II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2416 

To provide States with the option of applying for and receiving temporary 

waivers for the States to experiment with new approaches that integrate 

Federal programs in order to provide more coordinated and holistic 

solutions to families in need, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2019 

Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. PERDUE, and Mr. 

SCOTT of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide States with the option of applying for and receiving temporary waivers for the States to experiment with 

new approaches that integrate Federal programs in order 

to provide more coordinated and holistic solutions to 

families in need, 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 ‘‘Economic Mobility, 

5 Prosperity, and Opportunity with Waivers that Enable ReVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2416.IS S2416

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 2416 IS

1 forms for States Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘EMPOWERS Act 

2 of 2019’’. 

3 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

4 It is the sense of Congress that— 

5 (1) each State is in the best position to deter6 mine— 

7 (A) the specific needs of the population of 

8 the State; and 

9 (B) how those needs should be addressed; 

10 and 

11 (2) the purpose of expanding the use of State 

12 waivers in Federal antipoverty programs— 

13 (A) is not to cut the aggregate amount of 

14 Federal antipoverty spending; but 

15 (B) is to allow States the flexibility to im16 prove the effectiveness of that spending. 

17 SEC. 3. TEMPORARY WAIVERS FOR FEDERAL ANTIPOVERTY 

18 PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 

21 Interagency Board for Empowering Low-Income 

22 Families established by subsection (b)(1). 

23 (2) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

24 program’’ means— 

25 (A) in the case of nutrition programs— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 2416 IS

1 (i) the supplemental nutrition assist2 ance program established under the Food 

3 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

4 et seq.); 

5 (ii) the special supplemental nutrition 

6 program for women, infants, and children 

7 established by section 17 of the Child Nu8 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 

9 (iii) the commodity supplemental food 

10 program established under section 5 of the 

11 Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act 

12 of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 

13 93–86); 

14 (iv) the Senior Farmers’ Market Nu15 trition Program of the Department of Ag16 riculture; 

17 (v) the emergency food assistance pro18 gram established under the Emergency 

19 Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 

20 7501 et seq.); 

21 (vi) the congregate nutrition services 

22 program carried out under subpart 1 of 

23 part C of title III of the Older Americans 

24 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030e); 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 2416 IS

1 (vii) the home delivered nutrition serv2 ices program carried out under subpart 2 

3 of part C of title III of the Older Ameri4 cans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3030f et 

5 seq.); and 

6 (viii) the nutrition services incentives 

7 program carried out under section 311 of 

8 the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 

9 U.S.C. 3030a); 

10 (B) in the case of housing programs— 

11 (i) the tenant-based rental assistance 

12 program under section 8 of the United 

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

14 1437f); 

15 (ii) the project-based rental assistance 

16 program under section 8 of the United 

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

18 1437f); 

19 (iii) assistance to public housing agen20 cies from the Capital Fund and Operating 

21 Fund established under subsections (d) 

22 and (e), respectively, of section 9 of the 

23 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

24 U.S.C. 1437g); 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 2416 IS

1 (iv) the single family rural housing 

2 loan program under section 502 of the 

3 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472); 

4 (v) the rural rental assistance pro5 gram under section 521 of the Housing 

6 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a); 

7 (vi) the community development block 

8 grant program under title I of the Housing 

9 and Community Development Act of 1974 

10 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.); 

11 (vii) the Home Investment Partner12 ships Program under title II of the Cran13 ston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); and 

15 (viii) the neighborhood stabilization 

16 program under title III of division B of the 

17 Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 

18 2008 (42 U.S.C. 5301 note); 

19 (C) the temporary assistance for needy 

20 families program established under part A of 

21 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 601 et seq.); 

23 (D) the child and family services programs 

24 carried out under subparts 1 and 2 of part B 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 2416 IS

1 of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 621 et seq.); 

3 (E) the program to provide Federal pay4 ments for foster care and adoption assistance 

5 under part E of title IV of the Social Security 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), including the John 

7 H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Program 

8 established under section 477 of the Social Se9 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 677); 

10 (F) the block grant to States for social 

11 services established under subtitle A of title XX 

12 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et 

13 seq.); 

14 (G) the community services block grant 

15 program carried out under the Community 

16 Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901 et 

17 seq.); 

18 (H) the Weatherization Assistance Pro19 gram for Low-Income Persons established 

20 under part A of title IV of the Energy Con21 servation and Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 

22 et seq.); 

23 (I) the Low-Income Home Energy Assist24 ance Program carried out under the Low-InVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Aug 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2416.IS S2416

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 2416 IS

1 come Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

2 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.); 

3 (J) programs carried out under the Child 

4 Care and Development Block Grant Act of 

5 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.); and 

6 (K) programs carried out under the Work7 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

8 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.). 

9 (3) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘‘Governor’’ means 

10 the Governor or chief executive of a State. 

11 (4) PARTICIPATING STATE.—The term ‘‘partici12 pating State’’ means any of the States that apply 

13 for and receive approval to carry out a project. 

14 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

15 project described in subsection (c). 

16 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State, 

17 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

18 Puerto Rico, a territory, or a possession that is eligi19 ble to participate in the applicable covered program. 

20 (b) INTERAGENCY BOARD FOR EMPOWERING LOW21 INCOME FAMILIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an 

23 interagency board, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency 

24 Board for Empowering Low-Income Families’’, 

25 which shall carry out this section. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•S 2416 IS

1 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall be com2 posed of the following individuals: 

3 (A) A Chairperson, who shall be appointed 

4 by the President, by and with the advice and 

5 consent of the Senate. 

6 (B) The following agency heads (or a des7 ignee of any of the agency heads): 

8 (i) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

9 (ii) The Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services. 

11 (iii) The Secretary of Housing and 

12 Urban Development. 

13 (iv) The Secretary of Labor. 

14 (v) The Attorney General. 

15 (vi) The Director of the Office of 

16 Management and Budget. 

17 (c) TEMPORARY WAIVERS FOR COVERED PRO18 GRAMS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Governor may apply to 

20 the Board for the State to carry out a project for 

21 a 4-year waiver to consolidate, replace, or alter eligi22 bility requirements for two or more covered pro23 grams. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•S 2416 IS

1 (2) PROVISIONS EXCLUDED FROM WAIVER AU2 THORITY.—A waiver shall not be granted under 

3 paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) with respect to any provision of law re5 lating to— 

6 (i) civil rights or the prohibition of 

7 discrimination; 

8 (ii) the purposes or goals of any cov9 ered program; 

10 (iii) maintenance of effort require11 ments; 

12 (iv) health or safety; 

13 (v) labor standards under the Fair 

14 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

15 201 et seq.); or 

16 (vi) environmental protection; 

17 (B) in the case of a covered program de18 scribed in clauses (i) through (iii) of subsection 

19 (a)(2)(B), with respect to any requirement 

20 under section 5A of the United States Housing 

21 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c–1); 

22 (C) in the case of the supplemental nutri23 tion assistance program established under the 

24 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•S 2416 IS

1 2011 et seq.), with respect to any requirement 

2 under— 

3 (i) section 6 (if waiving a requirement 

4 under that section would have the effect of 

5 expanding eligibility for the program), 

6 7(b), or 16(c) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 2015, 

7 2016(b), 2025(c)); or 

8 (ii) title IV of the Personal Responsi9 bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 

10 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.); 

11 (D) with respect to— 

12 (i) any requirement that a State pass 

13 through to a sub-State entity part or all of 

14 an amount paid to the State; 

15 (ii) the work requirements under sec16 tion 407 of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 607); 

18 (iii) section 241(a) of the Adult Edu19 cation and Family Literacy Act (29 U.S.C. 

20 3331(a)); or 

21 (iv) section 189(i)(3)(A)(i) of the 

22 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

23 (29 U.S.C. 3249(i)(3)(A)(i)); 

24 (E) if the waiver would— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•S 2416 IS

1 (i) waive any funding restriction or 

2 limitation provided in an appropriations 

3 Act; or 

4 (ii) have the effect of transferring ap5 propriated funds from one appropriations 

6 account to another appropriations account; 

7 or 

8 (F) except as otherwise provided by stat9 ute, if the waiver would— 

10 (i) waive any funding restriction ap11 plicable to a program authorized under an 

12 Act that is not an appropriations Act (but 

13 not including program requirements, such 

14 as application procedures, performance 

15 standards, reporting requirements, or eligi16 bility standards); or 

17 (ii) have the effect of transferring 

18 funds from a program for which there is 

19 direct spending (as defined in section 

20 250(c) of the Balanced Budget and Emer21 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 

22 U.S.C. 900(c))) to another program. 

23 (d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—To obtain a 

24 waiver for two or more covered programs under a project, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•S 2416 IS

1 a Governor shall submit to the Board an application that 

2 describes— 

3 (1) the programs and requirements of the cov4 ered programs under the project; 

5 (2) the goals of the project; 

6 (3) each change the State intends to make 

7 under the project, including the manner in which the 

8 change will— 

9 (A) promote, with respect to program par10 ticipants— 

11 (i) employment; 

12 (ii) savings and financial literacy; and 

13 (iii) family stability; 

14 (B) reduce the dependence of program par15 ticipants on government assistance; and 

16 (C) reduce poverty; 

17 (4) the manner in which— 

18 (A) program participants will be served 

19 under the project, including eligibility criteria; 

20 (B) program benefits will be reduced under 

21 the project as the income of program partici22 pants is modified; 

23 (C) funds will be used under the project, 

24 including an assurance that all program funds 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•S 2416 IS

1 will be used to assist program participants, sub2 ject to subsection (h)(2); 

3 (D) the State will evaluate the project by 

4 contracting with an independent, third-party 

5 evaluator, including a description of— 

6 (i) the methodology that will be used 

7 to evaluate the project; 

8 (ii) the impacts and outcomes that 

9 will be measured, and how those impacts 

10 and outcomes relate to the goals of the 

11 project described under paragraph (2); and 

12 (iii) the data that the State will collect 

13 and provide to the evaluator that describes 

14 program participants and control group 

15 members, including— 

16 (I) demographic characteristics; 

17 (II) financial well-being; 

18 (III) history of receipt of govern19 ment benefits; and 

20 (IV) if a program seeks to in21 crease the employment or employ22 ability of participants, any barriers to 

23 employment or work expenses; 

24 (E) the project will be deficit neutral; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•S 2416 IS

1 (F) the State will use any potential cost 

2 savings on assistance to meet the needs of pro3 gram participants, subject to subsection (h)(2); 

4 and 

5 (5) in the case of a waiver for a covered pro6 gram described in subsection (a)(2)(B), an assur7 ance that public housing agencies received an oppor8 tunity to provide input in the preparation of the ap9 plication. 

10 (e) EVALUATING AND APPROVING APPLICATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—A waiver to carry out a 

12 project for a covered program under this section 

13 shall be authorized only if the Board approves the 

14 application for the project submitted under sub15 section (d). 

16 (2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Board shall re17 ceive comments from the public, including stake18 holders in the State, for a 30-day period beginning 

19 on the date of receipt of an application submitted by 

20 a Governor. 

21 (3) DECISION DEADLINE.—The Board shall 

22 make a decision on an application submitted by a 

23 Governor not later than 90 days after the date of re24 ceipt of the application. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•S 2416 IS

1 (4) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Board disapproves 

2 the application of a Governor— 

3 (A) the Board shall provide the Governor 

4 with a detailed explanation of the decision; 

5 (B) the Governor may submit a modified 

6 application to the Board for approval; and 

7 (C) if a modified application is submitted, 

8 the Board shall make a decision not later than 

9 30 days after the date of receipt of the modified 

10 application. 

