[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6598 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6598
To establish a universal child assistance program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 3, 2022
Ms. Tlaib (for herself and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a universal child assistance program, 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 ``End Child Poverty Act''.
SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL CHILD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Commissioner.--The term ``Commissioner'' means the
Commissioner of Social Security.
(2) Deputy commissioner.--The term ``Deputy Commissioner''
means the Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Universal Child
Assistance.
(3) Qualifying child.--The term ``qualifying child'' means,
with respect to a month, an individual who--
(A) resides in the United States;
(B) is--
(i) a citizen or national of the United
States; or
(ii) a qualified alien (as defined in
section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8
U.S.C. 1641)); and
(C) is less than 19 years old on the last day of
such month.
(b) Establishment of Office of Universal Child Assistance.--
(1) In general.--There is established within the Social
Security Administration an office to be known as the Office of
Universal Child Assistance. The Office shall be headed by a
Deputy Commissioner who shall be appointed by the Commissioner
of Social Security.
(2) Responsibilities of deputy commissioner.--The
Commissioner, acting through the Deputy Commissioner, shall be
responsible for--
(A) hiring personnel and making employment
decisions with regard to such personnel;
(B) issuing such regulations as may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of this section;
(C) entering into cooperative agreements with other
agencies and departments to ensure the efficiency of
the administration of the program;
(D) determining eligibility for child assistance
payments under subsection (c);
(E) making timely child assistance payments to
qualified children in accordance with this section;
(F) establishing and maintaining a system of
records relating to the administration of this section;
(G) preventing fraud and abuse relating to child
assistance payments;
(H) providing information on request regarding
eligibility requirements, the application process,
payment amounts, and limitations on payments; and
(I) tailoring culturally and linguistically
competent education and outreach toward increasing
utilization rates of payments under this section.
(3) Availability of data.--The Commissioner shall make
available to the Deputy Commissioner such data as the
Commissioner determines necessary to enable the Deputy
Commissioner to effectively carry out the responsibilities
described in paragraph (2).
(c) Child Assistance Payments.--
(1) In general.--For every month beginning after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall pay to each
qualified child who has in effect an application approved under
subsection (d) a child assistance payment in an amount equal to
the child assistance amount for the month (as determined under
paragraph (2)).
(2) Child assistance amount.--For purposes of paragraph
(1), the child assistance amount for a month shall be an amount
equal to \1/12\ of the excess of--
(A) the annual poverty guideline for the calendar
year preceding the calendar year in which such month
occurs (as updated annually in the Federal Register by
the Department of Health and Human Services under the
authority of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981) as applicable to a two-
person household, over
(B) the annual poverty guideline for such preceding
calendar year applicable to a single individual.
(3) Representative payees.--Section 205(j) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(j)) shall apply to the payment of
child assistance payments under this section in the same manner
as such section 205(j) applies to the payment of benefits under
title II of such Act.
(4) Penalties.--Section 208 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 408) shall apply with respect to child assistance
payments under this section in the same manner as such section
208 applies with respect to monthly insurance benefits under
title II of such Act.
(d) Application.--
(1) In general.--No child assistance payment shall be made
to an individual unless the Commissioner has approved an
application for such payment in accordance with the
requirements of this paragraph.
(2) Application requirements.--An individual applying for a
child assistance payment as (or on behalf of) a qualifying
child under this section shall provide the Commissioner with an
application in such form and manner as the Commissioner shall
require, and such application shall include--
(A) the name, date of birth, and social security
number or taxpayer identification number of the
qualifying child; and
(B) such other information as the Commissioner
deems necessary.
(3) Simultaneous application.--The Commissioner shall treat
an application for a social security account number for a
qualifying child as an application for a child assistance
payment under this section, unless the applicant affirmatively
indicates on such application an intent to opt out of such
child assistance payments.
(4) Deemed applications.--In the case of any qualifying
child identified to the Commissioner under the data sharing
procedures described in section 6103(l)(23) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended by subsection (e)) who has not
otherwise submitted an application for child assistance
payments under this section, the Commissioner shall treat such
qualifying child as having so applied, unless the applicant
affirmatively indicates to the Commissioner, under such
procedures as the Commissioner may establish, an intent to opt
out of such child assistance payments.
(5) Term of application.--The Commissioner may provide that
an approval of an individual's application for a child
assistance payment under this subsection shall expire after a
specified number of months, after which the individual shall
not be eligible for a child assistance payment until a new
application is approved under this subsection.
