II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 458 

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to give States 

the option to create a program that allows individuals receiving temporary assistance to needy families to obtain post-secondary or longer 

duration vocational education. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 18, 2005 

Ms. SNOWE (for herself, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. JEFFORDS, and 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to give States the option to create a program that allows 

individuals receiving temporary assistance to needy families to obtain post-secondary or longer duration vocational education. 

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 ‘‘Pathways to Self-Suffi5 ciency Act of 2005’’. 
2 

•S 458 IS 

1 SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH UNDERGRADUATE 

2 POST-SECONDARY OR VOCATIONAL EDU3 CATIONAL PROGRAM UNDER TANF. 

4 (a) STATE OPTION.—Section 404 of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 604) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(l) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH UNDERGRADUATE

8 POST-SECONDARY OR VOCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL PRO9 GRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the succeeding 

11 paragraphs of this subsection, a State to which a 

12 grant is made under section 403 may use the grant 

13 to establish a program under which an eligible par14 ticipant (as defined in paragraph (4)) may be pro15 vided support services described in paragraph (6). 

16 ‘‘(2) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—A State 

17 may not establish a program under this subsection 

18 unless the State describes (in an addendum to the 

19 State plan submitted under section 402) the applica20 ble eligibility criteria that is designed to limit par21 ticipation in the program to only those individuals— 

22 ‘‘(A) whose past earnings indicate that the 

23 individuals cannot qualify for employment that 

24 pays enough to allow them to obtain self-suffi25 ciency (as determined by the State); and 
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1 ‘‘(B) for whom enrollment in the program 

2 will prepare the individuals for higher-paying 

3 occupations in demand in the State. 

4 ‘‘(3) NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR TUITION.—A 

5 State may not use Federal funds provided under a 

6 grant made under section 403 to pay tuition for an 

7 eligible participant. 

8 ‘‘(4) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 

10 term ‘eligible participant’ means an individual 

11 who receives assistance under the State pro12 gram funded under this part and satisfies the 

13 following requirements: 

14 ‘‘(i) The individual is enrolled in a 

15 postsecondary 2- or 4-year degree program 

16 or in a vocational educational training pro17 gram. 

18 ‘‘(ii) During the first 24 months that 

19 the individual participates in the program, 

20 the individual engages in a combination of 

21 educational activities in connection with a 

22 course of study, training, study time, em23 ployment, or work experience for an aver24 age of not less than 24 hours per week. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) After the first 24 months of the 

2 individual’s participation in the program, 

3 the individual— 

4 ‘‘(I) works not less than an aver5 age of 15 hours per week (in addition 

6 to school and study time); or 

7 ‘‘(II) engages in a combination of 

8 educational activities in connection 

9 with a course of study, training, study 

10 time, employment, or work experience 

11 for an average of not less than 30 

12 hours per week. 

13 ‘‘(iv) During the period the individual 

14 participates in the program, the individual 

15 maintains satisfactory academic progress, 

16 as defined by the institution operating the 

17 undergraduate post-secondary or vocational 

18 educational program in which the indi19 vidual is enrolled. 

20 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF HOURS.—For 

21 purposes of determining hours per week under 

22 clause (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (A), a State 

23 may not count study time of less than 1 hour 

24 for every hour of class time or more than 2 

25 hours for every hour of class time. 
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1 ‘‘(5) REQUIRED TIME PERIODS FOR COMPLE2 TION OF DEGREE OR VOCATIONAL EDUCATIONAL

3 TRAINING PROGRAM.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B), an individual participating in a pro6 gram established under this subsection shall be 

7 required to complete the requirements of a de8 gree or vocational educational training program 

9 within the normal time frame for full time stu10 dents seeking the particular degree or com11 pleting the vocational educational training pro12 gram. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—For good cause, the 

14 State may allow an individual to complete their 

15 degree requirements or vocational educational 

16 training program within a period not to exceed 

11 17 ⁄2 times the normal time frame established 

18 under subparagraph (A) (unless further modi19 fication is required by the Americans with Dis20 abilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), 

21 or section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

22 (29 U.S.C. 794)) and may modify the require23 ments applicable to an individual participating 

24 in the program. For purposes of the preceding 

25 sentence, good cause includes the case of an in-
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1 dividual with 1 or more significant barriers to 

2 normal participation, as determined by the 

3 State, such as the need to care for a family 

4 member with special needs. 

5 ‘‘(6) SUPPORT SERVICES DESCRIBED.—For 

6 purposes of paragraph (1), the support services de7 scribed in this paragraph include any or all of the 

8 following during the period the eligible participant is 

9 in the program established under this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) Child care. 

11 ‘‘(B) Transportation services. 

12 ‘‘(C) Payment for books and supplies. 

13 ‘‘(D) Other services provided under policies 

14 determined by the State to ensure coordination 

15 and lack of duplication with other programs 

16 available to provide support services.’’. 

17 (b) STATE OPTION TO INCLUDE PARTICIPANTS AS

18 ENGAGED IN WORK.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 407(c)(2) of the So20 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)) is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(E) STATE OPTION TO INCLUDE PARTICI23 PANTS AS ENGAGED IN WORK.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

25 (ii), in the case of a State that elects to es-
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1 tablish an undergraduate post-secondary or 

2 vocational education program under sec3 tion 404(l), the State may include, for pur4 poses of determining monthly participation 

5 rates under paragraphs (1)(B)(i) and 

6 (2)(B) of subsection (b), all families that 

7 include an individual participating in the 

8 program during the month as being en9 gaged in work for the month, so long as 

10 each such individual is in compliance with 

11 the requirements of that program. 

12 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—With respect to a 

13 month, the number of families counted as 

14 being engaged in work under clause (i) 

15 may not exceed the amount equal to 10 

16 percent of the number of families receiving 

17 assistance under the State program funded 

18 under this part for the month.’’. 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (A) Section 407(c)(2)(D) of the Social Se21 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 607(c)(2)(D)) is amend22 ed— 

23 (i) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘CER24 TAIN’’ after ‘‘PARTICIPATION IN’’; and 
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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(determined without 

2 regard to individuals participating in a 

3 program referred to in subparagraph 

4 (E)(i))’’ after ‘‘training’’. 

5 (B) Section 407(d)(8) of the Social Secu6 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 607(d)(8)) is amended by 

7 inserting ‘‘other than an individual partici8 pating in a program that meets the require9 ments of section 404(l)’’ after ‘‘individual’’. 

10 (c) STATE OPTION TO CREDIT MONTHS OF PARTICI11 PATION FOR PURPOSES OF 5-YEAR ASSISTANCE LIMIT.— 

12 Section 408(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

13 608(a)(7)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(H) CREDIT FOR MONTHS PARTICIPATING

15 IN A PATHWAYS TO SELF-SUFFICIENCY PRO16 GRAM.—In determining the number of months 

17 for which an adult has received assistance 

18 under a State program funded under this part, 

19 the State may disregard any month during 

20 which the adult is a participant in a program 

21 that meets the requirements of section 404(l).’’. 

22 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section take effect on October 1, 2005. 

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