I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9149 

To eliminate asset limits employed by certain federally funded means-tested 

public assistance programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Mr. GOMEZ (for himself, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, and Mr. 

CARBAJAL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To eliminate asset limits employed by certain federally funded means-tested public assistance programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Allowing Steady Savings by Eliminating Tests Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘ASSET Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. States prohibited from imposing asset limits on programs funded by 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grants. 

Sec. 4. Eliminating asset limits in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). 

Sec. 5. Eliminating asset limit in Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). 

Sec. 6. Updating and indexing the resource limit for supplemental security income (SSI). 

Sec. 7. Effective date. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 

5 (1) Many means-tested public assistance pro6 grams limit eligibility for benefits on the basis of the 

7 assets of a family, such as savings and other re8 sources. Such asset limits impede the ability of 

9 needy families to improve their financial cir10 cumstances and thereby reduce their dependence on 

11 public assistance programs. 

12 (2) Restricting eligibility for public assistance 

13 programs on the basis of assets negatively affects 

14 the financial security of low-income families. For ex15 ample, to avoid losing eligibility for public assistance 

16 under an asset limit, a family may avoid mainstream 

17 financial services such as bank accounts, or refrain 

18 from acquiring and saving resources that would en19 able the family to weather an unanticipated expense. 


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1 (3) The risk that people who don’t need public 

2 assistance will take advantage of public assistance 

3 programs in the absence of asset limits is low, in 

4 part because most applicants for public assistance 

5 have very few assets, must meet strict work require6 ments, and usually may only participate in a pro7 gram for a limited time. 

8 (4) Evidence from States that have eliminated 

9 asset limits suggests that the administrative cost 

10 savings associated with the elimination of asset lim11 its outweigh any increases in payments made to 

12 beneficiaries. 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that certain federally funded means-tested public as15 sistance programs should not utilize asset limits to restrict 

16 eligibility for assistance under those programs. 

17 SEC. 3. STATES PROHIBITED FROM IMPOSING ASSET LIM18 ITS ON PROGRAMS FUNDED BY TEMPORARY 

19 ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) 

20 GRANTS. 

21 (a) NO STATE LIMITATION ON ALLOWABLE FINAN22 CIAL RESOURCES.—Section 408(a) of the Social Security 

23 Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(13) NO ASSET OR RESOURCE LIMIT.—A State 

2 to which a grant is made under section 403 shall not 

3 apply any asset or resource limit for eligibility of a 

4 family for any benefit, assistance, or service provided 

5 under the State program funded under this part.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 408(f) of 

7 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(f)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

9 striking ‘‘or resources’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘AND RESOURCES’’; 

13 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

14 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

15 subparagraph (B); and 

16 (D) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesig17 nated), by striking ‘‘and resources’’ each place 

18 it appears. 

19 (c) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE20 QUIRED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State to 

22 which a grant is made under section 403 of the So23 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603) that the Secretary 

24 of Health and Human Services determines requires 

25 State legislation (other than legislation approVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9149.IH H9149

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1 priating funds) to meet the requirements of para2 graph (13) of section 408(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 608(a)), such State shall not be regarded as failing 

4 to comply with the requirements of such paragraph 

5 before the first day of the first calendar quarter that 

6 begins after the close of the first regular session of 

7 the State legislature that begins after the date of en8 actment of this Act. 

9 (2) 2-YEAR LEGISLATIVE SESSION.—For pur10 poses of paragraph (1), in the case of a State that 

11 has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the ses12 sion shall be considered to be a separate regular ses13 sion of the State legislature. 

14 SEC. 4. ELIMINATING ASSET LIMITS IN THE SUPPLE15 MENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

16 (SNAP). 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.—Section 5 of the 

19 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is 

20 amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, 

22 by striking ‘‘and other financial resources’’; 

23 (B) by striking subsections (g) and (j); 


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1 (C) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), 

2 (k), (l), (m), and (n) as subsections (g), (h), (i), 

3 (j), (k), and (l), respectively; and 

4 (D) in subsection (h) (as so redesig5 nated)— 

6 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and 

7 resources’’ each place it appears; and 

8 (ii) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (I) by striking subparagraph (B); 

10 and 

11 (II) by redesignating subpara12 graphs (C) through (E) as subpara13 graphs (B) through (D), respectively. 

14 (2) ELIGIBILITY DISQUALIFICATIONS.—Section 

15 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

16 2015) is amended— 

17 (A) by striking subsection (h); and 

18 (B) by redesignating subsections (i) 

19 through (s) as subsections (h) through (r), re20 spectively. 

21 (3) RESEARCH, DEMONSTRATION, AND EVALUA22 TIONS.—Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act 

23 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended— 

24 (A) by striking subsections (h) and (i); and 


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1 (B) by redesignating subsections (j) 

2 through (n) as subsections (h) through (l), re3 spectively. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

6 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (a), in the second sen8 tence, by striking ‘‘and (r)’’ and inserting ‘‘and 

9 (q)’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (d)— 

11 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub12 section (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (i)’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) in paragraph (10), by striking 

15 ‘‘subsection (k) of this section’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘subsection (i)’’. 

17 (2) Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

18 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (d)(4), by striking ‘‘sub20 section (o)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

21 ‘‘subsection (n)’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (f), in the third sentence, 

23 by striking ‘‘and financial resources’’; 

24 (C) in subsection (q) (as redesignated by 

25 subsection (a)(2)(B)), in paragraph (1)(B), by 


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1 striking ‘‘subsection (k)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub2 section (j)’’; and 

3 (D) in subsection (r) (as redesignated by 

4 subsection (a)(2)(B)), in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘allowable financial re6 sources and’’; and 

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘(g), (i), (k), (l), (m), 

8 and (n)’’ and inserting ‘‘(h), (i), (j), (k), 

9 and (l)’’. 

10 (3) Section 7(i)(1) of the Food and Nutrition 

11 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016(i)(1)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘section 6(o)(2) of this Act’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘section 6(n)(2)’’. 

14 (4) Section 11(e)(22) of the Food and Nutri15 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(22)) is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘section 6(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

17 6(h)’’. 

18 (5) Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act 

19 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)(9), by striking ‘‘sec21 tion 17(n)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 17(l)’’; and 

22 (B) in subsection (h)— 

23 (i) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (I) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by 

2 striking ‘‘section 6(o)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘section 6(n)’’; 

4 (II) in subparagraph (E)— 

5 (aa) by striking ‘‘section 

6 6(o)(3)’’ each place it appears 

7 and inserting ‘‘section 6(n)(3)’’; 

8 (bb) by striking ‘‘section 

9 6(o)(2)’’ each place it appears 

10 and inserting ‘‘section 6(n)(2)’’; 

11 and 

12 (cc) in clause (ii)— 

13 (AA) in subclause (III), 

14 by striking ‘‘section 6(o)(4)’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘section 

16 6(n)(4)’’; and 

17 (BB) in subclause (IV), 

18 by striking ‘‘section 6(o)(6)’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘section 

20 6(n)(6)’’; and 

21 (III) in subparagraph 

22 (F)(ii)(III)(ee)(AA), by striking ‘‘sec23 tion 6(o)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

24 6(n)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in paragraph (5)(C)(iv)(I), by 

2 striking ‘‘section 6(o)(2)’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘section 6(n)(2)’’. 

4 (6) Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act 

5 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (k) (as redesignated by 

7 subsection (a)(3)(B))— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘subsections (l) 

9 through (n)’’ each place it appears and in10 serting ‘‘subsections (k) through (m)’’; and 

11 (ii) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking 

12 ‘‘section 6(l)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

13 6(k)(2)’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (l) (as redesignated by 

15 subsection (a)(3)(B)), in paragraph 

16 (4)(A)(i)(II), by striking ‘‘and financial re17 sources (as described in section 5(g))’’. 

18 (7) Section 18(g)(2) of the Food and Nutrition 

19 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2027(g)(2)) is amended by 

20 striking ‘‘section 5(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 5(g)’’. 

21 (8) Section 103(a)(2)(D) of the Workforce In22 novation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

23 3113(a)(2)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 6(o) 

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


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1 2015(o))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 6(n) of the Food 

2 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(n))’’. 

3 (9) Section 121(b)(2)(B)(iv) of the Workforce 

4 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

5 3151(b)(2)(B)(iv)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

6 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

7 U.S.C. 2015(o))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 6(n) of the 

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

9 2015(n))’’. 

10 (10) Section 454 of the Social Security Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 654) is amended— 

12 (A) in paragraph (4)(A)(i), by striking 

13 ‘‘section 6(l)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

14 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(l)(1))’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘section 6(k)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

16 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(k)(1))’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (6)(B)(i), by striking 

18 ‘‘subsection (l) or (m) of section 6 of the Food 

19 and Nutrition Act of 2008’’ and inserting ‘‘sub20 section (k) or (l) of section 6 of the Food and 

21 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015)’’; and 

22 (C) in paragraph (29)(A)(ii), by striking 

23 ‘‘section 6(l)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

24 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(l)(2))’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘section 6(k)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

2 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(k)(2))’’. 

3 (c) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE4 QUIRED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State plan 

6 under section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

7 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020) that the Secretary of Agri8 culture determines requires State legislation (other 

9 than legislation appropriating funds) in order for the 

10 plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by 

11 the amendments made by this section, the State 

12 plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with 

13 the requirements of section 11 of the Food and Nu14 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020) solely on the 

15 basis of the failure of the plan to meet those addi16 tional requirements before the first day of the first 

17 calendar quarter that begins after the close of the 

18 first regular session of the State legislature that be19 gins after the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (2) LEGISLATIVE SESSION.—For purposes of 

21 paragraph (1), in the case of a State that has a 2- 

22 year legislative session, each year of the session shall 

23 be considered a separate regular session of the State 

24 legislature. 


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1 SEC. 5. ELIMINATING ASSET LIMIT IN LOW-INCOME HOME 

2 ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (LIHEAP). 

3 (a) ELIMINATION OF LIMITATIONS ON ALLOWABLE

4 FINANCIAL RESOURCES.—Section 2605(b)(2) of the Low5 Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 

6 8624(b)(2)) is amended, in the matter following subpara7 graph (B), by inserting ‘‘, and agrees that the State may 

8 not exclude a household from eligibility in a fiscal year 

9 solely or partially on the basis of the assets of 1 or more 

10 members of the household’’ before the semicolon. 

11 (b) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION RE12 QUIRED.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a State plan 

14 under section 2605 of the Low-Income Home En15 ergy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) that 

16 the Secretary of Health and Human Services deter17 mines requires State legislation (other than legisla18 tion appropriating funds) in order for the plan to 

19 meet the additional requirements imposed by the 

20 amendment made by this section, the State plan 

21 shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the 

22 requirements of such section 2605 solely on the 

23 basis of the failure of the plan to meet those addi24 tional requirements before the first day of the first 

25 calendar quarter that begins after the close of the 


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1 first regular session of the State legislature that be2 gins after the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) 2-YEAR LEGISLATIVE SESSION.—For pur4 poses of paragraph (1), in the case of a State that 

5 has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the ses6 sion shall be considered to be a separate regular ses7 sion of the State legislature. 

8 SEC. 6. UPDATING AND INDEXING THE RESOURCE LIMIT 

9 FOR SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME 

10 (SSI). 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) UPDATE IN RESOURCE LIMIT FOR INDIVID13 UALS AND COUPLES.—Section 1611(a)(3) of such 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(a)(3)) is amended— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

16 ‘‘$2,250’’ and all that follows through the end 

17 of the subparagraph and inserting ‘‘$20,000 in 

18 calendar year 2024, and shall be increased as 

19 described in section 1617(d) for each subse20 quent calendar year.’’; and 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

22 ‘‘$1,500’’ and all that follows through the end 

23 of the subparagraph and inserting ‘‘$10,000 in 

24 calendar year 2024, and shall be increased as 


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1 described in section 1617(d) for each subse2 quent calendar year.’’. 

3 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 1617 of 

4 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382f) is amended— 

5 (A) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘; 

6 INFLATION ADJUSTMENT’’ after ‘‘BENEFITS’’; 

7 and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(d) In the case of any calendar year after 2024, each 

10 of the amounts specified in section 1611(a)(3) shall be in11 creased by multiplying each such amount by the quotient 

12 (not less than 1) obtained by dividing— 

13 ‘‘(1) the average of the Consumer Price Index 

14 for Elderly Consumers (CPI–E, as published by the 

15 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

16 Labor) for the 12-month period ending with Sep17 tember of the preceding calendar year, by 

18 ‘‘(2) such average for the 12-month period end19 ing with September 2023.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall take effect as if enacted on January 1, 

22 2024. 

23 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made 

25 by this Act shall apply to benefits for calendar months 


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1 beginning on or after the date that is 30 days after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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