[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3484 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3484
To authorize the establishment of HOPE Account Pilot Projects, HOPE
Action Plans Pilot Projects, and competitive grants for pilot projects.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2020
Mrs. Gillibrand introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the establishment of HOPE Account Pilot Projects, HOPE
Action Plans Pilot Projects, and competitive grants for pilot projects.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Health, Opportunity, and Personal
Empowerment Act of 2020'' or ``HOPE Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In 2018, according to the Department of Agriculture,
37,200,000 individuals in the United States (including
11,100,000 children) lived in food insecure households. That
equals 1 in 9 individuals and 1 in 7 children.
(2) In 2017, according to the Bureau of the Census,
38,100,000 individuals (including 13,200,000 children) lived
below the Federal poverty line. The majority of these
individuals living in poverty were working people, children,
older individuals, and individuals with disabilities.
(3) Many low-income individuals work multiple jobs and,
contrary to common misconceptions, if unemployed, they spend a
great deal of time looking for work. They often travel by
public transportation, laboriously making multiple connections
to shuttle between home, work, social service agencies, houses
of worship, and grocery stores. For those living in rural and
suburban areas far from work and without adequate public
transportation they rely upon vehicles to get to work, but
these are often less reliable secondhand vehicles, that often
break down. From traveling greater distances between available
jobs and livable areas with affordable housing options, seeking
out scarce childcare options that fit a tight budget and a
constrained travel schedule, and caring for elderly parents or
grandparents because a senior living facility is not
financially realistic, low-income individuals have little spare
time.
(4) While government safety net programs help tens of
million of individuals avoid starvation, homelessness, and
other outcomes even more dreadful than everyday poverty, there
are significant obstacles that those seeking and maintaining
government assistance face for as long as they are eligible.
Qualified applicants are often required to travel significant
distances to multiple government offices, preparing and
submitting piles of nearly identical paperwork to access the
different government assistance programs. Even when the
application process begins online, the eligible applicant is
typically still required to physically follow up with each
government office with physical copies, for near identical
meetings. As a result, many low-income people are actually
unaware of all the government benefits for which they are
eligible, reducing the amount of help going to individuals in
need by tens of billions of dollars every year. The lines in
these offices can seem endless, and sometimes clients need to
wait outside, for hours, in the worst kinds of weather. Many
offices don't have weekend or night hours, so an applicant is
at risk of losing wages when often their only option is to
apply for government help during work hours.
(5) Each year, many vital government programs go
underutilized because eligible beneficiaries are hindered by
obtrusive, time consuming, and repetitive application barriers.
In 2015, according to the Department of Agriculture, 15 percent
of all people eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance
program (referred to in this section as ``SNAP''), 25 percent
of the ``working poor'' eligible for SNAP, and 55 percent of
seniors over 60 who were eligible failed to receive it.
(6) The United States has hundreds of thousands of
nonprofit groups providing high quality and much needed social
services, but it is nearly impossible for struggling people to
determine which of those organizations provides services they
need, whether the organization is conveniently located, and for
which services they are eligible. If they do determine that a
nonprofit (or multiple nonprofits) could help, they need to
take yet more time to visit each one.
(7) Since many government and nonprofit programs require
frequent reapplications and recertifications, a low-income
person often has to repeat the same endless and frustrating
process.
(8) Technology has fundamentally revamped the lives of most
individuals, usually for the better. According to the Pew
Research Center, 64 percent of low-income individuals have a
smart phone as of 2016 (not because a smart phone is a luxury
but because it is an essential tool of learning and work in
modern America) but they rarely can use these devices to apply
for benefits. Digital technology, combined with policy
improvements, can simplify the lives and boost the long-term
self-sufficiency of our lowest income residents.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of
Agriculture, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, acting collaboratively.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible pilot community''
means a State, unit of general purpose local government, Tribal
government, or an entity that represents a smaller geographical
area therein (including a neighborhood).
(3) Target population.--The term ``target population''
includes an individual or household that--
(A) earns an income below 200 percent of the
Federal poverty line;
(B) suffers from food insecurity;
(C) earns insufficient income to ensure food
security or economic security;
(D) lives in a rural, suburban, or urban community
that suffers from poverty, hunger, or food insecurity;
(E) is homeless;
(F) receives (or recently received) assistance
under a State program funded under part A of title IV
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),
relating to temporary assistance to needy families;
(G) is eligible for benefits under any Federal
nutrition assistance program or Federal antipoverty
program; or
(H) is formerly a youth in transition from foster
care or the juvenile detention facilities.
(4) Partner nonprofit organization.--The term ``partner
nonprofit organization'' means any national, regional, State,
or local nonprofit group described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section
501(a) of such Code.
SEC. 4. HOPE ACCOUNTS PILOT PROJECTS.
(a) Pilot Projects Authorized.--The Secretaries shall allow
eligible entities that apply to such Secretaries to carry out Health,
Opportunity, and Personal Empowerment (``HOPE'') Accounts Pilot
Projects to enable target populations of individuals to establish
through banks, credit unions, and any governmental or Tribal agencies
HOPE accounts that enable such individuals--
(1) to have their paychecks deposited directly in such
accounts;
(2) to use such accounts to increase savings that would be
matched with funds provided by government and private sources,
including individual development accounts;
(3) to use an account mobile application on a smart phone
to easily locate and sign up for job training and placement
services online;
(4) to enable such individuals to use any smart phone,
tablet, or computer--
(A) to learn about the public and philanthropic
programs that provide benefits to such individuals,
including aid to improve health, nutrition, job
training and placement, housing, and income;
(B) to receive Federal and State tax credits; and
(C) to apply for, submit eligibility documents for,
enroll in, and manage the use of such benefits at once
through the convenience of their device if individuals
or their households are eligible for one or more of
such benefits;
(5) to receive a basic smart phone, tablet, or computer,
along with a subsidized internet Wi-Fi access plan, if such
individuals do not own a smart phone, tablet, or computer;
(6) to obtain the access and information described in
paragraph (4) with assistance at libraries, government offices,
or nonprofit agencies if such individuals are uncomfortable
using internet technology themselves;
(7) to obtain access to the information described in
paragraph (4), with the assistance of government or nonprofit
employees, AmeriCorps national service participants, or Senior
Corps members, to receive home visits if such individuals are
elderly or disabled;
(8) to access health care information that specifies
medical benefits, and any out-of-pocket costs, for each of the
health plans for which such individuals may be eligible, and to
empower such individuals to easily select the plan that works
best for them;
(9) to enable such individuals to file directly (and
without expending funds to obtain third-party tax filing
services) to obtain Federal tax credits and refunds, and in
States and localities with their own supplemental tax credits,
to simultaneously file for credits and refunds;
(10) to deposit cash in the account that is set aside for
education, job training, starting a business, or buying a home
and that would be nontaxable;
(11) to easily access and monitor, in 1 central online
account--
(A) to be able to check the status, amounts, and
recertification deadlines for some or all their
benefits and savings; and
(B) to pay all bills online, saving high check
cashing fees and enormous amounts of time;
(12) to budget resources by using real-time cash flow data
and long-term financial planning data, including calculating
how much such individuals would lose in interest on credit
cards versus how much such individuals would gain in interest
by saving more;
(13) to access calendar and scheduling functions that
enable individuals to keep track of all job search, work,
family, and school obligations, as well as any social service
filing or appointment dates;
(14) to be protected by security and privacy systems so
that only such individuals, and not the government, nonprofit,
or banking partners, would be able to see or track private
financial and appointment information; and
(15) notwithstanding other provisions of law, to allow
program applicants to easily and clearly authorize their
sharing of personal and financial information with multiple
government agencies, solely for the purpose of those government
agencies enabling the individuals to apply for and utilize
government benefits.
(b) Fiscal Years.--Pilot projects authorized by subsection (a)
shall be carried out for a 1-year period in each of the fiscal years
2020 through 2025.
SEC. 5. HOPE ACTION PLANS PILOT PROJECTS.
(a) Pilot Projects Authorized.--The Secretaries shall allow
eligible entities that apply to such Secretaries to carry out HOPE
Action Plans Pilot Projects to enable target populations of individuals
to partner with government and nonprofit organizations by entering into
voluntary agreements to carry out long-term HOPE action plans that--
(1) specify exactly how the parties to such plans will help
such individuals and their families earn, learn, and save
better in order to ensure greater economic opportunity for
themselves and their children by working together in a long-
term, positive relationship for the purpose of ensuring upward
mobility;
(2) are designed to empower such individuals and their
families to better organize their time and focus their
activities on productive endeavors while providing them extra
resources to do so;
(3) may be--
(A) short-term, conducted over a year or 2 years,
and aimed at helping families achieve very basic goals,
such as avoiding homelessness and hunger; or
(B) long-term with far more ambitious goals for
upward mobility; and
(4) would require that participating individuals and
families, government entities, and nonprofit partners have
equal rights to hold each other accountable for plan outcomes
and funding.
(b) Fiscal Years.--Pilot projects authorized by subsection (a)
shall be carried out in each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2025.
SEC. 6. COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR PILOT PROJECTS.
(a) Application for Grant.--The Secretaries shall each create grant
application processes to competitively make grants to eligible entities
to aid target populations. To be eligible to receive a grant for a
fiscal year under this section, eligible entities shall submit to the
appropriate Secretary an application that contains a description of how
the applicant proposes to use the grant funds to implement the
components of the pilot projects authorized by this section.
Applications shall be submitted in such form, at such time, and
containing such other information as the Secretaries may require.
(b) Form of Grants.--If a Secretary finds it appropriate, the
Secretary may use cooperative agreements, as described in section 6305
of title 31, United States Code, for purposes of making grants under
this section.
(c) Amount of Grant.--Grants made under this section shall range in
amounts from $250,000 to $3,000,000, and should be proportionate to the
geographical size, project complexity, and number of individuals
participating in each project. Eligible entities may receive grants
made under this section by two or more of the Secretaries. To the
extent funds are available, each Secretary shall make not fewer than 8
such grants annually.
(d) Distribution of Grants.--To the extent practicable, the
Secretaries shall make grants for pilot projects that operate
statewide, as well as pilot projects designed to serve specific rural,
urban, and suburban areas. To the extent practicable, pilot projects
for which grants are made shall be distributed among diverse
administrative regions of Department of Housing and Urban Development,
the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of
Agriculture.
(e) Preference.--For purposes of making grants under this section,
preference shall be given for pilot projects that--
(1) serve individuals in historically underserved, high-
poverty, rural or urban communities;
(2) simultaneously test both HOPE Accounts and HOPE Action
Plans;
(3) involve low-income individuals as equal partners in
project planning and implementation;
(4) make additional funds available directly to low-income
households through action plans, either through government
payments or through nonprofit subgrantees;
(5) are matched by considerable non-Federal funds without
penalizing very-low income, underserved rural and urban
communities that cannot provide non-Federal matching funds;
(6) propose concrete plans for long-term sustainability and
expansions without future Federal grant funds;
(7) assist low-income households to apply for the Federal
earned income tax credits and State tax credits;
(8) provide resources in both English and additional
languages commonly spoken in the applicable area;
(9) prioritize client-facing, fully tested technology and
mobile device applications;
(10) include a robust monitoring and evaluation planning
and reporting plan, including proposed staffing and reporting
for that plan, including reporting on the extent to which the
pilot makes it easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income
individuals to access a variety of benefits, the extent to
which the pilot will save administrative funds over the long-
run, the extent to which the accuracy and integrity of the
benefits programs included are maintained or improved, and the
extent to which low-income households are able to more easily
obtain free or low-cost banking services;
(11) subcontract part of the pilot project implementation
work to United States-based private businesses, banks, savings
and loans, credit unions, co-ops and nonprofit organizations
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 with relevant, successful experience in similar or related
project activities;
(12) incorporate a benefits calculator to enable applicants
to learn how the receipt of some benefits might or might not
impact whether they are eligible for other benefits and might
impact the amount of those other benefits for which they are
eligible;
(13) include planning and funding for the pilot entities to
train their staffs and clients to utilize the new technologies;
(14) in rural and other areas without strong broad-band
service, integrate activities under the grant with other
activities to strengthen local-broad band service;
(15) enable low-income individuals to obtain free or
reduced price smart phones and free or reduced-price data
services;
(16) ensure that individuals without personal smart phone,
tablet, or computer access are able to benefit from the systems
and technological improvements in the pilot projects at public
locations such as public libraries, community centers, and
social service offices;
(17) propose a detailed, workable plan to thoroughly beta
test and field test any new technologies or systems in the
pilot project before making such technologies or systems
available to all households, individuals, or the entire pilot
area; and
(18) identify the applicable Federal, State, local, or
Tribal statutory and regulatory authorities, including waiver
authorities, to be potentially leveraged to most effectively
implement the proposed pilot project.
SEC. 7. HOPE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CONTRACTS.
(a) Authority.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in
consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development, shall hold a merit-based competition to
award HOPE Technology Innovation Contracts to United States-based
private businesses and nonprofit organizations described in section
503(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with relevant,
successful experience in technology, to create technology, including
mobile applications, widgets, and templates that pilot entities can use
to create HOPE accounts.
(b) Number of Contracts.--The Secretary shall award no more than
ten and not fewer than two such contracts each fiscal year.
(c) Size of Contracts.--Contracts may range in size from $200,000
to $4,500,000.
(d) Availability to the Public.--All technologies developed with
funding provided under this section shall be open-sourced and available
to the public for free.
(e) Household Data.--No contractor shall have access to any client
or household data through a project under this section, unless such
contractor is a contractor or subgrantee for a pilot entity, in which
case such contractor may have limited, functional access to such data.
In no case shall a contractor share or sell client or household data.
(f) Preferences.--In making awards under this section, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall give preference to
applicants that ensure the following with respect to the applicable
technology:
(1) Client-facing technology with top preferences mobile
device applications and uses and secondary preferences to
tablet and computer and texting uses.
(2) Incorporate fail-safe systems to maintain the privacy
and security of data.
(3) Are easily adaptable at the lowest possible financial
costs with the least possible staff time by pilot entities and
other State, county, city, municipal, and Tribal governments in
a manner that can easily be utilized by low-income individuals.
(4) Build in the ability to be easily updated as
technologies evolve.
SEC. 8. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND NONDISPLACEMENT OF WORKERS.
None of the pilot projects carried out under this Act shall do any
of the following:
(1) Decrease the overall monetary value of Federal, State,
local, or Tribal government funding assistance given to any
individual or family, although all entities involved could
independently, or jointly, increase funding under such
projects.
(2) Decrease the overall Federal, State, local, or Tribal
government funding for antipoverty programs spent by
participating pilot communities and agencies, although all
entities involved may independently, or jointly, increase
funding.
(3) Lengthen the amount of time or increase the
requirements necessary to receive any government benefits, or
in any way make it more difficult to obtain any form of
government assistance.
(4) Limit the legal rights of anyone in the target
populations to receive government or nonprofit assistance.
(5) Decrease overall public sector employment in any
eligible pilot community, but public employees could be
transferred at similar or higher salaries and pay grades from
positions that oversee paperwork to positions that provide
direct services to the public, assuming such transfers do not
violate collective barraging agreements or their other rights
as public employees.
(6) Decrease or increase work requirements for existing
government programs.
(7) Reduce program integrity measures or increase the
possibility of fraud in any government program.
(8) Track or monitor the physical location or immigration
status of immigrants, be used for any immigration enforcement
activity against any individuals, or be used to provide any
data whatsoever to agencies involved in immigration enforcement
activities or policy.
(9) Enable any pilot entity or contractor, subcontractor,
or partner of any pilot entity to share or sell client or
household data obtained through those projects.
(10) Eliminate the existing ability of applicants to apply
for, recertify, or manage government benefits by physically
visiting a government office.
SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) Report.--Not later than September 30 of each of fiscal years
2020 through 2026, the Secretaries shall submit to Congress a report on
the results of pilot projects carried out under this Act.
(b) Contents of Report.--Each report under subsection (a) shall
include detailed data on the extent to which the pilot makes it easier,
quicker, and less costly for low-income individuals to access a variety
of benefits, the extent to which the pilot will save administrative
funds over the long-term, the extent to which the accuracy and
integrity of the benefits programs included are maintained or improved,
and the extent to which low-income households are able to more easily
obtain free or low-cost banking services.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
AUTHORIZED.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act for each of the fiscal years 2020
through 2025--
(1) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, of which $500,000 shall be used internally by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development for staff and other
expenses to plan, award, and oversee pilot projects under this
Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for grants under section
6;
(2) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Agriculture, of which
$500,000 shall be used internally by Department of Agriculture
for staff and other expenses to plan, award, and oversee pilot
projects under this Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for
grants under section 6; and
(3) $15,000,000 to the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, of which $500,000 shall be used internally by the
Department of Health and Human Services for staff and other
expenses to plan, award, and oversee pilot projects under this
Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for grants under section
6, and 5,000,000 shall be available for contracts under section
7.
(b) Technical Assistance Authorized.--The Secretary of Health and
Human Services, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary
of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service, the Chief Executive Officer of the
Corporation for National and Community Service, the Administrator of
the Small Business Administration, the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology, the
Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Domestic
Policy Council may, for the purpose of advancing the objectives of the
pilot projects carried out under this Act--
(1) provide technical assistance;
(2) solicit voluntary, nonmonetary assistance from
institutions of higher education, credit unions, and private
sector technology companies, banks, and financial institutions;
and
(3) inform eligible entities of the applicable Federal,
State, local, or Tribal statutory and regulatory authorities,
including waiver authorities.
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