I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3367 

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 

JULY 29, 2015 

Mr. LEWIS 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON4 TENTS. 

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

6 ‘‘Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reau7 thorization Act of 2015’’. 


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1 (b) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise expressly pro2 vided, wherever in this Act an amendment is expressed 

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

4 the reference shall be considered to be made to that sec5 tion or other provision of the Assets for Independence Act 

6 (42 U.S.C. 604 note). 

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

8 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. 

9 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

10 Section 402 is amended— 

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Fully 1 11 ⁄2’’ 

and inserting ‘‘Almost 1 12 ⁄4’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking the first sen14 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Traditional pub15 lic assistance programs concentrate on income and 

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1 ponent to promote and support the transition to in2 creased economic self-sufficiency.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that a qualified entity con5 ducting a demonstration project under the Assets for 

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

7 maximum extent practicable, increase— 

8 (1) the rate at which the entity matches con9 tributions by individuals participating in the project 

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

11 (2) the number of individuals participating in 

12 the project. 

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

14 Section 404 is amended— 

15 (1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol16 lows: 

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

18 means an individual or group of individuals who live 

19 in a single residence. Multiple households may share 

20 a single residence.’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (5)(A)— 

22 (A) by striking clause (iii); 

23 (B) by redesignating clauses (iv) through 

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

25 and 


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1 (C) in clause (iv), as redesignated by sub2 paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘clause (vi)’’ and in3 serting ‘‘clause (v)’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (7)(A)— 

5 (A) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(ii) a State or local government 

8 agency (or a public housing agency, as de9 fined in section 3(b)(6) of the United 

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

11 1437a(b)(6))) or a tribal government (or a 

12 tribally designated housing entity, as de13 fined in section 4(22) of the Native Amer14 ican Housing Assistance and Self-Deter15 mination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 

16 4103(22)));’’; and 

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

18 the following: 

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

20 low-income credit union by the National 

21 Credit Union Administration (NCUA); or 

22 ‘‘(iv) an organization designated as a 

23 community development financial institu24 tion by the Secretary of the Treasury (or 


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1 the Community Development Financial In2 stitutions Fund).’’; and 

3 (4) in paragraph (8)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (i) in the first sentence— 

6 (I) by inserting ‘‘of an eligible in7 dividual or the dependent of an eligi8 ble individual (as such term is used in 

9 subparagraph (E)(ii))’’ after ‘‘ex10 penses’’; and 

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

12 pursuant to an education purchase 

13 plan approved by a qualified entity’’ 

14 before the period; 

15 (ii) in clause (i)— 

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

17 ‘‘or for courses described in subclause 

18 (III)’’ after ‘‘eligible educational insti19 tution’’; and 

20 (II) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new subclauses: 

22 ‘‘(III) PREPARATORY

23 COURSES.—Preparatory courses for 

24 an examination required for admission 

25 to an eligible educational institution, 


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1 for successful performance at an eligi2 ble educational institution, or for a 

3 professional licensing or certification 

4 examination. 

5 ‘‘(IV) ROOM AND BOARD AND

6 TRANSPORTATION.—Room and board 

7 and transportation, including com8 muting expenses, necessary to enable 

9 attendance at courses of instruction at 

10 an eligible educational institution or 

11 attendance at courses described in 

12 subclause (III).’’; 

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

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTI16 TUTION.—The term ‘eligible educational 

17 institution’ means— 

18 ‘‘(I) an institution described in 

19 section 101 or 102 of the Higher 

20 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

21 1001, 1002); or 

22 ‘‘(II) an area career and tech23 nical education school, as defined in 

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


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1 Career and Technical Education Act 

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

3 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

4 new clause: 

5 ‘‘(iii) EDUCATION PURCHASE PLAN.— 

6 The term ‘education purchase plan’ means 

7 a plan— 

8 ‘‘(I) for the purchase of items or 

9 services described in subclauses (II) 

10 through (IV) of clause (i) from enti11 ties other than eligible educational in12 stitutions; 

13 ‘‘(II) that includes a description 

14 of the items or services to be pur15 chased; and 

16 ‘‘(III) that includes such infor17 mation as a qualified entity may re18 quest from the eligible individual in19 volved regarding the necessity of the 

20 items or services to a course of study 

21 at an eligible educational institution 

22 or a course described in clause 

23 (i)(III).’’; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 


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

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(i) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The 

4 term ‘principal residence’ means a main 

5 residence the qualified acquisition costs of 

6 which do not exceed 120 percent of the 

7 median house price in the area, as deter8 mined by the Secretary of Housing and 

9 Urban Development for purposes of section 

10 203(b) of the National Housing Act (12 

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

12 by a number of families that corresponds 

13 to the number of households occupying the 

14 residence involved.’’; and 

15 (ii) in clause (iii)— 

16 (I) by amending subclause (I) to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

19 subclause (II), the term ‘qualified 

20 first-time homebuyer’ means an indi21 vidual participating in the project in22 volved who— 

23 ‘‘(aa) has no sole present 

24 ownership interest in a principal 

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1 riod ending on the date of acqui2 sition of the principal residence 

3 to which this subparagraph ap4 plies (except for an interest in 

5 such principal residence); and 

6 ‘‘(bb) has no co-ownership 

7 interest in a principal residence 

8 on the date of acquisition of the 

9 principal residence to which this 

10 subparagraph applies (except for 

11 an interest in such principal resi12 dence).’’; 

13 (II) by redesignating subclause 

14 (II) as subclause (III); and 

15 (III) by inserting after subclause 

16 (I) the following new subclause: 

17 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION FOR VICTIMS

18 OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.—An indi19 vidual participating in the project in20 volved who is a recent or current vic21 tim of domestic violence (as defined in 

22 section 40002(a)(8) of the Violence 

23 Against Women Act of 1994 (42 

24 U.S.C. 13925(a)(8))) shall not be con25 sidered to fail to be a qualified firstVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Aug 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3367.IH H3367

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1 time homebuyer by reason of having a 

2 co-ownership interest in a principal 

3 residence with a person who com4 mitted domestic violence against the 

5 victim.’’; 

6 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

7 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec8 tively; 

9 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

10 the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(C) HOME REPLACEMENT, REPAIR, OR

12 IMPROVEMENT.—Qualified replacement costs or 

13 qualified repair or improvement costs with re14 spect to a principal residence, if paid from an 

15 individual development account directly to the 

16 persons to whom the amounts are due. In this 

17 subparagraph: 

18 ‘‘(i) PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE.—The 

19 term ‘principal residence’ means— 

20 ‘‘(I) with respect to payment of 

21 qualified replacement costs, a main 

22 residence the qualified replacement 

23 costs of which do not exceed 120 per24 cent of the median house price in the 

25 area, as determined by the Secretary 


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1 of Housing and Urban Development 

2 for purposes of section 203(b) of the 

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

4 1709(b)) for a residence occupied by a 

5 number of families that corresponds 

6 to the number of households occu7 pying the residence involved; or 

8 ‘‘(II) with respect to qualified re9 pair or improvement costs, a main 

10 residence the value of which does not 

11 exceed, on the day before the com12 mencement of the repairs or improve13 ments, 120 percent of such median 

14 house price. 

15 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED REPLACEMENT

16 COSTS.—The term ‘qualified replacement 

17 costs’ means the costs (including any usual 

18 or reasonable settlement, financing, or 

19 other closing costs) of replacing— 

20 ‘‘(I) a manufactured home that 

21 was manufactured, assembled, or im22 ported for resale before the initial ef23 fectiveness of any Federal manufac24 tured home construction and safety 

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1 tion 604 of the National Manufac2 tured Housing Construction and Safe3 ty Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

4 5403); or 

5 ‘‘(II) a residence that fails to 

6 meet local building codes or is not le7 gally habitable. 

8 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED REPAIR OR IM9 PROVEMENT COSTS.—The term ‘qualified 

10 repair or improvement costs’ means the 

11 costs of making repairs or improvements 

12 (including any usual or reasonable financ13 ing costs) that will enhance the habitability 

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

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

16 subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(F) QUALIFIED TUITION PROGRAMS.— 

18 Contributions paid from an individual develop19 ment account of an eligible individual directly 

20 to a qualified tuition program (as defined in 

21 subsection (b) of section 529 of the Internal 

22 Revenue Code of 1986), for the purpose of cov23 ering qualified higher education expenses (as 

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


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1 a dependent of such individual (as such term is 

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

3 SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 

4 Section 405 is amended— 

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

6 the following: ‘‘Such funds include funds received 

7 under the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 

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

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

10 seq.), the Native American Housing Assistance and 

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

12 seq.), or title I of the Housing and Community De13 velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) (in14 cluding Community Development Block Grant Act 

15 funds and Indian Community Development Block 

16 Grant Act funds), that are formally committed to 

17 the project.’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(h) APPLICATIONS FOR NEW PROJECTS AND RE21 NEWALS OF EXISTING PROJECTS.—For project years be22 ginning on or after the date of the enactment of the Steph23 anie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reauthoriza24 tion Act of 2015, the preceding provisions of this section 

25 shall only apply as follows: 


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

2 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

3 of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independ4 ence Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Secretary 

5 shall publicly announce the procedures by which a 

6 qualified entity may submit an application— 

7 ‘‘(A) to conduct a demonstration project 

8 under this title; or 

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

10 demonstration project under this title. 

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

12 competitive basis, approve applications submitted 

13 pursuant to the procedures announced under para14 graph (1), taking into account the assessments re15 quired by subsection (c) and giving special consider16 ation to the applications described in paragraph (3). 

17 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL CONSIDERATION.—The applica18 tions described in this paragraph are the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) Applications submitted by qualified 

20 entities proposing to conduct demonstration 

21 projects under this title that will target the fol22 lowing populations: 

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

24 in foster care. 


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

2 defined in section 40002(a)(8) of the Vio3 lence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 

4 U.S.C. 13925(a)(8))). 

5 ‘‘(iii) Victims of— 

6 ‘‘(I) a major disaster declared to 

7 exist by the President under section 

8 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis9 aster Relief and Emergency Assist10 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) or an 

11 emergency declared to exist by the 

12 President under section 501 of such 

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

14 ‘‘(II) a situation similar to a 

15 major disaster or emergency described 

16 in subclause (I) declared to exist by 

17 the Governor of a State. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Formerly incarcerated individ19 uals. 

20 ‘‘(v) Individuals who are unemployed 

21 or underemployed. 

22 ‘‘(B) Applications described in subsection 

23 (d). 

24 ‘‘(4) CONTRACTS WITH NONPROFIT ENTI25 TIES.—Subsection (f) shall continue to apply. 


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1 ‘‘(5) GRANDFATHERING OF EXISTING STATE2 WIDE PROGRAMS.—Subsection (g) shall continue to 

3 apply, except that any reference in such subsection 

4 to the date of enactment of this Act or to 

5 $1,000,000 shall be deemed to be a reference to the 

6 date of the enactment of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones 

7 Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 

8 2015 or to $250,000, respectively.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY; ANNUAL GRANTS. 

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

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

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

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

14 title’’. 

15 SEC. 7. RESERVE FUND. 

16 Section 407(c) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting ‘‘or orga18 nizations’’ after ‘‘organization’’; and 

19 (2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount pro23 vided to a qualified entity under section 

24 406(b)— 


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

2 be used for the purpose described in sub3 paragraph (A) of paragraph (1); 

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

5 used for the purpose described in subpara6 graph (B) of such paragraph; and 

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

8 be used for the purposes described in sub9 paragraphs (C) and (D) of such para10 graph. 

11 ‘‘(B) JOINT ADMINISTRATION OF

12 PROJECT.—If two or more qualified entities are 

13 jointly administering a demonstration project, 

14 no one such entity shall use more than its pro15 portional share of the percentage indicated in 

16 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for the 

17 purposes described in subparagraphs (A) 

18 through (D) of paragraph (1).’’. 

19 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION. 

20 Section 408 is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(1) INCOME TESTS.—The household meets ei25 ther of the following income tests: 


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1 ‘‘(A) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME TEST.— 

2 The adjusted gross income of the household for 

3 the last taxable year ending in or with the pre4 ceding calendar year does not exceed the great5 er of— 

6 ‘‘(i) 200 percent of the Federal pov7 erty line, as defined in section 673(2) of 

8 the Community Services Block Grant Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revi10 sion required by such section, for a family 

11 composed of the number of persons in the 

12 household at the end of such taxable year; 

13 or 

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

15 for the area for such taxable year, as de16 termined by the Secretary of Housing and 

17 Urban Development for purposes of section 

18 3(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act 

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

20 into account any family-size adjustment by 

21 the Secretary under such section that cor22 responds to the size of the household at 

23 the end of such taxable year. 

24 ‘‘(B) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME

25 TEST.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The modified ad2 justed gross income of the household for 

3 the last taxable year ending in or with the 

4 preceding calendar year does not exceed 

5 the amount described in clause (ii) for the 

6 individual whose eligibility is being deter7 mined under this section. 

8 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—The 

9 amount described in this clause for an in10 dividual is as follows: 

11 ‘‘(I) MARRIED FILING JOINT12 LY.—$40,000 for an individual de13 scribed in subsection (a)(1) of section 

14 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986. 

16 ‘‘(II) SURVIVING SPOUSE.— 

17 $40,000 for an individual described in 

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

19 ‘‘(III) HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD.— 

20 $30,000 for an individual described in 

21 subsection (b) of such section. 

22 ‘‘(IV) SINGLE OR MARRIED FIL23 ING SEPARATELY.—$20,000 for an in24 dividual described in subsection (c) or 

25 (d) of such section. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLA2 TION.— 

3 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case 

4 of a calendar year described in clause 

5 (i) that is after 2016, the dollar 

6 amounts in clause (ii) shall be the dol7 lar amounts determined under this 

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

9 year increased by the annual percent10 age increase (if any) in the consumer 

11 price index (all items; U.S. city aver12 age) as of September of the calendar 

13 year described in clause (i). 

14 ‘‘(II) ROUNDING.—Any dollar 

15 amount determined under subclause 

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

17 be rounded to the next greatest mul18 tiple of $100.’’; and 

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

20 the following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(D) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

23 calendar year described in subparagraph 

24 (A) that is after 2016, the dollar amount 

25 in such subparagraph shall be the dollar 


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1 amount determined under this clause (or 

2 such subparagraph) for the previous year 

3 increased by the annual percentage in4 crease (if any) in the consumer price index 

5 (all items; U.S. city average) as of Sep6 tember of the calendar year described in 

7 such subparagraph. 

8 ‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—Any dollar amount 

9 determined under clause (i) that is not a 

10 multiple of $100 shall be rounded to the 

11 next greatest multiple of $100.’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub13 section (c); 

14 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol15 lowing new subsection: 

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

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

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

19 a household for a taxable year is the sum of the ad20 justed gross incomes of the individuals who are 

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

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

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

24 adjusted gross income of a household for a taxable 

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1 comes of the individuals who are members of the 

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

3 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para4 graph (2)— 

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

6 follows and inserting a period; 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in8 serting the following: 

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

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

11 paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS WHO MOVE BECAUSE OF

13 MAJOR DISASTERS OR EMERGENCIES OR TO FIND

14 EMPLOYMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations pro16 mulgated under paragraph (1) shall establish 

17 procedures under which an individual described 

18 in subparagraph (B) may transfer from one 

19 demonstration project under this title to an20 other demonstration project under this title 

21 that is being conducted in another community 

22 by a qualified entity that agrees to accept the 

23 individual into the project. Such regulations 

24 shall not permit such a transfer unless such 

25 qualified entity has sufficient amounts in its 


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1 Reserve Fund to make the deposits required by 

2 section 410 with respect to the individual. 

3 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An indi4 vidual described in this subparagraph is an in5 dividual participating in a demonstration 

6 project under this title who moves from the 

7 community in which the project is being con8 ducted— 

9 ‘‘(i) because of— 

10 ‘‘(I) a major disaster declared to 

11 exist in such community by the Presi12 dent under section 401 of the Robert 

13 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer14 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 5170) or an emergency declared to 

16 exist in such community by the Presi17 dent under section 501 of such Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 5191); 

19 ‘‘(II) a situation similar to a 

20 major disaster or emergency described 

21 in subclause (I) declared to exist in 

22 such community by the Governor of a 

23 State; or 

24 ‘‘(III) a qualifying life event ex25 perienced by such individual; or 


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

2 ‘‘(C) QUALIFYING LIFE EVENT DE3 FINED.—For purposes of subparagraph 

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

5 ‘‘(i) means an event determined by 

6 the Secretary to be similar to an event that 

7 would permit the individual to make an 

8 election change with respect to a cafeteria 

9 plan under section 125 of the Internal 

10 Revenue Code of 1986; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

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

13 status of the individual; 

14 ‘‘(II) a change in the number of 

15 dependents of the individual (as such 

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

17 ‘‘(III) the birth or death of a 

18 child of the individual; 

19 ‘‘(IV) the adoption or placement 

20 for adoption of a child by the indi21 vidual; 

22 ‘‘(V) a change in the provider of 

23 daycare for a child of the individual, 

24 or a significant increase in the cost of 

25 such daycare; and 


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1 ‘‘(VI) a change in employment 

2 status of the individual, the individ3 ual’s spouse, or a dependent of the in4 dividual (as such term is used in sec5 tion 404(8)(E)(ii)). 

6 ‘‘(3) RELOCATION TO COMMUNITY WHERE NO

7 PROJECT IS AVAILABLE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual de9 scribed in subparagraph (B) shall be permitted 

10 to withdraw funds from the individual develop11 ment account of the individual during the 1- 

12 year period following the date such individual 

13 moves to another community in the same man14 ner that an individual is permitted under sec15 tion 410(d)(2) to withdraw funds during the 1- 

16 year period following the end of a demonstra17 tion project. 

18 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An indi19 vidual described in this subparagraph is an in20 dividual who— 

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

22 demonstration project under this title is 

23 being conducted; or 

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1 retary may require to transfer to another 

2 demonstration project under this title, is, 

3 for any reason other than a violation of the 

4 requirements of this title or regulations 

5 promulgated by the Secretary under this 

6 title, not accepted into another demonstra7 tion project under this title. 

8 ‘‘(C) FUNDS REMAINING IN IDA.—Any 

9 funds remaining in an individual development 

10 account after the end of the 1-year period de11 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be treated in 

12 the same manner as funds remaining in an in13 dividual development account after the end of 

14 the 1-year period described in subsection 

15 (d)(2)(A) of section 410 are treated under sub16 section (f) of such section. 

