Welfare Dependency Act of 1993

Summary: Welfare Dependency Act of 1993 - Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop indicators, rates, and predictors or welfare dependency. 
Establishes an Advisory Board on Welfare Dependency to advise the Secretary on their development. 
Requires the Secretary to report annually to the Congress on welfare dependency in the United States.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Welfare Dependency Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds:
            (1) In the period since 1960 the average annual caseload of 
        the aid to families with dependent children program (hereafter 
        referred to in this section as ``AFDC'') under title IV of the 
        Social Security Act has quintupled.
            (2) In 1990 there were on average almost twice as many 
        households receiving AFDC payments as the number of households 
        and individuals receiving unemployment compensation benefits.
            (3) Nearly one-quarter of children born in the period 1967 
        through 1969 were on welfare (AFDC) before reaching age 18. For 
        minority children this ratio approached three-quarters.
            (4) At any given time one-quarter of school children are 
        from single parent families, or households with neither parent. 
        The National Assessment of Educational Progress has documented 
        the educational losses associated with single parent or no 
        parent households.
            (5) Only one-quarter of father-absent families receive full 
        child support and over one-half receive none.
            (6) The average AFDC benefit has declined by more than one-
        third since 1960.
            (7) The burden of welfare dependency is an issue of 
        necessary concern to women, who in overwhelming proportion are 
        the heads of single parent families.
            (8) The rate of welfare dependency may be rising. However, 
        the statistical basis on which to assess this national issue is 
        wholly inadequate, much as the statistical basis for addressing 
        issues of unemployment was inadequate prior to the Employment 
        Act of 1946, which required the creation of the annual economic 
        report of the President and the development of unemployment 
        rates.
    (b) Congressional Policy.--The Congress hereby declares that--
            (1) it is the policy and responsibility of the Federal 
        Government to reduce welfare dependency to the lowest possible 
        level, and to assist families toward self-sufficiency, 
        consistent with other essential national goals;
            (2) it is the policy of the United States to strengthen 
        families, to ensure that children grow up in families that are 
        economically self-sufficient and to underscore the 
        responsibility of parents to support their children;
            (3) the Federal Government should help welfare recipients 
        as well as individuals at risk of welfare dependency to improve 
        their education and job skills, to obtain access to necessary 
        support services, and to take such other steps as may assist 
        them to meet their responsibilities to become financially 
        independent; and
            (4) it is the purpose of this Act to aid in lowering 
        welfare dependency by providing the public with generally 
        accepted measures of welfare dependency so that the public can 
        track dependency over time and determine whether progress is 
        being made in reducing welfare dependency and enabling families 
        to be self-sufficient.

SEC. 3. MEASUREMENT AND REPORTING OF WELFARE DEPENDENCY.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 413 the following new 
section:

           ``measurement and reporting of welfare dependency

    ``Sec. 414. (a) Development of Welfare Dependency Indicators, 
Rates, and Predictors.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, shall develop indicators, rates, and 
        predictors of welfare dependency.
            ``(2) Development.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) develop--
                            ``(i) indicators and rates related to the 
                        level of welfare dependency in the United 
                        States; and
                            ``(ii) predictors that are correlated with 
                        welfare dependency;
                    ``(B) assess the data needed to report annually on 
                the indicators, rates, and predictors, including the 
                ability of existing data collection efforts to provide 
                such data and any additional data collection needs; and
                    ``(C) not later than 2 years after the date of the 
                enactment of this section, provide an interim report 
                containing conclusions resulting from the development 
                and assessment described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), 
                to--
                            ``(i) the Committee on Ways and Means of 
                        the House of Representatives;
                            ``(ii) the Committee on Education and Labor 
                        of the House of Representatives;
                            ``(iii) the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                        House of Representatives;
                            ``(iv) the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
                        of the House of Representatives;
                            ``(v) the Committee on Finance of the 
                        Senate;
                            ``(vi) the Committee on Labor and Human 
                        Resources of the Senate; and
                            ``(vii) the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
            ``(3) Considerations.--In developing the indicators, rates, 
        and predictors, the Secretary shall consider the complexity of 
        patterns of welfare dependency and self-sufficiency attainment, 
        and the external factors, including the economy, that affect 
        welfare dependency.
    ``(b) Advisory Board on Welfare Dependency.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is established an Advisory 
        Board on Welfare Dependency (hereafter referred to in this 
        section as the ``Board'').
            ``(2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of 12 
        members with equal numbers to be appointed by the House of 
        Representatives, the Senate, and the President. The Board shall 
        be composed of experts in the fields of welfare research and 
        statistical methodology, representatives of State and local 
        welfare agencies, and organizations concerned with welfare 
        issues.
            ``(3) Vacancies.--Any vacancy occurring in the membership 
        of the Board shall be filled in the same manner as the original 
        appointment for the position being vacated. The vacancy shall 
        not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the 
        duties of the Board.
            ``(4) Duties.--Duties of the Board shall include--
                    ``(A) providing advice and recommendations to the 
                Secretary on the development of indicators, rates, and 
                predictors of welfare dependency, and the 
                identification of data collection needs and existing 
                data collection efforts, described in subsection 
                (a)(2)(B); and
                    ``(B) providing advice on the development and 
                presentation of the annual report on welfare dependency 
                indicators, rates, and predictors required under 
                subsection (c).
            ``(5) Travel expenses.--Members of the Board shall not be 
        compensated, but shall receive travel expenses, including per 
        diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees 
        of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 
        States Code, for each day the member is engaged in the 
        performance of duties away from the home or regular place of 
        business of the member.
            ``(6) Detail of federal employees.--The Secretary shall 
        detail, without reimbursement, any of the personnel of the 
        Department of Health and Human Services to the Board to assist 
        the Board in carrying out its duties. Any detail shall not 
        interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or 
        privileges of the Federal employee.
            ``(7) Voluntary service.--Notwithstanding section 1342 of 
        title 31, United States Code, the Board may accept the 
        voluntary services provided by a member of the Board.
            ``(8) Termination of board.--The Board shall be terminated 
        at such time as the Secretary determines the duties described 
        in paragraph (4) have been completed, but in any case prior to 
        the submission of the first report required under subsection 
        (c).
    ``(c) Annual Welfare Dependency Report.--
            ``(1) Preparation.--The Secretary shall prepare an annual 
        report on welfare dependency in the United States. The report 
        shall attempt to identify indicators, rates, and predictors of 
        welfare dependency and trends in dependency, and provide 
        information and analysis on the causes of dependency.
            ``(2) Coverage.--The report shall include analysis of 
        families and individuals receiving assistance under means-
        tested benefit programs, including the program of aid to 
        families with dependent children under this part, the food 
        stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, and the 
        Supplemental Security Income program under title XVI, or as 
        general assistance under programs administered by State and 
        local governments.
            ``(3) Contents.--Each report shall set forth--
                    ``(A) for each of the means-tested benefit programs 
                described in paragraph (2)--
                            ``(i) current trends in the number and 
                        rates of recipients and the characteristics, 
                        including age, sex, marital status, presence of 
                        children, labor force participation, and 
                        disability, of the recipients; and
                            ``(ii) total expenditures;
                    ``(B) the proportion of the total population 
                receiving each of the programs and patterns of multiple 
                program participation and recipiency duration;
                    ``(C)(i) characteristics of each such program, 
                including total expenditures broken down by Federal and 
                State shares, gross income limit, need standards, and 
                maximum potential benefit by State; and
                    ``(ii) a description of the interactions among the 
                programs;
                    ``(D) in the case of the second, or a subsequent, 
                report, changes in the information described in 
                subparagraphs (A) through (C) from the previous year, 
                and trends in program participation;
                    ``(E) annual numerical goals for recipients, and 
                expenditures, within each program and within 
                significant subgroups within the population, for the 
                calendar year in which the report is transmitted and 
                for each of the following 4 calendar years, which goals 
                shall, consistent with other essential national goals, 
                reflect the objectives of--
                            ``(i) reducing welfare dependency to the 
                        lowest possible level; and
                            ``(ii) increasing family self-sufficiency 
                        at or above the Federal poverty level to the 
                        greatest extent possible;
                    ``(F)(i) the programs and policies as the 
                Secretary, in consultation with the Board, determines 
                are necessary to meet the goals for each of the 5 
                years; and
                    ``(ii) such recommendations for legislation, which 
                shall not include proposals to reduce eligibility 
                levels or impose barriers to program access, as the 
                Secretary may determine to be necessary or desirable to 
                reduce welfare dependency; and
                    ``(G) interim goals for reducing the proportion of 
                children, and families with children, who are 
                recipients of aid to families with dependent children 
                to 10 percent of families with children, adjusted for 
                economic conditions.
            ``(4) Submission.--The Secretary shall submit such a report 
        not later than 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 
        section, and annually thereafter, to the committees specified 
        in subsection (a)(2)(C). The report shall be transmitted during 
        the first 60 days of each regular session of Congress.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall be 
effective on the date of the enactment of this Act.