II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4770 

To amend the Social Security Act to provide for a Family Crisis Cash 

Assistance Program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Social Security Act to provide for a Family 

Crisis Cash Assistance Program, 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 ‘‘Family Crisis Cash 

5 Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FAMILY CRISIS CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Social Security Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after title XII 

9 the following new title: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE XIII—FAMILY CRISIS 

2 CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

‘‘TABLE OF CONTENTS OF TITLE 

‘‘Sec. 1301. Family Crisis Cash Assistance Program. 

‘‘Sec. 1302. Payments to States for family assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 1303. Family crisis cash assistance payments. 

‘‘Sec. 1304. State plans for family crisis cash assistance. 

‘‘Sec. 1305. Requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 1306. Failure of State to make cash assistance payments or comply with 

requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 1307. Administration of title. 

‘‘Sec. 1308. Definitions. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1301. FAMILY CRISIS CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

4 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to pro5 vide funds to States for making family cash assistance 

6 payments to vulnerable families during major natural dis7 asters or economic downturns. 

8 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

10 appropriated for each fiscal year such sums as are 

11 necessary to carry out the purposes of this title. The 

12 sums made available under this subsection shall be 

13 used— 

14 ‘‘(A) for making payments under this title 

15 to States which have submitted, and had ap16 proved by the Secretary, State plans for family 

17 crisis cash assistance under section 1304; 

18 ‘‘(B) for making cash assistance payments 

19 on behalf of States to eligible households under 

20 section 1303 pursuant to section 1306; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to provide planning grants under sub2 section (c); 

3 ‘‘(D) to provide technical assistance to 

4 States under section 1304(e)(2); and 

5 ‘‘(E) to pay for State and Federal costs at6 tributable to sharing data in accordance with 

7 section 1304(c)(2). 

8 ‘‘(2) STATE ENTITLEMENT.—This subsection 

9 constitutes budget authority in advance of appro10 priations Acts and represents the obligation of the 

11 Secretary to provide for the payment of amounts 

12 provided under this title. 

13 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON FUNDING FOR TECHNICAL

14 ASSISTANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The total amount ap16 propriated for a fiscal year under this sub17 section for purposes of providing technical as18 sistance to States under section 1304(e)(2) or 

19 paying for the costs of States and Federal 

20 agencies attributable to sharing data in accord21 ance with section 1304(c)(2) shall not exceed 

22 the amount specified under subparagraph (B). 

23 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The amount specified 

24 in this subparagraph is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for each of fiscal years 2021 

2 through 2023, $14,000,000,000; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) for each fiscal year after fiscal 

4 year 2024, an amount equal to the greater 

5 of— 

6 ‘‘(I) $4,500,000,000; and 

7 ‘‘(II) 3 percent of the average 

8 annual amount of all payments made 

9 to States under section 1302(a) for 

10 the 3-fiscal year period preceding such 

11 fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(c) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) INITIAL PLANNING GRANTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 provide each State that submits an application 

16 in fiscal year 2021 with a planning grant in the 

17 amount determined for the State under sub18 paragraph (B) for the purpose of developing a 

19 State plan for family crisis cash assistance 

20 under section 1304. 

21 ‘‘(B) GRANT AMOUNT.—The amount deter22 mined under this subparagraph with respect to 

23 a State is the product of— 

24 ‘‘(i) $10,000,000,000; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) the quotient of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the number of households in 

2 the State with a household income 

3 that is less than 200 percent of the 

4 Federal poverty line (as defined in 

5 section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget 

6 Reconciliation Act of 1981, including 

7 any revision required by such section, 

8 applicable to a family of the size in9 volved); and 

10 ‘‘(II) the number of such house11 holds in all States. 

12 ‘‘(2) GRANTS TO UPDATE FAMILY CRISIS CASH

13 ASSISTANCE PLANS.—For each fiscal year after fis14 cal year 2021, the Secretary may provide any State 

15 that wishes to update the family crisis cash assist16 ance plan of the State under section 1304 with a 

17 grant in an amount that shall not exceed 50 percent 

18 of an amount determined for the State in the same 

19 manner as the amount determined for the State 

20 under paragraph (1)(B). 

21 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—Any State that receives a 

22 planning grant under this subsection shall, not later 

23 than 1 year after the State, submit a report (which 

24 may be included in a report submitted under section 


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1 1305(d)) to the Secretary describing how the State 

2 used such grant. 

3 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR COMMUNITY OUT4 REACH.—For any calendar quarter in which a State re5 ceives a payment under section 1302(a) for cash assist6 ance payments that the State is required to make for such 

7 quarter under section 1303, such State shall be entitled 

8 to an additional payment in an amount equal to 7 percent 

9 of such payment under section 1302(a), provided that the 

10 State spends not less than 10 percent of such additional 

11 payment conducting outreach, which shall include inter12 net, television, radio, print, and other media advertisement 

13 campaigns in all languages relevant to the targeted eligible 

14 population and in manners that are accessible to people 

15 with disabilities, to increase awareness of the cash assist16 ance program established under this title to populations 

17 that the State determines are difficult to reach. A State 

18 may conduct such outreach in coordination with commu19 nity nonprofit organizations in the State. 

20 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue such 

21 regulations as are necessary to carry out this title. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1302. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR FAMILY ASSIST23 ANCE. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), for 

25 each calendar quarter that a State has in effect a plan 


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1 approved under section 1304, the Secretary shall pay to 

2 the State an amount equal to 100 percent of the amount 

3 of the cash assistance payments that the State is required 

4 to make for months that occur during such quarter under 

5 section 1303. 

6 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND

7 ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—In addition to amounts paid to 

8 a State under subsection (a), the Secretary shall make 

9 payments to the State (in such amounts as the Secretary 

10 determines appropriate) to pay for administrative costs at11 tributable to developing and implementing the State plan 

12 under this title. 

13 ‘‘(c) TIMING AND MANNER OF PAYMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the beginning of 

15 each calendar quarter, the Secretary shall estimate 

16 the amount to which a State will be entitled under 

17 this title for such quarter, and shall pay to the 

18 State, in such installments as the Secretary may de19 termine, the amount so estimated, reduced or in20 creased to the extent of any overpayment or under21 payment which the Secretary determines was made 

22 under this section to the State for any prior quarter 

23 and with respect to which adjustment has not al24 ready been made under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL PAYMENT.—If a State becomes 

2 entitled to payments under this title for any month 

3 during a calendar quarter for which the Secretary 

4 estimated that the State would not be so entitled, 

5 the Secretary shall, not later than 14 days after the 

6 State becomes so entitled— 

7 ‘‘(A) re-estimate the amount to which the 

8 State will be entitled under this title for such 

9 quarter; and 

10 ‘‘(B) pay the amount so estimated (ad11 justed for overpayments and underpayments as 

12 described in paragraph (1)) to the State. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1303. FAMILY CRISIS CASH ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), 

15 and (d), for each month that is a family assistance month 

16 with respect to a State with a plan approved under this 

17 title (as determined under subsection (g)(1)), the State 

18 shall make a cash assistance payment to each eligible 

19 household that resides in an emergency assistance area (as 

20 defined in subsection (g)(3)) in the State in an amount 

21 equal to— 

22 ‘‘(1) in the case of an eligible household that 

23 consists of 1 individual, $2,000; 

24 ‘‘(2) in the case of an eligible household that 

25 consists of 2 individuals, $3,000; 


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1 ‘‘(3) in the case of an eligible household that 

2 consists of 3 individuals, $3,500; and 

3 ‘‘(4) in the case of an eligible household that 

4 consists of 4 or more individuals, $4,000. 

5 ‘‘(b) INFLATION INCREASE.—For each fiscal year 

6 after fiscal year 2020, each amount specified in subsection 

7 (a) and subsection (d)(2) shall be equal to— 

8 ‘‘(1) the amount that applied under such sub9 section (as increased under this subsection, if appli10 cable) for the preceding fiscal year; increased by 

11 ‘‘(2) the percentage increase (if any) in the 

12 Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers pub13 lished by the Department of Labor for the 12-month 

14 period ending with the month before the first month 

15 of the fiscal year involved. 

16 ‘‘(c) PROPORTIONAL REDUCTION.—A State shall ad17 just on a pro rata basis the amounts paid to each eligible 

18 household under subsection (a) for a month (as increased 

19 under subsection (b) and, if applicable, reduced under sub20 section (d)) to the extent that amount determined for the 

21 State and month under section 1302(c) is insufficient to 

22 make full payments under such subsection to all eligible 

23 households in the State. 

24 ‘‘(d) PHASE-OUT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

2 the amount payable to an eligible household under 

3 subsection (a) for a month (as increased under sub4 section (b)) shall be reduced by a percentage equal 

5 to the number of percentage points by which the in6 come of such household exceeds 200 percent of the 

7 Federal poverty line (as defined in section 673(2) of 

8 the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, in9 cluding any revision required by such section, appli10 cable to a family of the size involved). 

11 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM PAYMENT AMOUNT.—Subject to 

12 subsection (b), the amount payable to an eligible 

13 household under subsection (a) for a month shall not 

14 be reduced pursuant to this subsection to an amount 

15 that is less than $200. 

16 ‘‘(e) TIMELINESS.—A State that receives a payment 

17 under section 1302 for a month shall make the payments 

18 described in subsection (a) not less than 14 days after the 

19 receipt of such payment. 

20 ‘‘(f) MANNER OF PAYMENT.—A State may use the 

21 following methods to make cash assistance payments to 

22 eligible households under this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) Transferring amounts to an account held 

24 by, or established for, an eligible household at— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a community development financial 

2 institution (as defined in section 103 of the 

3 Community Banking and Financial Institutions 

4 Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701 note)); 

5 ‘‘(B) a minority deposit institution; 

6 ‘‘(C) a community development credit 

7 union; or 

8 ‘‘(D) another financial institution. 

9 ‘‘(2) Providing an eligible household with a 

10 debit or credit card to access payment amounts. 

11 ‘‘(3) By making such payments through the 

12 benefit transfer system of an existing cash benefit 

13 program administered by the State, such as the sup14 plemental nutrition assistance program, a retirement 

15 benefit program, a welfare program, a disability as16 sistance program, a housing assistance program, or 

17 an unemployment assistance program. 

18 ‘‘(4) Any other method determined appropriate 

19 by the State and approved by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 ‘‘(1) FAMILY ASSISTANCE MONTH.—The term 

22 ‘family assistance month’ means, with respect to a 

23 State, a month occurring during any period that— 

24 ‘‘(A) begins with the most recent month 

25 that is a trigger month for the State; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) ends with the earlier of— 

2 ‘‘(i) the 11th consecutive month fol3 lowing such trigger month that is not a 

4 trigger month for the State; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the first month following such 

6 trigger month that is— 

7 ‘‘(I) if such trigger month is an 

8 economic trigger month, an economic 

9 recovery month; or 

10 ‘‘(II) if such trigger month is a 

11 natural disaster trigger month, a nat12 ural disaster recovery month. 

13 ‘‘(2) TRIGGER MONTH.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘trigger 

15 month’ means, with respect to a State, a month 

16 in which— 

17 ‘‘(i) the State’s average unemploy18 ment rate for the 6 months preceding the 

19 month involved exceeds the lowest monthly 

20 unemployment rate for the State for the 

21 12 months preceding the month involved 

22 by at least 0.5 percentage points; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the national average unemploy24 ment rate for the 3 months preceding the 

25 month involved exceeds the lowest national 


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1 monthly unemployment rate for the 12 

2 months preceding the month involved by at 

3 least 0.5 percentage points; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the number of applications for 

5 unemployment insurance benefits in the 

6 State for the month involved exceeds by at 

7 least 20 percent the average number of 

8 such applications for the 3 months pre9 ceding the month involved; or 

10 ‘‘(iv) a major disaster exists in the 

11 State for which assistance is authorized 

12 under section 408 of the Robert T. Staf13 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist14 ance Act for individuals who live in an 

15 area of the State. 

16 ‘‘(B) ECONOMIC TRIGGER MONTH.—The 

17 term ‘economic trigger month’ means a trigger 

18 month described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of 

19 subparagraph (A). 

20 ‘‘(C) NATURAL DISASTER TRIGGER

21 MONTH.—The term ‘natural disaster trigger 

22 month’ means a trigger month described in 

23 clause (iv) of subparagraph (A). 

24 ‘‘(3) EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE AREA.—The 

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1 spect to a State and a month that is a family assist2 ance month for the State— 

3 ‘‘(A) if the month is a family assistance 

4 month on the basis of an economic trigger 

5 month, the entire State; and 

6 ‘‘(B) if the month is a family assistance 

7 month only on the basis of a natural disaster 

8 trigger month, the area in the State for which 

9 assistance to individuals residing in such area is 

10 authorized under section 408 of the Robert T. 

11 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist12 ance Act. 

13 ‘‘(4) RECOVERY MONTHS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) ECONOMIC RECOVERY MONTH.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

16 (ii), the term ‘economic recovery month’ 

17 means, with respect to a State, the first 

18 month following an economic trigger 

19 month in which the State’s average unem20 ployment rate for the 6 months preceding 

21 the month involved does not exceed the 

22 State’s average unemployment rate for the 

23 6 months preceding the month before such 

24 economic trigger month by more than 2 

25 percentage points. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—A month shall 

2 not be an economic recovery month unless 

3 at least 6 consecutive months preceding 

4 such month were not trigger months. 

5 ‘‘(B) NATURAL DISASTER RECOVERY

6 MONTH.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

8 (ii), the term ‘natural disaster recovery 

9 month’ means, with respect to a State, the 

10 6th consecutive month following a natural 

11 disaster trigger month that is not a trigger 

12 month. 

13 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—A month shall not 

14 be a natural disaster recovery month with 

15 respect to a State if the Secretary, upon 

16 request from the Governor of the State, 

17 determines, in coordination with the Sec18 retary of Housing and Urban Develop19 ment, the Administrator of the Federal 

20 Emergency Management Administration, 

21 the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary 

22 of Commerce and based on the progress of 

23 economic recovery of eligible households in 

24 the State, that the State requires more 

25 time to recover. The Secretary shall submit 


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1 to Congress a written justification of any 

2 such determination. 

3 ‘‘(h) NOTIFICATION OF TRIGGER MONTHS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION OF UNEMPLOYMENT-BASED

5 TRIGGER MONTHS.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

6 provide notice to the Secretary of Health and 

7 Human Services whenever the Secretary of Labor 

8 determines— 

9 ‘‘(A) that a month is an economic trigger 

10 month with respect to a State; or 

11 ‘‘(B) that a month is an economic recovery 

12 month with respect to a State. 

13 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF DISASTER-BASED TRIG14 GER MONTHS.—The Administrator of the Federal 

15 Emergency Management Administration shall pro16 vide notice to the Secretary whenever the Adminis17 trator determines— 

18 ‘‘(A) that a month is a natural disaster 

19 trigger month with respect to a State, and the 

20 areas in the State for which assistance is au21 thorized under section 408 of the Robert T. 

22 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist23 ance Act; and 

24 ‘‘(B) that a month is a natural disaster re25 covery month with respect to a State. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1304. STATE PLANS FOR FAMILY CRISIS CASH ASSIST2 ANCE. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State shall not be eligible for 

4 payments under this title for any month unless the State 

5 has in effect for such month a State family crisis cash 

6 assistance plan that is approved by the Secretary under 

7 this section and is made available to the public by the 

8 State. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPROVAL OF PLAN.—The Secretary shall not 

10 approve a State family crisis cash assistance plan under 

11 this section unless the plan meets the requirements of sub12 section (c). 

13 ‘‘(c) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State family crisis cash 

15 assistance plan shall include the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) An estimate of the amount of funding 

17 that the State will need over the term of the 

18 plan to make cash assistance payments to eligi19 ble households under this title, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) an estimate of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the total number of eligible 

22 households in the State; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the number of eligible 

24 households in the State that 1-person 

25 households, 2-person households, 3- 


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1 person households, and more than 3- 

2 person households; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a projection of how the State ex4 pects the estimates described in this sub5 paragraph to change over the term of the 

6 plan. 

7 ‘‘(B) Procedures administering cash assist8 ance payments to eligible households in accord9 ance with the requirements of this title. 

10 ‘‘(C) Procedures for making cash assist11 ance payments available to individuals who are 

12 banked, unbanked, experiencing homelessness, 

13 or are otherwise economically vulnerable. 

14 ‘‘(D) Measures to ensure that the plan will 

15 not, intentionally or unintentionally, function in 

16 a discriminatory manner that impairs the abil17 ity of an eligible household to receive cash as18 sistance based on the race, color, religion, sex, 

19 or national origin of any member of the house20 hold. 

21 ‘‘(E) Contingency plans that the State will 

22 rely on to administer cash assistance payments 

23 in times of disaster or severe disruption. 

24 ‘‘(F) Data sharing systems and processes 

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1 ments of paragraph (2) (including the data se2 curity and privacy requirements under subpara3 graph (C) of such paragraph). 

4 ‘‘(G) Plans for overcoming anticipated 

5 shortcomings or challenges (which shall include 

6 estimates of the likelihood that each such short7 coming or challenge will occur) that the State 

8 foresees in administering cash assistance and 

9 how the State will use any available technical 

10 assistance or administrative funding to over11 come such shortcomings or challenges. 

12 ‘‘(2) DATA SHARING.— 

13 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION AMONG STATE AGEN14 CIES.—A State developing a plan for approval 

15 under this section shall establish processes for 

16 the State department of revenue (or whichever 

17 State agency is responsible for administering 

18 the State’s tax code) and the State agencies re19 sponsible for administering the Medicaid pro20 gram under title XIX, the Children’s Health In21 surance Program under title XXI, the supple22 mental nutrition assistance program under the 

23 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, any State 

24 pension or retirement program, and any other 

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1 sistance to individuals or families to share all 

2 program data necessary to enable the State to 

3 identify individuals and families in the State 

4 who are eligible for a family crisis cash assist5 ance payment under section 1303. 

6 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL DATA.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

8 any other provision of law, the head of the 

9 agency responsible for administering a 

10 Federal public assistance program (as de11 fined in clause (ii)) shall make available to 

12 any State with a plan approved under this 

13 section all program data necessary to en14 able the State to identify individuals and 

15 families in the State who are eligible for a 

16 family crisis cash assistance payment 

17 under section 1303. 

18 ‘‘(ii) FEDERAL PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

19 PROGRAM.—The term ‘Federal public as20 sistance program’ means any retirement, 

21 welfare, health, disability, public or as22 sisted housing, postsecondary education, 

23 food assistance, unemployment benefit, 

24 earned income tax credit, or any other 

25 similar benefit for which payments, tax 


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1 credits, or assistance are provided to an in2 dividual, household, or family eligibility 

3 unit by an agency of the United States. 

4 ‘‘(C) USE OF INFORMATION; PRIVACY PRO5 TECTIONS.—Each State with a plan approved 

6 under this section— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall only use data provided to 

8 the State under this section for the pur9 pose of identifying individuals and families 

10 who are eligible for a family crisis cash as11 sistance payment under section 1303; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) shall comply with all data secu13 rity and privacy provisions applicable to 

14 data provided to the State under this sub15 section. 

16 ‘‘(D) COSTS OF DATA SHARING.—The Sec17 retary shall pay for costs of State and Federal 

18 agencies that are attributable to sharing data in 

19 accordance with this paragraph from the 

20 amount reserved for such purpose under section 

21 1301(a)(5)(B). 

22 ‘‘(d) TERM OF PLAN.— 

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1 fect for the 5-year period beginning with the date 

2 that the Secretary approves such plan. 

3 ‘‘(2) RENEWAL.—A State shall apply for a re4 newal of a plan for family crisis cash assistance 

5 under this section, with all necessary updates to en6 sure that the plan meets the requirements of this 

7 section, 12 months before such plan would otherwise 

8 terminate. 

9 ‘‘(3) REVISION OF PLAN FOR FAILURE TO MEET

10 THRESHOLDS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), if a 

11 State is required to submit a proposed plan to im12 prove the timeliness of assistance and eliminate dis13 parities in the provision of assistance under clause 

14 (ii)(III) of section 1305(d)(1)(A), the State shall 

15 apply to renew the plan for family crisis cash assist16 ance under this section (with the necessary updates 

17 to improve such timeliness and eliminate such dis18 parities) not later than 90 days after the date on 

19 which the State submits the report under section (if 

20 earlier than the date on which the State would oth21 erwise be required to renew such plan under this 

22 subsection). 

23 ‘‘(e) GUIDANCE AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 6 months 

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1 retary shall issue detailed guidance to States de2 scribing the requirements for State plans under this 

3 title, and how to submit and obtain approval of such 

4 a plan. 

5 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

6 shall offer technical assistance to States to support 

7 the development, enactment, implementation, and 

8 updating of State plans under this section to ensure 

9 that the plans meet all requirements of such section, 

10 including by— 

11 ‘‘(A) ensuring that the State’s plan recog12 nizes and seeks to reduce discrimination and 

13 disparities based on the race and ethnicity, pri14 mary language, sexual orientation, disability 

15 status, gender identity, housing status, and so16 cioeconomic status of its residents; 

17 ‘‘(B) consulting with relevant, local organi18 zations that specialize in ensuring the equitable 

19 delivery and distribution of social services and 

20 support with regard to the race and ethnicity, 

21 primary language, sexual orientation, disability 

22 status, gender identity, housing status, and so23 cioeconomic status of the recipients to ensure 

24 that the plan will achieve equitable distribution 

25 and delivery outcomes; 


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1 ‘‘(C) conducting analyses of the implemen2 tation of past natural disaster and economic 

3 crisis recovery programs in that State, includ4 ing any past delivery of family crisis cash as5 sistance payments under this title, to identify 

6 and proactively prevent intentional or uninten7 tional discriminatory outcomes; 

8 ‘‘(D) reviewing the State’s proposed family 

9 crisis cash assistance delivery mechanisms to 

10 proactively identify ways that those mechanisms 

11 may yield intentional or unintentional discrimi12 natory outcomes and developing solutions to 

13 prevent such outcomes; 

14 ‘‘(E) ensuring that the State’s delivery 

15 methods for family crisis cash assistance pay16 ments are secure and convenient for all eligible 

17 recipients on an equitable basis and including 

18 families who do not have access to financial 

19 services or technology; 

20 ‘‘(F) providing information, including on 

21 existing best practices, to State authorities to 

22 ensure that they meet all other requirements of 

23 this section; and 

24 ‘‘(G) ensuring that the State plans have 

25 relevant, up-to-date outreach materials that are 


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1 cross-cultural, language-accessible, and dis2 ability-accessible to all families and children. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1305. REQUIREMENTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving a payment 

5 under this title shall only use such payment— 

6 ‘‘(1) to provide cash assistance to eligible 

7 households in the manner described in section 1303; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(2) in the case of funds received under section 

10 1302(b), to pay for administrative costs of devel11 oping and implementing the State plan under section 

12 1303. 