11 (5) EVALUATING APPLICATIONS.—In evaluating 

12 an application to carry out a project, the Board 

13 shall— 

14 (A) evaluate the application on the basis of 

15 the whether the project— 

16 (i) promotes, with respect to program 

17 participants— 

18 (I) employment; 

19 (II) savings and financial lit20 eracy; and 

21 (III) family stability; 

22 (ii) reduces the dependence of pro23 gram participants on government assist24 ance; and 

25 (iii) reduces poverty; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•S 2416 IS

1 (B) ensure that the project does not have 

2 phase-out rates that result in a net loss in the 

3 income of a program participant when the pro4 gram participant increases wages or hours 

5 worked; 

6 (C) define the value of $1.00 in benefits as 

7 equal to $1.00 in earnings; and 

8 (D) consider the extent to which the meth9 odology of the project evaluation and data col10 lection under subsection (d)(4)(D) will— 

11 (i) produce rigorous results, using ex12 perimental designs that use— 

13 (I) random assignment; or 

14 (II) if random assignment is not 

15 feasible, another reliable, evidence16 based research methodology that al17 lows for the strongest practicable 

18 causal inference; and 

19 (ii) provide sufficient contextual infor20 mation on the characteristics of the popu21 lation served by the project, including de22 mographic and geographic information, to 

23 assess the applicability of the project in 

24 other settings. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
17 

•S 2416 IS

1 (6) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

2 after the date of approval of an application to carry 

3 out a project, the Board shall notify the congres4 sional committees of jurisdiction of the approval. 

5 (f) COORDINATION OF DATA AND INFORMATION.— 

6 Each head of an agency that administers a covered pro7 gram shall cooperate with each participating State that 

8 obtains a waiver of eligibility requirements for the covered 

9 program to coordinate access to data and other informa10 tion relating to the covered program. 

11 (g) MODIFYING OR TERMINATING PROJECTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A participating State may 

13 submit a request to the Board to modify or termi14 nate a project if the participating State determines 

15 that— 

16 (A) the project is not meeting the goals of 

17 the project; or 

18 (B) the economic situation in the partici19 pating State makes the project no longer viable 

20 to meet the needs of program participants. 

21 (2) APPROVAL.—The Board may modify or ter22 minate a project if the Board determines that— 

23 (A) the project is not meeting the goals of 

24 the project; or 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
18 

•S 2416 IS

1 (B) the economic situation in the partici2 pating State makes the project no longer viable 

3 to meet the needs of program participants. 

4 (h) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

6 the Board shall ensure that— 

7 (A) the level of funding for each partici8 pating State and the program participants of 

9 the participating States receive for each pro10 gram year for the covered programs that are 

11 subject to a project; equals 

12 (B) the level of funding the participating 

13 State and program participants of the partici14 pating State would receive for the program year 

15 for the covered programs but for obtaining a 

16 waiver to carry out the project. 

17 (2) CAP ON FEDERAL FUNDING.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any 

19 year in which a participating State obtains a 

20 waiver of eligibility requirements for a covered 

21 program described in subparagraph (B), the 

22 total amount that the head of the agency that 

23 administers the covered program shall pay to 

24 the participating State under the covered pro25 gram shall not exceed an amount that is equal 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
19 

•S 2416 IS

1 to the amount that the head of the agency paid 

2 to the participating State under the covered 

3 program for the previous year, as adjusted to 

4 reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index 

5 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 

6 the Department of Labor. 

7 (B) COVERED PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—A 

8 covered program referred to in subparagraph 

9 (A) is a covered program under which the 

10 amount that the Federal Government provides 

11 to a State is dependent on the amount that the 

12 State provides to the covered program. 

13 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A partici14 pating State may use amounts received through a 

15 covered program for administrative expenses of car16 rying out the project in accordance with any require17 ments of the covered program for the use of 

18 amounts for administrative expenses. 

19 (i) EXISTING CONTRACTS.—In the case of a covered 

20 program described in subsection (a)(2)(B), a participating 

21 State shall fund any contract in effect on the day before 

22 the date of commencement of the project for the term of 

23 the contract. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS