[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 24, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3405-S3407]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 6242. Mr. KENNEDY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. ADJUSTMENT OF CENSUS INCOME INEQUALITY CALCULATION.
(a) Definitions and Special Rules.--In this section:
(1) Administering agency.--The term ``administering
agency'' means a Federal, State, or local governmental agency
responsible for assessing income, collecting revenue,
administering a benefit, or collecting, compiling, and
analyzing data related to income assessments, revenue
collections, or benefits administration.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Bureau of the Census.
(3) Earned income.--
(A) In general.--The term ``earned income'' means income
paid to individuals from the following:
(i) Earnings from employment or self-employment, including
employment by a governmental entity to perform specific
services, with continued employment conditional on successful
delivery of those services.
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(ii) Interest.
(iii) Dividends.
(iv) Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts.
(v) Realized capital gains.
(vi) The monetary value of employer-paid benefits,
including--
(I) health insurance premiums;
(II) the actuarial value of--
(aa) employer-funded health insurance net of employee
contributions;
(bb) life insurance premiums;
(cc) contributions to a health savings account (as defined
in section 223(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986);
(dd) contributions to a qualified cash or deferred
arrangement (as defined in section 401(k)(2) of such Code);
(ee) contributions to an individual retirement plan (as
defined in section 7701(a)(37) of such Code); and
(ff) employer contributions to a defined contribution
retirement plan (as defined in section 414(i) of such Code);
(III) benefits from a defined benefit retirement plan (as
defined in section 414(j) of such Code) at the time the
benefits are delivered;
(IV) benefits provided to government employees tied
specifically to their employment, including veterans
benefits; and
(V) other benefits paid by an employer during retirement,
including pensions, healthcare coverage, and other benefits,
counted at the time at which the benefit is received.
(vii) In-kind compensation such as cost-free or reduced-
cost lodging or meals, except for items required by the
employer for performing work, such as uniforms or personal
protective equipment.
(B) Special rules for earned income.--
(i) Adjustments generally.--For purposes of subparagraph
(A), all types of earned income shall be reconciled and
adjusted to known, reliable independent benchmarks, including
benchmarks produced by statistical agencies, programmatic
agencies, the Internal Revenue Service, private sources, and
such other sources as the Director determines appropriate.
(ii) Readjustments.--In addition to adjusting earned income
under clause (i), additional adjustments shall be made for
missing and misreported data based on existing and future
research by the Bureau of the Census, other government
agencies, academic researchers, and other private research.
(4) Government transfer payments.--
(A) In general.--The term ``government transfer payments''
means any money, goods, services, or discounts provided to
individuals, families, or households by or at the direction
of Federal Government or State, local, or other government
sources, including agencies and agents thereof, or by private
entities at the direction of any such source, that are not
payments for services performed as an employee or that are
not provided equally to all legal residents of the United
States without any conditions related to income, assets,
economic status, age, social condition, or any other
restriction.
(B) Inclusions.--The term ``government transfer payments''
includes the following:
(i) Unemployment insurance compensation.
(ii) Workers' compensation.
(iii) Benefits administered by the Social Security
Administration, including--
(I) old-age insurance benefits and disability insurance
benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
401 et seq.); and
(II) supplemental security income benefits under title XVI
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.).
(iv) Benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (45
U.S.C. 231 et seq.).
(v) Other disability benefits from government, except those
provided to government employees as part of their employment
compensation.
(vi) Benefits provided under the Medicare program under
title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et
seq.), including any income-related subsidy described in
section 1860D-14 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w-114), and any
other reduction in premiums or cost sharing, such as
deductibles, copaymentss, or coinsurance under such title.
(vii) So much of the amount of any income tax refund paid
to a taxpayer which is attributable to--
(I) the earned income credit under section 32 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(II) the child tax credit under section 24 of such Code;
and
(III) any other refundable credit under subpart C of part
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code.
(viii) Assistance or benefits provided under the 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.).
(ix) Medical assistance provided under the Medicaid program
established under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).
(x) Child health assistance or pregnancy-related assistance
provided under the State Children's Health Insurance Program
established under title XXI of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.).
(xi) Benefits provided pursuant to an Indian health program
(as defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)).
(xii) Premium tax credits under section 36B of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, cost-sharing reduction payments under
section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act (42 U.S.C. 18071), or any other payment that reduces the
premium amount paid by the enrollee.
(xiii) Any other government payments to assist in
purchasing medical care or health insurance.
(xiv) Benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance
program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
(xv) Free and reduced price meals provided under the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751
et seq.) and section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1773).
(xvi) Benefits and services provided under the special
supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and
children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786).
(xvii) Meals provided under the child and adult care food
program established under section 17 of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766).
(xviii) rental assistance under section 8 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), including
housing choice vouchers and project-based rental assistance.
(xix) Assistance provided by the Rural Housing Service of
the Department of Agriculture, including rental assistance.
(xx) Assistance (including services) under the Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Program, established under the Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et
seq.).
(xxi) A Federal Pell Grant under section 401 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a).
(xxii) So much of the American Opportunity Tax Credit under
section 25A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as is
allowed under subsection (i) thereof.
(xxiii) Such other transfers by or at the direction of
Federal Government or State, local, or other government
sources that the Director determines to be consistent with
subparagraph (A) using available data sources.
(5) Income tax data.--The term ``income tax data'' means
return information, as defined in section 6103(b)(2) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 6103(b)(2)).
(6) Statistical agency.--The term ``statistical agency''
means--
(A) the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of
Labor;
(B) the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Department of
Commerce; and
(C) any other Federal, State, or local government entity
that collects, processes, or publishes data related to any of
the components of income covered by this section.
