II
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3849
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 28, 2010
Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Casey, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Burris, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Reed, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. Lautenberg) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To extend the Emergency Contingency Fund for State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Programs, and for other purposes.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the Job Preservation for Parents in
Poverty Act
.
Extension and modification of the TANF Emergency Fund
Extension
In general
Section 403(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(c)) is amended—
in paragraph
(2)(A), by inserting , and for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011,
$500,000,000
before for payment
;
by striking paragraph (2)(B) and inserting the following:
Availability and use of funds
Fiscal years 2009 and 2010
The amounts appropriated to the Emergency Fund under subparagraph (A) for fiscal year 2009 shall remain available through fiscal year 2010 and shall be used to make grants to States in each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 in accordance with paragraph (3), except that the amounts shall remain available through fiscal year 2011 to make grants and payments to States in accordance with paragraph (3)(C) to cover expenditures to subsidize employment positions held by individuals placed in the positions before fiscal year 2011.
Fiscal year 2011
Subject to clause (iii), the amounts appropriated to the Emergency Fund under subparagraph (A) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 shall remain available through fiscal year 2012 and shall be used to make grants to States based on expenditures in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 for benefits and services provided in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (3).
Reservation of funds
Of the amounts appropriated to the Emergency Fund under subparagraph (A) for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011, $500,000 shall be placed in reserve for use in fiscal year 2012, and shall be used to award grants for any expenditures described in this subsection incurred by States after December 31, 2010.
;
in paragraph
(2)(C), by striking 2010
and inserting
2012
;
in paragraph (3)—
in clause (i) of each of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C)—
by inserting
, and the first calendar quarter of fiscal year 2011,
after
2009 or 2010,
;
by striking
and
at the end of subclause (I);
by striking the
period at the end of subclause (II) and inserting ; and
;
and
by adding at the end the following:
if the quarter is in fiscal year 2011, has provided the Secretary with such information as the Secretary may find necessary in order to make the determinations, or take any other action, described in paragraph (5)(C).
; and
in subparagraph (C), by adding at the end the following:
Limitation on expenditures for subsidized employment
An expenditure for subsidized employment shall be taken into account under clause (ii) only if the expenditure is used to subsidize employment for—
a member of a needy family (without regard to whether the family is receiving assistance under the State program funded under this part); or
an individual who has exhausted (or, within 60 days, will exhaust) all rights to receive unemployment compensation under Federal and State law, and who is a member of a needy family.
;
by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the following:
Limitations on payments; adjustment authority
Fiscal years 2009 and 2010
The total amount payable to a single State under subsection (b) and this subsection for fiscal years 2009 and 2010 combined shall not exceed 50 percent of the annual State family assistance grant.
Fiscal year 2011
Subject to subparagraph (C), the total amount payable to a single State under subsection (b) and this subsection for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 shall not exceed 5 percent of the annual State family assistance grant.
Adjustment authority
If the Secretary determines that the Emergency Fund is at risk of being depleted before December 31, 2010, or that funds are available to accommodate additional State requests under this subsection, the Secretary may, through program instructions issued without regard to the requirements of section 553 of title 5, United States Code—
specify priority criteria for awarding grants to States during the first quarter of fiscal year 2011; and
adjust the percentage limitation applicable under subparagraph (B) with respect to the total amount payable to a single State for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011.
; and
in paragraph (6),
by inserting or for expenditures described in paragraph
(3)(C)(iv)
before the period.
Conforming amendments
Section 2101 of division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) is amended—
in subsection (a)(2)—
by
striking October 1, 2010
and inserting January 1,
2011
; and
by
striking all that follows repealed
and inserting a period;
and
in subsection
(d)(1), by striking October 1, 2010
and inserting January
1, 2011
.
Modification of grant requirements
In general
Effective October 1, 2010, section 403(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(c)), as amended by subsection (a), is amended—
in paragraph (3)(A)—
by striking
related to caseload
increases
in the heading and inserting
related to increased
expenditures
;
by striking clause (ii) and redesignating clause (iii) as clause (ii); and
by striking
each State that
and all that follows in clause (i) and inserting
each State that requests a grant under this subparagraph for the
quarter, to the extent provided in clause (ii)
;
in paragraph (4),
by striking the caseload of a State and
; and
in paragraph (9)—
by striking subparagraph (A) and redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
by striking
The average monthly assistance caseload of the State.
in clause
(ii)(I) and inserting The average quarterly total expenditures of the
State for basic assistance (as defined by the Secretary under paragraph
(3)(A)(ii)).
.
Conforming amendments
Effective October 1, 2010, section 407(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(b)(3)) is amended—
by striking
(within the meaning of section 403(c)(9))
in subparagraph
(A)(i); and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
Average monthly assistance caseload
For purposes of this paragraph, the term average monthly assistance caseload means, with respect to a State and a quarter, the number of families receiving assistance during the quarter under the State program funded under this part or as qualified State expenditures, subject to adjustment by the Secretary as permitted by section 403(c)(4).
.
Program guidance
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue program guidance, without regard to the requirements of section 553 of title 5, United States Code, which ensures that the funds provided under the amendments made by this section to a jurisdiction for subsidized employment do not support any subsidized employment position the annual salary of which is greater than, at State option—
200 percent of the poverty line (within the meaning of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, including any revision required by such section 673(2)) for a family of 4; or
the median wage in the jurisdiction.
Funding level of TANF Contingency Fund
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the total amount appropriated for the Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs established under section 403(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(b)) shall be—
for fiscal year 2012, $112,000,000; and
for fiscal year 2013, $612,000,000.