I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3742

To establish a commission to design a plan for transition from certain welfare,

job training, and child care programs to new programs providing temporary financial aid and assistance in locating permanent employment.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 26, 1994

Mr. FINGERHUT introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Ways and Means, Agriculture, and Education and Labor

A BILL

To establish a commission to design a plan for transition

from certain welfare, job training, and child care programs to new programs providing temporary financial

aid and assistance in locating permanent employment.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Welfare Elimination

5 Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION TO ELIMINATE

2 WELFARE.

3 There is established a commission to be known as the

4 ‘‘Commission to Eliminate Welfare’’ (in this Act referred

5 to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

6 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF COMMISSION.

7 (a) WELFARE AND JOB TRAINING REFORM.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de9 sign a replacement for the program of aid to families

10 with dependent children under part A of title IV of

11 the Social Security Act, the food stamp program

12 under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, the programs

13 under the Job Training Partnership Act, and the

14 targeted jobs credit under section 51 of the Internal

15 Revenue Code of 1986 that is composed of—

16 (A) the use of amounts equal to the State

17 and local shares under such programs for edu18 cation and job training assistance for unem19 ployed individuals in accordance with paragraph

20 (2);

21 (B) a temporary emergency assistance pro22 gram that meets the requirements of paragraph

23 (3);

24 (C) such modifications to the program of

25 supplemental security income benefits under

26 title XVI of the Social Security Act as may be
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1 necessary to accomplish the goals described in

2 paragraph (4);

3 (D) a national service work program that

4 meets the requirements of paragraph (5);

5 (E) a targeted job training tax credit that

6 meets the requirements of paragraph (6); and

7 (F) an enhanced earned income tax credit

8 that meets the requirements of paragraph (7).

9 (2) USE OF STATE AND LOCAL SHARES FOR

10 EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING ASSISTANCE FOR

11 UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS.—Each State and local

12 government is to ensure that amounts equal to the

13 aggregate amounts of State and local shares used to

14 carry out programs specified in the matter preceding

15 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) are to be used

16 to provide education and job training assistance to

17 unemployed individuals.

18 (3) TEMPORARY EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PRO19 GRAM.—The requirements of this paragraph are as

20 follows:

21 (A) ELIGIBILITY FOR BENEFITS.—A

22 household is to be eligible for benefits under the

23 program if—
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1 (i) the total income of the members of

2 the household is less than 50 percent of

3 the poverty line; and

4 (ii) the head of the household is not a

5 recipient of supplemental security income

6 benefits under title XVI of the Social Secu7 rity Act.

8 (B) DISREGARD OF SSI RECIPIENTS.—Ex9 cept as provided in subparagraph (A)(ii), recipi10 ents of supplemental security income benefits

11 under title XVI of the Social Security Act are

12 to be disregarded in determining the eligibility

13 of a household for benefits, and the amount of

14 benefits payable to the household, under the

15 program.

16 (C) AMOUNT OF BENEFITS.—Benefits

17 under the program are to be paid to a house18 hold in an amount equal to the amount by

19 which 50 percent of the poverty line exceeds the

20 total income of the members of the household.

21 (D) DURATION OF BENEFITS.—

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses

23 (ii) and (iii), benefits under the program

24 are to be provided to a household for not
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1 more than 6 months in any 24-month pe2 riod.

3 (ii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN HOUSE4 HOLDS THAT INCLUDE A NEWBORN BABY

5 OR DISABLED MINOR.—A household that

6 meets the requirement of subparagraph

7 (A) is to remain eligible for benefits under

8 the program for so long as—

9 (I) the household includes a sin10 gle parent or guardian of a member of

11 the household who—

12 (aa) has not attained 3

13 months of age; or

14 (bb) is disabled; and

15 (II) each member of the house16 hold who has not attained 18 years of

17 age is living in a living arrangement

18 supervised by an adult.

19 (iii) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN FULL20 TIME STUDENTS.—An individual who has

21 not attained 20 years of age is to remain

22 eligible for benefits under the program for

23 so long as—

24 (I) the household of which the in25 dividual is a member (but for clause
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1 (i)) would be eligible for such benefits;

2 and

3 (II) the individual is a full-time

4 student in a secondary school (or in

5 the equivalent level of vocational or

6 technical training).

7 (E) POVERTY LINE.—As used in this para8 graph, the term ‘‘poverty line’’ means, with re9 spect to a household the income official poverty

10 line (as defined by the Office of Management

11 and Budget, and revised annually in accordance

12 with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget

13 Reconciliation Act of 1981) applicable to a fam14 ily of the same size as the household involved.

15 (4) MODIFICATIONS TO SSI PROGRAM.—The

16 goals described in this paragraph are as follows:

17 (A) INCLUSION OF MINOR CHILDREN OF

18 ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—Expand the program

19 to include benefits for minor children of individ20 uals eligible for such benefits.

21 (B) PROVISIONS OF BENEFITS BASED ON

22 HOUSEHOLD SIZE.—Provide benefits to a

23 household in an amount that is based on the

24 size of the household.
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1 (C) REDUCE NEED FOR STATE ASSIST2 ANCE.—Ensure that all individuals who are eli3 gible for and have applied for such benefits re4 ceive such benefits in a timely manner, and ex5 pand the program to the extent necessary to

6 provide benefits to individuals and families who

7 cannot support themselves through work and

8 available benefits under State income assistance

9 programs.

10 (5) NATIONAL SERVICE WORK PROGRAM.—The

11 requirements of this paragraph are as follows:

12 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF DELIVERY SYS13 TEM.—

14 (i) GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERN15 MENTS.—The Federal government is to

16 provide grants on an annual basis to local

17 governments to provide job training and

18 job placement assistance under the pro19 gram to unemployed individuals for the

20 purpose of placing such individuals in

21 unsubsidized employment.

22 (ii) SUBGRANTS TO SERVICE PROVID23 ERS.—(I) A local government that receives

24 a grant under clause (i) is to use amounts

25 from such grant to provide subgrants on a
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1 competitive basis to eligible service provid2 ers for the purpose of providing the assist3 ance described under subparagraph (B) to

4 participants.

5 (II) For purposes of this paragraph,

6 the term ‘‘eligible service providers’’ in7 cludes—

8 (aa) existing entities providing

9 services to unemployed individuals

10 under Federal, State, or local law, in11 cluding those entities providing serv12 ices under the Job Opportunities and

13 Basic Skills Training Program under

14 part F of title IV of the Social Secu15 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) and

16 the Job Training Partnership Act (29

17 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and

18 (bb) appropriate nonprofit and

19 for profit organizations.

20 (B) JOB TRAINING ASSISTANCE.—An eligi21 ble service provider that receives a subgrant

22 under subparagraph (A)(ii) is to use amounts

23 from such subgrant to provide the following as24 sistance to participants:
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1 (i) INITIAL ASSESSMENT.—The serv2 ice provider is to conduct an initial assess3 ment of each participant to determine the

4 level of education and work experience of

5 each such participant. After such assess6 ment, the participant, in consultation with

7 a trained counselor, is to choose to receive

8 either intensive placement assistance under

9 clause (ii) or work/study assistance under

10 clause (iii).

11 (ii) INTENSIVE PLACEMENT ASSIST12 ANCE.—(I) The service provider is to pro13 vide intensive placement assistance to par14 ticipants for the purpose of preparing par15 ticipants for and placing participants in

16 unsubsidized employment. Such assistance

17 is to include—

18 (aa) training to improve and up19 date the work skills of participants;

20 (bb) training to improve and up21 date the job interviewing skills and re22 sume preparation skills of partici23 pants;

24 (cc) instruction in personal finan25 cial management;
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1 (dd) where appropriate, classes

2 designed to assist participants attain

3 certificates of high school equivalency;

4 and

5 (ee) job placement assistance, in6 cluding assistance provided by a coun7 selor who matches participants with

8 unsubsidized job opportunities based

9 upon the skills of the participant.

10 (II) The service provider is to provide,

11 to the extent practicable, 40 hours per

12 week of assistance to a participant under

13 subclause (I) and is to provide compensa14 tion to such participant in an amount

15 equal to $4.00 per hour for each such hour

16 that such participant participates in inten17 sive placement under subclause (I).

18 (III) The service provider is to provide

19 assistance to a participant under subclause

20 (I) until such participant is placed in

21 unsubsidized employment, or 180 days

22 after the date on which the participant be23 gins receiving assistance under such

24 subclause, whichever occurs first.
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1 (iii) WORK/STUDY ASSISTANCE.—(I)

2 The service provider is to provide work/

3 study assistance to participants for the

4 purpose of preparing such participants for

5 unsubsidized employment. Such assistance

6 is to include—

7 (aa) placement in part-time

8 unsubsidized jobs, or if such jobs are

9 not available, placement in part-time

10 subsidized jobs; and

11 (bb) educational assistance relat12 ed to such jobs and to the full-time

13 unsubsidized jobs that such partici14 pants obtain after receiving assistance

15 under this subparagraph, including

16 technical training or placement in ap17 prenticeship programs.

18 (II) The service provider is to provide,

19 to the extent practicable, 40 hours per

20 week of assistance to a participant under

21 subclause (I) and is to provide compensa22 tion to such participant in an amount

23 equal to $4.00 per hour for each such hour

24 that such participant receives such assist25 ance, except that such compensation shall
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1 not include amounts received from place2 ment in a part-time subsidized job.

3 (III) The service provider is to provide

4 assistance to a participant under subclause

5 (I) until such participant is placed in full6 time unsubsidized employment, except that

7 a participant may not receive such assist8 ance for more than a total of 4 years.

9 (iv) SUPPORT SERVICES.—The service

10 provider is to provide support services to

11 participants receiving assistance under

12 clauses (ii) and (iii). Such services are to

13 include—

14 (I) case management and coun15 seling services provided by a case

16 manager, including referrals to appro17 priate social service agencies and iden18 tification of barriers to successful job

19 performance, such as mental illness,

20 learning disabilities, and substance

21 abuse; and

22 (II) legal services to assist par23 ticipants in eliminating barriers to,

24 placement in, and retention of

25 unsubsidized employment.
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1 (C) PLACEMENT IN PUBLIC SERVICE

2 JOBS.—(i) The Federal government is to ensure

3 that each participant who is unable to obtain

4 unsubsidized employment after receiving assist5 ance under subparagraph (B) is placed in a

6 public sector job until such time as the partici7 pant obtains such unsubsidized employment.

8 (ii) An individual who receives a public sec9 tor job under clause (i) is to be paid $4.00 per

10 hour.

11 (iii) An individual who receives a public

12 sector job under clause (i) is to be provided on13 going support services in accordance with sub14 paragraph (B)(iv) to ensure that such individ15 ual obtains unsubsidized employment.

16 (D) CONTINUING SUPPORT SERVICES DUR17 ING UNSUBSIDIZED EMPLOYMENT.—The Fed18 eral government is to ensure that each partici19 pant who obtains unsubsidized employment

20 after receiving assistance under subparagraph

21 (B) continues to receive the support services de22 scribed in subparagraph (B)(iv) for up to 1

23 year after the date on which the participant re24 ceives such employment.
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1 (6) TARGETED JOB TRAINING TAX CREDIT.—

2 The requirements of this paragraph are that employ3 ers be provided with a nonrefundable credit against

4 Federal income tax for some portion of the expenses

5 paid by the employer in providing job training.

6 (7) ENHANCED EARNED INCOME TAX CRED7 IT.—The requirements of this paragraph are that—

8 (A) the earned income credit under section

9 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 be re10 structured such that—

11 (i) for households in which an adult

12 participates in the National Service Work

13 Program, the amount of such credit will,

14 when added to the taxpayer’s earned in15 come, equal 75 percent of the poverty level

16 for such household,

17 (ii) for households in which no adult

18 participates in the National Service Work

19 Program and in which there is an adult

20 full-time worker (or the equivalent), the

21 amount of such credit will be the greater

22 of—

23 (I) the amount determined under

24 such section 32 without regard to this

25 paragraph, or
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1 (II) the amount which, when

2 added to the taxpayer’s earned in3 come, will equal 100 percent of the

4 poverty level for such household, and

5 (iii) for households in which no adult

6 participates in the National Service Work

7 Program and to which subparagraph (B)

8 does not apply, the amount of such credit

9 will be the amount determined under such

10 section 32 without regard to this para11 graph, and

12 (B) the earned income credit under such

13 section 32 be paid on a periodic basis during

14 the taxable year other than as provided in sec15 tion 3507 of such Code.

16 (b) CHILD CARE REFORM.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de18 sign a program that consolidates existing child care

19 programs under Federal law into a single program

20 under which a household is to be eligible for child

21 care services under the program if the total income

22 of the members of the household is less than 200

23 percent of the poverty line.

24 (2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—The single pro25 gram described in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) shall include a sliding fee scale that

2 provides for cost sharing by households that re3 ceive child care services under the program; and

4 (B) shall, to the extent practicable, be co5 ordinated with appropriate State and local pro6 grams providing child care services.

7 (3) POVERTY LINE DEFINED.—As used in this

8 subsection, the term ‘‘poverty line’’ means, with re9 spect to a household the income official poverty line

10 (as defined by the Office of Management and Budg11 et, and revised annually in accordance with section

12 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of

13 1981) applicable to a family of the same size as the

14 household involved.

15 SEC. 4. MEMBERSHIP.

16 (a) NUMBER; APPOINTMENT.—The Commission shall

17 be composed of 23 members, as follows:

18 (1) The Secretary of Labor.

19 (2) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv20 ices.

21 (3) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel22 opment.

23 (4) The Secretary of Education.

24 (5) The Secretary of Agriculture.

25 (6) The Secretary of the Treasury.
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1 (7) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

2 (8) 4 Members of the House of Representatives,

3 2 appointed by the majority leader of the House of

4 Representatives, and 2 appointed by the minority

5 leader of the House of Representatives.

6 (9) 4 Members of the Senate, 2 appointed by

7 the majority leader of the Senate, and 2 appointed

8 by the minority leader of the Senate.

9 (10) 6 officials of State and local governments

10 with expertise in welfare, education, or training is11 sues, appointed by the President.

12 (11) 2 individuals with expertise in job place13 ment for persons receiving cash assistance from the

14 Federal Government or a State government, ap15 pointed by the President.

16 (b) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each member of the Com17 mission shall be appointed for the life of the Commission.

18 (c) APPOINTMENT DEADLINE.—All appointments to

19 the Commission shall be made not more than 60 days

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

21 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission shall

22 be filled in the manner in which the original appointment

23 was made.
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1 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Labor shall

2 serve as the chairperson of the Commission (in this Act

3 referred to as the ‘‘Chairperson’’).

4 (f) COMPENSATION.—

5 (1) GENERALLY NONE.—Except as provided in

6 paragraph (2), the members of the Commission may

7 not receive pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of

8 their service on the Commission.

9 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES ALLOWED.—Each Com10 mission member shall receive travel expenses, includ11 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance

12 with sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United

13 States Code.

14 SEC. 5. STAFF; EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.

15 (a) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request

16 of the Chairperson, the head of any Federal agency may

17 detail, on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of

18 that agency to the Commission to assist the Commission

19 in carrying out its duties under this Act.

20 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission

21 may procure temporary or intermittent services under sec22 tion 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 6. PROCEDURE OF COMMISSION.

2 (a) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at the

3 call of the Chairperson or a majority of the members of

4 the Commission.

5 (b) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

6 Commission shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number

7 may hold hearings.

8 (c) ACTION.—The Commission may act only by a vote

9 of a majority of the members of the Commission.

10 SEC. 7. POWERS OF COMMISSION.

11 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

12 may hold the hearings, sit and act at the times and places,

13 take the testimony, and receive the evidence the Commis14 sion considers appropriate to carry out this Act.

15 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem16 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the

17 Commission, take any action that the Commission is au18 thorized to take by this section.

19 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—On request of the

20 Chairperson of the Commission, the head of a Federal de21 partment or agency shall furnish to the Commission such

22 information as the Chairperson may request to enable the

23 Commission to carry out this Act, unless the release of

24 the information is prohibited by law.

25 (d) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use, and

26 dispose of gifts of services or property, both real and per-
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1 sonal, for the purpose of aiding the work of the Commis2 sion, except that gifts of money and proceeds from sales

3 of property received as gifts shall be deposited in the

4 Treasury of the United States and credited as miscellane5 ous receipts.

6 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United

7 States mails in the same manner and under the same con8 ditions as other Federal agencies.

9 (f) SUPPORT SERVICES.—On request of the Commis10 sion, the head of a Federal department or agency may

11 make available to the Commission any facility or service

12 of the agency to assist the Commission in carrying out

13 the duties of the Commission under this Act.

14 SEC. 8. REPORT.

15 Within 6 months after the date a majority of the

16 members of the Commission have been appointed, the

17 Commission shall submit to the Congress a report that

18 describes in detail the programs, modifications, and tax

19 credits designed under section 3(a), and contains rec20 ommendations for legislation to enact such programs,

21 modifications, and tax credits. Such legislation will dem22 onstrate that the costs of any new programs recommended

23 herein are offset by the costs of programs to be eliminated

24 by the terms of the legislation.
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1 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.

2 The Commission shall terminate upon the adjourn3 ment sine die of the Congress during which the report re4 quired by section 8 is submitted.

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