[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6235 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6235
To establish a universal child assistance program, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 20, 2025
Ms. Tlaib (for herself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mrs.
McIver, Ms. Omar, Mr. Thanedar, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Ms. Pressley)
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--
(A) hire such personnel as are necessary for the
Office of Universal Child Assistance and make
employment decisions with regard to such personnel;
(B) have the authority to enter into contracts or
cooperative agreements with other agencies and
departments as necessary to ensure the efficiency of
the program;
(C) make timely child assistance payments to
qualified children in accordance with this section;
(D) determine eligibility for child assistance
payments under subsection (c);
(E) establish and maintain a system of records
relating to the administration of this section;
(F) prevent fraud and abuse relating to child
assistance payments;
(G) provide information to the public in relation
to child assistance payments, including eligibility
requirements, the application process, payment amounts,
and limitations on payments;
(H) tailor culturally and linguistically competent
education and outreach toward increasing utilization
rates of child assistance payments;
(I) issue an annual report to Congress detailing
the effect of child assistance payments, including--
(i) the number of individuals receiving
payments;
(ii) the total amount of funds disbursed;
(iii) demographic data of individuals
receiving payments; and
(iv) such other information as the Deputy
Commissioner determines is necessary; and
(J) issue such regulations as may be necessary to
carry out the purposes of 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) Monthly payments.--For every month beginning after
December 31, 2025, 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.--
(A) In general.--For purposes of paragraph (1), the
child assistance amount for a month is an amount equal
to \1/12\ of the excess of--
(i) the applicable annual poverty guideline
for a two-person household, over
(ii) the applicable annual poverty
guideline for a single individual.
(B) Applicable annual poverty guideline.--For
purposes of subparagraph (A), the applicable annual
poverty guideline for a month is--
(i) for any month in a calendar year for
which the annual poverty guideline for such
calendar year has been published 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 of the first day of such month, such
published guideline; and
(ii) for any month in a calendar year for
which the annual poverty guideline for such
calendar year has not been published as of the
first day of such month, the annual poverty
guideline for the preceding calendar year.
(C) Reconciliation payments.--
(i) In general.--Upon publication of the
annual poverty guideline for any calendar year,
the Commissioner shall, for each qualified
child who received one or more child assistance
payments for months in such calendar year that
were determined under subparagraph (B)(ii)--
(I) recalculate the child
assistance amount that would have
applied for each such month using the
published guideline for such calendar
year; and
(II) determine the total
reconciliation amount for such child by
summing the difference, if any, between
each recalculated amount and the amount
actually paid for each such month.
(ii) Payment of reconciliation amount.--The
Commissioner shall include the total
reconciliation amount determined under clause
(i)(II) in the next child assistance payment
made to the qualified child after such
determination.
(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.
(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 for purposes of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall not be taken into account as
income or 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.
SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF CHILD TAX CREDIT AND EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT,
PRESERVATION OF TEXT AND CONTINUATION OF COMPUTATIONS FOR
REFERENCE PURPOSES.
(a) Child Tax Credit.--Section 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(l) Termination of Credit.--No credit shall be allowed under this
section for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
``(m) Computation of Reference Credit.--
``(1) In general.--For reference purposes only, for each
taxable year beginning after December 31, 2025, the Secretary
shall compute dollar amounts and tables for the credit that
would be determined under this section as if subsection (l) had
not been enacted.
``(2) Publication.--Not later than December 15 of each
calendar year, the Secretary shall publish the dollar amounts
and tables described in paragraph (1) for the succeeding
taxable year.
``(3) References.--For purposes of any Federal, State, or
local law that refers to `the credit allowed under section 24',
the amount determined pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be
treated as the credit so allowed.''.
(b) Earned Income Tax Credit.--Section 32 of such Code is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(o) Termination of Credit.--No credit shall be allowed under this
section for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
``(p) Computation of Reference Credit.--Rules similar to the rules
of section 24(m) shall apply.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
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 $700 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 dependent on
the return of tax for the taxable year.
``(e) Inflation Adjustment.--
``(1) In general.--In the case of any taxable year
beginning after 2025, 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 2024' 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 amendments made by this section shall
apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
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 $700 ($1,400 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 2025, 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 2024' 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, 2025.
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