants.--The experience and
ability of the applicant in recruiting, educating, and
assisting project participants to increase their economic
independence and general well-being through the development
of assets.
``(4) Commitment of non-federal funds.--The aggregate
amount of direct funds from non-Federal public sector and
from private sources that are formally committed to the
project as matching contributions.
``(5) Adequacy of plan for providing information for
evaluation.--The adequacy of the plan for providing
information relevant to an evaluation of the project.
``(6) Other factors.--Such other factors relevant to the
purposes of this chapter as the Secretary may specify.
``(d) Preferences.--In considering an application to
conduct a demonstration project under this chapter, the
Secretary shall give preference to an application that--
``(1) demonstrates the willingness and ability to select
individuals described in section 692 who are predominantly
from households in which a child (or children) is living with
the child's biological or adoptive mother or father, or with
the child's legal guardian;
``(2) provides a commitment of non-Federal funds with a
proportionately greater amount of such funds committed by
private sector sources; and
``(3) targets such individuals residing within 1 or more
relatively well-defined neighborhoods or communities
(including rural communities) that experience high rates of
poverty or unemployment.
``(e) Approval.--Not later than 9 months after the date of
enactment of this chapter, the Secretary shall, on a
competitive basis, approve such applications to conduct
demonstration projects under this chapter as the Secretary
deems appropriate, taking into account the assessments
required by subsections (c) and (d). The Secretary is
encouraged to ensure that the applications that are approved
involve a range of communities (both rural and urban) and
diverse populations.
``(f) Contracts With Nonprofit Entities.--The Secretary may
contract with an entity described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code to conduct any responsibility of
the Secretary under this section or section 696 if--
``(1) such entity demonstrates the ability to conduct such
responsibility; and
``(2) the Secretary can demonstrate that such
responsibility would not be conducted by the Secretary at a
lower cost.
``SEC. 690. DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY; ANNUAL GRANTS.
``(a) Demonstration Authority.--If the Secretary approves
an application to conduct a demonstration project under this
chapter, the Secretary shall, not later than 10 months after
the date of enactment of this chapter, authorize the
applicant to conduct the project for 5 project years in
accordance with the approved application and the requirements
of this chapter.
``(b) Grant Authority.--For each project year of a
demonstration project conducted under this chapter, the
Secretary may make a grant to the qualified entity authorized
to conduct the project. In making such a grant, the Secretary
shall make the grant on the first day of the project year in
an amount not to exceed the lesser of--
``(1) the aggregate amount of funds committed as matching
contributions by non-Federal public or private sector
sources; or
``(2) $1,000,000.
``SEC. 691. RESERVE FUND.
``(a) Establishment.--A qualified entity under this
chapter, other than a State or local government agency, or a
tribal government, shall establish a Reserve Fund which shall
be maintained in accordance with this section.
``(b) Amounts in Reserve Fund.--
``(1) In general.--As soon after receipt as is practicable,
a qualified entity shall deposit in the Reserve Fund
established under subsection (a)--
``(A) all funds provided to the qualified entity by any
public or private source in connection with the demonstration
project; and
``(B) the proceeds from any investment made under
subsection (c)(2).
``(2) Uniform accounting regulations.--The Secretary shall
prescribe regulations with respect to accounting for amounts
in the Reserve Fund established under subsection (a).
``(c) Use of Amounts in the Reserve Fund.--
``(1) In general.--A qualified entity shall use the amounts
in the Reserve Fund established under subsection (a) to--
[[Page H7636]]
``(A) assist participants in the demonstration project in
obtaining the skills (including economic literacy, budgeting,
credit, and counseling) and information necessary to achieve
economic self-sufficiency through activities requiring
qualified expenses;
``(B) provide deposits in accordance with section 694 for
individuals selected by the qualified entity to participate
in the demonstration project;
``(C) administer the demonstration project; and
``(D) provide the research organization evaluating the
demonstration project under section 698 with such information
with respect to the demonstration project as may be required
for the evaluation.
``(2) Authority to invest funds.--
``(A) Guidelines.--The Secretary shall establish guidelines
for investing amounts in the Reserve Fund established under
subsection (a) in a manner that provides an appropriate
balance between return, liquidity, and risk.
``(B) Investment.--A qualified entity shall invest the
amounts in its Reserve Fund that are not immediately needed
to carry out the provisions of paragraph (1), in accordance
with the guidelines established under subparagraph (A).
``(3) Limitation on uses.--Not more than 9.5 percent of the
amounts provided to a qualified entity under section 698(b)
shall be used by the qualified entity for the purposes
described in subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of paragraph
(1), of which not less than 2 percent of the amounts shall be
used by the qualified entity for the purposes described in
paragraph (1)(D). If 2 or more qualified entities are jointly
administering a project, no qualified entity shall use more
than its proportional share for the purposes described in
subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1).
``(d) Unused Federal Grant Funds Transferred to the
Secretary When Project Terminates.--Notwithstanding
subsection (c), upon the termination of any demonstration
project authorized under this section, the qualified entity
conducting the project shall transfer to the Secretary an
amount equal to--
``(1) the amounts in its Reserve Fund at time of the
termination; multiplied by
``(2) a percentage equal to--
``(A) the aggregate amount of grants made to the qualified
entity under section 698(b); divided by
``(B) the aggregate amount of all funds provided to the
qualified entity by all sources to conduct the project.
``SEC. 692. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION.
``(a) In General.--Any individual who is a member of a
household that is eligible for assistance under the State
temporary assistance for needy families program established
under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or that meets each of the following
requirements shall be eligible to participate in a
demonstration project conducted under this chapter:
``(1) Income test.--The adjusted gross income of the
household does not exceed the earned income amount described
in section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (taking
into account the size of the household).
``(2) Net worth test.--
``(A) In general.--The net worth of the household, as of
the end of the calendar year preceding the determination of
eligibility, does not exceed $10,000.
``(B) Determination of net worth.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the net worth of a household is the amount
equal to--
``(i) the aggregate market value of all assets that are
owned in whole or in part by any member of the household;
minus
``(ii) the obligations or debts of any member of the
household.
``(C) Exclusions.--For purposes of determining the net
worth of a household, a household's assets shall not be
considered to include the primary dwelling unit and 1 motor
vehicle owned by the household.
``(b) Individuals Unable To Complete the Project.--The
Secretary shall establish such regulations as are necessary,
including prohibiting future eligibility to participate in
any other demonstration project conducted under this chapter,
to ensure compliance with this chapter if an individual
participating in the demonstration project moves from the
community in which the project is conducted or is otherwise
unable to continue participating in that project.
``SEC. 693. SELECTION OF INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE.
``From among the individuals eligible to participate in a
demonstration project conducted under this chapter, each
qualified entity shall select the individuals--
``(1) that the qualified entity deems to be best suited to
participate; and
``(2) to whom the qualified entity will provide deposits in
accordance with section 694.
