IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5170 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

AN ACT 

To encourage and support partnerships between the public 

and private sectors to improve our Nation’s social programs, 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. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Impact Partner3 ships to Pay for Results Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIPS TO PAY FOR RE5 SULTS ACT. 

6 Section 403 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 603) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) SOCIAL IMPACT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub10 section are the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) To improve the lives of families and 

12 individuals in need in the United States by 

13 funding social programs that achieve real re14 sults. 

15 ‘‘(B) To redirect funds away from pro16 grams that, based on objective data, are ineffec17 tive, and into programs that achieve demon18 strable, measurable results. 

19 ‘‘(C) To ensure Federal funds are used ef20 fectively on social services to produce positive 

21 outcomes for both service recipients and tax22 payers. 

23 ‘‘(D) To establish the use of social impact 

24 partnerships to address some of our Nation’s 

25 most pressing problems. 


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1 ‘‘(E) To facilitate the creation of public2 private partnerships that bundle philanthropic 

3 or other private resources with existing public 

4 spending to scale up effective social interven5 tions already being implemented by private or6 ganizations, nonprofits, charitable organiza7 tions, and State and local governments across 

8 the country. 

9 ‘‘(F) To bring pay-for-performance to the 

10 social sector, allowing the United States to im11 prove the impact and effectiveness of vital social 

12 services programs while redirecting inefficient 

13 or duplicative spending. 

14 ‘‘(G) To incorporate outcomes measure15 ment and randomized controlled trials or other 

16 rigorous methodologies for assessing program 

17 impact. 

18 ‘‘(2) SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP APPLICA19 TION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

22 the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 

23 with the Federal Interagency Council on Social 

24 Impact Partnerships, shall publish in the Fed25 eral Register a request for proposals from 


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1 States or local government for social impact 

2 partnership projects in accordance with this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED OUTCOMES FOR SOCIAL

5 IMPACT PARTNERSHIP PROJECT.—To qualify as 

6 a social impact partnership project under this 

7 subsection, a project must produce one or more 

8 measurable, clearly defined outcomes that result 

9 in social benefit and Federal savings through 

10 any of the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) Increasing work and earnings by 

12 individuals who have been unemployed in 

13 the United States for more than 6 con14 secutive months. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Increasing employment and earn16 ings of individuals who have attained 16 

17 years of age but not 25 years of age. 

18 ‘‘(iii) Increasing employment among 

19 individuals receiving Federal disability ben20 efits. 

21 ‘‘(iv) Reducing the dependence of low22 income families on Federal means-tested 

23 benefits. 

24 ‘‘(v) Improving rates of high school 

25 graduation. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Reducing teen and unplanned 

2 pregnancies. 

3 ‘‘(vii) Improving birth outcomes and 

4 early childhood health and development 

5 among low-income families and individuals. 

6 ‘‘(viii) Reducing rates of asthma, dia7 betes, or other preventable diseases among 

8 low-income families and individuals to re9 duce the utilization of emergency and other 

10 high-cost care. 

11 ‘‘(ix) Increasing the proportion of chil12 dren living in two-parent families. 

13 ‘‘(x) Reducing incidences and adverse 

14 consequences of child abuse and neglect. 

15 ‘‘(xi) Reducing the number of youth 

16 in foster care by increasing adoptions, per17 manent guardianship arrangements, reuni18 fication, or placement with a fit and willing 

19 relative, or by avoiding placing children in 

20 foster care by ensuring they can be cared 

21 for safely in their own homes. 

22 ‘‘(xii) Reducing the number of chil23 dren and youth in foster care residing in 

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1 family foster homes, unless it is deter2 mined that it is in the interest of the 

3 child’s long-term health, safety, or psycho4 logical well-being to not be placed in a 

5 family foster home. 

6 ‘‘(xiii) Reducing the number of chil7 dren returning to foster care. 

8 ‘‘(xiv) Reducing recidivism among ju9 veniles, individuals released from prison, or 

10 other high-risk populations. 

11 ‘‘(xv) Reducing the rate of homeless12 ness among our most vulnerable popu13 lations. 

14 ‘‘(xvi) Improving the health and well15 being of those with mental, emotional, and 

16 behavioral health needs. 

17 ‘‘(xvii) Improving the educational out18 comes of special-needs or low-income chil19 dren. 

20 ‘‘(xviii) Improving the employment 

21 and well-being of returning United States 

22 military members. 

23 ‘‘(xix) Increasing the financial sta24 bility of low-income families. 


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1 ‘‘(xx) Increasing the independence and 

2 employability of individuals who are phys3 ically or mentally disabled. 

4 ‘‘(xxi) Other measurable outcomes de5 fined by the State or local government that 

6 result in positive social outcomes and Fed7 eral savings. 

8 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—The notice 

9 described in subparagraph (A) shall require a 

10 State or local government to submit an applica11 tion for the social impact partnership project 

12 that addresses the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) The outcome goals of the project. 

14 ‘‘(ii) A description of each interven15 tion in the project and anticipated out16 comes of the intervention. 

17 ‘‘(iii) Rigorous evidence demonstrating 

18 that the intervention can be expected to 

19 produce the desired outcomes. 

20 ‘‘(iv) The target population that will 

21 be served by the project. 

22 ‘‘(v) The expected social benefits to 

23 participants who receive the intervention 

24 and others who may be impacted. 


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1 ‘‘(vi) Projected Federal, State, and 

2 local government costs and other costs to 

3 conduct the project. 

4 ‘‘(vii) Projected Federal, State, and 

5 local government savings and other sav6 ings, including an estimate of the savings 

7 to the Federal Government, on a program8 by-program basis and in the aggregate, if 

9 the project is implemented and the out10 comes are achieved. 

11 ‘‘(viii) If savings resulting from the 

12 successful completion of the project are es13 timated to accrue to the State or local gov14 ernment, the likelihood of the State or 

15 local government to realize those savings. 

