II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 842

To replace the Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program with

a block grant to the States, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 15), 1995

Mr. ASHCROFT (for himself, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. DEWINE, Mr.

SMITH, Mr. INHOFE, and Mr. KEMPTHORNE) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

A BILL

To replace the Aid to Families With Dependent Children

Program with a block grant to the States, 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 ‘‘Individual Accountabil5 ity Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. BLOCK GRANTS TO THE STATES FOR AID TO NEEDY

7 FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN.

8 Part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

9 U.S.C. 601–617) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘PART A—BLOCK GRANTS TO STATES FOR AID TO

2 NEEDY FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN

3 ‘‘PURPOSE; IMPLEMENTATION

4 ‘‘SEC. 401. (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this part

5 is to strengthen families by helping them move from de6 pendence on government benefits to economic independ7 ence by consolidating Federal assistance to the States for

8 aid to needy families and children into a single grant for

9 such purpose, thereby giving States maximum flexibility

10 to—

11 ‘‘(1) require welfare beneficiaries to work, from

12 the first receipt of benefits to the last;

13 ‘‘(2) require beneficiaries who are parents to

14 ensure that their school-age children attend school;

15 ‘‘(3) require minors who are beneficiaries to at16 tend school;

17 ‘‘(4) require parent beneficiaries to ensure that

18 their children receive the full complement of child19 hood immunizations;

20 ‘‘(5) limit the amount of time beneficiaries may

21 receive assistance;

22 ‘‘(6) require beneficiaries not to use illegal

23 drugs or abuse other drugs;

24 ‘‘(7) reduce and discourage illegitimate births;
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1 ‘‘(8) require each mother to identify the father

2 of any child for whom she seeks assistance;

3 ‘‘(9) provide noncash assistance to children or

4 unwed minors to prevent benefits from being di5 verted to inappropriate purposes;

6 ‘‘(10) provide assistance to children to unwed

7 minor parents only when such minor parents are liv8 ing in the homes of relatives;

9 ‘‘(11) deny assistance to illegal aliens;

10 ‘‘(12) require individuals who sponsor the resi11 dency of legal aliens to support those they sponsor;

12 and

13 ‘‘(13) involve religious and charitable organiza14 tions, voluntary associations, civic groups, commu15 nity organizations, nonprofit entities, benevolent and

16 fraternal orders, philanthropic entities, and other

17 groups in the private sector, as appropriate, in the

18 provision of assistance to needy families with the

19 funding States receive under this part.

20 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—This purpose shall be im21 plemented in accordance with conditions in each State and

22 as determined by State law.

23 ‘‘PAYMENTS TO STATES

24 ‘‘SEC. 402. (a) STATE MANDATES FOR WORK BY

25 BENEFICIARIES.—As a condition of receiving a payment

26 of funds under this part, a State shall require each adult
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1 member of any family receiving aid from a State under

2 this part to work, as defined by State law. Any individual

3 who fails or refuses to work, and any member of such indi4 vidual’s family residing with such individual, shall not be

5 eligible for assistance from funds provided to the State

6 under this part.

7 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, subject to

9 the requirements of this part, be entitled to receive

10 quarterly payments for fiscal years 1996, 1997,

11 1998, 1999, and 2000 in an amount equal to 25

12 percent of the annual amount determined under

13 paragraph (2) for such fiscal year for carrying out

14 the purpose described in section 401.

15 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL AMOUNT.—The annual amount

16 determined under this paragraph is equal to—

17 ‘‘(A) in fiscal year 1996, 100 percent of

18 the amounts received by a State in fiscal year

19 1994, or 100 percent of the average of amounts

20 received by a State in fiscal years 1992, 1993,

21 and 1994, whichever is greater, under—

22 ‘‘(i) this part (as in effect in fiscal

23 year 1994, or, if applicable, in fiscal years

24 1992, 1993, and 1994); and

25 ‘‘(ii) part F (as so in effect); and
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1 ‘‘(B) in each fiscal year thereafter, 100

2 percent of the amount received by a State in

3 the preceding fiscal year under this part (as in

4 effect in such preceding fiscal year).

5 ‘‘(c) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of

6 the Treasury shall make quarterly payments described in

7 subsection (b)(1) directly to each State in accordance with

8 section 6503 of title 31, United States Code.

9 ‘‘(d) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; RAINY DAY FUND.—

10 Amounts received by a State under this part for any fiscal

11 year shall be expended by the State in such fiscal year

12 or in the succeeding fiscal year; except for such amounts

13 as the State deems necessary to set aside in a separate

14 account to provide, without fiscal year limitation, for unex15 pected levels of assistance during periods of high unem16 ployment or other events which cause unexpected increases

17 in the need for assistance to needy families and children.

18 Any amounts remaining in such segregated accounts after

19 fiscal year 2000 shall be expended by a State for the pur20 pose described in section 401 of this part as in effect in

21 fiscal year 2000.

22 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Except as

23 provided in subsection (f), a State to which a payment

24 is made under this part may not use any part of such

25 payment to provide medical services.
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1 ‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO USE PORTION OF GRANT FOR

2 OTHER PURPOSES.—

3 ‘‘(1) FOR SSI FOR THE DISABLED, HEALTH

4 CARE SERVICES FOR NEEDY INDIVIDUALS, OR FOOD

5 ASSISTANCE.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may use not

7 more than 30 percent of the annual amount

8 paid to the State under this part for a fiscal

9 year to carry out a State program pursuant to

10 any or all of the following provisions of law:

11 ‘‘(i) Title XVI of this Act.

12 ‘‘(ii) Title XIX of this Act.

13 ‘‘(iii) The Food Stamp Act.

14 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE RULES.—Any amount

15 paid to the State under this part that is used

16 to carry out a State program pursuant to a pro17 vision of law specified in subparagraph (A)

18 shall not be subject to the requirements of this

19 part, but shall be subject to the requirements

20 that apply to Federal funds provided directly

21 under the provision of law to carry out the pro22 gram.

23 ‘‘(2) FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDU24 CATION AND OTHER PURPOSES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may use 2

2 percent of the annual amount paid to the State

3 under this part for a fiscal year for elementary

4 and secondary education programs, or any

5 other purpose that a State deems necessary, for

6 each 1 percent by which a State reduced, in the

7 most recently completed fiscal year for which

8 statistics are available, as compared to the im9 mediately preceding fiscal year, the rate of out10 of-wedlock births in the State, provided that the

11 rate of pregnancy terminations in the State for

12 the same fiscal years has not increased.

13 ‘‘(B) REPUTABLE INFORMATION.—In de14 termining the rate of out-of-wedlock births and

15 pregnancy terminations under subparagraph

16 (A), a State shall use statistical information

17 available from a reputable source such as the

18 National Center for Health Statistics, the Pub19 lic Health Service, the National Vital Statistics

20 System, or the Centers for Disease Control and

21 Prevention.

22 ‘‘OPERATION OF A CHILD SUPPORT AND PATERNITY

23 ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM

24 ‘‘SEC. 403. In order to receive payments under sec25 tion 402, a State shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) have in effect a plan approved under part

2 D of title IV of the Social Security Act; and

3 ‘‘(2) operate a child support and paternity es4 tablishment program in substantial compliance with

5 such plan.

6 ‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY

7 ‘‘SEC. 404. (a) AUDITS; REIMBURSEMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) AUDITS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State shall, not less

10 than annually, audit the State expenditures

11 from amounts received under this part. Such

12 audit shall—

13 ‘‘(i) determine the extent to which

14 such expenditures were or were not ex15 pended in accordance with this part; and

16 ‘‘(ii) be conducted by an approved en17 tity (as defined in subparagraph (B)) in

18 accordance with generally accepted audit19 ing principles.

20 ‘‘(B) APPROVED ENTITY.—For purposes of

21 subparagraph (A), the term ‘approved entity’

22 means an entity that is—

23 ‘‘(i) approved by the Secretary of the

24 Treasury;

25 ‘‘(ii) approved by the chief executive

26 officer of the State; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) independent of any agency ad2 ministering activities funded under this

3 part.

4 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30

6 days following the completion of an audit under

7 this subsection, a State shall submit a copy of

8 the audit to the State legislature and to the

9 Secretary of the Treasury.

10 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT.—Each State shall pay

11 to the United States amounts ultimately found

12 by the approved entity under paragraph (1)(A)

13 not to have been expended in accordance with

14 this part plus 10 percent of such amount as a

15 penalty, or the Secretary of the Treasury may

16 offset such amounts plus the 10 percent penalty

17 against any other amount in any other year

18 that the State may be entitled to receive under

19 this part.

20 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENTS.—

21 The provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United States

22 Code, shall apply to the audit requirements of this section.

23 ‘‘(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; FORM, CON24 TENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—A State shall prepare

2 comprehensive annual reports on the activities car3 ried out with amounts received by the State under

4 this part.

5 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—Reports prepared under this

6 section—

7 ‘‘(A) shall be for the most recently com8 pleted fiscal year;

9 ‘‘(B) shall be in accordance with generally

10 accepted accounting principles, including the

11 provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United

12 States Code;

13 ‘‘(C) shall include the results of the most

14 recent audit conducted in accordance with the

15 requirements of subsection (a) of this section;

16 ‘‘(D) shall include information on any re17 duction in the illegitimacy rate in a State and

18 the statistics by which such rate is determined

19 pursuant to section 402(f)(2); and

20 ‘‘(E) shall be in such form and contain

21 such other information as the State deems nec22 essary—

23 ‘‘(i) to provide an accurate description

24 of such activities; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) to secure a complete record of

2 the purposes for which amounts were ex3 pended in accordance with this part.

4 ‘‘(3) COPIES.—A State shall make copies of the

5 reports required under this section available for pub6 lic inspection within the State. Copies also shall be

7 provided upon request to any interested public agen8 cy, and each such agency may provide its views on

9 such reports to the Congress.

10 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISION.—

11 ‘‘(1) ROLE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS12 URY.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

14 Treasury shall supervise the amounts received

15 under this part in accordance with subpara16 graph (B).

17 ‘‘(B) LIMITED SUPERVISION.—The super18 vision by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be

19 limited to—

20 ‘‘(i) making quarterly payments to the

21 States in accordance with section 402(b);

22 ‘‘(ii) approving the entities referred to

23 in subsection (a)(1)(B); and
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1 ‘‘(iii) withholding payment to a State

2 based on the findings of such an entity in

3 accordance with subsection (a)(2)(B).

4 ‘‘(2) OTHER FEDERAL SUPERVISION.—No ad5 ministrative officer or agency of the United States,

6 other than the Secretary of the Treasury and, as

7 provided for in section 405, the Attorney General,

8 shall supervise the amounts received by the States

9 under this part or the use of such amounts by the

10 States.

11 ‘‘(e) LIMITED FEDERAL OVERSIGHT.—With the ex12 ception of the Department of the Treasury as provided

13 for in this section and section 405 of this part, no Federal

14 department or agency may promulgate regulations or issue

15 rules regarding the purpose of this part.

16 ‘‘NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS

17 ‘‘SEC. 405. (a) NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDI18 VIDUALS.—No individual shall be excluded from participa19 tion in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimina20 tion under any program or activity funded in whole or in

21 part with amounts received under this part on the basis

22 of such individual’s—

23 ‘‘(1) disability under section 504 of the Reha24 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794);

25 ‘‘(2) sex under title IX of the Education

26 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or
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1 ‘‘(3) race, color, or national origin under title

2 VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d

3 et seq.).

4 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary of the Treasury

5 determines that a State, or an entity that has received

6 funds from amounts received by the State under this part,

7 has failed to comply with a provision of law referred to

8 in subsection (a), except as provided for in section 406

9 of this part, the Secretary of the Treasury shall notify the

10 chief executive officer of the State and shall request the

11 officer to secure compliance with such provision of law.

12 If, not later than 60 days after receiving such notification,

13 the chief executive officer fails or refuses to secure compli14 ance, the Secretary of the Treasury may—

15 ‘‘(1) refer the matter to the Attorney General

16 with a recommendation that an appropriate civil ac17 tion be instituted;

18 ‘‘(2) exercise the powers and functions provided

19 under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42

20 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education

21 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or

22 section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

23 U.S.C. 794a), (as applicable); or

24 ‘‘(3) take such other action as may be provided

25 by law.
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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL; CIVIL AC2 TIONS.—When a matter is referred to the Attorney Gen3 eral pursuant to subsection (b)(1), or if the Attorney Gen4 eral has reason to believe that an entity is engaged in a

5 pattern or practice in violation of a provision of law re6 ferred to in subsection (a), the Attorney General may

7 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the

8 United States for such relief as may be appropriate, in9 cluding injunctive relief.

10 ‘‘NONDISCRIMINATION AND INSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS

11 FOR RELIGIOUS PROVIDERS

12 ‘‘SEC. 406. (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this sec13 tion is to allow the participation of religious and charitable

14 organizations as providers of assistance funded under this

15 part, on the same basis as any other provider, without im16 pairing or diminishing the religious character or freedom

17 of such organizations.

18 ‘‘(b) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Religious organizations

19 are eligible as providers of assistance to needy families and

20 children as provided for under this part. Neither the Fed21 eral Government nor a State receiving funds under this

22 part shall discriminate against an organization which is

23 or applies to be a provider of assistance on the basis that

24 the organization has a religious mission or purpose.

25 ‘‘(c) RELIGIOUS CHARACTER AND FREEDOM.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

2 provision of law, any religious organization partici3 pating as a provider of assistance funded under this

4 part shall retain its independence from Federal,

5 State, and local governments, including such organi6 zation’s control over the definition, development,

7 practice, and expression of its religious beliefs. Such

8 an organization may select, employ, promote, dis9 cipline, and dismiss its clerics and other

10 ecclesiastics, directors, officers, employees, and vol11 unteers on the basis of religion, a religious belief, or

12 a religious practice. However, a religious organiza13 tion shall not deny needy families and children the

14 benefits of any assistance funded under this part on

15 the basis of religion, a religious belief, or refusal to

16 participate in a religious practice.

17 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS.—Neither the

18 Federal Government nor a State shall require a reli19 gious provider of assistance to—

20 ‘‘(A) alter its form of internal governance,

21 or form a separate, nonprofit corporation to re22 ceive and administer the assistance funded

23 under this part; or

24 ‘‘(B) alter real estate or facilities used to

25 provide such assistance, including but not lim-
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1 ited to the removal of religious art, icons, scrip2 ture, or other symbols;

3 in order to be eligible to be a provider of assistance

4 funded under this part.

5 ‘‘(3) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

7 subparagraph (B), any religious organization

8 providing assistance funded under this part

9 shall be subject to the same regulations as

10 other providers to account in accord with gen11 erally accepted auditing principles for the use of

12 such funds provided under this part.

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITED AUDIT.—Religious organiza14 tions may segregate Federal funds provided

15 under this part into separate accounts, and

16 then only the financial assistance provided with

17 those funds shall be subject to audit.

18 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE.—A religious organization which

19 has its rights under this section violated may enforce its

20 claim by asserting a civil action for such relief as may

21 be appropriate, including injunctive relief or damages, in

22 an appropriate district court of the United States against

23 the entity or agency that commits such violation.

24 ‘‘(e) RIGHTS OF BENEFICIARIES OF ASSISTANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a beneficiary has a bona

2 fide objection to the religious character of the orga3 nization or institution from which the beneficiary is

4 receiving assistance funded under this part, each

5 State shall provide such beneficiary a certificate, re6 deemable with any other provider of assistance fund7 ed under this part, for services the value of which

8 is no less than the value of the funding received by

9 the religious provider from a State to provide assist10 ance funded under this part for such individual.

11 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON PROVIDING CASH IN EX12 CHANGE FOR CERTIFICATES.—No provider of assist13 ance funded under this part shall provide a bene14 ficiary a cash amount in exchange for a certificate

15 provided for under paragraph (1).’’.

16 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET ACT.

17 The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control

18 Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) is amended—

19 (1) in section 255(h) (2 U.S.C. 905(h), by

20 striking ‘‘Aid to families with dependent children

21 (75–0412–0–1–609);’’ and inserting ‘‘Block grants

22 to States for aid to needy families with children;’’;

23 and

24 (2) in section 256 (2 U.S.C. 906), by striking

25 subsections (c) and (k).
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1 SEC. 4. CONSOLIDATION OF FEDERAL SPENDING.

2 Part F of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

3 U.S.C. 681–687) is repealed.

4 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

5 The amendments and repeals made by this Act shall

6 take effect on October 1, 1995.

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