II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1427 

To provide States with the option of applying for and receiving temporary 

waivers for the States to experiment with new approaches that integrate 

Federal programs in order to provide more coordinated and holistic 

solutions to families in need, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 26, 2017 

Mrs. ERNST (for herself, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. PERDUE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide States with the option of applying for and receiving temporary waivers for the States to experiment with 

new approaches that integrate Federal programs in order 

to provide more coordinated and holistic solutions to 

families in need, 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 ‘‘Economic Mobility, 

5 Prosperity, and Opportunity with Waivers that Enable Re6 forms for States Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘EMPOWERS Act 

7 of 2017’’. 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1427 IS

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) each State is in the best position to deter4 mine— 

5 (A) the specific needs of the population of 

6 the State; and 

7 (B) how those needs should be addressed; 

8 and 

9 (2) the purpose of expanding the use of State 

10 waivers in Federal antipoverty programs— 

11 (A) is not to cut the aggregate amount of 

12 Federal antipoverty spending; but 

13 (B) is to allow States the flexibility to im14 prove the effectiveness of that spending. 

15 SEC. 3. TEMPORARY WAIVERS FOR FEDERAL ANTIPOVERTY 

16 PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

19 Interagency Board for Empowering Low-Income 

20 Families established by subsection (b)(1). 

21 (2) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

22 program’’ means— 

23 (A) in the case of nutrition programs— 

24 (i) the supplemental nutrition assist25 ance program established under the Food 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1427 IS

1 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

2 et seq.); 

3 (ii) the special supplemental nutrition 

4 program for women, infants, and children 

5 established by section 17 of the Child Nu6 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 

7 (iii) the commodity supplemental food 

8 program established under section 5 of the 

9 Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act 

10 of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 

11 93–86); 

12 (iv) the Senior Farmers’ Market Nu13 trition Program of the Department of Ag14 riculture; 

15 (v) the emergency food assistance pro16 gram established under the Emergency 

17 Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 

18 7501 et seq.); 

19 (vi) the congregate nutrition services 

20 program carried out under subpart 1 of 

21 part C of title III of the Older Americans 

22 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030e); 

23 (vii) the home delivered nutrition serv24 ices program carried out under subpart 2 

25 of part C of title III of the Older AmeriVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Jul 07, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1427.IS S1427

rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1427 IS

1 cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030f et 

2 seq.); and 

3 (viii) the nutrition services incentives 

4 program carried out under section 311 of 

5 the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 

6 U.S.C. 3030a); 

7 (B) in the case of housing programs— 

8 (i) the tenant-based rental assistance 

9 program under section 8 of the United 

10 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1437f); 

12 (ii) the project-based rental assistance 

13 program under section 8 of the United 

14 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1437f); 

16 (iii) assistance to public housing agen17 cies from the Capital Fund and Operating 

18 Fund established under subsections (d) 

19 and (e), respectively, of section 9 of the 

20 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

21 U.S.C. 1437g); 

22 (iv) the single family rural housing 

23 loan program under section 502 of the 

24 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472); 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1427 IS

1 (v) the rural rental assistance pro2 gram under section 521 of the Housing 

3 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a); 

4 (vi) the community development block 

5 grant program under title I of the Housing 

6 and Community Development Act of 1974 

7 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

8 (vii) the Home Investment Partner9 ships Program under title II of the Cran10 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); and 

12 (viii) the neighborhood stabilization 

13 program under title III of division B of the 

14 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 

15 2008 (42 U.S.C. 5301 note); 

16 (C) the temporary assistance for needy 

17 families program established under part A of 

18 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 601 et seq.); 

20 (D) the child and family services programs 

21 carried out under subparts 1 and 2 of part B 

22 of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 621 et seq.); 

24 (E) the program to provide Federal pay25 ments for foster care and adoption assistance 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1427 IS

1 under part E of title IV of the Social Security 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), including the John 

3 H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program 

4 established under section 477 of the Social Se5 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 677); 

6 (F) the block grant to States for social 

7 services established under subtitle A of title XX 

8 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et 

9 seq.); 

10 (G) the community services block grant 

11 program carried out under the Community 

12 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et 

13 seq.); 

14 (H) the Weatherization Assistance Pro15 gram for Low-Income Persons established 

16 under part A of title IV of the Energy Con17 servation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 

18 et seq.); 

19 (I) the Low-Income Home Energy Assist20 ance Program carried out under the Low-In21 come Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

22 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.); 

23 (J) programs carried out under the Child 

24 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

25 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); and 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1427 IS

1 (K) programs carried out under the Work2 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

3 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

4 (3) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

5 the Governor or chief executive of a State. 

6 (4) PARTICIPATING STATE.—The term ‘‘partici7 pating State’’ means any of the States that apply 

8 for and receive approval to carry out a project. 

9 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

10 project described in subsection (c). 

11 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 

12 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

13 Puerto Rico, a territory, or a possession that is eligi14 ble to participate in the applicable covered program. 

15 (b) INTERAGENCY BOARD FOR EMPOWERING LOW16 INCOME FAMILIES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

18 interagency board, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency 

19 Board for Empowering Low-Income Families’’, 

20 which shall carry out this section. 

21 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be com22 posed of the following individuals: 

23 (A) A Chairperson, who shall be appointed 

24 by the President, by and with the advice and 

25 consent of the Senate. 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1427 IS

1 (B) The following agency heads (or a des2 ignee of any of the agency heads): 

3 (i) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

4 (ii) The Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services. 

6 (iii) The Secretary of Housing and 

7 Urban Development. 

8 (iv) The Secretary of Labor. 

9 (v) The Attorney General. 

10 (vi) The Director of the Office of 

11 Management and Budget. 

12 (c) TEMPORARY WAIVERS FOR COVERED PRO13 GRAMS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Governor may apply to 

15 the Board for the State to carry out a project for 

16 a 4-year waiver to consolidate, replace, or alter eligi17 bility requirements for two or more covered pro18 grams. 

19 (2) PROVISIONS EXCLUDED FROM WAIVER AU20 THORITY.—A waiver shall not be granted under 

21 paragraph (1)— 

22 (A) with respect to any provision of law re23 lating to— 

24 (i) civil rights or the prohibition of 

25 discrimination; 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 1427 IS

1 (ii) the purposes or goals of any cov2 ered program; 

3 (iii) maintenance of effort require4 ments; 

5 (iv) health or safety; 

6 (v) labor standards under the Fair 

7 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

8 201 et seq.); or 

9 (vi) environmental protection; 

10 (B) in the case of a covered program de11 scribed in clauses (i) through (iii) of subsection 

12 (a)(2)(B), with respect to any requirement 

13 under section 5A of the United States Housing 

14 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c–1); 

15 (C) in the case of the supplemental nutri16 tion assistance program established under the 

17 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

18 2011 et seq.), with respect to any requirement 

19 under— 

20 (i) section 6 (if waiving a requirement 

21 under that section would have the effect of 

22 expanding eligibility for the program), 

23 7(b), or 16(c) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 2015, 

24 2016(b), 2025(c)); or 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 1427 IS

1 (ii) title IV of the Personal Responsi2 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 

3 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 

4 (D) with respect to— 

5 (i) any requirement that a State pass 

6 through to a sub-State entity part or all of 

7 an amount paid to the State; 

8 (ii) the work requirements under sec9 tion 407 of the Social Security Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 607); 

11 (iii) section 241(a) of the Adult Edu12 cation and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 

13 3331(a)); or 

14 (iv) section 189(i)(3)(A)(i) of the 

15 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

16 (29 U.S.C. 3249(i)(3)(A)(i)); 

17 (E) if the waiver would— 

18 (i) waive any funding restriction or 

19 limitation provided in an appropriations 

20 Act; or 

21 (ii) have the effect of transferring ap22 propriated funds from one appropriations 

23 account to another appropriations account; 

24 or 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 1427 IS

1 (F) except as otherwise provided by stat2 ute, if the waiver would— 

3 (i) waive any funding restriction ap4 plicable to a program authorized under an 

5 Act that is not an appropriations Act (but 

6 not including program requirements, such 

7 as application procedures, performance 

8 standards, reporting requirements, or eligi9 bility standards); or 

10 (ii) have the effect of transferring 

11 funds from a program for which there is 

12 direct spending (as defined in section 

13 250(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emer14 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 

15 U.S.C. 900(c))) to another program. 

16 (d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—To obtain a 

17 waiver for two or more covered programs under a project, 

18 a Governor shall submit to the Board an application that 

19 describes— 

20 (1) the programs and requirements of the cov21 ered programs under the project; 

22 (2) the goals of the project; 

23 (3) each change the State intends to make 

24 under the project, including the manner in which the 

25 change will— 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 1427 IS

1 (A) promote, with respect to program par2 ticipants— 

3 (i) employment; 

4 (ii) savings and financial literacy; and 

5 (iii) family stability; 

6 (B) reduce the dependence of program par7 ticipants on government assistance; and 

8 (C) reduce poverty; 

9 (4) the manner in which— 

10 (A) program participants will be served 

11 under the project, including eligibility criteria; 

12 (B) program benefits will be reduced under 

13 the project as the income of program partici14 pants is modified; 

15 (C) funds will be used under the project, 

16 including an assurance that all program funds 

17 will be used to assist program participants, sub18 ject to subsection (h)(2); 

19 (D) the State will evaluate the project by 

20 contracting with an independent, third-party 

21 evaluator, including a description of— 

22 (i) the methodology that will be used 

23 to evaluate the project; 

24 (ii) the impacts and outcomes that 

25 will be measured, and how those impacts 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 1427 IS

1 and outcomes relate to the goals of the 

2 project described under paragraph (2); and 

3 (iii) the data that the State will collect 

4 and provide to the evaluator that describes 

5 program participants and control group 

6 members, including— 

7 (I) demographic characteristics; 

8 (II) financial well-being; 

9 (III) history of receipt of govern10 ment benefits; and 

11 (IV) if a program seeks to in12 crease the employment or employ13 ability of participants, any barriers to 

14 employment or work expenses; 

15 (E) the project will be deficit neutral; and 

16 (F) the State will use any potential cost 

17 savings on assistance to meet the needs of pro18 gram participants, subject to subsection (h)(2); 

19 and 

20 (5) in the case of a waiver for a covered pro21 gram described in subsection (a)(2)(B), an assur22 ance that public housing agencies received an oppor23 tunity to provide input in the preparation of the ap24 plication. 

25 (e) EVALUATING AND APPROVING APPLICATIONS.— 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 1427 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A waiver to carry out a 

2 project for a covered program under this section 

3 shall be authorized only if the Board approves the 

4 application for the project submitted under sub5 section (d). 

6 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Board shall re7 ceive comments from the public, including stake8 holders in the State, for a 30-day period beginning 

9 on the date of receipt of an application submitted by 

10 a Governor. 

11 (3) DECISION DEADLINE.—The Board shall 

12 make a decision on an application submitted by a 

13 Governor not later than 90 days after the date of re14 ceipt of the application. 

15 (4) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Board disapproves 

16 the application of a Governor— 

17 (A) the Board shall provide the Governor 

18 with a detailed explanation of the decision; 

19 (B) the Governor may submit a modified 

20 application to the Board for approval; and 

21 (C) if a modified application is submitted, 

22 the Board shall make a decision not later than 

23 30 days after the date of receipt of the modified 

24 application. 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 1427 IS

1 (5) EVALUATING APPLICATIONS.—In evaluating 

2 an application to carry out a project, the Board 

3 shall— 

4 (A) evaluate the application on the basis of 

5 the whether the project— 

6 (i) promotes, with respect to program 

7 participants— 

8 (I) employment; 

9 (II) savings and financial lit10 eracy; and 

11 (III) family stability; 

12 (ii) reduces the dependence of pro13 gram participants on government assist14 ance; and 

15 (iii) reduces poverty; 

16 (B) ensure that the project does not have 

17 phase-out rates that result in a net loss in the 

18 income of a program participant when the pro19 gram participant increases wages or hours 

20 worked; 

21 (C) define the value of $1.00 in benefits as 

22 equal to $1.00 in earnings; and 

23 (D) consider the extent to which the meth24 odology of the project evaluation and data col25 lection under subsection (d)(4)(D) will— 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 1427 IS

1 (i) produce rigorous results, using ex2 perimental designs that use— 

3 (I) random assignment; or 

4 (II) if random assignment is not 

5 feasible, another reliable, evidence6 based research methodology that al7 lows for the strongest practicable 

8 causal inference; and 

9 (ii) provide sufficient contextual infor10 mation on the characteristics of the popu11 lation served by the project, including de12 mographic and geographic information, to 

13 assess the applicability of the project in 

14 other settings. 

15 (6) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

16 after the date of approval of an application to carry 

17 out a project, the Board shall notify the congres18 sional committees of jurisdiction of the approval. 

19 (f) COORDINATION OF DATA AND INFORMATION.— 

20 Each head of an agency that administers a covered pro21 gram shall cooperate with each participating State that 

22 obtains a waiver of eligibility requirements for the covered 

23 program to coordinate access to data and other informa24 tion relating to the covered program. 

25 (g) MODIFYING OR TERMINATING PROJECTS.— 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 1427 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participating State may 

2 submit a request to the Board to modify or termi3 nate a project if the participating State determines 

4 that— 

5 (A) the project is not meeting the goals of 

6 the project; or 

7 (B) the economic situation in the partici8 pating State makes the project no longer viable 

9 to meet the needs of program participants. 

10 (2) APPROVAL.—The Board may modify or ter11 minate a project if the Board determines that— 

12 (A) the project is not meeting the goals of 

13 the project; or 

14 (B) the economic situation in the partici15 pating State makes the project no longer viable 

16 to meet the needs of program participants. 

17 (h) FUNDING.— 

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

19 the Board shall ensure that— 

20 (A) the level of funding for each partici21 pating State and the program participants of 

22 the participating States receive for each pro23 gram year for the covered programs that are 

24 subject to a project; equals 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 1427 IS

1 (B) the level of funding the participating 

2 State and program participants of the partici3 pating State would receive for the program year 

4 for the covered programs but for obtaining a 

5 waiver to carry out the project. 

6 (2) CAP ON FEDERAL FUNDING.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any 

8 year in which a participating State obtains a 

9 waiver of eligibility requirements for a covered 

10 program described in subparagraph (B), the 

11 total amount that the head of the agency that 

12 administers the covered program shall pay to 

13 the participating State under the covered pro14 gram shall not exceed an amount that is equal 

15 to the amount that the head of the agency paid 

16 to the participating State under the covered 

17 program for the previous year, as adjusted to 

18 reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index 

19 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 

20 the Department of Labor. 

21 (B) COVERED PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—A 

22 covered program referred to in subparagraph 

23 (A) is a covered program under which the 

24 amount that the Federal Government provides 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 1427 IS

1 to a State is dependent on the amount that the 

2 State provides to the covered program. 

3 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A partici4 pating State may use amounts received through a 

5 covered program for administrative expenses of car6 rying out the project in accordance with any require7 ments of the covered program for the use of 

8 amounts for administrative expenses. 

9 (i) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—In the case of a covered 

10 program described in subsection (a)(2)(B), a participating 

11 State shall fund any contract in effect on the day before 

12 the date of commencement of the project for the term of 

13 the contract. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS