I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1623 

To reauthorize the Assets for Independence Act, to provide for the approval 

of applications to operate new demonstration programs and to renew 

existing programs, to enhance program flexibility, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 15, 2011 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself, Mr. STARK, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. COHEN, Mr. PAYNE, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. MOORE, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, 

Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. CLARKE of Michigan, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Ms. BROWN of Florida, and Mr. SERRANO) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Assets for Independence Act, to provide 

for the approval of applications to operate new demonstration programs and to renew existing programs, 

to enhance program flexibility, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON2 TENTS. 

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

4 ‘‘Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reau5 thorization Act of 2011’’. 

6 (b) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise expressly pro7 vided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed 

8 in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, 

9 the reference shall be considered to be made to that sec10 tion or other provision of the Assets for Independence Act 

11 (42 U.S.C. 604 note). 

12 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

13 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; reference; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 4. Definitions. 

Sec. 5. Applications. 

Sec. 6. Demonstration authority; annual grants. 

Sec. 7. Reserve Fund. 

Sec. 8. Eligibility for participation. 

Sec. 9. Deposits by qualified entities. 

Sec. 10. Regulations. 

Sec. 11. Annual progress reports. 

Sec. 12. Sanctions. 

Sec. 13. Evaluations. 

Sec. 14. Costs of training qualified entities. 

Sec. 15. Waiver authority. 

Sec. 16. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 17. Conforming amendments. 

Sec. 18. General effective date. 

14 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

15 Section 402 is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Fully 1 16 ⁄2’’ 

and inserting ‘‘Almost 1 17 ⁄4’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the first sen2 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Traditional pub3 lic assistance programs concentrate on income and 

4 consumption and have lacked an asset-building com5 ponent to promote and support the transition to in6 creased economic self-sufficiency.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of Congress that a qualified entity con9 ducting a demonstration project under the Assets for 

10 Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 note) should, to the 

11 maximum extent practicable, increase— 

12 (1) the rate at which the entity matches con13 tributions by individuals participating in the project 

14 under section 410(a)(1) of such Act; or 

15 (2) the number of individuals participating in 

16 the project. 

17 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

18 Section 404 is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(4) HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘household’ 

22 means an individual or group of individuals who live 

23 in a single residence. Multiple households may share 

24 a single residence.’’; 

25 (2) in paragraph (5)(A)— 


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1 (A) by striking clause (iii); 

2 (B) by redesignating clauses (iv) through 

3 (vi) as clauses (iii) through (v), respectively; 

4 and 

5 (C) in clause (iv), as redesignated by sub6 paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘clause (vi)’’ and in7 serting ‘‘clause (v)’’; 

8 (3) in paragraph (7)(A)— 

9 (A) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(ii) a State or local government 

12 agency (or a public housing agency, as de13 fined in section 3(b)(6) of the United 

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

15 1437a(b)(6))) or a tribal government (or a 

16 tribally designated housing entity, as de17 fined in section 4(22) of the Native Amer18 ican Housing Assistance and Self-Deter19 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

20 4103(22)));’’; and 

21 (B) by striking clause (iii) and inserting 

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(iii) a credit union designated as a 

24 low-income credit union by the National 

25 Credit Union Administration (NCUA); or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) an organization designated as a 

2 community development financial institu3 tion by the Secretary of the Treasury (or 

4 the Community Development Financial In5 stitutions Fund).’’; and 

6 (4) in paragraph (8)— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

8 (i) in the first sentence— 

9 (I) by inserting ‘‘of an eligible in10 dividual or the dependent of an eligi11 ble individual (as such term is used in 

12 subparagraph (E)(ii))’’ after ‘‘ex13 penses’’; and 

14 (II) by inserting ‘‘, or to a vendor 

15 pursuant to an education purchase 

16 plan approved by a qualified entity’’ 

17 before the period; 

18 (ii) in clause (i)— 

19 (I) in subclause (II), by inserting 

20 ‘‘or for courses described in subclause 

21 (III)’’ after ‘‘eligible educational insti22 tution’’; and 

23 (II) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subclauses: 


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1 ‘‘(III) PREPARATORY

2 COURSES.—Preparatory courses for 

3 an examination required for admission 

4 to an eligible educational institution, 

5 for successful performance at an eligi6 ble educational institution, or for a 

7 professional licensing or certification 

8 examination. 

9 ‘‘(IV) ROOM AND BOARD AND

10 TRANSPORTATION.—Room and board 

11 and transportation, including com12 muting expenses, necessary to enable 

13 attendance at courses of instruction at 

14 an eligible educational institution or 

15 attendance at courses described in 

16 subclause (III).’’; 

17 (iii) by amending clause (ii) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTI20 TUTION.—The term ‘eligible educational 

21 institution’ means— 

22 ‘‘(I) an institution described in 

23 section 101 or 102 of the Higher 

24 Education Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

25 1001, 1002); or 


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1 ‘‘(II) an area career and tech2 nical education school, as defined in 

3 section 3(3) of the Carl D. Perkins 

4 Career and Technical Education Act 

5 of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302(3)).’’; and 

6 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

7 new clause: 

8 ‘‘(iii) EDUCATION PURCHASE PLAN.— 

9 The term ‘education purchase plan’ means 

10 a plan— 

11 ‘‘(I) for the purchase of items or 

12 services described in subclauses (II) 

13 through (IV) of clause (i) from enti14 ties other than eligible educational in15 stitutions; 

16 ‘‘(II) that includes a description 

17 of the items or services to be pur18 chased; and 

19 ‘‘(III) that includes such infor20 mation as a qualified entity may re21 quest from the eligible individual in22 volved regarding the necessity of the 

23 items or services to a course of study 

24 at an eligible educational institution 


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1 or a course described in clause 

2 (i)(III).’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

4 (i) by amending clause (i) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(i) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The 

7 term ‘principal residence’ means a main 

8 residence the qualified acquisition costs of 

9 which do not exceed 120 percent of the 

10 median house price in the area, as deter11 mined by the Secretary of Housing and 

12 Urban Development for purposes of section 

13 203(b) of the National Housing Act (12 

14 U.S.C. 1709(b)) for a residence occupied 

15 by a number of families that corresponds 

16 to the number of households occupying the 

17 residence involved.’’; and 

18 (ii) in clause (iii)— 

19 (I) by amending subclause (I) to 

20 read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

22 subclause (II), the term ‘qualified 

23 first-time homebuyer’ means an indi24 vidual participating in the project in25 volved who— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) has no sole present 

2 ownership interest in a principal 

3 residence during the 3-year pe4 riod ending on the date of acqui5 sition of the principal residence 

6 to which this subparagraph ap7 plies (except for an interest in 

8 such principal residence); and 

9 ‘‘(bb) has no co-ownership 

10 interest in a principal residence 

11 on the date of acquisition of the 

12 principal residence to which this 

13 subparagraph applies (except for 

14 an interest in such principal resi15 dence).’’; 

16 (II) by redesignating subclause 

17 (II) as subclause (III); and 

18 (III) by inserting after subclause 

19 (I) the following new subclause: 

20 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION FOR VICTIMS

21 OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—An indi22 vidual participating in the project in23 volved who is a recent or current vic24 tim of domestic violence (as defined in 

25 section 40002(a)(6) of the Violence 


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1 Against Women Act of 1994 (42 

2 U.S.C. 13925(a)(6))) shall not be con3 sidered to fail to be a qualified first4 time homebuyer by reason of having a 

5 co-ownership interest in a principal 

6 residence with a person who com7 mitted domestic violence against the 

8 victim.’’; 

9 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

10 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec11 tively; 

12 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

13 the following new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(C) HOME REPLACEMENT, REPAIR, OR

15 IMPROVEMENT.—Qualified replacement costs or 

16 qualified repair or improvement costs with re17 spect to a principal residence, if paid from an 

18 individual development account directly to the 

19 persons to whom the amounts are due. In this 

20 subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(i) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The 

22 term ‘principal residence’ means— 

23 ‘‘(I) with respect to payment of 

24 qualified replacement costs, a main 

25 residence the qualified replacement 


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1 costs of which do not exceed 120 per2 cent of the median house price in the 

3 area, as determined by the Secretary 

4 of Housing and Urban Development 

5 for purposes of section 203(b) of the 

6 National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

7 1709(b)) for a residence occupied by a 

8 number of families that corresponds 

9 to the number of households occu10 pying the residence involved; or 

11 ‘‘(II) with respect to qualified re12 pair or improvement costs, a main 

13 residence the value of which does not 

14 exceed, on the day before the com15 mencement of the repairs or improve16 ments, 120 percent of such median 

17 house price. 

18 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED REPLACEMENT

19 COSTS.—The term ‘qualified replacement 

20 costs’ means the costs (including any usual 

21 or reasonable settlement, financing, or 

22 other closing costs) of replacing— 

23 ‘‘(I) a manufactured home that 

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1 fectiveness of any Federal manufac2 tured home construction and safety 

3 standards established pursuant to sec4 tion 604 of the National Manufac5 tured Housing Construction and Safe6 ty Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

7 5403); or 

8 ‘‘(II) a residence that fails to 

9 meet local building codes or is not le10 gally habitable. 

11 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED REPAIR OR IM12 PROVEMENT COSTS.—The term ‘qualified 

13 repair or improvement costs’ means the 

14 costs of making repairs or improvements 

15 (including any usual or reasonable financ16 ing costs) that will enhance the habitability 

17 or long-term value of a residence.’’; and 

18 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

19 subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(F) QUALIFIED TUITION PROGRAMS.— 

21 Contributions paid from an individual develop22 ment account of an eligible individual directly 

23 to a qualified tuition program (as defined in 

24 subsection (b) of section 529 of the Internal 

25 Revenue Code of 1986), for the purpose of covVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Apr 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.IH H1623

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1 ering qualified higher education expenses (as 

2 defined in subsection (e)(3) of such section) of 

3 a dependent of such individual (as such term is 

4 used in clause (ii) of subparagraph (E)).’’. 

5 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

6 Section 405 is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (c)(4), by adding at the end 

8 the following: ‘‘Such funds include funds received 

9 under the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.), the Indian Self-Determination 

11 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b et 

12 seq.), the Native American Housing Assistance and 

13 Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et 

14 seq.), or title I of the Housing and Community De15 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) (in16 cluding Community Development Block Grant Act 

17 funds and Indian Community Development Block 

18 Grant Act funds), that are formally committed to 

19 the project.’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub21 section: 

22 ‘‘(h) APPLICATIONS FOR NEW PROJECTS AND RE23 NEWALS OF EXISTING PROJECTS.—For project years be24 ginning on or after the date of the enactment of the Steph25 anie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence ReauthorizaVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Apr 21, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.IH H1623

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1 tion Act of 2011, the previous provisions of this section 

2 shall only apply as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Not 

4 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

5 of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independ6 ence Reauthorization Act of 2011, the Secretary 

7 shall publicly announce the procedures by which a 

8 qualified entity may submit an application— 

9 ‘‘(A) to conduct a demonstration project 

10 under this title; or 

11 ‘‘(B) for renewal of authority to conduct a 

12 demonstration project under this title. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall, on a 

14 competitive basis, approve applications submitted 

15 pursuant to the procedures announced under para16 graph (1), taking into account the assessments re17 quired by subsection (c) and giving special consider18 ation to the applications described in paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—The applica20 tions described in this paragraph are the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) Applications submitted by qualified 

22 entities proposing to conduct demonstration 

23 projects under this title that will target the fol24 lowing populations: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Individuals who are or have been 

2 in foster care. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Victims of domestic violence (as 

4 defined in section 40002(a)(6) of the Vio5 lence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 

6 U.S.C. 13925(a)(6))). 

7 ‘‘(iii) Victims of— 

8 ‘‘(I) a major disaster declared to 

9 exist by the President under section 

10 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis11 aster Relief and Emergency Assist12 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) or an 

13 emergency declared to exist by the 

14 President under section 501 of such 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 5191); or 

16 ‘‘(II) a situation similar to a 

17 major disaster or emergency described 

18 in subclause (I) declared to exist by 

19 the Governor of a State. 

20 ‘‘(iv) Formerly incarcerated individ21 uals. 

22 ‘‘(v) Individuals who are unemployed 

23 or underemployed. 

24 ‘‘(B) Applications described in subsection 

25 (d). 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONTRACTS WITH NONPROFIT ENTI2 TIES.—Subsection (f) shall continue to apply. 

3 ‘‘(5) GRANDFATHERING OF EXISTING STATE4 WIDE PROGRAMS.—Subsection (g) shall continue to 

5 apply, except that any reference in such subsection 

6 to the date of enactment of this Act or to 

7 $1,000,000 shall be deemed to be a reference to the 

8 date of the enactment of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones 

9 Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 

10 2011 or to $250,000, respectively.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY; ANNUAL GRANTS. 

12 Section 406(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘(or, in the 

13 case of an application approved under section 405(h)(2), 

14 not later than 30 days after the date of the approval of 

15 such application)’’ after ‘‘the date of enactment of this 

16 title’’. 

17 SEC. 7. RESERVE FUND. 

18 Section 407(c) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting ‘‘or orga20 nizations’’ after ‘‘organization’’; and 

21 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount pro2 vided to a qualified entity under section 

3 406(b)— 

4 ‘‘(i) not more than 5.5 percent shall 

5 be used for the purpose described in sub6 paragraph (A) of paragraph (1); 

7 ‘‘(ii) not less than 80 percent shall be 

8 used for the purpose described in subpara9 graph (B) of such paragraph; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) not more than 14.5 percent shall 

11 be used for the purposes described in sub12 paragraphs (C) and (D) of such para13 graph. 

14 ‘‘(B) JOINT ADMINISTRATION OF

15 PROJECT.—If two or more qualified entities are 

16 jointly administering a demonstration project, 

17 no one such entity shall use more than its pro18 portional share of the percentage indicated in 

19 subparagraph (A) for the purposes described in 

20 subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph 

21 (1).’’. 

22 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION. 

23 Section 408 is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) INCOME TESTS.—The household meets ei4 ther of the following income tests: 

5 ‘‘(A) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME TEST.— 

6 The adjusted gross income of the household for 

7 the last taxable year ending in or with the pre8 ceding calendar year does not exceed the great9 er of— 

10 ‘‘(i) 200 percent of the Federal pov11 erty line, as defined in section 673(2) of 

12 the Community Services Block Grant Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revi14 sion required by such section, for a family 

15 composed of the number of persons in the 

16 household at the end of such taxable year; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(ii) 80 percent of the median income 

19 for the area for such taxable year, as de20 termined by the Secretary of Housing and 

21 Urban Development for purposes of section 

22 3(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act 

23 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)), taking 

24 into account any family-size adjustment by 

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1 responds to the size of the household at 

2 the end of such taxable year. 

3 ‘‘(B) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME

4 TEST.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The modified ad6 justed gross income of the household for 

7 the last taxable year ending in or with the 

8 preceding calendar year does not exceed 

9 the amount described in clause (ii) for the 

10 individual whose eligibility is being deter11 mined under this section. 

12 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—The 

13 amount described in this clause for an in14 dividual is as follows: 

15 ‘‘(I) MARRIED FILING JOINT16 LY.—$40,000 for an individual de17 scribed in subsection (a)(1) of section 

18 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986. 

20 ‘‘(II) SURVIVING SPOUSE.— 

21 $40,000 for an individual described in 

22 subsection (a)(2) of such section. 

23 ‘‘(III) HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD.— 

24 $30,000 for an individual described in 

25 subsection (b) of such section. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) SINGLE OR MARRIED FIL2 ING SEPARATELY.—$20,000 for an in3 dividual described in subsection (c) or 

4 (d) of such section. 

5 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLA6 TION.— 

7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case 

8 of a calendar year described in clause 

9 (i) that is after 2012, the dollar 

10 amounts in clause (ii) shall be the dol11 lar amounts determined under this 

12 clause (or clause (ii)) for the previous 

13 year increased by the annual percent14 age increase (if any) in the consumer 

15 price index (all items; U.S. city aver16 age) as of September of the calendar 

17 year described in clause (i). 

18 ‘‘(II) ROUNDING.—Any dollar 

19 amount determined under subclause 

20 (I) that is not a multiple of $100 shall 

21 be rounded to the next greatest mul22 tiple of $100.’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

24 the following new subparagraph: 

25 ‘‘(D) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

2 calendar year described in subparagraph 

3 (A) that is after 2012, the dollar amount 

4 in such subparagraph shall be the dollar 

5 amount determined under this clause (or 

6 such subparagraph) for the previous year 

7 increased by the annual percentage in8 crease (if any) in the consumer price index 

9 (all items; U.S. city average) as of Sep10 tember of the calendar year described in 

11 such subparagraph. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—Any dollar amount 

13 determined under clause (i) that is not a 

14 multiple of $100 shall be rounded to the 

15 next greatest multiple of $100.’’; 

16 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub17 section (c); 

18 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol19 lowing new subsection: 

20 ‘‘(b) CALCULATING INCOME OF HOUSEHOLD.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—For purposes 

22 of subsection (a)(1)(A), the adjusted gross income of 

23 a household for a taxable year is the sum of the ad24 justed gross incomes of the individuals who are 

25 members of the household at the end of such year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.— 

2 For purposes of subsection (a)(1)(B), the modified 

3 adjusted gross income of a household for a taxable 

4 year is the sum of the modified adjusted gross in5 comes of the individuals who are members of the 

6 household at the end of such year.’’; and 

7 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para8 graph (2)— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘, including’’ and all that 

10 follows and inserting a period; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS WHO MOVE BECAUSE OF

17 MAJOR DISASTERS OR EMERGENCIES OR TO FIND

18 EMPLOYMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations pro20 mulgated under paragraph (1) shall establish 

21 procedures under which an individual described 

22 in subparagraph (B) may transfer from one 

23 demonstration project under this title to an24 other demonstration project under this title 

25 that is being conducted in another community 


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1 by a qualified entity that agrees to accept the 

2 individual into the project. Such regulations 

3 shall not permit such a transfer unless such 

4 qualified entity has sufficient amounts in its 

5 Reserve Fund to make the deposits required by 

6 section 410 with respect to the individual. 

7 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An indi8 vidual described in this subparagraph is an in9 dividual participating in a demonstration 

10 project under this title who moves from the 

11 community in which the project is being con12 ducted— 

13 ‘‘(i) because of— 

14 ‘‘(I) a major disaster declared to 

15 exist in such community by the Presi16 dent under section 401 of the Robert 

17 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer18 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 5170) or an emergency declared to 

20 exist in such community by the Presi21 dent under section 501 of such Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 5191); 

23 ‘‘(II) a situation similar to a 

24 major disaster or emergency described 

25 in subclause (I) declared to exist in 


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1 such community by the Governor of a 

2 State; or 

3 ‘‘(III) a qualifying life event ex4 perienced by such individual; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) in order to secure employment. 

6 ‘‘(C) QUALIFYING LIFE EVENT DE7 FINED.—For purposes of subparagraph 

8 (B)(i)(III), the term ‘qualifying life event’— 

9 ‘‘(i) means an event determined by 

10 the Secretary to be similar to an event that 

11 would permit the individual to make an 

12 election change with respect to a cafeteria 

13 plan under section 125 of the Internal 

14 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

16 ‘‘(I) a change in the legal marital 

17 status of the individual; 

18 ‘‘(II) a change in the number of 

19 dependents of the individual (as such 

20 term is used in section 404(8)(E)(ii)); 

21 ‘‘(III) the birth or death of a 

22 child of the individual; 

23 ‘‘(IV) the adoption or placement 

24 for adoption of a child by the indi25 vidual; 


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1 ‘‘(V) a change in the provider of 

2 daycare for a child of the individual, 

3 or a significant increase in the cost of 

4 such daycare; and 

5 ‘‘(VI) a change in employment 

6 status of the individual, the individ7 ual’s spouse, or a dependent of the in8 dividual (as such term is used in sec9 tion 404(8)(E)(ii)). 

10 ‘‘(3) RELOCATION TO COMMUNITY WHERE NO

11 PROJECT IS AVAILABLE.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual de13 scribed in subparagraph (B) shall be permitted 

14 to withdraw funds from the individual develop15 ment account of the individual during the 1- 

16 year period following the date such individual 

17 moves to another community in the same man18 ner that an individual is permitted under sec19 tion 410(d)(2) to withdraw funds during the 1- 

20 year period following the end of a demonstra21 tion project. 

22 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An indi23 vidual described in this subparagraph is an in24 dividual who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) moves to a community where no 

2 demonstration project under this title is 

3 being conducted; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) after moving to another commu5 nity and making such efforts as the Sec6 retary may require to transfer to another 

7 demonstration project under this title, is, 

8 for any reason other than a violation of the 

9 requirements of this title or regulations 

10 promulgated by the Secretary under this 

11 title, not accepted into another demonstra12 tion project under this title. 

13 ‘‘(C) FUNDS REMAINING IN IDA.—Any 

14 funds remaining in an individual development 

15 account after the end of the 1-year period de16 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be treated in 

17 the same manner as funds remaining in an in18 dividual development account after the end of 

19 the 1-year period described in subsection 

20 (d)(2)(A) of section 410 are treated under sub21 section (f) of such section. 

22 ‘‘(4) RELOCATION BY OTHER INDIVIDUALS.— 

23 The regulations promulgated under paragraph (1) 

24 shall prohibit any individual who is unable to con25 tinue participating in a demonstration project under 


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1 this title for any reason, except for an individual de2 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) or (3)(B), from being 

3 eligible to participate in any other demonstration 

4 project conducted under this title.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. DEPOSITS BY QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 

6 Section 410 is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting ‘‘2 times’’ 

8 after ‘‘an amount equal to’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$2,000’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$4,000’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

13 (4) in subsection (d)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (1), as amended by sub18 paragraph (A), by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: ‘‘The Secretary may waive the applica20 tion of the preceding sentence in the case of an 

21 individual who has participated in another dem22 onstration project under this title (including 

23 successful completion after transferring from 

24 one project to another project as described in 

25 section 408(c)(2)) or an asset-building project 


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1 similar to the demonstration projects conducted 

2 under this title.’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(2) ACCESS FOR 1 YEAR AFTER END OF

6 PROJECT.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

8 ensure that an eligible individual is able to 

9 withdraw funds from an individual development 

10 account of the individual during the 1-year pe11 riod following the end of the demonstration 

12 project with respect to which deposits were 

13 made into such account (whether such project 

14 ends by reason of expiration of the authority 

15 under section 406(a) of the qualified entity to 

16 conduct the demonstration project, termination 

17 of such authority under section 413 without 

18 transfer to another qualified entity, or other19 wise). 

20 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF WITHDRAWALS.—Dur21 ing the period described in subparagraph (A), 

22 an eligible individual may only make a with23 drawal if the withdrawal is approved in writ24 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) by a responsible official of the 

2 qualified entity; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) by the Secretary, if the Secretary 

4 terminated the authority of the qualified 

5 entity to conduct the demonstration project 

6 under section 413 or the Secretary deter7 mines that the qualified entity is otherwise 

8 unable or unwilling to participate in the 

9 approval process.’’; and 

10 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub11 section: 

12 ‘‘(f) UNUSED FUNDS IN IDA.—If funds remain in 

13 an individual development account after the end of the 1- 

14 year period described in subsection (d)(2)(A), such funds 

15 shall be disposed of as considered appropriate by the Sec16 retary or a nonprofit entity (as such term is used in sec17 tion 404(7)(A)(i)) designated by the Secretary.’’. 

18 SEC. 10. REGULATIONS. 

19 Section 411 is amended— 

20 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘; REGULA21 TIONS’’ after ‘‘PROJECTS’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘A qualified entity’’ and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(a) LOCAL CONTROL OVER DEMONSTRATION

25 PROJECTS.—A qualified entity’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section: 

3 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Subject to subsection (a), not 

4 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

5 the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reau6 thorization Act of 2011, the Secretary shall promulgate 

7 such regulations as the Secretary considers necessary to 

8 implement this title. The Secretary may provide that any 

9 such regulation takes effect on the date of promulgation, 

10 but the Secretary shall accept and consider public com11 ments for 60 days after such date.’’. 

12 SEC. 11. ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 412(b) is amended by 

14 striking ‘‘subsection (a) to’’ and all that follows and in15 serting ‘‘subsection (a) to the Secretary.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 subsection (a) shall apply to reports submitted on or after 

18 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 12. SANCTIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 413 is amended— 

21 (1) by amending subsection (b)(5) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(5) if, by the end of the 90-day period begin24 ning on the date of the termination, the Secretary 


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1 has not found a qualified entity (or entities) de2 scribed in paragraph (3), shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) make every effort to identify, without 

4 conducting a competition (unless the Secretary 

5 determines that conducting a competition would 

6 be feasible and appropriate), another qualified 

7 entity (or entities), in the same or a different 

8 community, willing and able to conduct one or 

9 more demonstration projects under this title 

10 that may differ from the project being termi11 nated; 

12 ‘‘(B) in identifying a qualified entity (or 

13 entities) under subparagraph (A), give priority 

14 to qualified entities that— 

15 ‘‘(i) are participating in demonstra16 tion projects conducted under this title; 

17 ‘‘(ii) have waiting lists for participants 

18 in such demonstration projects; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) can demonstrate the availability 

20 of non-Federal funds described in section 

21 405(c)(4), in addition to any such funds 

22 committed to any demonstration projects 

23 being conducted by the qualified entity at 

24 the time the Secretary considers identi25 fying the entity under subparagraph (A), 


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1 to be committed to the demonstration 

2 project (or projects) described in subpara3 graph (A) as matching contributions; and 

4 ‘‘(C) if the Secretary identifies a qualified 

5 entity (or entities) under subparagraph (A)— 

6 ‘‘(i) transfer to the entity (or entities) 

7 control over the Reserve Fund established 

8 pursuant to section 407 with respect to the 

9 project being terminated; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) authorize the entity (or entities) 

11 to use such Reserve Fund to conduct a 

12 demonstration project (or projects) in ac13 cordance with an application approved 

14 under subsection (e) or (h)(2) of section 

15 405 and the requirements of this title.’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub18 section: 

19 ‘‘(c) FOCUS ON COMMUNITY OF TERMINATED

20 PROJECT.—In identifying another qualified entity (or en21 tities) under paragraph (3) or (5) of subsection (b), the 

22 Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, select a qualified 

23 entity (or entities) in the community served by the dem24 onstration project being terminated.’’. 

25 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply to terminations occurring 

3 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (2) DISCRETIONARY APPLICATION TO PREVIOUS

5 TERMINATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services may apply such amendment to ter7 minations occurring within the one-year period end8 ing on the day before the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act. In the case of such an application, any ref10 erence in such amendment to the date of the termi11 nation is deemed a reference to such date of enact12 ment. 

13 SEC. 13. EVALUATIONS. 

14 Section 414 is amended— 

15 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into 

18 one or more contracts with one or more independent re19 search organizations to evaluate the demonstration 

20 projects conducted under this title, individually and as a 

21 group, including all qualified entities participating in and 

22 sources providing funds for the demonstration projects 

23 conducted under this title. Such contract or contracts may 

24 also provide for the evaluation of other asset-building pro25 grams and policies targeted to low-income individuals.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)— 

2 (A) by striking paragraph (3); 

3 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘, and 

4 how such effects vary among different popu5 lations or communities’’; 

6 (C) by striking paragraphs (5) and (6); 

7 and 

8 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

9 (7) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

10 (3) in subsections (b) and (c), by inserting ‘‘(or 

11 organizations)’’ after ‘‘research organization’’ each 

12 place it appears. 

13 SEC. 14. COSTS OF TRAINING QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 

14 The Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 

15 note) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating section 416 as section 417; 

17 and 

18 (2) by inserting after section 415 the following 

19 new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 416. COSTS OF TRAINING QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 

21 ‘‘If the Secretary determines that a qualified entity 

22 conducting a demonstration project under this title should 

23 receive training in order to conduct the project in accord24 ance with an application approved under subsection (e) or 

25 (h)(2) of section 405 or the requirements of this title, or 


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1 to otherwise successfully conduct the project, the Sec2 retary may use funds appropriated under section 418 to 

3 cover the necessary costs of such training, including the 

4 costs of travel, accommodations, and meals.’’. 

5 SEC. 15. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

6 The Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 

7 note) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating section 417, as redesig9 nated by section 14(1) of this Act, as section 418; 

10 and 

11 (2) by inserting after section 416 the following 

12 new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 417. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

14 ‘‘In order to carry out the purposes of this title, the 

15 Secretary may waive any requirement of this title— 

16 ‘‘(1) relating to— 

17 ‘‘(A) the definition of a qualified entity; 

18 ‘‘(B) the approval of a qualified entity to 

19 conduct a demonstration project under this title 

20 or to receive a grant under this title; 

21 ‘‘(C) eligibility criteria for individuals to 

22 participate in a demonstration project under 

23 this title; 

24 ‘‘(D) amounts or limitations with respect 

25 to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the matching by a qualified entity 

2 of amounts deposited by an eligible indi3 vidual in the individual development ac4 count of the individual; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the amount of funds that may be 

6 granted to a qualified entity by the Sec7 retary; or 

8 ‘‘(iii) uses by a qualified entity of the 

9 funds granted to the qualified entity by the 

10 Secretary; or 

11 ‘‘(E) the withdrawal of funds from an indi12 vidual development account only for qualified 

13 expenses or as an emergency withdrawal; or 

14 ‘‘(2) the waiver of which is necessary to— 

15 ‘‘(A) permit the Secretary to enter into an 

16 agreement with the Commissioner of Social Se17 curity; 

18 ‘‘(B) allow individuals to be placed on a 

19 waiting list to participate in a demonstration 

20 project under this title; or 

21 ‘‘(C) allow demonstration projects under 

22 this title to be targeted to populations described 

23 in section 405(h)(3)(A) and to successfully re24 cruit individuals from such populations for par25 ticipation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 418, as redesignated by section 15(1) of this 

3 Act, is amended by inserting after ‘‘2003’’ the following: 

4 ‘‘and $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012, 2013, 

5 2014, 2015, and 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 17. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 414(e) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘section 416’’ and inserting ‘‘section 418’’. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

10 section 2 of the Community Opportunities, Accountability, 

11 and Training and Educational Services Act of 1998 (Pub12 lic Law 105–285) is amended by striking the item relating 

13 to section 416 and inserting the following new items: 

Sec. 416. Costs of training qualified entities. 

Sec. 417. Waiver authority. 

Sec. 418. Authorization of appropriations. 

14 SEC. 18. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE. 

15 The amendments made by sections 4 through 9 of 

16 this Act shall apply to project years beginning on or after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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