16 ‘‘(ix) A plan for delivering the inter17 vention through a social impact partner18 ship model. 

19 ‘‘(x) A description of the expertise of 

20 each service provider that will administer 

21 the intervention, including a summary of 

22 the experience of the service provider in 

23 delivering the proposed intervention or a 

24 similar intervention, or demonstrating that 


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1 the service provider has the expertise nec2 essary to deliver the proposed intervention. 

3 ‘‘(xi) An explanation of the experience 

4 of the State or local government, the inter5 mediary, or the service provider in raising 

6 private and philanthropic capital to fund 

7 social service investments. 

8 ‘‘(xii) The detailed roles and respon9 sibilities of each entity involved in the 

10 project, including any State or local gov11 ernment entity, intermediary, service pro12 vider, independent evaluator, investor, or 

13 other stakeholder. 

14 ‘‘(xiii) A summary of the experience of 

15 the service provider delivering the proposed 

16 intervention or a similar intervention, or a 

17 summary demonstrating the service pro18 vider has the expertise necessary to deliver 

19 the proposed intervention. 

20 ‘‘(xiv) A summary of the unmet need 

21 in the area where the intervention will be 

22 delivered or among the target population 

23 who will receive the intervention. 

24 ‘‘(xv) The proposed payment terms, 

25 the methodology used to calculate outcome 


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1 payments, the payment schedule, and per2 formance thresholds. 

3 ‘‘(xvi) The project budget. 

4 ‘‘(xvii) The project timeline. 

5 ‘‘(xviii) The criteria used to determine 

6 the eligibility of an individual for the 

7 project, including how selected populations 

8 will be identified, how they will be referred 

9 to the project, and how they will be en10 rolled in the project. 

11 ‘‘(xix) The evaluation design. 

12 ‘‘(xx) The metrics that will be used to 

13 determine whether the outcomes have been 

14 achieved and how the metrics will be meas15 ured. 

16 ‘‘(xxi) An explanation of how the 

17 metrics used to determine whether the out18 comes have been achieved are independent, 

19 objective indicators of impact and are not 

20 subject to manipulation by the service pro21 vider, intermediary, or investor. 

22 ‘‘(xxii) A summary explaining the 

23 independence of the evaluator from the 

24 other entities involved in the project and 

25 the evaluator’s experience in conducting 


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1 rigorous evaluations of program effective2 ness including, where available, well-imple3 mented randomized controlled trials on the 

4 intervention or similar interventions. 

5 ‘‘(xxiii) The capacity of the service 

6 provider to deliver the intervention to the 

7 number of participants the State or local 

8 government proposes to serve in the 

9 project. 

10 ‘‘(D) PROJECT INTERMEDIARY INFORMA11 TION REQUIRED.—The application described in 

12 subparagraph (C) shall also contain the fol13 lowing information about any intermediary for 

14 the social impact partnership project (whether 

15 an intermediary is a service provider or other 

16 entity): 

17 ‘‘(i) Experience and capacity for pro18 viding or facilitating the provision of the 

19 type of intervention proposed. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The mission and goals. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Information on whether the 

22 intermediary is already working with serv23 ice providers that provide this intervention 

24 or an explanation of the capacity of the 


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1 intermediary to begin working with service 

2 providers to provide the intervention. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Experience working in a collabo4 rative environment across government and 

5 nongovernmental entities. 

6 ‘‘(v) Previous experience collaborating 

7 with public or private entities to implement 

8 evidence-based programs. 

9 ‘‘(vi) Ability to raise or provide fund10 ing to cover operating costs (if applicable 

11 to the project). 

12 ‘‘(vii) Capacity and infrastructure to 

13 track outcomes and measure results, in14 cluding— 

15 ‘‘(I) capacity to track and ana16 lyze program performance and assess 

17 program impact; and 

18 ‘‘(II) experience with perform19 ance-based awards or performance20 based contracting and achieving 

21 project milestones and targets. 

22 ‘‘(viii) Role in delivering the interven23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(ix) How the intermediary would 

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1 scription of the interim benchmarks and 

2 outcome measures. 

3 ‘‘(E) FEASIBILITY STUDIES FUNDED

4 THROUGH OTHER SOURCES.—The notice de5 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall permit a 

6 State or local government to submit an applica7 tion for social impact partnership funding that 

8 contains information from a feasibility study 

9 developed for purposes other than applying for 

10 funding under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(3) AWARDING SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

12 AGREEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE IN AWARDING AGREE14 MENT.—Not later than 6 months after receiving 

15 an application in accordance with paragraph 

16 (2), the Secretary, in consultation with the Fed17 eral Interagency Council on Social Impact Part18 nerships, shall determine whether to enter into 

19 an agreement for a social impact partnership 

20 project with a State or local government. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS IN AWARDING

22 AGREEMENT.—In determining whether to enter 

23 into an agreement for a social impact partner24 ship project (the application for which was sub25 mitted under paragraph (2)) the Secretary, in 


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1 consultation with the Federal Interagency 

2 Council on Social Impact Partnerships (estab3 lished by paragraph (6)) and the head of any 

4 Federal agency administering a similar inter5 vention or serving a population similar to that 

6 served by the project, shall consider each of the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(i) The recommendations made by 

9 the Commission on Social Impact Partner10 ships. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The value to the Federal Govern12 ment of the outcomes expected to be 

13 achieved if the outcomes specified in the 

14 agreement are achieved. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The likelihood, based on evi16 dence provided in the application and other 

17 evidence, that the State or local govern18 ment in collaboration with the inter19 mediary and the service providers will 

20 achieve the outcomes. 

21 ‘‘(iv) The savings to the Federal Gov22 ernment if the outcomes specified in the 

23 agreement are achieved. 


