I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3659 

To reauthorize the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance 

for needy families through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 14, 2011 

Mr. PAULSEN (for himself, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. 

SCHOCK, and Mrs. BLACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the program of block grants to States for 

temporary assistance for needy families through fiscal 

year 2012, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Welfare Integrity and 

5 Data Improvement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Extension of program. 

Sec. 4. Data standardization. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3659 IH

Sec. 5. Spending policies for assistance under State TANF programs. 

Sec. 6. Technical corrections. 

1 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF PROGRAM. 

2 (a) FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—Section 

3 403(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘ each of 

6 fiscal years 1996’’ and all that follows through 

7 ‘‘2003’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2012’’; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘(as in effect just before 

10 the enactment of the Welfare Integrity and 

11 Data Improvement Act)’’ after ‘‘this para12 graph’’ the 1st place it appears; and 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘(as so in effect)’’ after 

14 ‘‘this paragraph’’ the 2nd place it appears; and 

15 (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘2003’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

17 (b) HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPON18 SIBLE FATHERHOOD GRANTS.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

21 (c) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIREMENT.— 

22 Section 409(a)(7) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)) is 

23 amended— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3659 IH

1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘fiscal 

2 year’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2013’’ and in3 serting ‘‘a fiscal year’’; and 

4 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘for fiscal years 1997 

6 through 2012,’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘407(a) for the fiscal 

8 year,’’ and inserting ‘‘407(a),’’. 

9 (d) TRIBAL GRANTS.—Section 412(a) of such Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 612(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs 

11 (1)(A) and (2)(A) by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 1997’’ 

12 and all that follows through ‘‘2003’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal 

13 year 2012’’. 

14 (e) STUDIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS.—Section 

15 413(h)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 613(h)(1)) is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 1997 through 2002’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2012’’. 

18 (f) CENSUS BUREAU STUDY.—Section 414(b) of 

19 such Act (42 U.S.C. 614(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘each 

20 of fiscal years 1996’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2003’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2012’’. 

22 (g) CHILD CARE ENTITLEMENT.—Section 418(a)(3) 

23 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘appropriated’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘appro25 priated $2,917,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3659 IH

1 (h) GRANTS TO TERRITORIES.—Section 1108(b)(2) 

2 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1308(b)(2)) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘for fiscal years 1997 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal 

4 year 2012’’. 

5 (i) PREVENTION OF DUPLICATE APPROPRIATIONS

6 FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012.—Expenditures made pursuant 

7 to the Short-Term TANF Extension Act (Public Law 

8 112–35) or section 403(b) of the Social Security Act for 

9 fiscal year 2012 shall be charged to the applicable appro10 priation or authorization provided by the amendments 

11 made by this section for such fiscal year. 

12 (j) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend13 ments made by this section shall take effect on the date 

14 of the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 4. DATA STANDARDIZATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411 of the Social Security 

17 Act (42 U.S.C. 611) is amended by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(d) DATA STANDARDIZATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) STANDARD DATA ELEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary, in 

22 consultation with an interagency work group 

23 which shall be established by the Office of Man24 agement and Budget, and considering State 

25 and tribal perspectives, shall, by rule, designate 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3659 IH

1 standard data elements for any category of in2 formation required to be reported under this 

3 part. 

4 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In designating the 

5 standard data elements, the Secretary shall, to 

6 the extent practicable— 

7 ‘‘(i) ensure that the data elements are 

8 nonproprietary and interoperable; 

9 ‘‘(ii) incorporate interoperable stand10 ards developed and maintained by an inter11 national voluntary consensus standards 

12 body, as defined by the Office of Manage13 ment and Budget, such as the Inter14 national Organization for Standardization; 

15 ‘‘(iii) incorporate interoperable stand16 ards developed and maintained by inter17 governmental partnerships, such as the 

18 National Information Exchange Model; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(iv) incorporate interoperable stand21 ards developed and maintained by Federal 

22 entities with authority over contracting 

23 and financial assistance, such as the Fed24 eral Acquisition Regulatory Council. 

25 ‘‘(2) DATA REPORTING STANDARDS.— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3659 IH

1 ‘‘(A) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary, in 

2 consultation with an interagency work group es3 tablished by the Office of Management and 

4 Budget, and considering State and tribal per5 spectives, shall, by rule, designate standards to 

6 govern the data reporting required under this 

7 part. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In designating the 

9 data reporting standards, the Secretary shall, to 

10 the extent practicable, incorporate existing non11 proprietary standards, such as the eXtensible 

12 Business Reporting Language. Such standards 

13 shall, to the extent practicable— 

14 ‘‘(i) incorporate a widely-accepted, 

15 nonproprietary, searchable, computer-read16 able format; 

17 ‘‘(ii) be consistent with and implement 

18 applicable accounting principles; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) be capable of being continually 

20 upgraded as necessary.’’. 

21 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

22 subsection shall apply with respect to information required 

23 to be reported on or after October 1, 2012. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3659 IH

1 SEC. 5. SPENDING POLICIES FOR ASSISTANCE UNDER 

2 STATE TANF PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) STATE REQUIREMENT.—Section 408(a) of the 

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by add5 ing at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(12) STATE REQUIREMENT TO PREVENT UN7 AUTHORIZED SPENDING OF BENEFITS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 

9 grant is made under section 403 shall maintain 

10 policies and practices as necessary to prevent 

11 assistance provided under the State program 

12 funded under this part from being used in any 

13 electronic benefit transfer transaction in— 

14 ‘‘(i) any liquor store; 

15 ‘‘(ii) any casino, gambling casino, or 

16 gaming establishment; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) any retail establishment which 

18 provides adult-oriented entertainment in 

19 which performers disrobe or perform in an 

20 unclothed state for entertainment. 

21 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of sub22 paragraph (A)— 

23 ‘‘(i) LIQUOR STORE.—The term ‘liq24 uor store’ means any retail establishment 

25 which sells exclusively or primarily intoxi26 cating liquor. Such term does not include 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3659 IH

1 a grocery store which sells both intoxi2 cating liquor and groceries including staple 

3 foods (within the meaning of section 3(r) 

4 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

5 U.S.C. 2012(r))). 

6 ‘‘(ii) CASINO, GAMBLING CASINO, OR

7 GAMING ESTABLISHMENT.—The terms ‘ca8 sino’, ‘gambling casino’, and ‘gaming es9 tablishment’ do not include a grocery store 

10 which sells groceries including such staple 

11 foods and which also offers, or is located 

12 within the same building or complex as, ca13 sino, gambling, or gaming activities. 

14 ‘‘(iii) ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANS15 FER TRANSACTION.—The term ‘electronic 

16 benefit transfer transaction’ means the use 

17 of a credit or debit card service, automated 

18 teller machine, point-of-sale terminal, or 

19 access to an online system for the with20 drawal of funds or the processing of a pay21 ment for merchandise or a service.’’. 

22 (b) PENALTY.—Section 409(a) of such Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3659 IH

1 ‘‘(16) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO ENFORCE

2 SPENDING POLICIES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If, within 2 years 

4 after the date of the enactment of this para5 graph, any State has not reported to the Sec6 retary on such State’s implementation of the 

7 policies and practices required by section 

8 408(a)(12), or the Secretary determines, based 

9 on the information provided in State reports, 

10 that any State has not implemented and main11 tained such policies and practices, the Secretary 

12 shall reduce, by an amount equal to 5 percent 

13 of the State family assistance grant, the grant 

14 payable to such State under section 403(a)(1) 

15 for— 

16 ‘‘(i) the fiscal year immediately suc17 ceeding the year in which such 2-year pe18 riod ends; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) each succeeding fiscal year in 

20 which the State does not demonstrate that 

21 such State has implemented and main22 tained such policies and practices. 

23 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF APPLICABLE PEN24 ALTY.—The Secretary may reduce the amount 

25 of the reduction required under subparagraph 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3659 IH

1 (A) based on the degree of noncompliance of 

2 the State. 

3 ‘‘(C) STATE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR INDI4 VIDUAL VIOLATIONS.—Fraudulent activity by 

5 any individual in an attempt to circumvent the 

6 policies and practices required by section 

7 408(a)(12) shall not trigger a State penalty 

8 under subparagraph (A).’’. 

9 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 409(c)(4) 

10 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(c)(4)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘or (13)’’ and inserting ‘‘(13), or (16)’’. 

12 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

13 (a) Section 404(d)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 604(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘subtitle 

15 1 of Title’’ and inserting ‘‘Subtitle 1 of title’’. 

16 (b) Sections 407(c)(2)(A)(i) and 409(a)(3)(C) of 

17 such Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(A)(i) and 609(a)(3)(C)) 

18 are each amended by striking ‘‘403(b)(6)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘403(b)(5)’’. 

20 (c) Section 409(a)(2)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 609(a)(2)(A)) is amended by moving clauses (i) and (ii) 

22 2 ems to the right. 

23 (d) Section 409(c)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

24 609(c)(2)) is amended by inserting a comma after ‘‘appro25 priate’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3659 IH

1 (e) Section 411(a)(1)(A)(ii)(III) of such Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 611(a)(1)(A)(ii)(III)) is amended by striking the 

3 last close parenthesis. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS