The Recognizing Poverty Act

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop for consideration of the Congress a poverty line for purposes of the Community Services Block Grant Act, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the The Recognizing Poverty Act 2. Assessment of the adequacy of the poverty line; development of poverty line (a) Assessment The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall make a contract with the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences to assess the adequacy of the poverty line (as defined in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) (b) Development of poverty line The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Bureau of the Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shall make a contract with the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences to propose a poverty guide for purposes of section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) new necessities (1) Adjusted for family size using the best available equivalence scales that consider economies of scale. (2) Adjusted for differences in the cost of goods and services among States, sub-State non-metropolitan areas, and metropolitan areas based on the best available data. (3) Adjusted to account for data on levels of spending on goods and services in prior years and adjusted for cost changes from said prior years to the current year. (4) Increased for needs related to health insurance for family members, work expenses for the family, and child care needs for each child under the age of 13 in the family, including identification and consideration of new necessities Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, the poverty line proposed under this subsection shall not be less than the poverty line then in effect under such section. (c) Required factors For purposes of subsection (b), the Secretary shall consider— (1) relevant empirical data on prevalence at various income levels of material hardships such as food— (A) insecurity, (B) falling behind on rent, mortgage, or utility bills, eviction or overcrowding, and (C) experiencing homelessness or living doubled up in another person’s home, (2) past Lower Living Standards implemented by the Department of Labor, (3) the supplemental poverty measure of the Bureau of the Census, (4) the Self Sufficiency Standards initially developed by Diana Pearce and Wider Opportunities for Women, (5) the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, and (6) other standards of income adequacy created by experts and public commissions. (d) Publication The poverty line proposed under this section shall be updated and published annually.

Summary: The Recognizing Poverty Act This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, to enter into agreements with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) to examine certain poverty measures relevant to the Community Services Block Grant. As background, this grant provides funding to states, tribes, territories, and other entities to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty. Currently, to be eligible for activities funded by this grant, individuals must have incomes at or below 100% of the federal poverty line. Specifically, the National Academies must assess the adequacy of the current poverty line as a measure of the resources a family needs to afford basic goods and services and must propose a new poverty guide that accounts for costs related to health insurance, childcare, and other factors, such as the prevalence of food insecurity at different levels of income. This proposed measure may not be lower than the current poverty line.