``SEC. 694. DEPOSITS BY QUALIFIED ENTITIES.
``(a) In General.--Not less than once every 3 months during
each project year, each qualified entity under this Act shall
deposit in the individual development account of each
individual participating in the project, or into a parallel
account maintained by the qualified entity--
``(1) from the non-Federal funds described in section
689(c)(4), a matching contribution of not less than $0.50 and
not more than $4 for every $1 of earned income (as defined in
section 911(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
deposited in the account by a project participant during that
period;
``(2) from the grant made under section 690(b), an amount
equal to the matching contribution made under paragraph (1);
and
``(3) any interest that has accrued on amounts deposited
under paragraph (1) or (2) on behalf of that individual into
the individual development account of the individual or into
a parallel account maintained by the qualified entity.
``(b) Limitation on Deposits for an Individual.--Not more
than $2,000 from a grant made under section 690(b) shall be
provided to any 1 individual over the course of the
demonstration project.
``(c) Limitation on Deposits for a Household.--Not more
than $4,000 from a grant made under section 690(b) shall be
provided to any 1 household over the course of the
demonstration project.
``(d) Withdrawal of Funds.--The Secretary shall establish
such guidelines as may be necessary to ensure that funds held
in an individual development account are not withdrawn,
except for 1 or more qualified expenses, or for an emergency
withdrawal. Such guidelines shall include a requirement that
a responsible official of the qualified entity conducting a
project approve such withdrawal in writing. The guidelines
shall provide that no individual may withdraw funds from an
individual development account earlier than 6 months after
the date on which the individual first deposits funds in the
account.
``(e) Reimbursement.--An individual shall reimburse an
individual development account for any funds withdrawn from
the account for an emergency withdrawal, not later than 12
months after the date of the withdrawal. If the individual
fails to make the reimbursement, the qualified entity
administering the account shall transfer the funds deposited
into the account or a parallel account under section 694 to
the Reserve Fund of the qualified entity, and use the funds
to benefit other individuals participating in the
demonstration project involved.
``SEC. 695. LOCAL CONTROL OVER DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
``A qualified entity under this chapter, other than a State
or local government agency or a tribal government, shall,
subject to the provisions of section 697, have sole authority
over the administration of the project. The Secretary may
prescribe only such regulations or guidelines with respect to
demonstration projects conducted under this chapter as are
necessary to ensure compliance with the approved applications
and the requirements of this chapter.
``SEC. 695A. GRANDFATHERING OF EXISTING STATEWIDE PROGRAMS.
``Any statewide asset-building program consistent with the
purposes of this chapter that is established in State law as
of the date of enactment of this Act, and that as of such
date is operating with an annual State appropriation of not
less than $1,000,000 in non-Federal funds, shall be deemed to
have met the requirements of section 688 and to be eligible
for consideration by the Secretary as a demonstration program
described in this chapter. Applications submitted by such
statewide program shall be considered for funding by the
Secretary notwithstanding the preferences listed in section
689(d). Any program requirements under sections 691 through
695 that are inconsistent with State statutory requirements
in effect on such date governing such statewide program are
hereby waived.
``SEC. 696. ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.
``(a) In General.--Each qualified entity under this chapter
shall prepare an annual report on the progress of the
demonstration project. Each report shall include both program
and participant information and shall specify for the period
covered by the report the following information:
``(1) The number and characteristics of individuals making
a deposit into an individual development account.
``(2) The amounts in the Reserve Fund established with
respect to the project.
``(3) The amounts deposited in the individual development
accounts.
``(4) The amounts withdrawn from the individual development
accounts and the purposes for which such amounts were
withdrawn.
``(5) The balances remaining in the individual development
accounts.
``(6) The savings account characteristics (such as
threshold amounts and match rates) required to stimulate
participation in the demonstration project, and how such
characteristics vary among different populations or
communities.
``(7) What service configurations of the qualified entity
(such as peer support, structured planning exercises,
mentoring, and case management) increased the rate and
consistency of participation in the demonstration project and
how such configurations varied among different populations or
communities.
``(8) Such other information as the Secretary may require
to evaluate the demonstration project.
``(b) Submission of Reports.--The qualified entity shall
submit each report required to be prepared under subsection
(a) to--
``(1) the Secretary; and
``(2) the Treasurer (or equivalent official) of the State
in which the project is conducted, if the State or a local
government or a tribal government committed funds to the
demonstration project.
``(c) Timing.--The first report required by subsection (a)
shall be submitted not later
[[Page H7637]]
than 60 days after the end of the calendar year in which the
Secretary authorized the qualified entity to conduct the
demonstration project, and subsequent reports shall be
submitted every 12 months thereafter, until the conclusion of
the project.
``SEC. 697. SANCTIONS.
``(a) Authority To Terminate Demonstration Project.--If the
Secretary determines that a qualified entity under this
chapter is not operating the demonstration project in
accordance with the entity's application or the requirements
of this chapter (and has not implemented any corrective
recommendations directed by the Secretary), the Secretary
shall terminate such entity's authority to conduct the
demonstration project.
``(b) Actions Required Upon Termination.--If the Secretary
terminates the authority to conduct a demonstration project,
the Secretary--
``(1) shall suspend the demonstration project;
``(2) shall take control of the Reserve Fund established
pursuant to section 691;
``(3) shall make every effort to identify another qualified
entity (or entities) willing and able to conduct the project
in accordance with the approved application (or, as modified,
if necessary to incorporate the recommendations) and the
requirements of this chapter;
``(4) shall, if the Secretary identifies an entity (or
entities) described in paragraph (3)--
``(A) authorize the entity (or entities) to conduct the
project in accordance with the approved application (or, as
modified, if necessary, to incorporate the recommendations)
and the requirements of this chapter;
``(B) transfer to the entity (or entities) control over the
Reserve Fund established pursuant to section 691; and
``(C) consider, for purposes of this chapter--
``(i) such other entity (or entities) to be the qualified
entity (or entities) originally authorized to conduct the
demonstration project; and
``(ii) the date of such authorization to be the date of the
original authorization; and
``(5) if, by the end of the 1-year period beginning on the
date of the termination, the Secretary has not found a
qualified entity (or entities) described in paragraph (3),
shall--
``(A) terminate the project; and
``(B) from the amount remaining in the Reserve Fund
established as part of the project, remit to each source that
provided funds under section 689(c)(4) to the entity
originally authorized to conduct the project, an amount that
bears the same ratio to the amount so remaining as the amount
provided by the source under section 689(c)(4) bears to the
amount provided by all such sources under that section.
``SEC. 698. EVALUATIONS.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 10 months after the date
of enactment of this chapter, the Secretary shall enter into
a contract with an independent research organization to
evaluate, individually and as a group, all qualified entities
and sources participating in the demonstration projects
conducted under this chapter.
``(b) Factors To Evaluate.--In evaluating any demonstration
project conducted under this chapter, the research
organization shall address the following factors:
``(1) The effects of incentives and organizational or
institutional support on savings behavior in the
demonstration project.