(7) Taxes.--
(A) In general.--
(i) General definition.--The term ``taxes'' means all money
revenues paid by individuals, families, or households to the
Federal Government or a State, local, or other government
either directly or indirectly through an employer or other
entity based on their earnings from employment, savings,
investing, real estate, trusts, or other sources or on the
value, ownership, or usage of real estate property, personal
property, other assets of any kind, or purchases of goods and
services (including both real and financial).
(ii) Inclusions.--The term ``taxes'' includes--
(I) employment taxes under subtitle C of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (whether paid by the employer or
employee);
(II) income taxes, including taxes on investment income;
(III) corporate income taxes allocated to shareholders
based on best research on share of corporate taxes that
reduce dividends;
(IV) corporate income taxes allocated to employees based on
best research on share of corporate taxes that reduce
compensation;
(V) self-employment income and payroll taxes;
(VI) property taxes;
(VII) capital gains taxes;
(VIII) estate taxes;
(IX) inheritance taxes;
(X) gift taxes;
(XI) sales taxes, use taxes, value added taxes, or any
other fee collected by government on sales of any goods or
any services (either real or financial) to households or
individuals;
(XII) excise taxes paid either separately or included as
part of the price paid for a good or service;
(XIII) tariffs and duties paid either directly or as part
of the price paid for a good or service; and
(XIV) such other sources of money revenues that the
Director determines to be consistent with clause (i).
(B) Special rules for determining amounts of tax.--
(i) In general.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), totals
of taxes shall be reconciled and adjusted to sum to total tax
and other revenue income available from other reliable
sources, including the Office of Management and Budget, the
Department of the Treasury, and the Bureau of Economic
Analysis.
(ii) Treatment of tax credits.--With respect to any
taxpayer:
(I) The amount of taxes paid shall be determined without
regard to any refund paid to the taxpayer which is
attributable to any refundable credit under subpart C of part
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986.
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(II) The amount of any refund paid to the taxpayer which is
attributable to any such refundable credit shall be treated
as a government transfer payment in accordance with paragraph
(3).
(b) New Methodology.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director, in consultation with the
heads of other appropriate Federal, State, and local
agencies, as determined by the Director, shall implement a
new methodology to measure poverty, in addition to the
Official Poverty Measure and the Supplemental Poverty
Measure, that--
(A) uses the methodology outlined in the report of the
Congressional Budget Office titled ``Reconciling the Official
Poverty Measure and CBO's Distributional Analysis of
Household Income''; and
(B) measures the income of an individual as the amount
equal to--
(i) the sum of earned income and government transfer
payments received by the individual, less
(ii) the taxes paid by the individual.
(2) Resolution of potential conflict.--To the extent of any
conflict between the requirements under subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of paragraph (1), the requirement under such subparagraph
(A) shall supersede the requirement under such subparagraph
(B).
(c) Agency Data.--
(1) Federal agencies.--Not later than 180 days after the
head of a Federal agency receives a request from the Director
for data possessed or reasonably obtainable by such Federal
agency for carrying out this section, such head shall make
available to the Director such data to the extent otherwise
permitted by law.
(2) State and local agencies.--The Director may request the
head of a State or local agency that is an administering
agency to provide such data as the Director determines
necessary to carry out this section.
(d) Publication of Data.--
(1) Data report.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Director implements the new methodology required
under subsection (b), the Director shall submit to Congress a
report detailing the implementation of this section,
including the availability and quality of data from the
administering agencies from which the Director has requested
information for carrying out this section.
(2) Measurement report.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on
which the Director implements the new methodology required
under subsection (b), the Director shall submit to Congress a
report detailing the implementation of this section,
including--
(i) the recalculated measures of income inequality based on
the new calculation methodology implemented under subsection
(b);
(ii) a comparison between the recalculated measures of
income inequality and of household income dispersion based on
the new calculation methodology implemented under subsection
(b) and such measures based on the calculation methodologies
in use for such measures on the day before the date on which
such new calculation methodology was implemented; and
(iii) a comparison between each statistic tracked by the
Bureau of the Census based on the new calculation methodology
implemented under subsection (b) and such statistic based on
the calculation methodologies in use for such statistic on
the day before the date on which such new calculation
methodology was implemented.
(B) Data sources.--
(i) In general.--The Director shall use the best available
data sources in creating the report required under
subparagraph (A), including the use of surveys previously
collected by the Bureau of the Census, data from other
statistical agencies, data from private sources, and, in
cases of missing or unknown data, statistical imputations.
(ii) Survey augmentation.--In carrying out clause (i), the
Director may augment surveys being carried out by the Bureau
of the Census or the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor.
(3) Statistics publication.--For all publications and data
sets issued after the date on which the Director implements
the new methodology required under subsection (b), the
Director shall use such new calculation methodology to
calculate each instance of each measure or statistic based on
such methodology, including each historical instance.
(e) Protection and Disclosure of Personally Identifiable
Information.--
(1) In general.--The security, disclosure, and
confidentiality provisions set for in sections 9 and 23 of
title 13, United States Code, shall apply to personally
identifiable information obtained by the Bureau of the Census
pursuant to this section.
(2) Restricted access to personally identifiable
information.--Access to personally identifiable information
collected to supplement the restricted-use Current Population
Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements in accordance
with subsection (c)(1) shall be available only to those who
have access to the Current Population Survey data with the
permission of the Bureau of the Census and in accordance with
any other applicable provision of federal and state law.
(3) Criminal penalties.--Any individual who knowingly
accesses or discloses personally identifiable information in
violation of this section shall be fined not more than
$300,000, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
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