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1 ‘‘(v) The savings to the State and 

2 local governments if the outcomes specified 

3 in the agreement are achieved. 

4 ‘‘(vi) The expected quality of the eval5 uation that would be conducted with re6 spect to the agreement. 

7 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

8 ‘‘(i) AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 In accordance with this paragraph, the 

10 Secretary, in consultation with the Federal 

11 Interagency Council on Social Impact 

12 Partnerships and the head of any Federal 

13 agency administering a similar intervention 

14 or serving a population similar to that 

15 served by the project, may enter into an 

16 agreement for a social impact partnership 

17 project with a State or local government if 

18 the Secretary, in consultation with the 

19 Federal Interagency Council on Social Im20 pact Partnerships, determines that each of 

21 the following requirements are met: 

22 ‘‘(I) The State or local govern23 ment agrees to achieve one or more 

24 outcomes specified in the agreement 

25 in order to receive payment. 


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1 ‘‘(II) The Federal payment to the 

2 State or local government for each 

3 outcome specified is less than or equal 

4 to the value of the outcome to the 

5 Federal Government over a period not 

6 to exceed 10 years, as determined by 

7 the Secretary, in consultation with the 

8 State or local government. 

9 ‘‘(III) The duration of the 

10 project does not exceed 10 years. 

11 ‘‘(IV) The State or local govern12 ment has demonstrated, through the 

13 application submitted under para14 graph (2), that, based on prior rig15 orous experimental evaluations or rig16 orous quasi-experimental studies, the 

17 intervention can be expected to 

18 achieve each outcome specified in the 

19 agreement. 

20 ‘‘(V) The State, local govern21 ment, intermediary, or service pro22 vider has experience raising private or 

23 philanthropic capital to fund social 

24 service investments (if applicable to 

25 the project). 


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1 ‘‘(VI) The State or local govern2 ment has shown that each service pro3 vider has experience delivering the 

4 intervention, a similar intervention, or 

5 has otherwise demonstrated the exper6 tise necessary to deliver the interven7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(ii) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall 

9 pay the State or local government only if 

10 the independent evaluator described in 

11 paragraph (5) determines that the social 

12 impact partnership project has met the re13 quirements specified in the agreement and 

14 achieved an outcome specified in the agree15 ment. 

16 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF AGREEMENT AWARD.— 

17 Not later than 30 days after entering into an 

18 agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary 

19 shall publish a notice in the Federal Register 

20 that includes, with regard to the agreement, the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(i) The outcome goals of the social 

23 impact partnership project. 

24 ‘‘(ii) A description of each interven25 tion in the project. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) The target population that will 

2 be served by the project. 

3 ‘‘(iv) The expected social benefits to 

4 participants who receive the intervention 

5 and others who may be impacted. 

6 ‘‘(v) The detailed roles, responsibil7 ities, and purposes of each Federal, State, 

8 or local government entity, intermediary, 

9 service provider, independent evaluator, in10 vestor, or other stakeholder. 

11 ‘‘(vi) The payment terms, the method12 ology used to calculate outcome payments, 

13 the payment schedule, and performance 

14 thresholds. 

15 ‘‘(vii) The project budget. 

16 ‘‘(viii) The project timeline. 

17 ‘‘(ix) The project eligibility criteria. 

18 ‘‘(x) The evaluation design. 

19 ‘‘(xi) The metrics that will be used to 

20 determine whether the outcomes have been 

21 achieved and how these metrics will be 

22 measured. 

23 ‘‘(xii) The estimate of the savings to 

24 the Federal, State, and local government, 

25 on a program-by-program basis and in the 


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1 aggregate, if the agreement is entered into 

2 and implemented and the outcomes are 

3 achieved. 

4 ‘‘(E) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER ADMINIS5 TRATION OF AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may 

6 transfer to the head of another Federal agency 

7 the authority to administer (including making 

8 payments under) an agreement entered into 

9 under subparagraph (C), and any funds nec10 essary to do so. 

11 ‘‘(F) REQUIREMENT ON FUNDING USED TO

12 BENEFIT CHILDREN.—Not less than 50 percent 

13 of all Federal payments made to carry out 

14 agreements under this paragraph shall be used 

15 for initiatives that directly benefit children. 

16 ‘‘(4) FEASIBILITY STUDY FUNDING.— 

17 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS FOR FUNDING FOR FEASI18 BILITY STUDIES.—The Secretary shall reserve a 

19 portion of the amount reserved to carry out this 

20 subsection to assist States or local governments 

21 in developing feasibility studies to apply for so22 cial impact partnership funding under para23 graph (2). To be eligible to receive funding to 

24 assist with completing a feasibility study, a 

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1 cation for feasibility study funding addressing 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A description of the outcome 

4 goals of the social impact partnership 

5 project. 

6 ‘‘(ii) A description of the intervention, 

7 including anticipated program design, tar8 get population, an estimate regarding the 

9 number of individuals to be served, and 

10 setting for the intervention. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Evidence to support the likeli12 hood that the intervention will produce the 

13 desired outcomes. 

14 ‘‘(iv) A description of the potential 

15 metrics to be used. 

16 ‘‘(v) The expected social benefits to 

17 participants who receive the intervention 

18 and others who may be impacted. 

19 ‘‘(vi) Estimated costs to conduct the 

20 project. 

21 ‘‘(vii) Estimates of Federal, State, 

22 and local government savings and other 

23 savings if the project is implemented and 

24 the outcomes are achieved. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) An estimated timeline for im2 plementation and completion of the 

3 project, which shall not exceed 10 years. 

4 ‘‘(ix) With respect to a project for 

5 which the State or local government selects 

6 an intermediary to operate the project, any 

7 partnerships needed to successfully execute 

8 the project and the ability of the inter9 mediary to foster the partnerships. 

