I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2336 

To authorize the establishment of HOPE Account Pilot Projects, HOPE 

Action Plans Pilot Projects, and competitive grants for pilot projects. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 1, 2021 

Mr. MORELLE (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, 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 authorize the establishment of HOPE Account Pilot 

Projects, HOPE Action Plans Pilot Projects, and competitive grants for pilot projects. 

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 ‘‘Health, Opportunity, 

5 and Personal Empowerment Act of 2021’’ or ‘‘HOPE Act 

6 of 2021’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2336 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In 2018, according to the Department of 

4 Agriculture, 37,200,000 individuals in the United 

5 States (including 11,100,000 children) lived in food 

6 insecure households. That equals 1 in 9 individuals 

7 and 1 in 7 children. 

8 (2) In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 

9 food insecurity in the United States soared, with the 

10 Census Household Pulse Survey finding that at least 

11 22 percent of Americans, and 28 percent of children 

12 in the United States, suffered from food insecurity 

13 in the height of the pandemic. 

14 (3) In 2018, according to the Bureau of the 

15 Census, 34,000,000 individuals (including 

16 10,500,000 children) lived below the Federal poverty 

17 line. The majority of these individuals living in pov18 erty were working people, children, older individuals, 

19 and individuals with disabilities. 

20 (4) Many low-income individuals work multiple 

21 jobs and, contrary to common misconceptions, if un22 employed, they spend a great deal of time looking 

23 for work. They often travel by public transportation, 

24 laboriously making multiple connections to shuttle 

25 between home, work, social service agencies, houses 

26 of worship, and grocery stores. For those living in 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2336 IH

1 rural and suburban areas far from work and without 

2 adequate public transportation they rely upon vehi3 cles to get to work, but these are often less reliable 

4 secondhand vehicles, that often break down. From 

5 traveling greater distances between available jobs 

6 and livable areas with affordable housing options, 

7 seeking out scarce childcare options that fit a tight 

8 budget and a constrained travel schedule, and caring 

9 for elderly parents or grandparents because a senior 

10 living facility is not financially realistic, low-income 

11 individuals have little spare time. 

12 (5) While government safety net programs help 

13 tens of million of individuals avoid starvation, home14 lessness, and other outcomes even more dreadful 

15 than everyday poverty, there are significant obstacles 

16 that those seeking and maintaining government as17 sistance face for as long as they are eligible. Quali18 fied applicants are often required to travel signifi19 cant distances to multiple government offices, pre20 paring and submitting piles of nearly identical pa21 perwork to access the different government assist22 ance programs. Even when the application process 

23 begins online, the eligible applicant is typically still 

24 required to physically follow up with each govern25 ment office with physical copies, for near identical 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2336 IH

1 meetings. As a result, many low-income people are 

2 actually unaware of all the government benefits for 

3 which they are eligible, reducing the amount of help 

4 going to individuals in need by tens of billions of 

5 dollars every year. The lines in these offices can 

6 seem endless, and sometimes clients need to wait 

7 outside, for hours, in the worst kinds of weather. 

8 Many offices don’t have weekend or night hours, so 

9 an applicant is at risk of losing wages when often 

10 their only option is to apply for government help 

11 during work hours. 

12 (6) Each year, many vital government programs 

13 go underutilized because eligible beneficiaries are 

14 hindered by obtrusive, time consuming, and repet15 itive application barriers. In 2017, according to the 

16 Department of Agriculture, 16 percent of all people 

17 eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance pro18 gram (SNAP), 53 percent of the ‘‘working poor’’ eli19 gible for SNAP, and 52 percent of adults over 60 

20 who were eligible failed to receive it. 

21 (7) The United States has hundreds of thou22 sands of nonprofit groups providing high quality and 

23 much needed social services, but it is nearly impos24 sible for struggling people to determine which of 

25 those organizations provides services they need, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2336 IH

1 whether the organization is conveniently located, and 

2 for which services they are eligible. If they do deter3 mine that a nonprofit (or multiple nonprofits) could 

4 help, they need to take yet more time to visit each 

5 one. 

6 (8) Since many government and nonprofit pro7 grams require frequent reapplications and recertifi8 cations, a low-income person often has to repeat the 

9 same endless and frustrating process. 

10 (9) Technology has fundamentally revamped the 

11 lives of most individuals, usually for the better. Ac12 cording to the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of 

13 low-income individuals have a smart phone as of 

14 2019 (not because a smart phone is a luxury but be15 cause it is an essential tool of learning and work in 

16 modern America) but they rarely can use these de17 vices to apply for benefits. Digital technology, com18 bined with policy improvements, can simplify the 

19 lives and boost the long-term self-sufficiency of our 

20 lowest income residents. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 (1) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

23 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

24 the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2336 IH

1 Housing and Urban Development, acting collabo2 ratively. 

3 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible pilot 

4 community’’ means a State, unit of general purpose 

5 local government, Tribal government, or an entity 

6 that represents a smaller geographical area therein 

7 (including a neighborhood). 

8 (3) TARGET POPULATION.—The term ‘‘target 

9 population’’ includes an individual or household 

10 that— 

11 (A) earns an income below 200 percent of 

12 the Federal poverty line, 

13 (B) suffers from food insecurity, 

14 (C) earns insufficient income to ensure 

15 food security or economic security, 

16 (D) lives in a rural, suburban, or urban 

17 community that suffers from poverty, hunger, 

18 or food insecurity, 

19 (E) is homeless, 

20 (F) receives (or recently received) assist21 ance under a State program funded under part 

22 A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. et seq.), relating to temporary assistance 

24 to needy families, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (G) is eligible for benefits under any Fed2 eral nutrition assistance program or Federal 

3 antipoverty program, or 

4 (H) is formerly a youth in transition from 

5 foster care or the juvenile detention facilities. 

6 (4) PARTNER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The 

7 term ‘‘partner nonprofit organization’’ means any 

8 national, regional, State, or local nonprofit group de9 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

11 501(a) of such Code. 

12 SEC. 4. HOPE ACCOUNTS PILOT PROJECTS. 

13 (a) PILOT PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretaries 

14 shall allow eligible entities that apply to do so—based on 

15 an application to be created by the Secretaries—to carry 

16 out HOPE (Health, Opportunity, and Personal Empower17 ment) Accounts Pilot Projects (in this section referred to 

18 as Projects) to enable target populations of individuals to 

19 establish through banks, credit unions, and any govern20 mental or Tribal agencies HOPE accounts that enable 

21 such individuals— 

22 (1) to have their paychecks deposited directly in 

23 such accounts, 

24 (2) to use such accounts to increase savings 

25 that would be matched with funds provided by govVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2336.IH H2336

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2336 IH

1 ernment and private sources, including individual de2 velopment accounts, 

3 (3) to use an account app on a smart phone to 

4 easily locate and sign-up for job training and place5 ment services online, 

6 (4) to enable such individuals to use any smart 

7 phone, tablet, or computer— 

8 (A) to learn about the public and philan9 thropic programs that provide benefits to such 

10 individuals, including aid to improve health, nu11 trition, job training and placement, housing, in12 come and to receive Federal and State tax cred13 its, and 

14 (B) to apply for, submit eligibility docu15 ments for, enroll in, and manage the use of 

16 such benefits at once through the convenience 

17 of their device if individuals or their households 

18 are eligible for 1 or more of such benefits, 

19 (5) to receive a basic smart phone, tablet, or 

20 computer, along with a subsidized internet Wi-Fi ac21 cess plan, if such individuals do not own a smart 

22 phone, tablet, or computer, 

23 (6) to obtain the access and information de24 scribed in paragraph (4) with assistance at libraries, 

25 government offices, or nonprofit agencies if such inVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2336.IH H2336

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2336 IH

1 dividuals are uncomfortable using internet tech2 nology themselves, 

3 (7) to obtain access to the information de4 scribed in paragraph (4), with the assistance of gov5 ernment or nonprofit employees, AmeriCorps na6 tional service participants, or Senior Corps members, 

7 to receive home visits if such individuals are elderly 

8 or disabled, 

9 (8) to access health care information that speci10 fies medical benefits, and any out-of-pocket costs, 

11 for each of the health plans for which such individ12 uals may be eligible, and to empower them to easily 

13 select the plan that works best for them, 

14 (9) enable such individuals to file directly (and 

15 without expending funds to obtain third-party tax 

16 filing services) to obtain Federal tax credits and re17 funds, and in States and localities with their own 

18 supplemental tax credits, to simultaneously file for 

19 those, 

20 (10) to deposit cash in the account that is set 

21 aside for education, job training, starting a business, 

22 or buying a home and that would be nontaxable, 

23 (11) to easily access and monitor, in 1 central 

24 online account— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (A) to be able to check the status, 

2 amounts, and recertification deadlines for some 

3 or all their benefits and savings, and 

4 (B) to pay all bills online, saving high 

5 check cashing fees and enormous amounts of 

6 time, 

7 (12) to budget their resources by using real8 time cash flow data and long-term financial planning 

9 data, including calculating how much they would 

10 lose in interest on credit cards versus how much 

11 they would gain in interest by saving more, 

12 (13) to access calendar and scheduling func13 tions that enable them to keep track of all job 

14 search, work, family, and school obligations, as well 

15 as any social service filing or appointment dates, 

16 (14) to be protected by security and privacy 

17 systems so that only such individuals, and not the 

18 government, nonprofit, or banking partners would be 

19 able to see or track private financial and appoint20 ment information, and 

21 (15) notwithstanding other provisions of law, to 

22 allow program applicants to easily and clearly au23 thorize their sharing of personal and financial infor24 mation with multiple government agencies, solely for 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2336 IH

1 the purpose of those government agencies enabling 

2 those to apply for and utilize government benefits. 

3 (b) FISCAL YEARS.—Pilot projects authorized by 

4 subsection (a) shall be carried out for a 1-year period in 

5 each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2026. 

6 SEC. 5. HOPE ACTION PLANS PILOT PROJECTS. 

7 (a) PILOT PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretaries 

8 shall allow eligible entities that apply to do so—based on 

9 an application to be created by the Secretaries—to carry 

10 out HOPE Action Plans Pilot Projects to enable target 

11 populations of individuals to partner with government and 

12 nonprofit organizations by entering into voluntary agree13 ments to carry out long-term HOPE action plans that— 

14 (1) specify exactly how the parties to such plans 

15 will help such individuals and their families earn, 

16 learn, and save better in order to ensure greater eco17 nomic opportunity for themselves and their children 

18 by working together in a long-term, positive relation19 ship for the purpose of ensuring upward mobility, 

20 (2) could empower such individuals and their 

21 families to better organize their time and focus their 

22 activities on productive endeavors while providing 

23 them extra resources to do so, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (3) could be short-term, over just a year or 2, 

2 and aimed at helping families achieve very basic 

3 goals, such as avoiding homelessness and hunger, 

4 (4) could be long-term with far more ambitious 

5 goals for upward mobility, and 

6 (5) would require that participating individuals 

7 and families, government entities, and nonprofit 

8 partners have equal rights to hold each other ac9 countable for plan outcomes and funding. 

10 (b) FISCAL YEARS.—Pilot projects authorized by 

11 subsection (a) shall be carried out in each of the fiscal 

12 years 2021 through 2026. 

13 SEC. 6. COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR PILOT PROJECTS. 

14 (a) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—The Secretaries shall 

15 each create grant application processes to competitively 

16 make grants to eligible entities to aid target populations. 

17 To be eligible to receive a grant for a fiscal year under 

18 this section, eligible entities shall submit to the appro19 priate Secretary an application that contains a description 

20 of how the applicant proposes to use the grant funds to 

21 implement the components of the pilot projects authorized 

22 by this section. Applications shall be submitted in such 

23 form, at such time, and containing such other information 

24 as the Secretaries may require. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (b) FORM OF GRANTS.—If a Secretary finds it appro2 priate, the Secretary may use cooperative agreements, as 

3 described in section 6305 of title 31, United States Code, 

4 for purposes of making grants under this section. 

5 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Grants made under this 

6 section shall range in amounts from $250,000 to 

7 $3,000,000, and should be proportionate to the geo8 graphical size, project complexity, and number of individ9 uals participating in each project. Eligible entities may re10 ceive grants made under this section by 2 or more of the 

11 Secretaries. To the extent funds are available, each Sec12 retary shall make not fewer than 8 such grants annually. 

13 (d) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—To the extent prac14 ticable, the Secretaries shall make grants for pilot projects 

15 that operate statewide, as well as pilot projects designed 

16 to serve specific rural, urban, and suburban areas. To the 

17 extent practicable, pilot projects for which grants are 

18 made shall be distributed among diverse administrative re19 gions of Department of Housing and Urban Development, 

20 the Department of Health and Human Services, and the 

21 Department of Agriculture. 

22 (e) PREFERENCE.—For purposes of making grants 

23 under this section, preference shall be given for pilot 

24 projects that— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (1) serve individuals in historically under2 served, high-poverty, rural and urban communities, 

3 (2) simultaneously test both HOPE Accounts 

4 and HOPE Action Plans, 

5 (3) involve low-income individuals as equal part6 ners in project planning and implementation, 

7 (4) make additional funds available directly to 

8 low-income households through action plans, either 

9 through government payments or through nonprofit 

10 subgrantees, 

11 (5) are matched by considerable non-Federal 

12 funds without penalizing very-low income, under13 served rural and urban communities that cannot 

14 provide non-Federal matching funds, 

15 (6) propose concrete plans for long-term sus16 tainability and expansions without future Federal 

17 grant funds, 

18 (7) assist low-income households to apply for 

19 the Federal earned income tax credits and State tax 

20 credits, 

21 (8) provide resources in both English and addi22 tional languages commonly spoken in that jurisdic23 tion, 

24 (9) prioritize client-facing, fully tested, tech25 nology and mobile device applications, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (10) include a robust monitoring and evaluation 

2 planning and reporting plan, including proposed 

3 staffing and reporting for that plan, including re4 porting on the extent to which the pilot makes it 

5 easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income Ameri6 cans to access a variety of benefits, the extent to 

7 which the pilot will save administrative funds over 

8 the long-run, the extent to which the accuracy and 

9 integrity of the benefits programs included are main10 tained or improved, and the extent to which low-in11 come households are able to more easily obtain free 

12 or low-cost banking services, 

13 (11) subcontract part of the pilot project imple14 mentation work to United States-based private busi15 nesses, banks, savings and loans, credit unions, co16 ops and section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations 

17 with relevant, successful experience in similar or re18 lated project activities, 

19 (12) incorporate a benefits calculator to enable 

20 applicants to learn how the receipt of some benefits 

21 might or might not impact whether they are eligible 

22 for other benefits and might impact the amount of 

23 those other benefits for which they are eligible, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (13) include planning and funding for the pilot 

2 entities to train their staffs and clients to utilize the 

3 new technologies, 

4 (14) in rural and other areas without strong 

5 broad-band service, integrate activities under this 

6 grant with other activities to strengthen local-broad 

7 band service, 

8 (15) enable low-income Americans to obtain 

9 free or reduced price smart phones and free or re10 duced-price data services, 

11 (16) ensure that people without personal smart 

12 phone, tablet, or computer access are able to benefit 

13 from the systems and technological improvements in 

14 the pilot projects at public locations such as public 

15 libraries, community centers, and social service of16 fices, 

17 (17) propose a detailed, workable plan to thor18 oughly beta test and field test any new technologies 

19 or systems in this pilot before making them available 

20 to all households, individuals, or the entire pilot 

21 area, and 

22 (18) identify the applicable Federal, State, 

23 local, or Tribal statutory and regulatory authorities, 

24 including waiver authorities, to be potentially leverVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:45 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2336.IH H2336

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2336 IH

1 aged to most effectively implement the proposed 

2 pilot project. 

3 SEC. 7. HOPE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CONTRACTS. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag6 riculture and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel7 opment, shall hold a merit-based competition to award 

8 HOPE Technology Innovation Contracts to United States9 based private businesses and section 501(c)(3) nonprofit 

10 organizations with relevant, successful experience in tech11 nology, to create technology apps, widgets, and templates 

12 that pilot entities can use to create HOPE accounts. 

13 (b) NUMBER OF CONTRACTS.—The Secretary will 

14 award no more than 10 and not fewer than 2 such con15 tracts each fiscal year. 

16 (c) SIZE OF CONTRACTS.—Contracts may range in 

17 size from $200,000 to $4,500,000. 

18 (d) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—All technologies 

19 developed with these funds will be open-sourced and avail20 able to the public for free. 

21 (e) HOUSEHOLD DATA.—No contractor should have 

22 access to any client or household data through this project, 

23 except in cases they are also contractors or subgrantees 

24 for pilot entities, in which case they would have limited, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 2336 IH

1 functional access to such data. In no case shall a con2 tractor share or sell client or household data. 

3 (f) PREFERENCES.—Preferences should be given to 

4 contracts that ensure the following: 

5 (1) Client facing technology with top pref6 erences mobile device applications and uses and sec7 ondary preferences to tablet and computer and 

8 texting uses. 

9 (2) Incorporate fail-safe systems to maintain 

10 the privacy and security of data. 

11 (3) Are easily adaptable at the lowest possible 

12 financial costs with the least possible staff time by 

13 pilot entities and other State, county, city, munic14 ipal, and Tribal governments in a manner that can 

15 easily be utilized by low-income Americans. 

16 (4) Build in the ability to be easily updated as 

17 technologies evolve. 

18 SEC. 8. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND NONDISPLACE19 MENT OF WORKERS. 

20 None of the pilot projects carried out under this Act 

21 shall do any of the following: 

22 (1) Decrease the overall monetary value of Fed23 eral, State, local, or Tribal government funding as24 sistance given to any individual or family, although 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 2336 IH

1 all entities involved could independently, or jointly, 

2 increase funding under such projects. 

3 (2) Decrease the overall Federal, State, local, or 

4 Tribal government funding for antipoverty programs 

5 spent by participating pilot communities and agen6 cies, although all entities involved may independ7 ently, or jointly, increase funding. 

8 (3) Lengthen the amount of time or increase 

9 the requirements necessary to receive any govern10 ment benefits, or in any way make it more difficult 

11 to obtain any form of government assistance. 

12 (4) Limit the legal rights of anyone in the tar13 get populations to receive government or nonprofit 

14 assistance. 

15 (5) Decrease overall public sector employment 

16 in any eligible pilot community, but public employees 

17 could be transferred at similar or higher salaries and 

18 pay grades from positions that oversee paperwork to 

19 positions that provide direct services to the public, 

20 assuming such transfers do not violate collective bar21 raging agreements or their other rights as public 

22 employees. 

23 (6) Decrease or increase work requirements for 

24 existing government programs. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (7) Reduce program integrity measures or in2 crease the possibility of fraud in any government 

3 program. 

4 (8) Track or monitor the physical location or 

5 immigration status of immigrants, be used for any 

6 immigration enforcement activity against any indi7 viduals, or be used to provide any data whatsoever 

8 to agencies involved in immigration enforcement ac9 tivities or policy. 

10 (9) Enable any pilot entity or contractor, sub11 contractor, or partner of any pilot entity to share or 

12 sell client or household data obtained through those 

13 projects. 

14 (10) Eliminate the existing ability of applicants 

15 to apply for, recertify, or manage government bene16 fits by physically visiting a government office. 

17 SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

18 (a) REPORT.—Not later than September 30 of each 

19 of fiscal years 2021 through 2027, the Secretaries shall 

20 submit to Congress a report on the results of pilot projects 

21 carried out under this Act. 

22 (b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report should in23 clude detailed data on the extent to which the pilot makes 

24 it easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income Americans 

25 to access a variety of benefits, the extent to which the pilot 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 2336 IH

1 will save administrative funds over the long-run, the extent 

2 to which the accuracy and integrity of the benefits pro3 grams included are maintained or improved, and the ex4 tent to which low-income households are able to more eas5 ily obtain free or low-cost banking services. 

6 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; TECH7 NICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act for 

10 each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2026— 

11 (1) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Housing 

12 and Urban Development, of which $500,000 shall be 

13 used internally by the Department of Housing and 

14 Urban Development for staff and other expenses to 

15 plan, award, and oversee pilot projects under this 

16 Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for grants 

17 under section 6, 

18 (2) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Agri19 culture, of which $500,000 shall be used internally 

20 by Department of Agriculture for staff and other ex21 penses to plan, award, and oversee pilot projects 

22 under this Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for 

23 grants under section 6, and 

24 (3) $15,000,000 to the Secretary of Health and 

25 Human Services, of which $500,000 shall be used 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 2336 IH

1 internally by the Department of Health and Human 

2 Services for staff and other expenses to plan, award, 

3 and oversee pilot projects under this Act and 

4 $9,500,000 shall be available for grants under sec5 tion 6, and 5,000,000 shall be available for contracts 

6 under section 7. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The 

8 Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary 

9 of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban De10 velopment, the Secretary of Veterans of Affairs, the Sec11 retary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Com12 missioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the Chief Exec13 utive Officer of the Corporation for National and Commu14 nity Service, the Administrator of the Small Business Ad15 ministration, the Director of the Office of Management 

16 and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology, the 

17 Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 

18 and the Domestic Policy Council may— 

19 (1) provide technical assistance, 

20 (2) solicit voluntary, nonmonetary assistance 

21 from universities, credit unions, and private sector 

22 technology companies, banks, and financial institu23 tions, and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 2336 IH

1 (3) inform eligible entities of the applicable 

2 Federal, State, local, or Tribal statutory and regu3 latory authorities, including waiver authorities, 

4 to advance the objectives of the pilot projects carried out 

5 under this Act. 

6 (c) PERSISTENT POVERTY COUNTIES.— 

7 (1) ALLOCATION REQUIREMENT.—Of the 

8 amount appropriated to carry out this Act, at least 

9 10 percent shall be allocated to provide assistance in 

10 persistent poverty counties. 

11 (2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, 

12 the term ‘‘persistent poverty counties’’ means any 

13 county that has had 20 percent or more of its popu14 lation living in poverty over the past 30 years, as 

15 measured by the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial 

16 censuses. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS