[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3756 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3756
To require the Bureau of the Census, in measuring poverty, to
incorporate the distributional analysis of household income used by the
Congressional Budget Office, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 2, 2026
Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Bureau of the Census, in measuring poverty, to
incorporate the distributional analysis of household income used by the
Congressional Budget Office, 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 ``Poverty Statistics Enhancement
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.
In this Act:
(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.
(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,
copayments, 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 ``statisical 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 Act.
(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.
(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).
SEC. 3. ADJUSTMENT OF CENSUS INCOME INEQUALITY CALCULATION.
(a) 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).
(b) 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.
(c) 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 (a), the Director shall submit to Congress a
report detailing the implementation of this Act, 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 (a), the Director
shall submit to Congress a report detailing the
implementation of this Act, including--
(i) the recalculated measures of income
inequality based on the new calculation
methodology implemented under subsection (a);
(ii) a comparison between the recalculated
measures of income inequality and of household
income dispersion based on the new calculation
methodology implemented under subsection (a)
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 (a) 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 (a), 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.
(d) 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 Act.
(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 (b)(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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