I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6639 

To amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to update the Federal 

poverty line, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 6, 2023 

Mr. MULLIN (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. 

THANEDAR, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. ROBERT GARCIA of California, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. LEE

of California, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Mr. 

GOMEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to 

update the Federal poverty line, 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 ‘‘Poverty Line Act of 

5 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to update the calculation 

3 of the Federal poverty line, updated periodically in the 

4 Federal Register under the authority of section 673 of the 

5 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 9902(2)), to expand eligibility for and utilization of Fed7 eral assistance and benefits such that it incorporates more 

8 accurate costs of basic needs, keeps pace with changing 

9 household spending norms, accounts for regional vari10 ations in the cost of living, and reflects the minimum ex11 penditures required by a household to have the oppor12 tunity to achieve social and economic mobility. 

13 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO DEFINITION OF POVERTY LINE. 

14 Section 673(2) of the Community Services Block 

15 Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) is amended to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(2) POVERTY LINE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘poverty 

19 line’ means the official poverty line defined by 

20 the Office of Management and Budget accord21 ing to the Secretary’s published poverty line 

22 under subparagraph (B). 

23 ‘‘(B) REVISION AND PUBLICATION.—In co24 ordination with the Bureau of the Census, the 

25 Secretary shall revise and publish the poverty 

26 line in the manner described in subparagraph 


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1 (C) at least annually (or at any shorter interval 

2 the Secretary determines to be feasible and de3 sirable). 

4 ‘‘(C) REVISION.— 

5 ‘‘(i) The poverty line as revised shall 

6 be calculated at household sizes from 1 to 

7 8 members and shall be the sum of— 

8 ‘‘(I) a 5-year rolling average of 

9 household expenditures for food, 

10 clothing, telephone, and internet, cal11 culated at 83 percent of the averages 

12 of the 47th through the 53rd percent13 iles of spending in the Consumer Ex14 penditure Survey of the Bureau of 

15 Labor Statistics, adjusted for inflation 

16 as measured by the Consumer Price 

17 Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI– 

18 U), and multiplied by the other basic 

19 goods factor set under clause (iv); 

20 ‘‘(II) the cost of a rental housing 

21 unit with the number of bedrooms ap22 propriate for the household size as de23 termined by the Secretary of Housing 

24 and Urban Development under Fair 

25 Market Rents estimate determined by 


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1 such Secretary as required under sec2 tion 8 of the United States Housing 

3 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), and 

4 multiplied by the other basic goods 

5 factor set under clause (iv); 

6 ‘‘(III) for up to 6 household 

7 members who are under 5 years, the 

8 cost of average child care prices for 

9 such children as determined by Na10 tional Database of Childcare Prices of 

11 the Department of Labor; 

12 ‘‘(IV) for up to 6 household 

13 members enrolled in employer-spon14 sored health care plans, the median 

15 non-premium out-of-pocket costs for 

16 such members as determined by the 

17 Secretary based on the Household 

18 Component of the Medical Expendi19 ture Panel Survey to the extent prac20 ticable; 

21 ‘‘(V) for up to 6 household mem22 bers who are not otherwise enrolled in 

23 an employer-sponsored health care 

24 plan or are eligible for Medicare, the 

25 sum of the premium of an Essential 


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1 Health Benefits Benchmark Plan de2 fined by the Secretary as required 

3 under title I of the Patient Protection 

4 and Affordable Care Act and, to the 

5 extent practicable, the median non6 premium out-of-pocket costs for those 

7 enrolled in such a plan as determined 

8 by the Secretary based on the House9 hold Component of the Medical Ex10 penditure Panel Survey; and 

11 ‘‘(VI) for up to 6 household 

12 members who are eligible for Medi13 care, the sum of the cost of the pre14 mium for the lowest cost Medicare 

15 Advantage plan available that pro16 vides prescription drug coverage and, 

17 to the extent practicable, the median 

18 non-premium out-of-pocket costs for 

19 those enrolled in such a plan as deter20 mined by the Secretary based on the 

21 Household Component of the Medical 

22 Expenditure Panel Survey. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall calculate the 

24 average incremental cost of each additional 


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1 household member for households with 

2 more than 8 members. 

3 ‘‘(iii) For each factor determined 

4 under clauses (i) and (ii), the Secretary 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(I) use State-level data, any 

7 available county-level data, and, for 

8 clauses (i)(V) and (VI), geographic 

9 rating area data, and 

10 ‘‘(II) subject to clause (viii), 

11 produce poverty line variants for each 

12 such geographic area. 

13 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall set the other 

14 basic goods factor at the county level at a 

15 number that reflects spending on goods 

16 and services on which a household relies 

17 for basic needs, including transportation 

18 (where appropriate), and is otherwise not 

19 reflected in such clause but at not less 

20 than at 1.2. 

21 ‘‘(v) The Secretary may issue rules 

22 that require the use of data sources in lieu 

23 of the data sources specified in clause (i) 

24 for determining any factor applicable 

25 under this subparagraph if the Secretary 


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1 determines that such specified sources do 

2 not accurately reflect changes in otherwise 

3 applicable average household expenditures 

4 due to a significant economic event (such 

5 as a national emergency or above-average 

6 price inflation) or a substantial change in 

7 the underlying methodology or availability 

8 of such sources. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The Secretary shall apply appro10 priate multipliers to each factor deter11 mined under in clause (i) to reflect econo12 mies or diseconomies of scale with addi13 tional household members. 

14 ‘‘(vii) The Director may create sim15 plified poverty line variants or per-person 

16 cost calculations for administrative pur17 poses in determining household program 

18 eligibility as long as such variants or cal19 culations materially incorporate all applica20 ble costs specified under this subpara21 graph. 

22 ‘‘(viii) The Director shall provide a 

23 lookup tool on the website of the Depart24 ment of Health and Human Services for 

25 use by States, counties, and the public to 


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1 determine the poverty line of a given 

2 household based on the factors in this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(D) BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM USAGE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) If a State determines that it 

6 serves the objectives of the block grant 

7 program established under this subtitle, 

8 the State may revise the poverty line to 

9 not to exceed 125 percent of the official 

10 poverty line otherwise applicable under this 

11 paragraph. 

12 ‘‘(ii) The poverty line shall be used as 

13 a criterion of eligibility in the community 

14 services block grant program established 

15 under this subtitle. 

16 ‘‘(E) SAFE HARBORS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) The poverty line applicable to a 

18 participant or household in a Federal pro19 gram on the date the participant moves 

20 from one geographic location to another 

21 shall not be reduced by reason of the move 

22 for the 2-year period beginning on the date 

23 of the move. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall not set the 

25 poverty line for any State or county below 


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1 the poverty line as determined under this 

2 paragraph prior to the date of enactment 

3 of the Poverty Line Act of 2023 and ad4 justed for inflation up to the present 

5 time.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. TRANSITION. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the effective date of this 

8 Act, the Director of Office of Management and Budget 

9 shall submit to Congress a report that specifies the Fed10 eral laws and regulations that apply the Federal poverty 

11 line in effect under section 673(2) of the Community Serv12 ices Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) as a factor in 

13 determining eligibility for Federal programs and that the 

14 Director recommends be updated to reflect the changes 

15 required by the amendment made by this Act. 

16 SEC. 5. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 

17 In the 4th year after the effective date of this Act, 

18 and at least once every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary 

19 of Health and Human Services shall— 

20 (1) evaluate the efficacy of the poverty line as 

21 determined under section 673(2) of the Community 

22 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), as 

23 amended by this Act, 

24 (2) publish a report on the results of the eval25 uation, and 


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1 (3) propose any change to such poverty line 

2 that would better achieve the purpose of this Act. 

3 SEC. 6. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

4 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude 

5 the Bureau of the Census or any other Federal agency 

6 from collecting, calculating, or publishing other measures 

7 of poverty for other purposes. 

8 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

9 This Act and the amendment made by this Act shall 

10 take effect 3 years after the date of the enactment of this 

11 Act. 

Æ 


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