(e) IRS Data Sharing With Commissioner of Social Security.--Section
6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at
the end the following new paragraph:
``(23) Disclosure of return information to social security
administration for purposes of child assistance payments.--The
Secretary shall, upon written request from the Commissioner of
Social Security, disclose to the Commissioner any available
taxpayer identity information from the individual master files
of the Internal Revenue Service that the Commissioner deems
relevant to identifying children of taxpayers or children who
are taxpayers who qualify for a child assistance payment under
section 2(c) of the End Child Poverty Act, including
information relating to--
``(A) citizenship status of a child,
``(B) age of a child, and
``(C) country of residence of a child.''.
(f) Income Disregard.--A child assistance payment made under this
section shall not be taken into account as income and shall not be
taken into account as resources for purposes of determining the
eligibility of such individual or any other individual for benefits or
assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under
any Federal program or under any State or local program financed in
whole or in part with Federal funds.
(g) Appropriation.--There are appropriated to the Commissioner for
fiscal year 2022 and each subsequent fiscal year such sums as are
necessary to carry out this section.
SEC. 3. REPEAL OF CHILD TAX CREDIT AND EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.
(a) Child Tax Credit.--Section 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is hereby repealed.
(b) Earned Income Tax Credit.--Section 32 of such Code is hereby
repealed.
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) The table of sections for subpart A of part IV of
subchapter A of chapter 1 of subtitle A of such Code is amended
by striking the item relating to section 24.
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of such part is
amended by striking the item relating to section 32.
(3) Section 45R(f)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by inserting ``(as in effect on the day before
the date of enactment of the Universal Child Assistance Act of
2018)'' after ``section 24(d)(2)(C)''.
(4) Section 25A(g)(2)(B) of such Code is amended by
striking ``, 32''.
(5) Section 86(f) of such Code is amended by striking
paragraph (2).
(6) Section 129(e)(2) of such Code is amended to read as
follows:
``(2) Earned income.--
``(A) The term `earned income'--
``(i) means--
``(I) wages, salaries, tips, and
other employee compensation, but only
if such amounts are includible in gross
income for the taxable year, plus
``(II) the amount of the taxpayer's
net earnings from self-employment for
the taxable year (within the meaning of
section 1402(a)), but such net earnings
shall be determined with regard to the
deduction allowed to the taxpayer by
section 164(f), and
``(ii) does not include any amounts paid or
incurred by an employer for dependent care
assistance to an employee.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)--
``(i) the earned income of an individual
shall be computed without regard to any
community property laws,
``(ii) no amount received as a pension or
annuity shall be taken into account,
``(iii) no amount to which section 871(a)
applies (relating to income of nonresident
alien individuals not connected with United
States business) shall be taken into account,
``(iv) no amount received for services
provided by an individual while the individual
is an inmate at a penal institution shall be
taken into account,
``(v) no amount described in subparagraph
(A) received for service performed in work
activities as defined in paragraph (4) or (7)
of section 407(d) of the Social Security Act to
which the taxpayer is assigned under any State
program under part A of title IV of such Act
shall be taken into account, but only to the
extent such amount is subsidized under such
State program, and
``(vi) a taxpayer may elect to treat
amounts excluded from gross income by reason of
section 112 as earned income.''.
(7) Section 135(d)(1)(B) of such Code is amended by
striking ``32,''.
(8) Section 152(f)(6)(B) of such Code is amended--
(A) in clause (iii), by striking ``, and'' and
inserting a period,
(B) by striking clauses (ii) and (iv), and
(C) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (ii).
(9) Section 501 of such Code is amended--
(A) in subsection (c)(26), by striking ``(as
defined in section 24(c)'' and inserting ``(as defined
in subsection (g))'', and
(B) by amending subsection (g) to read as follows:
``(g) Definitions.--
``(1) Agricultural.--For purposes of subsection (c)(5), the
term `agricultural' includes the art or science of cultivating
land, harvesting crops or aquatic resources, or raising
livestock.
``(2) Qualifying child.--
``(A) In general.--For purposes of subsection
(c)(26), the term `qualifying child' means a qualifying
child of the taxpayer (as defined in section 152(c))
who has not attained age 17.
``(B) Exception for certain noncitizens.--The term
`qualifying child' shall not include any individual who
would not be a dependent if subparagraph (A) of section
152(b)(3) were applied without regard to all that
follows `resident of the United States'.''.
(10) Section 995(f)(2)(C) of such Code is amended by
striking ``32,''.
(11) Section 3402(f)(1) of such Code is amended by striking
subparagraph (C) and by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through
(F) as subparagraphs (C) through (E), respectively.
(12) Section 4293 of such Code is amended by striking
``chapter 32 (other than the taxes imposed by sections 4064 and
4121)''.
(13) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of such Code is amended by
striking ``24(d),'' and ``32,''.
(14) Section 6213(g)(2) of such Code is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (L), by striking ``, 24, 32,'',
(B) by striking subparagraphs (F), (G), (I), (K),
(M), and (P) and by redesignating subparagraphs (H),
(J), (L), (N), (O), and (Q) as subparagraphs (F), (G),
(H), (I), (J), and (K), respectively, and
(C) by adding ``and'' at the end of subparagraph
(J).
(15) Section 6402 of such code is amended by striking
subsection (m) and by redesignating subsection (n) as
subsection (m).
(16) Section 6695(g)(2) of such Code is amended by striking
``24,'' and `` or 32,''.
(17) Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1382b(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (11).
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021.
SEC. 4. REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT FOR ADULT DEPENDENTS.
(a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting before
section 33 the following new section:
``SEC. 32A. ADULT DEPENDENT CREDIT.
``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an eligible individual,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this
subtitle for the taxable year an amount equal to $600 for each
qualifying dependent of the taxpayer.
``(b) Eligible Individual.--The term `eligible individual' means
any individual if--
``(1) such individual is not a dependent for whom a
deduction is allowable under section 151 to another taxpayer
for any taxable year beginning in the same calendar year as
such taxable year, and
``(2) such individual is not a nonresident alien during
such taxable year.
``(c) Qualifying Dependent.--The term `qualifying dependent' means
a dependent (as defined in section 152) who is over the age of 18.
``(d) Identification Number Requirement.--A qualifying dependent
shall not be taken into account under subsection (a) unless the
taxpayer includes the name, age, and TIN of the qualifying child on the
return of tax for the taxable year.
``(e) Inflation Adjustment.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any taxable year
beginning after 2022, the dollar amount in subsection (a) shall
be increased by an amount equal to--
``(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined
under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which
the taxable year begins, determined by substituting
`calendar year 2021' for `calendar year 2016' in
subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.
``(2) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under paragraph
(1) is not a multiple of $0.01, such amount shall be rounded to
the next lowest multiple of $0.01.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart C of
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 32 the
following new item:
``Sec. 32A. Adult dependent credit.''
(c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021.
SEC. 5. REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT FOR ADULTS AND FAMILIES.
(a) In General.--Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 4, is
amended by inserting after section 32A the following new section:
``SEC. 32B. CREDIT FOR ADULTS AND FAMILIES.
``(a) Allowance of Credit.--In the case of an eligible individual,
there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this
subtitle for the taxable year $600 ($1200 in the case of a joint
return).
``(b) Limitation Based on Adjusted Gross Income.--The amount of the
credit allowed by subsection (a) shall be reduced by 5 percent of so
much of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income as exceeds--
``(1) $40,000 in the case of a joint return, and
``(2) $20,000 in any other case.
``(c) Eligible Individual.--The term `eligible individual' means
any individual if--
``(1) such individual (or, if the individual is married,
either the individual or the individual's spouse) has attained
age 19 but not attained age 65 before the close of the taxable
year,
``(2) such individual is not a dependent for whom a
deduction is allowable under section 151 to another taxpayer
for any taxable year beginning in the same calendar year as
such taxable year, and
``(3) such individual is not a nonresident alien during
such taxable year.
``(d) Identification Number Requirement.--No credit shall be
allowed under this section to an eligible individual who does not
include on the return of tax for the taxable year--
``(1) such individual's taxpayer identification number, and
``(2) if the individual is married (within the meaning of
section 7703), the taxpayer identification number of such
individual's spouse.
``(e) Inflation Adjustment.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any taxable year
beginning after 2021, the dollar amounts in subsections (a) and
(b) shall be increased by an amount equal to--
``(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by
``(B) the cost-of-living adjustment determined
under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which
the taxable year begins, determined by substituting
`calendar year 2020' for `calendar year 2016' in
subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof.
``(2) Rounding.--If any amount as adjusted under paragraph
(1) is not a multiple of $0.01, such amount shall be rounded to
the next lowest multiple of $0.01.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for subpart C of
part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended by section 4, is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 32A the following new item:
``Sec. 32B. Credit for adults and families.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021.
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