``(2) The savings rates of individuals in the demonstration
project based on demographic characteristics including
gender, age, family size, race or ethnic background, and
income.
``(3) The economic, civic, psychological, and social
effects of asset accumulation, and how such effects vary
among different populations or communities.
``(4) The effects of individual development accounts on
homeownership, level of postsecondary education attained, and
self-employment, and how such effects vary among different
populations or communities.
``(5) The potential financial returns to the Federal
Government and to other public sector and private sector
investors in individual development accounts over a 5-year
and 10-year period of time.
``(6) The lessons to be learned from the demonstration
projects conducted under this chapter and if a permanent
program of individual development accounts should be
established.
``(7) Such other factors as may be prescribed by the
Secretary.
``(c) Methodological Requirements.--In evaluating any
demonstration project conducted under this chapter, the
research organization shall--
``(1) for at least 1 site, use control groups to compare
participants with nonparticipants;
``(2) before, during, and after the project, obtain such
quantitative data as are necessary to evaluate the project
thoroughly; and
``(3) develop a qualitative assessment, derived from
sources such as in-depth interviews, of how asset
accumulation affects individuals and families.
``(d) Reports by the Secretary.--
``(1) Interim reports.--Not later than 90 days after the
end of the calendar year in which the Secretary first
authorizes a qualified entity to conduct a demonstration
project under this chapter, and every 12 months thereafter
until all demonstration projects conducted under this chapter
are completed, the Secretary shall submit to Congress an
interim report setting forth the results of the reports
submitted pursuant to section 696(b).
``(2) Final reports.--Not later than 12 months after the
conclusion of all demonstration projects conducted under this
chapter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a final
report setting forth the results and findings of all reports
and evaluations conducted pursuant to this chapter.
``(e) Evaluation Expenses.--The Secretary shall expend such
sums as may be necessary, but not less than 2 percent of the
amount appropriated under section 699A for a fiscal year, to
carry out the purposes of this section.
``SEC. 699. TREATMENT OF FUNDS.
``Of the funds deposited in individual development accounts
for eligible individuals, only the funds deposited by the
individuals (including interest accruing on those funds) may
be considered to be income, assets, or resources of the
individuals for purposes of determining eligibility for, or
the amount of assistance furnished under, any Federal or
federally assisted program based on need.
``SEC. 699A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
chapter, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000,
2001, and 2002, to remain available until expended.''.
SEC. 205. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.
(a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b),
this title and the amendments made by this title shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this
title shall not apply with respect to fiscal years ending
before October 1, 1998.
TITLE III--AMENDMENTS TO THE LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE ACT OF
1981
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Amendments of 1998''.
SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION.
(a) In General.--Section 2602(b) of the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(b)) is amended
by inserting ``, $1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and
such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001'' after
``1995 through 1999''.
(b) Program Year.--Section 2602(c) of Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(c)) is amended
to read as follows:
``(c) Amounts appropriated under this section in any fiscal
year for programs and activities under this title shall be
made available for obligation in the succeeding fiscal
year.''.
(c) Incentive Program for Leveraging Non-Federal
Resources.--Section 2602(d) of the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(d)) is amended by
striking ``for each of the fiscal years 1996'' and all that
follows through the period at the end, and inserting ``for
each of the fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001.''.
(d) Technical Amendment.--Section 2602(e) of Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(e)) is
amended by striking ``subsection (g)'' and inserting
``subsection (e) of such section''.
SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS.
Section 2603(4) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622(4)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``the term'' and inserting ``The term'';
and
(2) by striking the semicolon and inserting a period.
SEC. 304. NATURAL DISASTERS AND OTHER EMERGENCIES.
(a) Definitions.--Section 2603 of the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) as
paragraphs (8) through (11), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (8) (as redesignated in
paragraph (1)) the following:
``(7) Natural disaster.--The term `natural disaster' means
a weather event (relating to cold or hot weather), flood,
earthquake, tornado, hurricane, or ice storm, or an event
meeting such other criteria as the Secretary, in the
discretion of the Secretary, may determine to be
appropriate.'';
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as
paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively; and
(4) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redesignated in
paragraph (3)) the following:
``(1) Emergency.--The term `emergency' means--
``(A) a natural disaster;
``(B) a significant home energy supply shortage or
disruption;
``(C) a significant increase in the cost of home energy, as
determined by the Secretary;
``(D) a significant increase in home energy disconnections
reported by a utility, a State regulatory agency, or another
agency with necessary data;
``(E) a significant increase in participation in a public
benefit program such as the food stamp program carried out
under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the
national program to provide supplemental security income
carried out under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), or the State temporary assistance for
needy families program carried out under
[[Page H7638]]
part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601
et seq.), as determined by the head of the appropriate
Federal agency;
``(F) a significant increase in unemployment, layoffs, or
the number of households with an individual applying for
unemployment benefits, as determined by the Secretary of
Labor; or
``(G) an event meeting such criteria as the Secretary, in
the discretion of the Secretary, may determine to be
appropriate.''.
(b) Considerations.--Section 2604(g) of Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623(g)) is amended
by striking the last 2 sentences and inserting the following:
``In determining whether to make such an allotment to a
State, the Secretary shall take into account the extent to
which the State was affected by the natural disaster or other
emergency involved, the availability to the State of other
resources under the program carried out under this title or
any other program, whether a Member of Congress has requested
that the State receive the allotment, and such other factors
as the Secretary may find to be relevant. Not later than 30
days after making the determination, but prior to releasing
an allotted amount to a State, the Secretary shall notify
Congress of the allotments made pursuant to this
subsection.''.
SEC. 305. STATE ALLOTMENTS.
Section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``the Northern
Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific
Islands.'' and inserting ``and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.'';
(2) in subsection (c)(3)(B)(ii), by striking
``application'' and inserting ``applications'';
(3) by striking subsection (f);
(4) in the first sentence of subsection (g), by striking
``(a) through (f)'' and inserting ``(a) through (d)''; and
(5) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (e).
SEC. 306. ADMINISTRATION.
Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (9)(A), by striking ``and not transferred
pursuant to section 2604(f) for use under another block
grant'';
(B) in paragraph (14), by striking ``; and'' and inserting
a semicolon;
(C) in the matter following paragraph (14), by striking
``The Secretary may not prescribe the manner in which the
States will comply with the provisions of this subsection.'';
and
(D) in the matter following paragraph (16), by inserting
before ``The Secretary shall issue'' the following: ``The
Secretary may not prescribe the manner in which the States
will comply with the provisions of this subsection.''; and
(2) in subsection (c)(1)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``States'' and
inserting ``State''; and
(B) in subparagraph (G)(i), by striking ``has'' and
inserting ``had''; and
(3) in paragraphs (1) and (2)(A) of subsection (k) by
inserting ``, particularly those low-income households with
the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household
income for home energy'' before the period.
SEC. 307. PAYMENTS TO STATES.
Section 2607(b)(2)(B) of the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8626(b)(2)(B)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``and not
transferred pursuant to section 2604(f)''; and
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ``but not
transferred by the State''.
SEC. 308. RESIDENTIAL ENERGY ASSISTANCE CHALLENGE OPTION.
(a) Evaluation.--The Comptroller General shall conduct an
evaluation of the Residential Energy Assistance Challenge
program described in section 2607B of the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8626b).
(b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall prepare
and submit to Congress a report containing--
(1) the findings resulting from the evaluation described in
subsection (a); and
(2) the State evaluations described in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subsection (b) of such section 2607B.
(c) Incentive Grants.--Section 2607B(b)(1) of the Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C.
8626b(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``For each of the fiscal
years 1996 through 1999'' and inserting ``For each fiscal
year''.
(d) Technical Amendments.--Section 2607B of Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8626b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e)(2)--
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (N) as
subparagraphs (E) through (M), respectively; and
(B) in clause (i) of subparagraph (I) (as redesignated in
subparagraph (A)), by striking ``on'' and inserting ``of'';
and
(2) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (f).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Martinez) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling).
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we are here to discuss very important legislation,
namely Head Start. For 20 years I sat as a minority member in the
Committee on Education and the Workforce, always cautioning my
colleagues to think in terms of quality rather than in terms of
quantity. But each year we would increase the number who participated
and paid little attention to the quality of the program.
Of the first four studies that came out on Head Start, three of them
indicated that there not only was not a Head Start but there was not
even an even start. The fourth study was done in a college community
where, as a matter of fact, there were some positive results, primarily
because the college students became mentors to those children so that
those children had someone, some adult, helping them to become reading
ready and ready for school.
Now, there was so much hype around the program, as was chapter 1,
that it was very, very difficult to get anyone to consider quality. It
did not matter whether it was a Democrat administration or a Republican
administration, no one paid any attention to quality. No one recompeted
any of the programs. No one closed any of the programs.
So I take my hat off to the present Secretary. At least she has
gotten in there. After we gave her legislation during the last
reauthorization, which said we are going to deal with the issue of
quality, she has closed and recompeted Head Start programs.
Why did it start so poorly? It was very obvious. First of all, the
whole idea of numbers rather than quality meant that most of the money
went to numbers. Very few early childhood teachers were available, no
matter what price we were paying. Obviously, if we were going to pay
$10,000, we were not going to attract qualified early childhood
teachers.
So what happened to the program? The program became pretty much a
baby-sitting and a child care program. And the lovely grandmothers and
the lovely mothers that were in the classroom were lovely people with
no idea whatsoever what it is we need to do to help children become
reading ready, to help children become ready to go to school. Then,
unfortunately, it became a job program. ``Do not mess with us, this is
our job program.'' In the meantime, children were denied the
opportunity to succeed.
We passed, in the last reauthorization, not nearly as much quality as
needed but at least we got to the business of saying that 25 percent of
the money was going to go to quality and improved training programs.
Many of those lovely mothers and grandmothers could have become very
effective if they had only had some training. We insisted that we pay
those who do have the ability to deal with early childhood education
more than they were presently being paid.
And so we have seen progress. We must now build on that progress. We
did not go as far to emphasize quality as I would have liked, although
the gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs) did what I asked him to do in
the subcommittee. However, I am very satisfied with the end result: 65
percent for quality, 35 percent for increase in numbers, and 10 percent
for local grantees to determine which they need most of all, quality or
expansion.
And so it would be my hope that we move ahead now and insist that
every early childhood program that we are involved in is a quality
program. If we had different numbers as far as dropouts are concerned,
if we had different numbers as far as 30 or 40 percent of children not
being able to read at a fourth grade level then we could say, boy, that
program was really effective; that really worked. We do not have those
figures, unfortunately.
Now, of course, there were three amendments added in full committee,
because I took a passive role. Those three, at another time, at another
place, are very important. I am certainly the champion for regarding
needed reforms to Davis-Bacon, because I saw as an educator how much
Davis-Bacon was costing local districts. We had that debate. It was
amazing when people would say we get better construction if we have
Davis-
[[Page H7639]]
Bacon. And I said, now, wait a minute, in my district the same people
who worked a union project also are the same people who work a project
that is not a union project. But that is not an issue now because, of
course, Davis-Bacon in Head Start is a very minimal, minimal program.
Another area, paternity, of course, is extremely important in welfare
reform, and that is where it is. And we are dealing in welfare reform
with adults, or at least with parents that have produced children, and
that is very, very important. However, in this legislation we are
dealing with little children, preschool children, who did not have any
say about being born, did not have any say as to what family to which
they were born or anything about whether they had one loving parent,
two loving parents or no loving parents. So, of course, this should not
be an issue for this particular legislation.
So I would hope when we finish today that we have an overwhelming
vote. But I do want to caution everyone in the House, if we do not have
quality in the program by the time we are finished in conference, then
I will work just as hard to defeat the conference report as I will work
today to try to pass the legislation, which is good legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise in strong support of the House substitute, S. 2206, the
Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998.
This bill reauthorizes three programs which we are very interested in
that provide assistance to the neediest Americans; Head Start, the Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Community Services Block
Grants.
In bringing forth this legislation, I want to commend the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), who has reaffirmed the bipartisan
nature of these initiatives and has demonstrated a commitment to
fashioning a compromise bill that will ensure the integrity and quality
of these programs for years to come.
For more than 3 decades, Head Start has provided comprehensive
social, health and educational services designed to promote strong,
supportive families and provide disadvantaged people with strong
foundations for a lifetime of learning.
{time} 1215
Nowhere is the success of Head Start more evident than in the strong
praise from the thousands whose lives the program has touched. In 1994,
we undertook the most ambitious reauthorization of Head Start to that
date. Begging to differ just a little with the chairman, I believe we
initiated a quality improvement process that would ultimately result in
a comprehensive set of performance standards and local performance
measures. I am proud of that effort and the direction that it
established for the future of Head Start. That is why earlier this year
I introduced H.R. 3880 which simply calls for changes that build upon
this investment in quality through stronger linkages between the Head
Start program and schools and increasing our investment in early Head
Start. I am pleased to say that the proposals in my legislation are in
the bill before us today.
One issue to which I am fully committed is continued growth of the
early Head Start program. I truly believe that given the preponderance
of research on early childhood development that we should incorporate
our youngest children from birth to age 3 into Head Start. I also
believe that with the investments in quality that began in 1994, it is
time that we make a concerted effort to expand Head Start to the 60
percent of eligible children that are not currently served. We have
been hearing pledges for years to fully fund Head Start and we should
ensure that with this authorization bill that such growth is possible.
I am pleased to say with the leadership of the chairman we are able to
return to the nonpartisan history of Head Start and take necessary
steps to ensure the program's future.
In our zest to tout the gains made possible with Head Start, we
should not overlook LIHEAP and CSBG. LIHEAP helps low-income Americans
meet the cost of home energy, particularly in times of extreme weather,
natural disasters, and other emergencies. Four to five million
households receive assistance annually. Nearly half are families with
children under 18, while the remaining beneficiaries consist of older
Americans and disabled individuals. Seventy percent of these households
have incomes below $8,000 per year. In the midst of the heat wave that
hit the South this summer, killing hundreds of Americans in its wake,
the President released a total of $150 million in emergency funds to 11
States. This assistance enabled low-income families and individuals to
meet the cost of cooling their homes and purchase fans and air
conditioners. Sadly it is often those who lack the health and strength
to cope with extreme weather who also cannot afford even the most basic
modern conveniences to moderate the temperature. But LIHEAP is not just
about heating and cooling. This program provides a variety of home
energy assistance so that an elderly couple in Arizona can cook their
evening meal and a family in the Bronx can light up the kitchen so the
kids can finish their homework.
Although many of us stand firm in our dedication to a longer
reauthorization of LIHEAP and we will work in conference to incorporate
the Senate's 5-year reauthorization, the House bill reaffirms our
commitment to this important program by making only minor programmatic
changes.
The third program addressed by this legislation is the Community
Services Block Grant, CSBG. CSBG supports the efforts of the Community
Action Network in addressing the causes of poverty and providing a wide
array of assistance to Americans in need. Services that have been
traditionally provided include education, job training and placement,
housing, nutrition, emergency services, and health.
The measure before us today authorizes new activities, including
literacy services, mirroring the language I included in H.R. 3880, and
after-school programs. In addition, this legislation provides for
additional accountability and monitoring which can only serve to
strengthen CSBG.
Once again I thank the chairman for his leadership in bringing what
is now a strong bipartisan bill to the floor and I look forward to
working with him and other Members to resolve our differences with the
Senate in conference.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), a valuable member of the
committee.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time and
I thank him for his leadership as well as the gentleman from California
(Mr. Riggs) the chairman of the subcommittee and the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez) the ranking minority member.
This bill represents months of work to find ways to expand the
positive impact of limited dollars on people's lives who participate in
these programs.
Head Start was originally founded under the Johnson administration
when Sargent Shriver said we should give these kids a head start in
education. Many of us who have been supportive of Head Start in the
past and have worked with this program have been concerned that it has
been drifting toward a glorified child care type of a program and
losing its educational emphasis. I believe that the changes we made in
this bill, and there are some who will oppose this because it is not a
perfect bill. In fact, to go under a suspension, we needed bipartisan
support for this bill. Some provisions that were in the committee were
taken out. But I believe that in the Head Start portion of this bill as
well as the Community Services Block Grant, conservative Republicans
should support this because it is an improvement from the way we were
currently doing business.
For example, we have in the Education Performance Standards that they
need to develop phonemic, print and numeracy awareness; understand and
use oral language to communicate for different purposes; understand and
use increasingly complex and varied vocabulary; develop and demonstrate
an appreciation of books; and in the case of non-English background
children, progress toward acquisition of the English language.
We also have Performance Measures. We have four, plus giving local
flexibility for additional: Know that letters of
[[Page H7640]]
the alphabet are a special category of visual graphics that can be
individually named; recognize a word as a unit of print; identify at
least 10 letters of the alphabet; and associate sounds with written
words.
I do not favor national standards for public schools because the bulk
of the dollars for public schools do not come from the Federal
Government. But the overwhelming bulk of the dollars for Head Start do
come from the Federal Government. Therefore, we have an obligation to
the taxpayers to make sure that those dollars are being effectively
used. In many cases Head Start was drifting away from the promises that
it was given. Certain programs were effective and certain programs were
not. We wanted to tighten and make Head Start more effective. I believe
this will be done in an additional way that the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) led the efforts in, and, that is, to get
more dollars into the teachers' hands rather than this explosion and
expansion of services but not reaching the people with the quality of
services that they need. The gains in Head Start are very tied toward
teaching the kids who are behind, maybe they do not have the parental
investment or the community investment in those kids that many kids
such as my children are likely to have, having two parents of a
college-educated background with a home computer. Not all kids have
that in America. We need to reach out to those and make sure that those
services are effectively used and not dissipated by trying to reach far
too many who may or may not actually need the services.
Title II, the Community Services Block Grant portion of the bill,
improves the accountability and effectiveness of these block grants by
encouraging effective partnerships between government, local
communities and charitable organizations, including faith-based
organizations. This has been a critical part of the Renewal Alliance
effort in numerous bills to make sure that faith-based organizations
are included as an effective way particularly in our urban centers to
reach those who are hurting most.
I also have two specific provisions in the Community Services Block
Grant section. One I offered with the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
Woolsey), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) and the
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Talent) that was introduced in the House
by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kasich) and the gentleman from Ohio
(Mr. Hall) and my former boss, Senator Coats, in the Senate which was
Individual Development Accounts. They are matched savings accounts for
low-income individuals which can only be accessed for higher education,
home purchases, emergency medical expenses and capitalization of a
business. In other words, rather than just having the government do a
direct transfer, we are saying, ``If you save some of your money, we'll
match it,'' much like we have in government employee savings funds, by
the way. We are saying, if people will take the initiative to save
money, we will match that and try to help get them started in our
society and developing their own capital fund if they use it for
education, home, emergency medical or capitalization of a business.
We also have a bipartisan amendment with the gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. Scott) and myself that would allow at the State level their
portion of Community Services Block Grant to be set aside to pay for
State charitable credits. This is an important breakthrough, because
again we have promoted in the Renewal Alliance, which are those of us
who are conservatives who say the Federal Government cannot do
everything, what do we propose as an alternative to help those who have
been left behind in economic growth.
Well, one of the things is to try to give incentives to the churches,
to the community foundations, to individuals that if you will help, we
will give you a tax incentive, we will allow you to leverage those
funds in charitable organizations to do that. We are encouraging
Individual Development Accounts. And in Head Start we are trying to
promote education.
Let me make one last reference. I know some of my conservative allies
in the House are very disturbed that several provisions were dropped
off from the subcommittee level and the committee level. I have long
supported the repeal of Davis Bacon and I do not think there is a bill
that makes this more clear. Because we did not repeal Davis Bacon there
will be fewer Head Start centers built. It is that simple. Because if
you have to pay what is not really necessarily a prevailing wage
because if indeed it is a prevailing wage Davis Bacon would not make
any difference, that by taking that provision out we will be able to
build fewer Head Start centers.
By changing the father accountability, we are not doing some of what
we Republicans wanted to do and to try to use that. I think you can
have a good debate whether or not the children in effect should be
punished directly but at the same time without fathers, they are being
punished, anyway. We, I believe, should use all levels of government to
try to encourage the rebuilding of the families. But you also have to
be realistic.
We have many improvements in this bill. I outlined many breakthrough
provisions. You cannot get everything in a bill and have it make it
through this House and the Senate and signed by the President in 30
days. I think the chairman and the subcommittee chairman who I know has
some differences with the final form are to be commended for passing a
bill that we can get bipartisan support and yet have substantive
changes in it that will make it better for those who are hurting in our
society.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I
do want to recognize the subcommittee chair the gentleman from
California (Mr. Riggs) and the ranking member the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez) for all of the work that they have done and
of course all of the work that the staff has done for a long, long
time. Denzel just said, ``You mean we're finally here?'' Yes, we are
finally here.
I want to recognize the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith) also, for
his word on family literacy. One of the shortcomings in Head Start from
the beginning has been that there was not enough emphasis on family
literacy. In this legislation we have a $5 million family literacy
demonstration program. We also have a very strong definition of family
literacy because it will not work, we have found out over the years, if
the entire family is not involved in improving their literacy skills.
Again I would ask all to support the legislation. I think we have done
an excellent job.
Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I
should have commended the staff earlier because I can remember a lot of
those meetings, especially the meetings where the staff included me and
the gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs) in their deliberations. They
were quite extensive. I want to say that they did work very hard to try
to get to that bipartisan effort we did. But it finally came down to
the fact that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), the
chairman, interceded in some of the really, really difficult issues
that we had not resolved, and we do have a bipartisan bill on the floor
today. I would recommend that our Members vote for it.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the amendment
in the nature of a substitute to S. 2206, the Human Services
Authorization Act of 1998. This legislation merges two bills that were
reported by the Committee on Education and the Workforce on July 29:
H.R. 4241, the Head Start Amendments Act of 1998 and H.R. 4271, the
community services Authorization Act of 1998. Passage of this
legislation is critically important to this nation's fight against
poverty and to improve the preschool education of low-income children.
Specifically this legislation extends the authorizations for the Head
Start Act, the Community Services block Grant Act, and the Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981. The legislation also makes
important changes to the Acts that would result in improved services,
increased quality and accountability.
Title I of this legislation contains H.R. 4241, the Head Start
Amendments of 1998. This legislation firmly establishes quality as the
focus of the authorization.
Questions still persist about the unevenness of Head Start quality
and about program outcomes in general. In Fact, Dr. Ed Zigler, the
founder of Head Start, testified at a Head Start hearing in June that
the educational component of Head Start continues to be of suspect
quality.
[[Page H7641]]
Dr. Zigler's testimony and the testimony of other witnesses we heard
at numerous hearings, coupled with my own impression of Head Start
leads me to the conclusion that we must continue to improve the quality
of head Start. I am a firm believer that Head Start should rival the
best preschools in the nation. So while Head Start may be successful in
providing an array of social services, the primary focus of the program
should be educational quality. Unfortunately, the program has fallen
short in preparing young children to enter school ready to read, ready
to learn.
Until we can ensure that ALL children enrolled in Head Start receive
high quality educational services, we should slow down the rate of
expansion for a few short years. We should first ensure that head Start
has the capacity to serve ALL children currently enrolled in the
program well.
In an effort to strike the appropriate balance between quality and
expansion, the bill directs more money into improving quality in head
Start in the first years of the authorization. As we look to spend in
excess of $20 billion on this program over the next five years, it is
important that we strike this balance.
Under the bill, school readiness will become the primary goal of Head
Start. We want children to be eager and prepared to participate in
kindergarten. Therefore we have added new education performance
standards and measures. The legislation also requires that at least
one-half of all Head Start teachers will have to possess a college
degree in early childhood education by the end of the authorization
period.
I would like to point out at this time that the substitute I am
offering today does not contain three provisions that were reported out
of Committee. Specifically: Permitting parent certificates; requiring
mothers to identify the father of their child, before their child may
enroll in Head Start; and deleting the Davis-Bacon requirement.
Although these are important provisions and the Committee reported
such provisions after rigorous debate, they were dropped because this
is neither the time nor the bill to debate these controversial issues.
The Senate which has already passed their authorization bill did not
include these provisions, nor have they indicated that they will do so.
I submit for the Record an editorial in today's Washington Post stating
that the while all three topics are worthy of discussion, Head Start is
not the bill on which to have those debates.I am also submitting a
letter of support from the National Head Start Association. Support
that is dependent on these issues being dropped from the bill.
We have only a few short weeks before the end of session. Time
dictates that the House pass a bipartisan Head Start bill, so we can
conference with the Senate immediately and ensure that the
authorizations of Head Start, CSBG and LIHEAP are considered another
significant accomplishment of this Congress.
In summary, the bottom line for this authorization of Head Start is
educational quality. Although, numerous quality provisions in the bill
will help guarantee that a Head Start child receives as good a
preschool experience as any other child in this country.
Title II of the legislation makes changes to the Community Services
Block Grant Act. The bill will better enable States and local
communities to eradicate poverty; revitalize high poverty
neighborhoods; and empower low-income individuals to become self-
sufficient.
The bill increases program accountability in CSBG. It encourages
development of effective partnerships between government, local
communities, and charitable organizations (including faith-based
organizations) to meet the needs of impoverished individuals. And it
encourages innovative community-based approaches to attacking the
causes and effects of poverty.
I have been a strong supporter for many years of CSBG and the
programs that it supports. I have seen the positive differences that
community action programs have made in people's lives, including for
those in my Congressional district in Pennsylvania. Working together we
can make improvements in CSBG and related anti-poverty programs that
will even further improve services for the poor in each local
community.
Title III of this legislation extends the authorization of another
important program, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
through the year 2001. LIHEAP provides heating and cooling assistance
to almost 5 million low-income households each year. Whether it's those
in abject poverty who are facing the blistering cold of a winter in
Michigan, or the elderly sweltering in 102 degree heat in Dallas,
Texas, this program provides the only relief for hundreds of thousands
of our citizens.
Individuals and families receiving this vital assistance include the
working poor, individuals making the transition from welfare to work,
individuals with disabilities, the elderly, and families with young
children. In fact, nearly 70 percent of families receiving LIHEAP
assistance last year survived on an annual income of less than $8,000,
while spending an average of 18.5 percent of their annual household
income on energy costs.
I urge my Colleagues to support S. 2206 as amended so that we may
promptly begin the conference process on Head Start, CSBG and LIHEAP.
It is critical to low-income families throughout the nation that we
move quickly on this important legislation that impacts so many of
their lives, to ensure that it becomes law this year.
The National Head
Start Association,
Alexandria, VA, September 11, 1998.
Hon. William Goodling, Chairman,
Committee on Education and the Workforce,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Goodling: On July 29, the Committee on
Education and the Workforce considered the bill, H.R. 4241,
and reported the measure, after agreeing to several
amendments which the National Head Start Association strongly
opposes.
As I wrote you in my letter of August 5, 1998, the National
Head Start Association is gravely concerned over the outcome
of the committee deliberations--specifically those actions
which restored controversial matters which you had elected to
eliminate in offering your substitute amendment for committee
consideration.
The introduction of vouchers in lieu of Head Start programs
for the delivery of services and requiring Head Start
programs to police compliance with welfare and paternity
conditions threatens to undermine program quality and
integrity and fracture a long history of bipartisan
legislation in support of Head Start.
Just two days before the Committee considered H.R. 4241, as
you know, the Senate unanimously approved Head Start
reauthorization legislation (S. 2206) reported by the Senate
Committee on Labor and Human Resources by a vote of 18-0. Our
hope was that the House of Representatives would follow suit
so that the process might move forward in a collegial manner.
In an effort to move the reauthorization process forward,
the National Head Start Association would support
consideration of H.R. 4241 by the full House of
Representatives if the controversial provisions cited above
are removed from the bill as reported by the Committee on
Education and the Workforce. At the same time, we remain
concerned over other provisions in the committee-reported
bill and will work with you as the measure moves to
conference in addressing those concerns.
Sincerely,
Sarah M. Greene.
[From the Washington Post, Sept. 14, 1998]
Head Start Vote in the House
A bill to reauthorize the Head Start program, whose passage
ought to be routine, has hit a rough spot in the House, where
conservative Republicans are trying to turn it into an
election-year poster board. Chairman Bill Goodling of the
Committee on Education and the Workforce will try this week
to rescue the legislation by stripping out gratuitious
amendments that were added in committee, mostly against his
will.
He is using a procedure that requires a two-thirds vote
while limiting debate. The principal sponsor of the
troublsome amendments, Rep. Frank Riggs of California, is
resisting. The House should vote as Mr. Goodling now asks;
the Republican leadership should see to it. It is hard to
believe the party would want to send members home to campaign
having held up a program as worthy and popular as this.
Mr. Riggs offered three amendments in committee. One would
bar from the program children whose mothers failed to
cooperate with state and local agencies in establishing
paternity. The second would take a symbolic first step toward
disestablishing Head Start in favor of a system of vouchers.
The third would exempt work on Head Start centers from the
requirement of organized labor's beloved Davis-Bacon Act that
``prevailing'' wages be paid on federal construction
projects.
Those are the provisions that Mr. Goodling would drop. In a
letter urging Republican colleagues to resist, Mr. Riggs
called them ``common-sense reforms'' that reflect ``core
Republican principles.'' He's right that all three of the
issues are worthy of discussion, but not in connection with
this program or this bill. The Senate already has passed a
clean Head Start bill; the House should follow its lead.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2206, the
Community Opportunities & Educational Services Act. I support many of
the provisions in this bill which reauthorizes the Head Start,
Community Services Block Grant and the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Programs. However, I want to focus my remarks on the new
demonstration program which will be created if this bill becomes law.
Mr. Chairman, S. 2206 includes the text of H.R. 2849, the Assets for
Independence Act which I introduced with Representative John Kasich.
The language was added by an amendment offered in the Education and
Work Committee by Representatives Mark Souder and Lynn Woolsey. This
legislation authorizes $25 million for four years for the creation of
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) for poor families and
individuals. IDAs are dedicated savings accounts, similar in structure
to
[[Page H7642]]
Individual Retirement Accounts, that can be used for purchasing a first
home, paying for post-secondary education, or capitalizing a business.
IDAs are managed by community organizations and are held at local
financial institutions. Low income individuals make a contribution to
the account which is then matched by private or public funds. Under the
legislation, participants can have no more than $10,000 in assets
(excluding their car and home) to qualify for the program. Federal
money can only be used to match private money. In this way, the bill
would leverage more private money and local involvement. By encouraging
asset development, IDAs help families end their own poverty with
dignity.
IDAs and other asset-building strategies for the poor appear to be
among the most promising poverty-fighting ideas to emerge in the last
few decades. It is estimated that 100 communities are running IDA
programs in forty-three states. Twenty-five states, including Ohio,
have incorporated IDAs into their welfare-to-work plans, as authorized
by the Personal Repsonsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
of 1996. The Joyce, Mott, Ford, Levi Strauss, and Fannie Mae
Foundations have issued millions of dollars in grants to support IDA
demonstration projects. IDAs have come a long way since the Select
Committee on Hunger, which I chaired, first held hearings on this
important idea in the early 1990's.
This demonstration project, will provide additional fuel to states,
localities, and community based nonprofit groups that are looking for
creative and enduring strategies to help low-income families move
toward self-sufficiency.
Owning assets gives people a stake in the future and a reason to
save, dream, and invest time, effort, and resources in creating a
future for themselves and their children. Assets empower people to make
choices for themselves.
I would urge my colleagues to pass this important legislation.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to express my
opposition to S. 2206, which reauthorizes the Head Start program, as
well as the Community Services Block Grant program and the Low Income
Housing Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). While the goals of Head
Start and the Community Services Block Grant program are certainly
noble, the means these programs use to accomplish these goals
(confiscating monies from one group of citizens and sending them to
another group of citizens in the form of federal funding for
Washington-controlled programs) are immoral and ineffective. There is
no constitutional authority for Congress to fund any programs
concerning child-rearing or education. Under the constitutional system,
these matters are left solely in the hands of private citizens, local
government, and the individual states.
In fact, the founders of this country would be horrified by one of
the premises underlying this type of federal program: that communities
and private individuals are unwilling and unable to meet the special
needs of low-income children without intervention by the federal
government. The truth is that the American people can and will meet the
educational and other needs of all children if Congress gives them the
freedom to do so by eliminating the oppressive tax burden fostered on
Americans to fund the welfare-warfare state.
When the federal government becomes involved in funding a program
such as Head Start, it should at least respect local autonomy by
refraining from interfering with the ability of local communities to
fashion a program that suits their needs. After all, federal funding
does not change the fact that those who work with a group of children
on a daily basis are the best qualified to design a program that
effectively serves those children. Therefore, I must strongly object to
the provisions in S. 2206 that requires the majority of Head Start
classroom teachers to have an Associate or Bachelors degree in early
childhood education by 2003. This provision may raise costs and/or
cause some good Head Start teachers to lose their positions simply
because they lack the credentials a Washington-based ``expert'' decided
they needed to serve as a Head Start instructor.
Mr. Speaker, if programs such as Head Start where controlled by
private charities, their staffers would not have to worry about
diverting valuable resources away from their mission to fulfill the
whims of Congress.
I am also disappointed that S. 2206 does not contain the language
passed by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce freeing
Head Start construction from the wasteful requirements of the Davis-
Bacon Act. Davis-Bacon not only drives up construction costs, it
effectively ensures that small construction firms, many of which are
minority-owned, cannot compete for federal construction contracts.
Repealing Davis-Bacon requirement for Head Start construction would
open up new opportunities for small construction companies and free up
millions of taxpayers dollars that could be used to better America's
children.
Congress should also reject S. 2206 because it reauthorizes the Low
Income Heating and Energy Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is an
unconstitutional transfer program which has outlived its usefulness.
LIHEAP was instituted in order to help low-income people deal with the
high prices resulting from the energy crisis of the late seventies.
However, since then, home heating prices have declined by 51.6%
residential electricity prices have declined by 25% and residential
natural gas prices have declined by 32.7%. Furthermore, the people of
Texas are sending approximately $43 million more taxpayer dollars to
Washington for LIHEAP than they are receiving in LIHEAP funds. There is
no moral or constitutional justification for taking money from Texans,
who could use those funds for state and local programs to provide low-
income Texans with relief from oppressive heat, to benefit people in
other states.
Another provision in S. 2206 that should be of concern to believers
in a free society is the provision making ``faith-based organizations''
eligible for federal funds under the Community Services Block Grant
program. While I have little doubt that the services offered by
churches and other religious institutions can be more effective in
producing social services than many secular programs, I am concerned
that allowing faith-based organizations' access to federal taxpayer
dollars may change those organizations into lobbyists who will
compromise their core beliefs rather than risk alienating members of
Congress and thus losing their federal funds. Thus, allowing faith-
based organizations to receive federal funds may undermine future
attempts to reduce federal control over social services, undermine
America's tradition of non-establishment of religion, and weaken the
religious and moral component of the programs of ``faith-based
providers.'' It would be a tragedy for America if religious
organizations weakened the spiritual aspects that made their service
programs effective in order to receive federal lucre.
Since S. 2206 furthers the federal government's unconstitutional role
of controlling early childhood education by increasing federal micro-
management of the Head Start program, furthers government intrusions
into religious institutions and redistributes income from Texans to
citizens of other states through the LIHEAP program, I must oppose this
bill. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and instead join me in
defunding all unconstitutional programs and cutting taxes so the
American people may create social service programs that best meet the
needs of low-income children and families in their communities.
Mr. CASTLE, Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the
substitute to S. 2206, the Human Services Authorization ACt of 1998,
offered by Chairman Goodiling.
I am pleased to state that this substitute represent a very balanced
view of many long hours of negotiations and thorough evaluations of the
needs of some of the countries neediest citizens.
In particular, I want to focus my comments today on the Head Start
provisions of the legislation. The Subcommittee on Early Childhood,
Youth, and Families heard from a number of witnesses on ways to
strengthen existing Head Start operations to bring better quality, more
accountability and more results. Today, we are combining that input and
taking several very important steps for our nation's children by
implementing a better, stronger, and more focused program. As you are
aware, the substitute does not contain the more controversial
provisions, including those on parent certificates, construction, and
establishment of paternity. I believe the exclusion of these provisions
leaves us with a stronger and more united bill and commend the Chairman
for his acknowledgment of such.
One of the keys to this reform, that we on the Education Committee
identified immediately, is the need to toughen the education components
of the program. So, what we have done is clarify those educational
components of Head Start. The purpose of Head Start is to promote
school readiness. Make no mistake about it, this program was named
deliberately--these kids need a ``head start'' in life. The new
performance standards are measures in the substitute will enable us to
ensure that students are learning, so that we can meet the needs of
children where we haven't been able to in the past.
In addition monies will be available for advancement in the quality
of Head Start. Specifically, much needed funds will be put toward
teacher training and recruiting college educated teachers. The majority
of Head Start teachers will now have a college degree in early
childhood development. I, personally, think this is essential. We need
to provide strong resources and strong teachers that have an intimate
knowledge of child development to assist families through some of the
most difficult and vital childhood years.
Finally the substitute also cover areas that we are the Federal level
have missed by providing a separate portion of funds directly to
[[Page H7643]]
local grantees. Knowing the priorities and diverse needs of their
individual communities, the local programs can use these funds to
attend to individual children with concerns not addressed by other
parts of the legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have attempted only to highlight the strengths of the
substitute in this brief synopsis, but I want to give my full
endorsement for the entirety of the legislation being put forth today.
With the fiscal constraints we are faced with in the Nation today, I
believe it is essential to strengthen accountability and results and
produce quality programs that ensure children's welfare is being
promoted, and I feel comfortable and confident that this bill helps us
do so.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support the Goodling substitute to
the Human Services Authorization Act of 1998.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this bill.
It is imperative that we continue to fund projects that develop and
enhance educational opportunities for our children. Reauthorizing the
Community Services Block Grant and the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance program provides much needed aid to those who needed the
most help.
It should be clear to all of us that education preserves the very
qualities of humanity that we must uphold. As the great scholar
Plutarch once wrote, ``The very spring and root of honesty and virtue
lie in good education.''
By helping low-income families, Head Start provides financially-
disadvantaged children the foundation for a good education, and it is
this foundation that allows these children to excel in public schools.
Such achievement can then carry them to college and beyond.
It is equally important to ensure the viability of Community Service
Block Grants. This measure would continue the assistance that we
already provide to States and local communities. Moreover, the measure
continues the Federal government's partnership with a network of
community action agencies and other neighborhood-based organizations as
they strive to achieve the reduction of poverty, the revitalization of
low-income communities, and the empowerment of low-income families and
individuals in rural and urban areas to become fully self-sufficient.
Finally, it is vital that we provide adequate funds to the Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program. With the ever-rising costs of home
energy, we cannot forget those who often cannot afford such costs. All
we have to do is look at my hometown of Houston, Texas, and the
terrible heat crisis that resulted in loss of life. If we can provide
assistance to low-income individuals, perhaps we could prevent future
casualties.
Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this Head Start
bill. I would also like to commend the Committee Chairman, Mr.
Goodling, for his strong leadership on this important bill.
Mr. Chairman, I am a very strong supporter of the Head Start program,
but have had many concerns about the quality and the educational
components of the Head Start program. I am pleased with this
legislation because it further addresses quality and professional
development. I am pleased that this legislation establishes ``school
readiness'' as a goal of the Head Start program, and adds very specific
education performance measures to the Head Start statute. The Head
Start program has great potential, and I think that we should continue
to strive to improve the educational components of this valuable
program.
I am also pleased that this bill infuses more money into quality--
such as professional development, teachers' salaries, and overall
quality improvements. I believe that the Head Start program must not be
expanded at the expense of quality.
Finally, this bill addresses professional development by identifying
specific skills that each classroom teacher should be able to
demonstrate, as well as upgrading the degree requirements for the
program so that a majority of classroom teachers will have at least an
associate's degree by 2003. I am pleased that this bill also includes
an amendment that I offered that will strengthen professional
development and the quality of the program. My amendment would require
Head Start grantees to develop or adopt, in consultation with experts
in child development and classroom teachers, an assessment or
evaluation instrument to be used by Head Start grantees when hiring
classroom teachers.
We need to ensure that our Head Start teachers have mastered the
skills to advance the intellectual and physical development of the
children, improve school readiness, establish a safe and healthy
environment, and support the social and emotional development of
children. Again, I appreciate the Chairman's fine leadership on this
bill, and strongly urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) that the
House suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 2206, as amended.
The question was taken.
Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________