I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1143 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to address the increased burden 

that maintaining the health and hygiene of infants and toddlers places 

on families in need, the resultant adverse health effects on children 

and families, and the limited child care options available for infants 

and toddlers who lack sufficient diapers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 

Mr. ELLISON (for himself, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. NADLER, Ms. 

NORTON, and Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to address the 

increased burden that maintaining the health and hygiene of infants and toddlers places on families in need, 

the resultant adverse health effects on children and families, and the limited child care options available for infants and toddlers who lack sufficient diapers. 

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 ‘‘Hygiene Assistance 

5 for Families of Infants and Toddlers Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVING OPPORTUNITY DIAPER DISTRIBUTION 

2 DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

3 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 399V–7. DIAPER DISTRIBUTION DEMONSTRATION 

7 PROJECT. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Administration for Children and Families, shall make 

10 grants to eligible entities to conduct demonstration 

11 projects that implement and evaluate strategies to help 

12 families with eligible children to address the diapering 

13 needs of such children. 

14 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts provided through a 

15 grant under this section shall be used to— 

16 ‘‘(1) fund diaper distribution demonstration 

17 projects that will reduce the substantial cost of dia18 pers and diapering supplies by making diapers and 

19 diapering supplies available to low-income families; 

20 ‘‘(2) evaluate the effects of such demonstration 

21 projects on mitigating health risks, including diaper 

22 dermatitis, urinary tract infections, and increased 

23 rates of parental and child depression and anxiety, 

24 that can arise when low-income families do not have 

25 an adequate supply of diapers for infants and tod26 dlers; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) integrate the diaper distribution dem2 onstration projects with other assistance programs 

3 serving families with eligible children. 

4 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An entity desiring a grant under 

5 this section shall submit to the Secretary an application 

6 that includes such information as the Secretary may re7 quire to ensure a likelihood of success in achieving the 

8 purposes of the grant listed in subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive 

10 a grant under this section, an entity shall be— 

11 ‘‘(1) a State or local governmental entity; 

12 ‘‘(2) an Indian tribe or tribal organization (as 

13 defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

14 and Education Assistance Act); or 

15 ‘‘(3) a nonprofit organization as described in 

16 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 

18 501(a) of such Code. 

19 ‘‘(e) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PROGRAMS.—Any as20 sistance or benefits provided to a family pursuant to a 

21 grant under this section shall be disregarded for purposes 

22 of determining the family’s eligibility for, or amount of, 

23 benefits under— 

24 ‘‘(1) any other Federal needs-based program; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of a grant under this section 

2 to a State, any State-funded, needs-based program 

3 that is financed in whole or in part with Federal 

4 funds. 

5 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—As a condition of receiving a grant 

6 under this section for a fiscal year, an entity shall submit 

7 to the Secretary, not later than 6 months after the end 

8 of the fiscal year, a report that specifies— 

9 ‘‘(1) the number of children and the number of 

10 families receiving assistance under the diaper dis11 tribution demonstration projects funded through 

12 such grant for each month of the fiscal year; 

13 ‘‘(2) the number of diapers, and the number of 

14 each type of diapering supply distributed through 

15 such projects for each month of the fiscal year; 

16 ‘‘(3) the method or methods the entity uses to 

17 distribute diapers and diapering supplies through 

18 such projects; and 

19 ‘‘(4) such other information as the Secretary 

20 may require. 

21 ‘‘(g) EVALUATION.—The Secretary, in consultation 

22 with each entity that receives a grant under this section, 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(1) not later than September 30, 2019— 


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1 ‘‘(A) complete an evaluation of the effec2 tiveness of the diaper distribution demonstra3 tion projects carried out pursuant to this sec4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(B) submit to the relevant congressional 

6 committees a report on the results of such eval7 uation; and 

8 ‘‘(C) publish the results of the evaluation 

9 on the Internet Web site of the Department of 

10 Health and Human Services; and 

11 ‘‘(2)(A) not later than September 30, 2022, up12 date the evaluation described in paragraph (1)(A); 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(B) not later than 90 days after completion of 

15 the updated evaluation under subparagraph (B)— 

16 ‘‘(i) submit to the relevant congressional 

17 committees a report describing the results of 

18 such evaluation; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) update the Web site described in 

20 paragraph (1)(C) to include the results of such 

21 evaluation. 

22 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) The term ‘diaper’ means an absorbent gar24 ment that is washable or disposable that is worn by 

25 a child who is not toilet-trained. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘diapering supplies’ means items, 

2 including diaper wipes and diaper cream, necessary 

3 to ensure that a child using a diaper is properly 

4 cleaned and protected from diaper rash. 

5 ‘‘(3) The term ‘eligible child’ means a child 

6 who— 

7 ‘‘(A) is not toilet-trained; 

8 ‘‘(B) has not attained 4 years of age, un9 less the entity determines that the child has a 

10 substantial physical or mental impairment that 

11 requires the child to wear diapers; and 

12 ‘‘(C) is a member of a family whose income 

13 is not more than 130 percent of the poverty line 

14 (as defined by the Office of Management and 

15 Budget, and revised annually in accordance 

16 with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget 

17 Reconciliation Act of 1981) applicable to a fam18 ily of the size involved. 

19 ‘‘(4) The term ‘toilet-trained’ means able and 

20 willing to use a toilet consistently such that diapers 

21 are not necessary on a daily basis. 

22 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 

24 there is authorized to be appropriated for each of 

25 fiscal years 2018 through 2022, $25,000,000. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds pro2 vided to an entity under this section for a fiscal year 

3 may be expended only in the fiscal year or the suc4 ceeding fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


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