10 ‘‘(x) The expected resources needed to 

11 complete the feasibility study for the State 

12 or local government to apply for social im13 pact partnership funding under paragraph 

14 (2). 

15 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SELECTION OF APPLICA16 TIONS FOR FEASIBILITY STUDY.—Not later 

17 than 6 months after receiving an application for 

18 feasibility study funding under subparagraph 

19 (A), the Secretary, in consultation with the 

20 Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact 

21 Partnerships and the head of any Federal agen22 cy administering a similar intervention or serv23 ing a population similar to that served by the 

24 project, shall select State or local government 


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1 feasibility study proposals for funding based on 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) The recommendations made by 

4 the Commission on Social Impact Partner5 ships. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The likelihood that the proposal 

7 will achieve the desired outcomes. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The value of the outcomes ex9 pected to be achieved. 

10 ‘‘(iv) The potential savings to the 

11 Federal Government if the social impact 

12 partnership project is successful. 

13 ‘‘(v) The potential savings to the 

14 State and local governments if the project 

15 is successful. 

16 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Not later 

17 than 30 days after selecting a State or local 

18 government for feasibility study funding under 

19 this paragraph, the Secretary shall cause to be 

20 published on the website of the Federal Inter21 agency Council on Social Impact Partnerships 

22 information explaining why a State or local gov23 ernment was granted feasibility study funding. 

24 ‘‘(D) FUNDING RESTRICTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) FEASIBILITY STUDY RESTRIC2 TION.—The Secretary may not provide fea3 sibility study funding under this paragraph 

4 for more than 50 percent of the estimated 

5 total cost of the feasibility study reported 

6 in the State or local government applica7 tion submitted under subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATE RESTRICTION.—Of 

9 the total amount reserved to carry out this 

10 subsection, the Secretary may not use 

11 more than $10,000,000 to provide feasi12 bility study funding to States or local gov13 ernments under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(iii) NO GUARANTEE OF FUNDING.— 

15 The Secretary shall have the option to 

16 award no funding under this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(E) SUBMISSION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY

18 REQUIRED.—Not later than 9 months after the 

19 receipt of feasibility study funding under this 

20 paragraph, a State or local government receiv21 ing the funding shall complete the feasibility 

22 study and submit the study to the Federal 

23 Interagency Council on Social Impact Partner24 ships. 


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1 ‘‘(F) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

2 Secretary may transfer to the head of another 

3 Federal agency the authorities provided in this 

4 paragraph and any funds necessary to exercise 

5 the authorities. 

6 ‘‘(5) EVALUATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREE8 MENTS.—For each State or local government 

9 awarded a social impact partnership project ap10 proved by the Secretary under this subsection, 

11 the head of the relevant agency, as determined 

12 by the Federal Interagency Council on Social 

13 Impact Partnerships, shall enter into an agree14 ment with the State or local government to pay 

15 for all or part of the independent evaluation to 

16 determine whether the State or local govern17 ment project has met an outcome specified in 

18 the agreement in order for the State or local 

19 government to receive outcome payments under 

20 this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) EVALUATOR QUALIFICATIONS.—The 

22 head of the relevant agency may not enter into 

23 an agreement with a State or local government 

24 unless the head determines that the evaluator is 

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1 ment and has demonstrated substantial experi2 ence in conducting rigorous evaluations of pro3 gram effectiveness including, where available 

4 and appropriate, well-implemented randomized 

5 controlled trials on the intervention or similar 

6 interventions. 

7 ‘‘(C) METHODOLOGIES TO BE USED.—The 

8 evaluation used to determine whether a State or 

9 local government will receive outcome payments 

10 under this subsection shall use experimental de11 signs using random assignment or other reli12 able, evidence-based research methodologies, as 

13 certified by the Federal Interagency Council on 

14 Social Impact Partnerships, that allow for the 

15 strongest possible causal inferences when ran16 dom assignment is not feasible. 

17 ‘‘(D) PROGRESS REPORT.— 

18 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The 

19 independent evaluator shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) not later than 2 years after 

21 a project has been approved by the 

22 Secretary and biannually thereafter 

23 until the project is concluded, submit 

24 to the head of the relevant agency and 

25 the Federal Interagency Council on 


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1 Social Impact Partnerships a written 

2 report summarizing the progress that 

3 has been made in achieving each out4 come specified in the agreement; and 

5 ‘‘(II) before the scheduled time of 

6 the first outcome payment and before 

7 the scheduled time of each subsequent 

8 payment, submit to the head of the 

9 relevant agency and the Federal 

10 Interagency Council on Social Impact 

11 Partnerships a written report that in12 cludes the results of the evaluation 

13 conducted to determine whether an 

14 outcome payment should be made 

15 along with information on the unique 

16 factors that contributed to achieving 

17 or failing to achieve the outcome, the 

18 challenges faced in attempting to 

19 achieve the outcome, and information 

20 on the improved future delivery of this 

21 or similar interventions. 

22 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

23 Not later than 30 days after receipt of the 

24 written report pursuant to clause (i)(II), 

25 the Federal Interagency Council on Social 


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1 Impact Partnerships shall submit the re2 port to each committee of jurisdiction in 

3 the House of Representatives and the Sen4 ate. 

5 ‘‘(E) FINAL REPORT.— 

6 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Within 

7 6 months after the social impact partner8 ship project is completed, the independent 

9 evaluator shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) evaluate the effects of the 

11 activities undertaken pursuant to the 

12 agreement with regard to each out13 come specified in the agreement; and 

14 ‘‘(II) submit to the head of the 

15 relevant agency and the Federal 

16 Interagency Council on Social Impact 

17 Partnerships a written report that in18 cludes the results of the evaluation 

19 and the conclusion of the evaluator as 

20 to whether the State or local govern21 ment has fulfilled each obligation of 

22 the agreement, along with information 

23 on the unique factors that contributed 

24 to the success or failure of the project, 

25 the challenges faced in attempting to 


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1 achieve the outcome, and information 

2 on the improved future delivery of this 

3 or similar interventions. 

4 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 

5 Not later than 30 days after receipt of the 

6 written report pursuant to clause (i)(II), 

7 the Federal Interagency Council on Social 

8 Impact Partnerships shall submit the re9 port to each committee of jurisdiction in 

10 the House of Representatives and the Sen11 ate. 

12 ‘‘(F) LIMITATION ON COST OF EVALUA13 TIONS.—Of the amount reserved under this 

14 subsection for social impact partnership 

15 projects, the Secretary may not obligate more 

16 than 15 percent to evaluate the implementation 

17 and outcomes of the projects. 

18 ‘‘(G) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

19 Secretary may transfer to the head of another 

20 Federal agency the authorities provided in this 

21 paragraph and any funds necessary to exercise 

22 the authorities. 

23 ‘‘(6) FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SO24 CIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab2 lished the Federal Interagency Council on So3 cial Impact Partnerships (in this paragraph re4 ferred to as the ‘Council’) to— 

5 ‘‘(i) coordinate the efforts of social 

6 impact partnership projects funded under 

7 this subsection; 

8 ‘‘(ii) advise and assist the Secretary in 

9 the development and implementation of the 

10 projects; 

11 ‘‘(iii) advise the Secretary on specific 

12 programmatic and policy matter related to 

13 the projects; 

14 ‘‘(iv) provide subject-matter expertise 

15 to the Secretary with regard to the 

16 projects; 

17 ‘‘(v) ensure that each State or local 

18 government that has entered into an agree19 ment with the Secretary for a social impact 

20 partnership project under this subsection 

21 and each evaluator selected by the head of 

22 the relevant agency under paragraph (5) 

23 has access to Federal administrative data 

24 to assist the State or local government and 


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1 the evaluator in evaluating the perform2 ance and outcomes of the project; 

3 ‘‘(vi) address issues that will influence 

4 the future of social impact partnership 

5 projects in the United States; 

6 ‘‘(vii) provide guidance to the execu7 tive branch on the future of social impact 

8 partnership projects in the United States; 

9 ‘‘(viii) review State and local govern10 ment applications for social impact part11 nerships to ensure that agreements will 

12 only be awarded under this subsection 

13 when rigorous, independent data and reli14 able, evidence-based research methodolo15 gies support the conclusion that an agree16 ment will yield savings to the Federal Gov17 ernment if the project outcomes are 

18 achieved before the applications are ap19 proved by the Secretary; 

20 ‘‘(ix) certify, in the case of each ap21 proved social impact partnership, that the 

22 project will yield a projected savings to the 

23 Federal Government if the project out24 comes are achieved, and coordinate with 

25 the relevant Federal agency to produce an 


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1 after-action accounting once the project is 

2 complete to determine the actual Federal 

3 savings realized, and the extent to which 

4 actual savings aligned with projected sav5 ings; and 

6 ‘‘(x) provide oversight of the actions 

7 of the Secretary and other Federal officials 

8 under this subsection and report periodi9 cally to Congress and the public on the im10 plementation of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF COUNCIL.—The 

12 Council shall have 11 members, as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Coun14 cil shall be the Director of the Office of 

15 Management and Budget. 

16 ‘‘(ii) OTHER MEMBERS.—The head of 

17 each of the following entities shall des18 ignate one officer or employee of the entity 

19 to be a Council member: 

20 ‘‘(I) The Department of Labor. 

21 ‘‘(II) The Department of Health 

22 and Human Services. 

23 ‘‘(III) The Social Security Ad24 ministration. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) The Department of Agri2 culture. 

3 ‘‘(V) The Department of Justice. 

4 ‘‘(VI) The Department of Hous5 ing and Urban Development. 

6 ‘‘(VII) The Department of Edu7 cation. 

8 ‘‘(VIII) The Department of Vet9 erans Affairs. 

10 ‘‘(IX) The Department of the 

11 Treasury. 

12 ‘‘(X) The Corporation for Na13 tional and Community Service. 

14 ‘‘(7) COMMISSION ON SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNER15 SHIPS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab17 lished the Commission on Social Impact Part18 nerships (in this paragraph referred to as the 

19 ‘Commission’). 

20 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The duties of the Commis21 sion shall be to— 

22 ‘‘(i) assist the Secretary and the Fed23 eral Interagency Council on Social Impact 

24 Partnerships in reviewing applications for 

25 funding under this subsection; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) make recommendations to the 

2 Secretary and the Federal Interagency 

3 Council on Social Impact Partnerships re4 garding the funding of social impact part5 nership agreements and feasibility studies; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) provide other assistance and in8 formation as requested by the Secretary or 

9 the Federal Interagency Council on Social 

10 Impact Partnerships. 

11 ‘‘(C) COMPOSITION.—The Commission 

12 shall be composed of nine members, of whom— 

13 ‘‘(i) one shall be appointed by the 

14 President, who will serve as the Chair of 

15 the Commission; 

16 ‘‘(ii) one shall be appointed by the 

17 Majority Leader of the Senate; 

18 ‘‘(iii) one shall be appointed by the 

19 Minority Leader of the Senate; 

20 ‘‘(iv) one shall be appointed by the 

21 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

22 ‘‘(v) one shall be appointed by the Mi23 nority Leader of the House of Representa24 tives; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) one shall be appointed by the 

2 Chairman of the Committee on Finance of 

3 the Senate; 

4 ‘‘(vii) one shall be appointed by the 

5 ranking member of the Committee on Fi6 nance of the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(viii) one member shall be appointed 

8 by the Chairman of the Committee on 

9 Ways and Means of the House of Rep10 resentatives; and 

11 ‘‘(ix) one shall be appointed by the 

12 ranking member of the Committee on 

13 Ways and Means of the House of Rep14 resentatives. 

15 ‘‘(D) QUALIFICATIONS OF COMMISSION

16 MEMBERS.—The members of the Commission 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) be experienced in finance, eco19 nomics, pay for performance, or program 

20 evaluation; 

21 ‘‘(ii) have relevant professional or per22 sonal experience in a field related to one or 

23 more of the outcomes listed in this sub24 section; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) be qualified to review applica2 tions for social impact partnership projects 

3 to determine whether the proposed metrics 

4 and evaluation methodologies are appro5 priately rigorous and reliant upon inde6 pendent data and evidence-based research. 

7 ‘‘(E) TIMING OF APPOINTMENTS.—The ap8 pointments of the members of the Commission 

9 shall be made not later than 120 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this subsection, or, in 

11 the event of a vacancy, not later than 90 days 

12 after the date the vacancy arises. If a member 

13 of Congress fails to appoint a member by that 

14 date, the President may select a member of the 

15 President’s choice on behalf of the member of 

16 Congress. Notwithstanding the preceding sen17 tence, if not all appointments have been made 

18 to the Commission as of that date, the Commis19 sion may operate with no fewer than five mem20 bers until all appointments have been made. 

21 ‘‘(F) TERM OF APPOINTMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The members ap23 pointed under subparagraph (C) shall serve 

24 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(I) Three members shall serve 

2 for 2 years. 

3 ‘‘(II) Three members shall serve 

4 for 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(III) Three members (one of 

6 which shall be Chair of the Commis7 sion appointed by the President) shall 

8 serve for 4 years. 

9 ‘‘(ii) ASSIGNMENT OF TERMS.—The 

10 Commission shall designate the term 

11 length that each member appointed under 

12 subparagraph (C) shall serve by unani13 mous agreement. In the event that unani14 mous agreement cannot be reached, term 

15 lengths shall be assigned to the members 

16 by a random process. 

17 ‘‘(G) VACANCIES.—Subject to subpara18 graph (E), in the event of a vacancy in the 

19 Commission, whether due to the resignation of 

20 a member, the expiration of a member’s term, 

21 or any other reason, the vacancy shall be filled 

22 in the manner in which the original appoint23 ment was made and shall not affect the powers 

24 of the Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(H) APPOINTMENT POWER.—Members of 

2 the Commission appointed under subparagraph 

3 (C) shall not be subject to confirmation by the 

4 Senate. 

5 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Of the 

6 amounts reserved to carry out this subsection, the 

7 Secretary may not use more than $2,000,000 in any 

8 fiscal year to support the review, approval, and over9 sight of social impact partnership projects, including 

10 activities conducted by— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Federal Interagency Council on 

12 Social Impact Partnerships; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any other agency consulted by the 

14 Secretary before approving a social impact part15 nership project or a feasibility study under 

16 paragraph (4). 

17 ‘‘(9) NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CREDIT EN18 HANCEMENTS.—No amount reserved to carry out 

19 this subsection may be used to provide any insur20 ance, guarantee, or other credit enhancement to a 

21 State or local government under which a Federal 

22 payment would be made to a State or local govern23 ment as the result of a State or local government 

24 failing to achieve an outcome specified in a contract. 


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1 ‘‘(10) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts re2 served to carry out this subsection shall remain 

3 available until 10 years after the date of the enact4 ment of this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(11) WEBSITE.—The Federal Interagency 

6 Council on Social Impact Partnerships shall estab7 lish and maintain a public website that shall display 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) A copy of, or method of accessing, 

10 each notice published regarding a social impact 

11 partnership project pursuant to this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(B) A copy of each feasibility study fund13 ed under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(C) For each State or local government 

15 that has entered into an agreement with the 

16 Secretary for a social impact partnership 

17 project, the website shall contain the following 

18 information: 

19 ‘‘(i) The outcome goals of the project. 

20 ‘‘(ii) A description of each interven21 tion in the project. 

22 ‘‘(iii) The target population that will 

23 be served by the project. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The expected social benefits to 

2 participants who receive the intervention 

3 and others who may be impacted. 

4 ‘‘(v) The detailed roles, responsibil5 ities, and purposes of each Federal, State, 

6 or local government entity, intermediary, 

7 service provider, independent evaluator, in8 vestor, or other stakeholder. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The payment terms, method10 ology used to calculate outcome payments, 

11 the payment schedule, and performance 

12 thresholds. 

13 ‘‘(vii) The project budget. 

14 ‘‘(viii) The project timeline. 

15 ‘‘(ix) The project eligibility criteria. 

16 ‘‘(x) The evaluation design. 

17 ‘‘(xi) The metrics used to determine 

18 whether the proposed outcomes have been 

19 achieved and how these metrics are meas20 ured. 

21 ‘‘(D) A copy of the progress reports and 

22 the final reports relating to each social impact 

23 partnership project. 

24 ‘‘(E) An estimate of the savings to the 

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1 gram-by-program basis and in the aggregate, 

2 resulting from the successful completion of the 

3 social impact partnership project. 

4 ‘‘(12) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in con5 sultation with the Federal Interagency Council on 

6 Social Impact Partnerships, may issue regulations as 

7 necessary to carry out this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(13) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 

11 5, United States Code. 

12 ‘‘(B) INTERVENTION.—The term ‘interven13 tion’ means a specific service delivered to 

14 achieve an impact through a social impact part15 nership project. 

16 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

17 means the Secretary of the Treasury. 

18 ‘‘(D) SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

19 PROJECT.—The term ‘social impact partnership 

20 project’ means a project that finances social 

21 services using a social impact partnership 

22 model. 

23 ‘‘(E) SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

24 MODEL.—The term ‘social impact partnership 


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1 model’ means a method of financing social serv2 ices in which— 

3 ‘‘(i) Federal funds are awarded to a 

4 State or local government only if a State 

5 or local government achieves certain out6 comes agreed on by the State or local gov7 ernment and the Secretary; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the State or local government co9 ordinates with service providers, investors 

10 (if applicable to the project), and (if nec11 essary) an intermediary to identify— 

12 ‘‘(I) an intervention expected to 

13 produce the outcome; 

14 ‘‘(II) a service provider to deliver 

15 the intervention to the target popu16 lation; and 

17 ‘‘(III) investors to fund the deliv18 ery of the intervention. 

19 ‘‘(F) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means 

20 each State of the United States, the District of 

21 Columbia, each commonwealth, territory or pos22 session of the United States, and each federally 

23 recognized Indian tribe. 

24 ‘‘(14) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made avail25 able to carry out subsection (b) for fiscal year 2017, 


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1 the Secretary shall reserve $100,000,000 to carry 

2 out this subsection.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF TANF PROGRAM. 

4 (a) FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—Section 

5 403(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)) 

6 is amended in each of subparagraphs (A) and (C), by 

7 striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

8 (b) HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPON9 SIBLE FATHERHOOD GRANTS.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) of 

10 such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

12 (c) TRIBAL GRANTS.—Section 412(a) of such Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 612(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1)(A) 

14 and (2)(A) by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

15 (d) CHILD CARE ENTITLEMENT.—Section 418(a)(3) 

16 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

18 (e) GRANTS TO THE TERRITORIES.—Section 

19 1108(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1308(b)(2)) is amend20 ed by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

21 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING WELFARE RESEARCH AND EVAL22 UATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A WHAT 

23 WORKS CLEARINGHOUSE. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 413 of the Social Security 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 613) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 413. EVALUATION OF TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR 

2 NEEDY FAMILIES AND RELATED PROGRAMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF TANF.—The 

4 Secretary shall conduct research on the effect of State pro5 grams funded under this part and any other State pro6 gram funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined 

7 in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) on employment, self-suffi8 ciency, child well-being, unmarried births, marriage, pov9 erty, economic mobility, and other factors as determined 

10 by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD

12 WELL-BEING BY PROMOTING HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND

13 RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD.—The Secretary shall con14 duct research to determine the effects of the grants made 

15 under section 403(a)(2) on child well-being, marriage, 

16 family stability, economic mobility, poverty, and other fac17 tors as determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec19 retary shall, in consultation with States receiving funds 

20 provided under this part, develop methods of dissemi21 nating information on any research, evaluation, or study 

22 conducted under this section, including facilitating the 

23 sharing of information and best practices among States 

24 and localities. 

25 ‘‘(d) STATE-INITIATED EVALUATIONS.—A State 

26 shall be eligible to receive funding to evaluate the State 


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1 program funded under this part or any other State pro2 gram funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined 

3 in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) if— 

4 ‘‘(1) the State submits to the Secretary a de5 scription of the proposed evaluation; 

6 ‘‘(2) the Secretary determines that the design 

7 and approach of the proposed evaluation is rigorous 

8 and is likely to yield information that is credible and 

9 will be useful to other States; and 

10 ‘‘(3) unless waived by the Secretary, the State 

11 contributes to the cost of the evaluation, from non12 Federal sources, an amount equal to at least 25 per13 cent of the cost of the proposed evaluation. 

14 ‘‘(e) CENSUS BUREAU RESEARCH.— 

15 ‘‘(1) The Bureau of the Census shall implement 

16 or enhance household surveys of program participa17 tion, in consultation with the Secretary and the 

18 Burueau of Labor Statistics and made available to 

19 interested parties, to allow for the assessment of the 

20 outcomes of continued welfare reform on the eco21 nomic and child well-being of low-income families 

22 with children, including those who received assist23 ance or services from a State program funded under 

24 this part or any other State program funded with 

25 qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 


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1 409(a)(7)(B)(i)). The content of the surveys should 

2 include such information as may be necessary to ex3 amine the issues of unmarried childbearing, mar4 riage, welfare dependency and compliance with work 

5 requirements, the beginning and ending of spells of 

6 assistance, work, earnings and employment stability, 

7 and the well-being of children. 

8 ‘‘(2) To carry out the activities specified in 

9 paragraph (1), the Bureau of the Census, the Sec10 retary, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall con11 sider ways to improve the surveys and data derived 

12 from the surveys to— 

13 ‘‘(A) address underreporting of the receipt 

14 of means-tested benefits and tax benefits for 

15 low-income individuals and families; 

16 ‘‘(B) increase understanding of poverty 

17 spells and long-term poverty, including by facili18 tating the matching of information to better un19 derstand intergenerational poverty; 

20 ‘‘(C) generate a better geographical under21 standing of poverty such as through State22 based estimates and measures of neighborhood 

23 poverty; 


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1 ‘‘(D) increase understanding of the effects 

2 of means-tested benefits and tax benefits on the 

3 earnings of low-income families; and 

4 ‘‘(E) improve how poverty and economic 

5 well-being are measured, including through the 

6 use of consumption measures. 

7 ‘‘(f) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION CONDUCTED

8 UNDER THIS SECTION.—Research and evaluation con9 ducted under this section designed to determine the effects 

10 of a program or policy (other than research conducted 

11 under subsection (e)) shall use experimental designs using 

12 random assignment or other reliable, evidence-based re13 search methodologies that allow for the strongest possible 

14 causal inferences when random assignment is not feasible. 

15 ‘‘(g) DEVELOPMENT OF WHAT WORKS CLEARING16 HOUSE OF PROVEN AND PROMISING APPROACHES TO

17 MOVE WELFARE RECIPIENTS INTO WORK.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the Secretary of Labor, shall develop a 

20 database (which shall be referred to as the ‘What 

21 Works Clearinghouse of Proven and Promising 

22 Projects to Move Welfare Recipients into Work’) of 

23 the projects that used a proven approach or a prom24 ising approach in moving welfare recipients into 

25 work, based on independent, rigorous evaluations of 


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1 the projects. The database shall include a separate 

2 listing of projects that used a developmental ap3 proach in delivering services and a further separate 

4 listing of the projects with no or negative effects. 

5 The Secretary shall add to the What Works Clear6 inghouse of Proven and Promising Projects to Move 

7 Welfare Recipients into Work data about the 

8 projects that, based on an independent, well-con9 ducted experimental evaluation of a program or 

10 project, using random assignment or other research 

11 methodologies that allow for the strongest possible 

12 causal inferences, have shown they are proven, 

13 promising, developmental, or ineffective approaches. 

14 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVE15 NESS OF APPROACH.—The Secretary, in consultation 

16 with the Secretary of Labor and organizations with 

17 experience in evaluating research on the effective18 ness of various approaches in delivering services to 

19 move welfare recipients into work, shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) establish criteria for evidence of effec21 tiveness; and 

22 ‘‘(B) ensure that the process for estab23 lishing the criteria— 

24 ‘‘(i) is transparent; 

25 ‘‘(ii) is consistent across agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) provides opportunity for public 

2 comment; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) takes into account efforts of 

4 Federal agencies to identify and publicize 

5 effective interventions, including efforts at 

6 the Department of Health and Human 

7 Services, the Department of Education, 

8 and the Department of Justice. 

9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) APPROACH.—The term ‘approach’ 

11 means a process, product, strategy, or practice 

12 that is— 

13 ‘‘(i) research-based, based on the re14 sults of one or more empirical studies, and 

15 linked to program-determined outcomes; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) evaluated using rigorous research 

18 designs. 

19 ‘‘(B) PROVEN APPROACH.—The term 

20 ‘proven approach’ means an approach that— 

21 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of a 

22 promising approach; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) has demonstrated significant 

24 positive outcomes at more than one site in 

25 terms of increasing work and earnings of 


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1 participants, reducing poverty and depend2 ence, or strengthening families. 

3 ‘‘(C) PROMISING APPROACH.—The term 

4 ‘promising approach’ means an approach— 

5 ‘‘(i) that meets the requirements of 

6 subparagraph (D)(i); 

7 ‘‘(ii) that has been evaluated using 

8 well-designed and rigorous randomized 

9 controlled or quasi-experimental research 

10 designs; 

11 ‘‘(iii) that has demonstrated signifi12 cant positive outcomes at only one site in 

13 terms of increasing work and earnings of 

14 participants, reducing poverty and depend15 ence, or strengthening families; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) under which the benefits of the 

17 positive outcomes have exceeded the costs 

18 of achieving the outcomes. 

19 ‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH.—The 

20 term ‘developmental approach’ means an ap21 proach that— 

22 ‘‘(i) is research-based, grounded in 

23 relevant empirically-based knowledge, and 

24 linked to program-determined outcomes; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is evaluated using rigorous re2 search designs; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) has yet to demonstrate a signifi4 cant positive outcome in terms of increas5 ing work and earnings of participants in a 

6 cost-effective way. 

7 ‘‘(h) APPROPRIATION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount appro9 priated by section 403(a)(1) for each fiscal year, 

10 0.33 percent shall be available for research and eval11 uation under this section. 

12 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount made avail13 able under paragraph (1) for each fiscal year, the 

14 Secretary shall make available $10,000,000 plus 

15 such additional amount as the Secretary deems nec16 essary and appropriate, to carry out subsection 

17 (e).’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

19 403(a)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)(B)) is 

20 amended by inserting ‘‘, reduced by the percentage speci21 fied in section 413(h) with respect to the fiscal year,’’ be22 fore ‘‘as the amount’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO DATA EXCHANGE 

2 STANDARDS TO IMPROVE PROGRAM COORDI3 NATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411(d) of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 611(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(d) DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED

7 INTEROPERABILITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall, in 

9 consultation with an interagency work group estab10 lished by the Office of Management and Budget and 

11 considering State government perspectives, by rule, 

12 designate data exchange standards to govern, under 

13 this part— 

14 ‘‘(A) necessary categories of information 

15 that State agencies operating programs under 

16 State plans approved under this part are re17 quired under applicable Federal law to elec18 tronically exchange with another State agency; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) Federal reporting and data exchange 

21 required under applicable Federal law. 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The data exchange 

23 standards required by paragraph (1) shall, to the ex24 tent practicable— 


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1 ‘‘(A) incorporate a widely accepted, non2 proprietary, searchable, computer-readable for3 mat, such as the eXtensible Markup Language; 

4 ‘‘(B) contain interoperable standards devel5 oped and maintained by intergovernmental 

6 partnerships, such as the National Information 

7 Exchange Model; 

8 ‘‘(C) incorporate interoperable standards 

9 developed and maintained by Federal entities 

10 with authority over contracting and financial 

11 assistance; 

12 ‘‘(D) be consistent with and implement ap13 plicable accounting principles; 

14 ‘‘(E) be implemented in a manner that is 

15 cost-effective and improves program efficiency 

16 and effectiveness; and 

17 ‘‘(F) be capable of being continually up18 graded as necessary. 

19 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

20 this subsection shall be construed to require a 

21 change to existing data exchange standards found to 

22 be effective and efficient.’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Not later than the date that 

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1 tion, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 

2 issue a proposed rule that— 

3 (1) identifies federally required data exchanges, 

4 include specification and timing of exchanges to be 

5 standardized, and address the factors used in deter6 mining whether and when to standardize data ex7 changes; and 

8 (2) specifies State implementation options and 

9 describes future milestones. 

10 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 

12 on October 1, 2016. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 21, 2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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