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

18 The regulations promulgated under paragraph (1) 

19 shall prohibit any individual who is unable to con20 tinue participating in a demonstration project under 

21 this title for any reason, except for an individual de22 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) or (3)(B), from being 

23 eligible to participate in any other demonstration 

24 project conducted under this title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. DEPOSITS BY QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 

2 Section 410 is amended— 

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

4 after ‘‘an amount equal to’’; 

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

6 inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

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

8 inserting ‘‘$10,000’’; 

9 (4) in subsection (d)— 

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

11 inserting the following: 

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

13 (B) in paragraph (1), as amended by sub14 paragraph (A), by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: ‘‘The Secretary may waive the applica16 tion of the preceding sentence in the case of an 

17 individual who has participated in another dem18 onstration project under this title (including 

19 successful completion after transferring from 

20 one project to another project as described in 

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

22 similar to the demonstration projects conducted 

23 under this title.’’; and 

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

25 paragraph: 


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

2 PROJECT.— 

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

4 ensure that an eligible individual is able to 

5 withdraw funds from an individual development 

6 account of the individual during the 1-year pe7 riod following the end of the demonstration 

8 project with respect to which deposits were 

9 made into such account (whether such project 

10 ends by reason of expiration of the authority 

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

12 conduct the demonstration project, termination 

13 of such authority under section 413 without 

14 transfer to another qualified entity, or other15 wise). 

16 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF WITHDRAWALS.—Dur17 ing the period described in subparagraph (A), 

18 an eligible individual may only make a with19 drawal if the withdrawal is approved in writ20 ing— 

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

22 qualified entity; or 

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

24 terminated the authority of the qualified 

25 entity to conduct the demonstration project 


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1 under section 413 or the Secretary deter2 mines that the qualified entity is otherwise 

3 unable or unwilling to participate in the 

4 approval process.’’; and 

5 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub6 section: 

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

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

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

10 shall be disposed of as considered appropriate by the Sec11 retary or a nonprofit entity (as such term is used in sec12 tion 404(7)(A)(i)) designated by the Secretary.’’. 

13 SEC. 10. REGULATIONS. 

14 Section 411 is amended— 

15 (1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘; REGULA16 TIONS’’ after ‘‘PROJECTS’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘A qualified entity’’ and insert18 ing the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) LOCAL CONTROL OVER DEMONSTRATION

20 PROJECTS.—A qualified entity’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

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

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

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1 thorization Act of 2015, the Secretary shall promulgate 

2 such regulations as the Secretary considers necessary to 

3 implement this title. The Secretary may provide that any 

4 such regulation takes effect on the date of promulgation, 

5 but the Secretary shall accept and consider public com6 ments for 60 days after such date.’’. 

7 SEC. 11. ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS. 

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

9 striking ‘‘subsection (a) to’’ and all that follows and in10 serting ‘‘subsection (a) to the Secretary.’’. 

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

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

13 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 12. SANCTIONS. 

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

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

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(5) if, by the end of the 90-day period begin19 ning on the date of the termination, the Secretary 

20 has not found a qualified entity (or entities) de21 scribed in paragraph (3), shall— 

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

23 conducting a competition (unless the Secretary 

24 determines that conducting a competition would 

25 be feasible and appropriate), another qualified 


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

2 community, willing and able to conduct one or 

3 more demonstration projects under this title 

4 that may differ from the project being termi5 nated; 

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

7 entities) under subparagraph (A), give priority 

8 to qualified entities that— 

9 ‘‘(i) are participating in demonstra10 tion projects conducted under this title; 

11 ‘‘(ii) have waiting lists for participants 

12 in such demonstration projects; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) can demonstrate the availability 

14 of non-Federal funds described in section 

15 405(c)(4), in addition to any such funds 

16 committed to any demonstration projects 

17 being conducted by the qualified entity at 

18 the time the Secretary considers identi19 fying the entity under subparagraph (A), 

20 to be committed to the demonstration 

21 project (or projects) described in subpara22 graph (A) as matching contributions; and 

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

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


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

2 control over the Reserve Fund established 

3 pursuant to section 407 with respect to the 

4 project being terminated; and 

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

6 to use such Reserve Fund to conduct a 

7 demonstration project (or projects) in ac8 cordance with an application approved 

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

10 405 and the requirements of this title.’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(c) FOCUS ON COMMUNITY OF TERMINATED

15 PROJECT.—In identifying another qualified entity (or en16 tities) under paragraph (3) or (5) of subsection (b), the 

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

18 entity (or entities) in the community served by the dem19 onstration project being terminated.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

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

22 subsection (a) shall apply to terminations occurring 

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

24 (2) DISCRETIONARY APPLICATION TO PREVIOUS

25 TERMINATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and 


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1 Human Services may apply such amendment to ter2 minations occurring within the 1-year period ending 

3 on the day before the date of the enactment of this 

4 Act. In the case of such an application, any ref5 erence in such amendment to the date of the termi6 nation is deemed a reference to such date of enact7 ment. 

8 SEC. 13. EVALUATIONS. 

9 Section 414 is amended— 

10 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol11 lows: 

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

13 one or more contracts with one or more independent re14 search organizations to evaluate the demonstration 

15 projects conducted under this title, individually and as a 

16 group, including all qualified entities participating in and 

17 sources providing funds for the demonstration projects 

18 conducted under this title. Such contract or contracts may 

19 also provide for the evaluation of other asset-building pro20 grams and policies targeted to low-income individuals.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) by striking paragraph (3); 

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

24 how such effects vary among different popu25 lations or communities’’; 


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

2 and 

3 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

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

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

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

7 place it appears. 

8 SEC. 14. COSTS OF TRAINING QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 

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

10 note) is amended— 

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

12 and 

13 (2) by inserting after section 415 the following 

14 new section: 

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

16 ‘‘If the Secretary determines that a qualified entity 

17 conducting a demonstration project under this title should 

18 receive training in order to conduct the project in accord19 ance with an application approved under subsection (e) or 

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

21 to otherwise successfully conduct the project, the Sec22 retary may use funds appropriated under section 418 to 

23 cover the necessary costs of such training, including the 

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


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1 SEC. 15. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

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

3 note) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating section 417, as redesig5 nated by section 14(1) of this Act, as section 418; 

6 and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 416 the following 

8 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 417. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 

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

11 Secretary may waive any requirement of this title— 

12 ‘‘(1) relating to— 

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

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

15 conduct a demonstration project under this title 

16 or to receive a grant under this title; 

17 ‘‘(C) eligibility criteria for individuals to 

18 participate in a demonstration project under 

19 this title; 

20 ‘‘(D) amounts or limitations with respect 

21 to— 

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

23 of amounts deposited by an eligible indi24 vidual in the individual development ac25 count of the individual; 


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

2 granted to a qualified entity by the Sec3 retary; or 

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

5 funds granted to the qualified entity by the 

6 Secretary; or 

7 ‘‘(E) the withdrawal of funds from an indi8 vidual development account only for qualified 

9 expenses or as an emergency withdrawal; or 

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

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

12 agreement with the Commissioner of Social Se13 curity; 

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

15 waiting list to participate in a demonstration 

16 project under this title; or 

17 ‘‘(C) allow demonstration projects under 

18 this title to be targeted to populations described 

19 in section 405(h)(3)(A) and to successfully re20 cruit individuals from such populations for par21 ticipation.’’. 

22 SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

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

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


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1 ‘‘and $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016, 2017, 

2 2018, 2019, and 2020’’. 

3 SEC. 17. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

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

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

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

7 section 2 of the Community Opportunities, Accountability, 

8 and Training and Educational Services Act of 1998 (Pub9 lic Law 105–285) is amended as follows: 

10 (1) By striking the item relating to section 411 

11 and inserting the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 411. Local control over demonstration projects; regulations.’’. 

12 (2) By striking the items relating to sections 

13 415 and 416 and inserting the following new items: 

‘‘Sec. 415. No reduction in benefits. 

‘‘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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