[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4115 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4115
To reduce child poverty in the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 30, 2020
Mr. Casey (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, and Mr. Brown) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce child poverty in the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Child Poverty Reduction Act of
2020''.
SEC. 2. CHILD POVERTY GOAL AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is
amended by inserting after part B the following:
``PART C--CHILD POVERTY ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURE
``SEC. 441. NATIONAL GOAL TO CUT CHILD POVERTY BY HALF.
``(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States
to reduce the number of children living in poverty in the United States
by half in 10 years.
``(b) Sense of the Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that
an effort to reach the goal described in subsection (a) shall include
reducing the number of children in deep poverty as well as reducing
child poverty among racial or ethnic groups with disparate poverty
rates.
``SEC. 442. ESTABLISHMENT OF ANNUAL REPORTING.
``(a) Anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure.--The Secretary shall
enter into an agreement with the Bureau of the Census to report an
anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure for individuals who have not
attained 18 years of age, annually beginning with calendar year 2020.
Beginning with the report for calendar year 2021, the report shall be
based on poverty thresholds which are adjusted for inflation using the
Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers (as published by the
Department of Labor). This subsection shall not be interpreted to
require or authorize the replacement of any other calculation or
measure reported by the Bureau of the Census.
``(b) Timing of Release of Current Population Survey Annual Social
and Economic Supplement Microdata.--The Bureau of the Census shall
release the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic
Supplement microdata for each year as a single file containing the
anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure and any other poverty rates the
Bureau of the Census reports. The file shall be released at the same
time as the Bureau of the Census report on Income, Poverty, and Health
Insurance Coverage in the United States. That report, or companion
reports, should include poverty statistics and thresholds for the
anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure and any other measures the Bureau
of the Census reports.
``(c) Reporting in Relation to the Territories.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into an
agreement with the Bureau of the Census to develop data to
report an anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure for Puerto
Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, the Northern
Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, as part of the annual
report required by subsection (a), not later than the close of
fiscal year 2022.
``(2) Report required if compliance is not feasible.--If
the Secretary determines that it will not be feasible to comply
with all or part of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit
to the Congress, not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, a report that explains what is not
feasible, why it is not feasible, and includes details on what,
if anything, would be needed to enable such compliance and by
what date compliance could be achieved.
``(3) Limitations on authorization of appropriations.--To
carry out this subsection, there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary a total of not more than
$2,000,000 for fiscal years 2020 through 2022.
``(d) Improving Income Data for Use in Annual Reporting.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall enter into an
agreement with the Bureau of the Census to develop income data
with corrections for under-reporting of income data for
calculating an anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure as part of
the annual report required by subsection (a), not later than
the close of fiscal year 2022.
``(2) Report required if compliance is not feasible.--If
the Secretary determines that it will not be feasible to comply
with all or part of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit
to the Congress, not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, a report that explains what is not
feasible, why it is not feasible, and includes details on what,
if anything, would be needed to enable such compliance and by
what date compliance could be achieved.
``SEC. 443. CHILD POVERTY REPORTS.
``(a) Annual Reports on the Effect of Federal Policies on Child
Poverty in the United States.--Within 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall enter into an agreement
with the National Academy of Sciences to submit to the Congress annual
reports providing an evidence-based, non-partisan analysis of how
Federal policies or programs have contributed to meeting the goal set
forth in section 441(a), based on their effect on the anchored
Supplemental Poverty Measure for children as reported by the Bureau of
the Census pursuant to section 442.
``(b) Contents of Reports.--
``(1) In general.--Each such report--
``(A) shall analyze how, and the extent to which,
Federal policies and programs contribute to meeting the
goal referred to in subsection (a) of this section;
``(B) shall take into account the number of
children in deep poverty and child poverty among racial
or ethnic groups with disparate poverty rates;
``(C) shall attempt to ascertain whether each
studied policy or program reduces or increases the
number of children living in poverty, why the policy or
program does so, and the extent to which the policy or
program does so; and
``(D) shall include, to the extent feasible,
projections on how such policies or programs would
affect the number of children living in poverty in
future years, which shall be made on the basis of
previously released Current Population Survey Annual
Social and Economic Supplement data, and adjusted
periodically as new estimates from the Bureau of the
Census become available.
``(2) Data corrections.--Where feasible, each such report
shall correct the underlying Current Population Survey Annual
Social and Economic Supplement data for under-reporting of
income and in-kind benefits and shall include estimates using
both uncorrected and corrected income data. Because, available
information with which to produce corrected income data is
currently limited and not timely, each such report shall
indicate the year to which the corrected income data pertain
and other limitations of the data. As soon as corrected income
data from the Census Bureau become available under section
442(d), each such report shall use those data.
``(c) Feasibility Review of State and Local Evidence-Based
Policies.--The 1st report under subsection (a) shall include a review
of the feasibility of including consideration of State and local
evidence-based policies or programs in subsequent such reports, and if
the review determines that including the consideration is feasible,
then each such report shall include an analysis of the additional
policies.
``(d) Timing.--Each report for a year under subsection (a) shall be
made after the report of the United States Census Bureau on Income,
Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States for the
year is released, and--
``(1) in the case of the 1st such report, before the
beginning of the 1st calendar year that begins more than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this section; or
``(2) in the case of each subsequent such report, before
the end of the year.
``(e) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out
this section, there are authorized to be appropriated not more than--
``(1) $1,200,000 for fiscal year 2020; and
``(2) $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through
2029.
``SEC. 444. CHILD POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY CLEARINGHOUSE.
``The Secretary shall establish, and annually update, on a website
of the Department of Health and Human Services, an online collection of
resources related to the national child poverty reduction goal
established in section 441 of this Act, including--
``(1) the anchored Supplemental Poverty Measure published
under section 442 of this Act;
``(2) the reports required by section 443 of this Act;
``(3) the report required by section 3 of the Child Poverty
Reduction Act of 2020;
``(4) the report required by section 4 of the Child Poverty
Reduction Act of 2020; and
``(5) links to other relevant Federal reports, analyses,
evaluations, and resources related to child poverty as
determined by the Secretary.
``SEC. 445. DEFINITIONS.
``In this part:
``(1) Anchored.--The term `anchored' means fixed at a given
point in time, and annually adjusted by a measure reflecting
only changes in prices.
``(2) Poverty.--The term `poverty' means, with respect to
an individual or family, that the individual or family has a
total annual income that is less than the anchored Supplemental
Poverty threshold for the individual or family, as provided in
Bureau of the Census report under section 442.
``(3) Deep poverty.--The term `deep poverty' means, with
respect to an individual or family, that the individual or
family has a total annual income that is less than 50 percent
of the anchored Supplemental Poverty threshold for the
individual or family, as provided in the Bureau of the Census
report under section 442.''.
SEC. 3. UPDATE OF ``A ROADMAP TO REDUCE CHILD POVERTY''.
(a) In General.--Within 36 months after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter
into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to revise and
update the National Academies report entitled ``A Roadmap to Reduce
Child Poverty'' within 72 months after the date of entry into the
agreement.
(b) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out
subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated not more than
$2,200,000.
SEC. 4. REPORT ON REDUCING LONG-TERM, INTERGENERATIONAL CHILD POVERTY.
(a) In General.--Within 6 months after the date of the enactment of
this section, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter
into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to publish,
within 36 months after the date of entry into the agreement, a report
on evidence-based policies to reduce long-term, intergenerational child
poverty, which report shall build on the National Academies report
entitled ``A Roadmap to Reduce Child Poverty''.
(b) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out
subsection (a), there are authorized to be appropriated not more than
$2,200,000.
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