13 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—A State receiving a payment 

14 under this title shall not— 

15 ‘‘(1) require any member of an eligible house16 hold, as a condition of receiving a cash assistance 

17 payment under section 1303, to— 

18 ‘‘(A) engage in work activities; or 

19 ‘‘(B) cooperate with the requirements of 

20 any child support program; 

21 ‘‘(2) impose any restrictions on how long an eli22 gible household may receive cash assistance pay23 ments under section 1303; 

24 ‘‘(3) implement any policies or practices that 

25 have the effect of making an eligible household less 


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1 likely to receive a cash assistance payment under 

2 section 1303 on the basis of any member of the 

3 household’s race, sex, religion, national origin, immi4 gration status, criminal justice status or history, 

5 housing status, or political affiliation; 

6 ‘‘(4) apply any asset or resource test for deter7 mining a household’s eligibility for a cash assistance 

8 payment under section 1303; or 

9 ‘‘(5) consider whether a household, or any 

10 member of a household, is receiving assistance 

11 (whether cash or in-kind) under another Federal or 

12 State program in determining the household’s eligi13 bility for a cash assistance payment under section 

14 1303. 

15 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF CASH ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS

16 AS EMERGENCY DISASTER RELIEF; PROTECTION FROM

17 ASSIGNMENT OR GARNISHMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a cash as19 sistance payment made to an eligible household 

20 under section 1303— 

21 ‘‘(A) such payment shall be treated as 

22 short-term, non-cash, in-kind emergency dis23 aster relief for purposes of all laws and pro24 grams (including public assistance and tax 


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1 laws) of a State and any unit of local govern2 ment within the State; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the right of any person to such a 

4 cash payment shall not be transferable or as5 signable, at law or in equity, and no such pay6 ment shall be subject to execution, levy, attach7 ment, garnishment, or other legal process, or 

8 the operation of any bankruptcy or insolvency 

9 law. 

10 ‘‘(2) ENCODING OF PAYMENTS.—In the case of 

11 a cash payment under section 1303 that is paid elec12 tronically by direct deposit, a State shall issue the 

13 payment using a unique identifier that is reasonably 

14 sufficient to identify the payment as such a cash 

15 payment. 

16 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) STATE REPORTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) not later than 90 days after the 

20 end of any trigger month (as defined in 

21 section 1302(g)) for the State, submit to 

22 the Secretary a report on how the State 

23 used the payments received by the State 

24 under this title during such period that in25 cludes— 


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1 ‘‘(I) an analysis of all eligible 

2 households in the State as of the start 

3 of the family assistance period, 

4 disaggregated by race and ethnicity, 

5 disability status, housing status, and 

6 income level as a percentage of the 

7 Federal poverty line; 

8 ‘‘(II) an analysis of all house9 holds that received cash assistance 

10 under this title during the family as11 sistance period, disaggregated in the 

12 manner described in subclause (I); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(III) an analysis of the timing 

15 of when eligible households that re16 ceived cash assistance received the as17 sistance relative to the start of the as18 sistance period, disaggregated in the 

19 manner described in subclause (I); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ii) not later than 1 year after the 

22 end of any family assistance period for the 

23 State, submit to the Secretary a report on 

24 how the State used the payments received 


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1 by the State under this title during such 

2 period that includes— 

3 ‘‘(I) the analyses described in 

4 subclauses (I) through (III) of clause 

5 (i); 

6 ‘‘(II) an analysis of the reasons 

7 for any disparities in eligible house8 holds versus recipients and in the 

9 timeframes in which recipients re10 ceived cash assistance, including dis11 parities among categories of eligible 

12 households described in clause (i)(I); 

13 ‘‘(III) if the analysis described in 

14 subclause (II) reveals that less than 

15 90 percent of eligible households re16 ceived cash assistance under this title 

17 or disparities of more than 14 days, 

18 on average, in the timeframes in 

19 which recipients belonging to different 

20 categories of eligible households de21 scribed in clause (i)(I) received cash 

22 assistance, a proposed plan on how 

23 the State will improve the rate of eli24 gible households receiving payments 

25 and eliminate any such disparities in 


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1 potential future deliveries of the fam2 ily crisis cash assistance program; 

3 ‘‘(IV) a description of how the 

4 State used any funds the State re5 ceived under this title for technical as6 sistance or administrative costs; and 

7 ‘‘(V) at the option of the State, 

8 any recommendations to the Secretary 

9 and Congress on how changes to the 

10 program’s implementation, including 

11 technical assistance, planning require12 ments, administrative support, and 

13 other factors may achieve more equi14 table outcomes. 

15 ‘‘(B) FAMILY ASSISTANCE PERIOD.—For 

16 purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘family 

17 assistance period’ means, with respect to a 

18 State, a period of consecutive months during 

19 which the State is entitled to a payment under 

20 section 1302. 

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later then 

22 September 30, 2022, the Secretary shall submit a 

23 report to Congress on the use of payments made 

24 under this paragraph based on the reports submitted 

25 under paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) VALIDATION OF STATE REPORTS.—The 

2 Secretary may— 

3 ‘‘(A) develop a process for validating State 

4 reports submitted under paragraph (1) using 

5 Federal data available to the Secretary; and 

6 ‘‘(B) request that a State address any in7 consistencies identified by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1306. FAILURE OF STATE TO MAKE CASH ASSISTANCE 

9 PAYMENTS OR COMPLY WITH REQUIRE10 MENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make cash 

12 assistance payments to eligible households in a State 

13 under section 1303 on behalf of the State if— 

14 ‘‘(1) the State does not have a plan approved 

15 under this title; 

16 ‘‘(2) the State fails to make cash assistance 

17 payments under section 1303 within the timeframe 

18 under subsection (e) of such section; or 

19 ‘‘(3) the Secretary determines that the State is 

20 otherwise not satisfying the requirements of this 

21 title. 

22 ‘‘(b) RECOUPMENT OF PAYMENTS FROM NON23 COMPLIANT STATES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

25 under subsection (a) that a State is late in making 


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1 cash assistance payments or is otherwise not satis2 fying the requirements of this title— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Secretary shall recover the 

4 amount of any unexpended payment made to 

5 the State under this title; and 

6 ‘‘(B) such State shall not be eligible for 

7 another payment under this section until the 

8 State provides the Secretary with such assur9 ances that the State will satisfy the require10 ments of this title as the Secretary shall re11 quire. 

12 ‘‘(2) OPTION TO FOREGO RECOVERY OF FUND13 ING FOR ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PLAN.—The 

14 Secretary may elect not to recover amounts paid to 

15 a State under this title for State costs attributable 

16 to the administration of the State family crisis cash 

17 assistance plan. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1307. ADMINISTRATION OF TITLE. 

19 ‘‘(a) TIMING OF IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary 

20 shall implement this title not later than 30 days after the 

21 date of enactment of this title, pursuant to appropriate 

22 guidance to States. 

23 ‘‘(b) DATA.— 

24 ‘‘(1) UNEMPLOYMENT DATA.—Subject to para25 graph (2), for purposes of determining unemployVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:09 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4770.IS S4770

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1 ment rates for a State and a month under this title, 

2 the Secretary shall use seasonally adjusted data 

3 from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics from 

4 the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

5 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN TERRI6 TORIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of deter8 mining unemployment rates for a month for the 

9 Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana 

10 Islands, or American Samoa, the Secretary 

11 shall use data from the unemployment measure 

12 developed under subparagraph (B). 

13 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT OF TERRITORIAL

14 MEASURE.—The Secretary of Labor, in coordi15 nation with the Secretary of Health and 

16 Human Services and the chief executives of the 

17 territories identified in subparagraph (A), shall 

18 develop a reliable unemployment measure for 

19 such territories. 

20 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO MAKE NECESSARY ADJUST21 MENTS TO DATA AND COLLECT NEEDED DATA.—In 

22 determining the amounts payable by a State for a 

23 month for cash assistance payments to eligible 

24 households under section 1303, the Secretary may 

25 make appropriate adjustments to the data collected 


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1 from a State, on a State-by-State basis, to ensure 

2 that the data are comparable across States. The 

3 Secretary may develop a mechanism for collecting 

4 expenditure data, including procedures which allow 

5 States to make reasonable estimates, and may set 

6 deadlines for making revisions to the data. 

7 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the Secretary makes the first payment under 

10 this title, and periodically thereafter, the Secretary 

11 shall submit to Congress a report that— 

12 ‘‘(A) explores the use of economic and 

13 emergency, disaster, or crisis indicators other 

14 than the unemployment rates described in sec15 tion 1303(g)(2) as triggers for making States 

16 eligible for payments under this title, including 

17 how different indicators would affect the dis18 tribution of funds by State, by demographic 

19 group, by economic status, the total spending 

20 levels under this title, and how using different 

21 indicators would affect the outcomes of house22 holds eligible to receive cash assistance pay23 ments under section 1303; 

24 ‘‘(B) evaluates the impact of payments to 

25 States under this title on economic, health, 


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1 housing, education, labor, and any other out2 comes of recipients of cash assistance payments 

3 under section 1303 as the Secretary deems rel4 evant; and 

5 ‘‘(C) evaluates the impact of technical as6 sistance provided by the Secretary and pay7 ments to States to cover administrative costs on 

8 the States’ ability to deliver cash assistance in 

9 accordance with this title. 

10 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION IN EVALUATION PLAN.—The 

11 findings of any evaluation conducted by the Sec12 retary under this section shall be included in the 

13 next evaluation plan for the Department of Health 

14 and Human Services issued by the Secretary pursu15 ant to section 312(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1308. DEFINITIONS. 

17 ‘‘In this title: 

18 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘eligi19 ble household’ means a household with an income 

20 that is less than 300 percent of the Federal poverty 

21 line (as defined in section 673(2) of the Omnibus 

22 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, including any re23 vision required by such section, applicable to a fam24 ily of the size involved). 

25 ‘‘(2) HOUSEHOLD.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘household’ 

2 means any of the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) An individual who lives alone or 

4 who, while living with others, customarily 

5 does not pool income, assistance, assets, or 

6 other resources for day-to-day costs of liv7 ing, provided that such individual is not a 

8 nonresident alien. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Any group of individuals (includ10 ing family members) who live together and 

11 customarily pool income, assistance, assets, 

12 or other resources for day-to-day costs of 

13 living, provided that at least 1 of such in14 dividuals is not a nonresident alien. 

15 ‘‘(B) FAMILY MEMBER.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (A), the term ‘family mem18 ber’ means, with respect to an individual, 

19 any of the following: 

20 ‘‘(I) A spouse or domestic part21 ner of the individual, or a child, 

22 grandchild, parent, or grandparent of 

23 a spouse or domestic partner of the 

24 individual. 


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1 ‘‘(II) A parent or grandparent of 

2 the individual, or a spouse or domestic 

3 partner of a parent or grandparent of 

4 the individual. 

5 ‘‘(III) A child or grandchild of 

6 the individual or a spouse or domestic 

7 partner of a child or grandchild of the 

8 individual. 

9 ‘‘(IV) A sibling of the individual. 

10 ‘‘(V) Any individual related to 

11 the individual involved by blood or af12 finity whose close association with the 

13 individual involved is the equivalent of 

14 a family relationship. 

15 ‘‘(ii) PARENT.—For purposes of 

16 clause (i), the term ‘parent’ means, with 

17 respect to an individual any of the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(I) A biological, adoptive, step, 

20 foster parent or former foster parent 

21 of the individual. 

22 ‘‘(II) The legal guardian or 

23 former legal guardian of the family 

24 member. 


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1 ‘‘(III) An individual who stands, 

2 or formerly stood, in loco parentis to 

3 the individual involved. 

4 ‘‘(iii) CHILD.—For purposes of clause 

5 (i), the term ‘child’ means, with respect to 

6 an individual, any of the following: 

7 ‘‘(I) A biological, adopted, step, 

8 foster, or former foster child of the in9 dividual. 

10 ‘‘(II) The legal ward, or former 

11 legal ward, of the individual. 

12 ‘‘(III) An individual with respect 

13 to whom the individual involved 

14 stands in loco parentis, or formerly 

15 stood in loco parentis. 

16 ‘‘(C) RULE OF APPLICATION.—For pur17 poses of this title, the following persons shall 

18 not be considered to be residents of institutions 

19 and shall be considered to be individual house20 holds: 

21 ‘‘(i) Residents of federally subsidized 

22 housing for the elderly, disabled or blind 

23 recipients of benefits under title I, II, X, 

24 XIV, or XVI. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Individuals described in para2 graphs (2) through (7) of section 5(j) of 

3 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, who 

4 are residents in a public or private non5 profit group living arrangement that serves 

6 no more than 16 residents and is certified 

7 by the appropriate State agency or agen8 cies under regulations issued under section 

9 1616(e) or under standards determined by 

10 the Secretary to be comparable to stand11 ards implemented by appropriate State 

12 agencies under that section. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Temporary residents of public or 

14 private nonprofit shelters for individuals 

15 experiencing intimate partner violence or 

16 child abuse. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Individuals who do not reside in 

18 permanent dwellings or have no fixed mail19 ing addresses who are otherwise eligible for 

20 benefits (including individuals who are 

21 residents or former residents of public or 

22 private nonprofit shelters for individuals 

23 experiencing homelessness). 

24 ‘‘(v) Narcotics addicts or alcoholics, 

25 together with their children, who live under 


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1 the supervision of a private nonprofit insti2 tution, or a publicly operated community 

3 mental health center, for the purpose of 

4 regular participation in a drug or alcoholic 

5 treatment program. 

6 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

7 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

8 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

9 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 

10 Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Is11 lands, and American Samoa.’’. 

12 (b) EXEMPTION OF THE FAMILY CRISIS CASH AS13 SISTANCE PROGRAM FROM SEQUESTRATION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 255(h) of the Bal15 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 

16 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(h)) is amended by inserting 

17 after ‘‘Contingency Fund (75–1522–0–1–609).’’ the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘Family Crisis Cash Assistance Program under 

20 title XIII of the Social Security Act.’’. 

21 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

22 this subsection shall apply to any sequestration 

23 order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emer24 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et 

25 seq.) on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 3. DISREGARD OF FAMILY CRISIS CASH ASSISTANCE 

2 FOR PURPOSES OF OTHER FEDERAL PRO3 GRAMS. 

4 The amount of any cash assistance payment made to 

5 a household under a State program funded by a payment 

6 under title XIII of the Social Security Act, as added by 

7 section 2(a), shall not be taken into account as income 

8 or resources for purposes of determining the eligibility of 

9 such household or any member of such household for bene10 fits or assistance, or the amount or extent of such benefits 

11 or assistance, under any Federal program or under any 

12 State or local program financed in whole or in part with 

13 Federal funds. 

Æ 


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