II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1625 

To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to provide for an improved 

method to measure poverty so as to enable a better assessment of 

the effects of programs under the Public Health Service Act and the 

Social Security Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 6, 2009 

Mr. DODD (for himself and Mr. BINGAMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend title II of the Public Health Service Act to provide 

for an improved method to measure poverty so as to 

enable a better assessment of the effects of programs 

under the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act, 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 ‘‘Measuring American 

5 Poverty Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Poverty imposes substantial costs on all 

2 Americans that can be addressed through effective 

3 poverty reduction. 

4 (2) States and cities throughout the country 

5 have acknowledged the need to reduce poverty and 

6 the role of the Federal Government as an essential 

7 partner. 

8 (3) On January 22, 2008, the House of Rep9 resentatives, by voice vote, passed House Concurrent 

10 Resolution 198 of the 110th Congress expressing the 

11 sense of the Congress that the United States should 

12 set a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the 

13 next 10 years. 

14 (4) The poverty rate is a critical indicator of 

15 how widely shared prosperity is in the economy, and 

16 a key benchmark for targeting resources towards the 

17 most disadvantaged. 

18 (5) The poverty measure is critical for efforts 

19 to strengthen and enlarge the middle class, as it in20 dicates who falls from or struggles to join the middle 

21 class. 

22 (6) The official poverty measure, while helpful, 

23 is based on outdated assumptions and fails to accu24 rately measure economic deprivation or take into ac25 count the availability of many economic resources. 


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1 (7) The official poverty measure offers inad2 equate guidance about the effectiveness of public 

3 anti-poverty efforts. 

4 (8) In 1995, the National Academy of Sciences’ 

5 Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance rec6 ommended adoption of an improved poverty meas7 ure, which addresses many shortcomings of the offi8 cial poverty measure and which remains relevant 

9 and offers a starting point for an improved measure. 

10 (9) Since even an improved poverty measure re11 mains a measure of deprivation, not of adequacy, a 

12 measure of adequate income needed to reach a de13 cent living standard is also necessary. 

14 (10) Since an inability to access needed medical 

15 care is an important indicator of economic insecu16 rity, a medical care risk measure would further en17 hance understanding of Americans’ well-being. 

18 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

19 The purpose of this Act is to provide for an improved 

20 and updated method for measuring the extent to which 

21 families and individuals in the United States have suffi22 cient income to allow a minimal level of consumption 

23 spending that meets their basic physical needs, including 

24 food, shelter (including utilities), clothing, and other nec25 essary items, in order to better assess the effects of certain 


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1 policies and programs in reducing the prevalence and 

2 depth of poverty, to accurately gauge the level of economic 

3 deprivation, and to improve understanding of the tar4 geting of public resources, without directly affecting the 

5 distribution of, or eligibility for, any Federal benefits or 

6 assistance. 

7 SEC. 4. MODERNIZATION OF THE MEASUREMENT OF POV8 ERTY. 

9 Title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 202 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘PART D—MODERNIZATION OF THE 

13 MEASUREMENT OF POVERTY 

14 ‘‘SEC. 271. MODERNIZATION OF THE MEASUREMENT OF 

15 POVERTY. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of the Census, in 

17 collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after 

18 consultation about methodology with other Federal statis19 tical agencies and outside experts, shall, to the extent pos20 sible and based on the best available data, calculate mod21 ern poverty thresholds, and modern poverty rates as pro22 vided for in subsection (d), for each calendar year (includ23 ing any calendar year before the first year for which the 

24 first annual report is published, for which the information 

25 needed to perform the calculations is available or can be 


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1 estimated with a reasonable degree of confidence, as deter2 mined by the Bureau of the Census) in accordance with 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(b) NO EFFECT ON BENEFIT PROGRAMS.—This 

5 section shall not be interpreted to modify or authorize 

6 modification of eligibility of any entity for, or the amount 

7 or kind of benefits or assistance to be provided to any enti8 ty under, any program or activity funded, in whole or in 

9 part, with Federal funds. 

10 ‘‘(c) MODERN POVERTY THRESHOLDS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) CONSUMPTION DISTRIBUTION FOR REF12 ERENCE FAMILY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Within 12 months 

14 after the date of the enactment of this section, 

15 the Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Labor 

16 Statistics shall choose— 

17 ‘‘(i) the most appropriate distribution 

18 of consumption expenditures (including the 

19 value of relevant amounts described in sub20 section (d)(3) or that would otherwise be 

21 described in subsection (d)(3) if included 

22 in the distribution) on food, clothing, and 

23 shelter (including utilities), which may, if 

24 appropriate, exclude families receiving subVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:02 Aug 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 sidies for food, clothing, or shelter (includ2 ing utilities)); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the reference family for the mod4 ern poverty measure. 

5 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION FOR REFERENCE FAM6 ILY.—The modern poverty threshold for a ref7 erence family, as determined under subpara8 graph (A), shall be an amount equal to the av9 erage of 120 percent of the 33rd percentile of 

10 the distribution chosen under subparagraph (A) 

11 allowing for calculations to rely on a limited 

12 band converging on this percentile, during 4 or 

13 more of the most recent years for which data 

14 is available from the Consumer Expenditure 

15 Survey, a superior Federal Government source 

16 of data, or some combination of such sources as 

17 determined by the Bureau of the Census and 

18 the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The threshold 

19 shall be updated no less often than annually 

20 using this method. 

21 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of this section, insofar as 

23 the amounts described in subparagraphs (F) 

24 and (G) of subsection (d)(3) are not easily in25 cluded in the distribution referred to in subVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:02 Aug 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 paragraph (B) of this paragraph, the Bureau of 

2 the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

3 shall develop methods for including, and shall 

4 include, the actual or estimated amounts in the 

5 distribution. 

6 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT FOR FAMILY SIZE AND COM7 POSITION, AND FOR GEOGRAPHIC COST VARI8 ATION.—The Bureau of the Census, in collaboration 

9 with the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Bureau 

10 of Economic Analysis, and in consultation with other 

11 relevant Federal statistical agencies, shall adjust the 

12 modern poverty threshold calculated under para13 graph (1) of this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(A) for other family sizes and composi15 tions, using the best available equivalence scales 

16 that consider economies of scale and any special 

17 needs of children, including young children; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent possible and 

19 not earlier or later than the inclusion of State 

20 and local taxes and transfers as described in 

21 subsection (e)(4), for differences in the costs for 

22 the goods and services included in the threshold 

23 among States, sub-State non-metropolitan 

24 areas, and metropolitan areas. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ACCOMMODATION OF HOUSING STATUS.— 

2 To the maximum extent possible, the calculation for 

3 the threshold for the reference family described in 

4 paragraph (1) and the adjustments to the modern 

5 poverty thresholds for varied family sizes and com6 positions under paragraph (2)(A) shall be made sep7 arately for each of the following categories of fami8 lies: 

9 ‘‘(A) Families who own their primary resi10 dence and do not have a mortgage secured by 

11 the residence. 

12 ‘‘(B) All other families, or for any sub13 groups of all other families if the Bureau of 

14 Labor Statistics determines that reliable data 

15 indicates substantial variation in the amounts 

16 of money needed by the subgroups to purchase 

17 similar quality shelter. 

18 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL PUBLICATION OF WEIGHTED AV19 ERAGE POVERTY THRESHOLDS.—Not less often than 

20 annually, the Bureau of the Census, in collaboration 

21 with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall publish— 

22 ‘‘(A) the average poverty threshold for 

23 each family size, determined by weighting each 

24 threshold by the proportion of families of that 

25 size to which the threshold applies, and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the average poverty threshold for 

2 each family size in each category described in 

3 paragraph (3), determined by weighting each 

4 threshold by the proportion of families of that 

5 size in that category and to which the threshold 

6 applies. 

7 ‘‘(d) MODERN POVERTY RATES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of the Census 

9 shall use the modern poverty thresholds calculated 

10 under subsection (c) to calculate, at a minimum— 

11 ‘‘(A) the number and percentage of fami12 lies in the United States whose adjusted market 

13 income does not exceed the applicable modern 

14 poverty threshold, and the number and percent15 age of individuals in the United States who are 

16 members of such families; 

17 ‘‘(B) the number and percentage of fami18 lies in the United States whose adjusted dispos19 able income does not exceed the applicable mod20 ern poverty threshold, and the number and per21 centage of individuals in the United States who 

22 are members of such families; and 

23 ‘‘(C) the numbers and percentages de24 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) for var25 ious demographic, geographic, and other subVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:02 Aug 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 groups of families in the United States, and for 

2 individuals who are members of such subgroups 

3 of families. 

4 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED MARKET INCOME.—For pur5 poses of this section, the adjusted market income of 

6 a family is— 

7 ‘‘(A) the total of the amounts received by 

8 any member of the family during a calendar 

9 year from wages, salaries, and self-employment 

10 income, interest income, dividend income, real11 ized capital gains, rents, royalties, estate and 

12 trust income, a qualified retirement plan (as de13 fined in section 4974(c) of the Internal Revenue 

14 Code of 1986), a plan described in section 

15 457(b) of such Code, or any other plan, con16 tract, annuity, or account payments or distribu17 tions from which are in the nature of a retire18 ment benefit, survivor and disability pensions 

19 and annuities, paid-up insurance policies, ali20 mony payments, child support payments, pri21 vate workers’ compensation, regular contribu22 tions from persons not living with the family, 

23 and other relevant income as determined by the 

24 Bureau of the Census except for income deVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:02 Aug 10, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1625.IS S1625

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1 scribed in subparagraph (C), (D), (E), or (F) 

2 of paragraph (3) of this subsection; minus 

3 ‘‘(B) the total of the amounts paid by any 

4 member of the family during the calendar year 

5 for— 

6 ‘‘(i) alimony or the support or mainte7 nance of a noncustodial child; 

8 ‘‘(ii) medical expenses; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) necessary work-related expenses, 

10 including— 

11 ‘‘(I) dependent care expenses; 

12 ‘‘(II) transportation expenses; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(III) if there is reliable data 

15 therefor, work-search expenses. 

16 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTED DISPOSABLE INCOME.—For 

17 purposes of this section, the Bureau of the Census 

18 shall define the adjusted disposable income of a fam19 ily as follows, excluding any amounts that are not 

20 taken into account in determining poverty thresholds 

21 under this section: 

22 ‘‘(A) the adjusted market income of the 

23 family; minus 

24 ‘‘(B) the total of the amounts paid by any 

25 member of the family during the calendar year 


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1 to cover Federal income tax liability or Federal 

2 payroll tax liability, or if such information is 

3 not available, the total of any such liabilities 

4 that are payable by any member of the family 

5 during the calendar year; plus 

6 ‘‘(C) the total of the amounts received by 

7 any member of the family during the calendar 

8 year from refundable Federal tax credits, or if 

9 such information is not available, the total of 

10 any such credits that are expected by any mem11 ber of the family to be received during the cal12 endar year; plus 

13 ‘‘(D) the total of the amounts received by 

14 any member of the family during the calendar 

15 year which may be used to meet food, clothing, 

16 or shelter (including utilities) needs— 

17 ‘‘(i) referred to in section 

18 459(h)(1)(A)(ii) of the Social Security Act; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(ii) paid under a State or local pro21 gram funded under part A of title IV of 

22 the Social Security Act, the supplemental 

23 security income program under title XVI 

24 of such Act, or any other Federal program 


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1 or activity the eligibility for which is based, 

2 in whole or in part, on need; plus 

3 ‘‘(E) the total dollar value of any food as4 sistance benefit (as defined in section 3(d) of 

5 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008) received 

6 by any member of the family during the cal7 endar year under section 8 of the Food and Nu8 trition Act of 2008; plus 

9 ‘‘(F) the total of the amounts received by 

10 any member of the family during the calendar 

11 year as described in section 2605(b)(2) of the 

12 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 

13 1981; plus 

14 ‘‘(G) the total of the amounts received by 

15 any member of the family during the calendar 

16 year as government-funded nonmedical in-kind, 

17 cash and near cash benefits that help families 

18 meet food, clothing, and shelter (including utili19 ties) needs and are not intended to reimburse 

20 or subsidize other expenses, including nutrition 

21 programs, housing subsidies, and the value of 

22 public housing, not to exceed to the lesser of 

23 the share of the threshold defined in subsection 

24 (c) attributable to the component of the thresh25 old towards which the benefit may be used or 


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1 the estimated monetary value of the benefit to 

2 the recipient, to the extent possible. 

3 ‘‘(4) INCLUSION OF STATE AND LOCAL TAXES

4 AND TRANSFERS.—Within 5 years after the date of 

5 the enactment of this section, the Bureau of the 

6 Census, in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor 

7 Statistics, and after consultation with other relevant 

8 statistical agencies, shall modify the calculation 

9 under paragraph (3) to take account of State and 

10 local taxes and transfers. 

11 ‘‘(e) FAMILIES.—For purposes of this section, the 

12 term ‘family’ includes— 

13 ‘‘(1) an individual who is living alone; 

14 ‘‘(2) all members of a household who are re15 lated by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal ar16 rangement; and 

17 ‘‘(3) any unrelated individuals living together 

18 whom the Bureau of the Census, in collaboration 

19 with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, after assessing 

20 existing research and undertaking any necessary new 

21 research, determines should be treated as a family 

22 for purposes of this section. 

23 ‘‘(f) REPORT ON POVERTY RATES.—Not less fre24 quently than annually, the Bureau of the Census shall 

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1 nouncement of poverty thresholds and rates under the tra2 ditional poverty measure, and make readily accessible to 

3 the public, a report which contains detailed tables and ex4 planations of poverty rates— 

5 ‘‘(1) as determined on the basis of adjusted 

6 market income; 

7 ‘‘(2) as determined on the basis of adjusted dis8 posable income; and 

9 ‘‘(3) as determined on the basis of the tradi10 tional poverty measure referred to in subsection (g). 

11 ‘‘(g) REFERENCES TO EXISTING POVERTY MEASURE

12 AS THE ‘TRADITIONAL POVERTY MEASURE’.—To the ex13 tent practicable, whenever an officer or employee of the 

14 Federal Government refers to the poverty measure out15 lined in Office of Management and Budget Statistical Pol16 icy Directive 14, the officer or employee, as the case may 

17 be, shall refer to that measure as the ‘traditional poverty 

18 measure’. Any reference in a law, regulation, document, 

19 paper, or other record of the United States to the poverty 

20 measure outlined in Office of Management and Budget 

21 Statistical Policy Directive 14 is deemed to be a reference 

22 to the ‘traditional poverty measure’. 

23 ‘‘(h) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION BASED ON MOD24 ERN POVERTY THRESHOLDS AND RATES IN PUBLISHED


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1 DOCUMENTS CONTAINING INFORMATION BASED ON TRA2 DITIONAL POVERTY THRESHOLDS AND RATES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent possible, a 

4 relevant Federal statistical agency that publishes a 

5 document which contains information about a sub6 ject, which was produced using the poverty measure 

7 outlined in Office of Management and Budget Sta8 tistical Policy Directive 14, shall include in the docu9 ment information about the subject, which is pro10 duced using the modern poverty thresholds and mod11 ern poverty rates calculated under this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC RELEASE OF MICRODATA FILE

13 AND ONLINE TOOLS.—On releasing a document de14 scribed in paragraph (1), the Bureau of the Census 

15 shall release to the public, while maintaining privacy 

16 and confidentiality standards required by Federal 

17 law— 

18 ‘‘(A) microdata files (modified as necessary 

19 to avoid unduly increasing the risk of serious 

20 primary and secondary disclosure problems) 

21 containing all of the individual variables that 

22 are necessary to compute the published modern 

23 poverty rates, as well as poverty rates deter24 mined on the basis of the traditional poverty 

25 measure referred to in subsection (g), and to 


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1 calculate poverty rates using different defini2 tions of income and poverty thresholds; 

3 ‘‘(B) other public online tools that enable 

4 detailed poverty rates to be calculated using dif5 ferent definitions of income and poverty and 

adequacy thresholds, including 1⁄2 and 3 6 ⁄5 of 

7 median income; and 

8 ‘‘(C) the definitions of income set forth in, 

9 and the poverty thresholds established under, 

10 this section. 

11 ‘‘(i) CONSULTATION ON IMPROVING CALCULATION

12 OF THE MODERN POVERTY THRESHOLDS OR MODERN

13 POVERTY RATES; REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—From 

14 time to time, and no less frequently than every 5 years, 

15 the Bureau of the Census, in collaboration with the Bu16 reau of Labor Statistics, shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) consult with other relevant Federal statis18 tical agencies and outside experts on whether the 

19 method of, and sources of data for, calculating the 

20 modern poverty thresholds or modern poverty rates 

21 provided for in this section could be improved so as 

22 to better measure, including through adjustments 

23 for any underreporting or other misreporting of in24 come and adjustments for families with greater in25 come needs (such as those including persons with 


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1 disabilities), the extent to which families in the 

2 United States are able to secure sufficient income to 

3 allow a minimal level of consumption that meets 

4 their basic physical needs, including food, clothing, 

5 shelter (including utilities), and other necessary 

6 items; and 

7 ‘‘(2) report to the Congress on any need for any 

8 such improvement. 

9 ‘‘(j) RELEVANT FEDERAL STATISTICAL AGENCY.— 

10 In this section, the term ‘relevant Federal statistical agen11 cy’ means a Federal agency that— 

12 ‘‘(1) is listed as a major statistical program of 

13 the United States in the annual report most recently 

14 made under section 3504(e)(2) of title 44, United 

15 States Code; or 

16 ‘‘(2) the Office of Management and Budget ex17 pects to be so listed in the next such report. 

18 ‘‘(k) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO19 PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are author20 ized to be appropriated— 

21 ‘‘(1) to the Bureau of the Census— 

22 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2010, not more than 

23 $5,000,000; and 

24 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding fiscal year, not 

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1 graph (A), multiplied by the sum of 1 plus the 

2 percentage (if any) by which the Consumer 

3 Price Index for All-Urban Consumers for Sep4 tember of the fiscal year then preceding the 

5 succeeding fiscal year exceeds the index for 

6 September of the fiscal year second preceding 

7 the succeeding fiscal year; and 

8 ‘‘(2) to the Bureau of Labor Statistics— 

9 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2010, not more than 

10 $2,500,000; and 

11 ‘‘(B) for each succeeding fiscal year, not 

12 more than the amount specified in subpara13 graph (A), multiplied by the sum of 1 plus the 

14 percentage (if any) by which the Consumer 

15 Price Index for All-Urban Consumers for Sep16 tember of the fiscal year then preceding the 

17 succeeding fiscal year exceeds the index for 

18 September of the fiscal year second preceding 

19 the succeeding fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 272. STUDY OF DECENT LIVING STANDARD. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of the Census, in 

22 collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall 

23 enter into a contract with the National Academy of 

24 Sciences which obligates the National Academy of 

25 Sciences to develop and publish a method of calculating 


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1 a decent living standard threshold, including relevant vari2 ations for geography, family size, and other such factors, 

3 and a method of measuring the extent to which the income 

4 of families in the United States is sufficient to meet the 

5 threshold. The National Academy of Sciences shall con6 sider and critically review the growing body of work in 

7 this area, comparing different underlying concepts in ex8 isting approaches such as family budgets, basic needs 

9 budgets, and self-sufficiency standards, and comment on 

10 the best ways to move forward towards building con11 sensus. 

12 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The Bureau of the Cen13 sus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other relevant 

14 statistical agencies shall provide necessary technical sup15 port for the efforts to develop the threshold and method 

16 referred to in subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF DECENT LIVING STANDARD

18 THRESHOLD.—In subsection (a), the term ‘decent living 

19 standard threshold’ means the amount of annual income 

20 that would allow an individual to live at a safe and decent, 

21 but modest, standard of living. The decent living standard 

22 shall be a measure of income adequacy reflecting the re23 sources necessary to meet basic needs and live beyond dep24 rivation. 


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1 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO2 PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are author3 ized to be appropriated to the Bureau of the Census— 

4 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2010, not more than 

5 $500,000; and 

6 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2011, not more than the 

7 amount specified in paragraph (1), multiplied by the 

8 sum of 1 plus the percentage (if any) by which the 

9 Consumer Price Index for All-Urban Consumers for 

10 September 2010 exceeds the index for September 

11 2009. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 273. STUDY OF MEDICAL CARE RISK MEASURE. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of the Census, in 

14 collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 

15 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the 

16 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shall enter 

17 into a contract with the National Academies, including the 

18 National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medi19 cine, which obligates the National Academies to develop 

20 and publish a method of measuring the extent of medical 

21 care risk in the United States and calculating the number 

22 and percentage of individuals in the United States who, 

23 to varying degrees, lack adequate health insurance, plac24 ing them at risk of being unable to afford needed treat25 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The Bureau of the Cen2 sus, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Agency for 

3 Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for 

4 Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other relevant health 

5 and statistical agencies shall provide necessary technical 

6 support for the efforts to develop the method and measure 

7 referred to in subsection (a). 

8 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF MEDICAL CARE RISK.—In sub9 section (a), the term ‘medical care risk’ means the extent 

10 to which individuals are at risk of being unable to afford 

11 needed medical treatment, services, goods, and care. 

12 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO13 PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are author14 ized to be appropriated to the Bureau of the Census— 

15 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2010, not more than 

16 $500,000; and 

17 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2011, not more than the 

18 amount specified in paragraph (1), multiplied by the 

19 sum of 1 plus the percentage (if any) by which the 

20 Consumer Price Index for All-Urban Consumers for 

21 September 2010 exceeds the index for September 

22 2009. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 274. STUDY TO IMPROVE STATE AND LOCAL POVERTY 

2 MEASUREMENT. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of the Census, in 

4 consultation with other relevant statistical agencies, shall 

5 enter into a contract with the National Academy of 

6 Sciences which obligates the National Academy of 

7 Sciences to develop a set of recommendations for methods 

8 to implement annual modern poverty measurement at the 

9 State and local level and a timeframe for the implementa10 tion. The methods to be examined shall include revisions 

11 to the American Community Survey questionnaire, use of 

12 administrative records, and use of modeled estimates. 

13 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL SUPPORT.—The Bureau of the Cen14 sus and other relevant statistical agencies shall provide 

15 necessary technical support for the effort referred to in 

16 subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF APPRO18 PRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, there are author19 ized to be appropriated to the Bureau of the Census— 

20 ‘‘(1) for fiscal year 2010, not more than 

21 $250,000; and 

22 ‘‘(2) for fiscal year 2011, not more than the 

23 amount specified in paragraph (1); multiplied by the 

24 sum of 1 plus the percentage (if any) by which the 

25 Consumer Price Index for All-Urban Consumers for 


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1 September 2010 exceeds the index for September 

2 2009.’’. 

Æ 


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