IB 
Union Calendar No. 478 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5169 
[Report No. 114–615, Part I] 
To strengthen welfare research and evaluation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 6, 2016 
Mr. BUCHANAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
JUNE 10, 2016 
Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
JUNE 10, 2016 
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform discharged; committed 
to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and or-
dered to be printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 6, 2016] 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:20 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
A BILL 
To strengthen welfare research and evaluation, and for other 
purposes. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘What Works to Move 
Welfare Recipients into Jobs Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STRENGTHENING WELFARE RESEARCH AND EVAL-
UATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A WHAT 
WORKS CLEARINGHOUSE. 
Section 413 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 613) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 413. EVALUATION OF TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR 
NEEDY FAMILIES AND RELATED PROGRAMS. 
‘‘(a) EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF TANF.—The 
Secretary shall conduct research on the effect of State pro-
grams funded under this part and any other State program 
funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined in sec-
tion 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) on employment, self-sufficiency, child 
well-being, unmarried births, marriage, poverty, economic 
mobility, and other factors as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD 
WELL-BEING BY PROMOTING HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND RE-
SPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD.—The Secretary shall conduct re-
search to determine the effects of the grants made under sec-
tion 403(a)(2) on child well-being, marriage, family sta-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
bility, economic mobility, poverty, and other factors as de-
termined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION
OF INFORMATION.—The Sec-
retary shall, in consultation with States receiving funds 
provided under this part, develop methods of disseminating 
information on any research, evaluation, or study con-
ducted under this section, including facilitating the sharing 
of information and best practices among States and local-
ities. 
‘‘(d) STATE-INITIATED EVALUATIONS.—A State shall 
be eligible to receive funding to evaluate the State program 
funded under this part or any other State program funded 
with qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 
409(a)(7)(B)(i)) if— 
‘‘(1) the State submits to the Secretary a descrip-
tion of the proposed evaluation; 
‘‘(2) the Secretary determines that the design 
and approach of the proposed evaluation is rigorous 
and is likely to yield information that is credible and 
will be useful to other States; and 
‘‘(3) unless waived by the Secretary, the State 
contributes to the cost of the evaluation, from non- 
Federal sources, an amount equal to at least 25 per-
cent of the cost of the proposed evaluation. 
‘‘(e) CENSUS BUREAU RESEARCH.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(1) The Bureau of the Census shall implement 
or enhance household surveys of program participa-
tion, in consultation with the Secretary and the 
Burueau of Labor Statistics and made available to 
interested parties, to allow for the assessment of the 
outcomes of continued welfare reform on the economic 
and child well-being of low-income families with chil-
dren, including those who received assistance or serv-
ices from a State program funded under this part or 
any other State program funded with qualified State 
expenditures (as defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)). 
The content of the surveys should include such infor-
mation as may be necessary to examine the issues of 
unmarried childbearing, marriage, welfare depend-
ency and compliance with work requirements, the be-
ginning and ending of spells of assistance, work, 
earnings and employment stability, and the well- 
being of children. 
‘‘(2) To carry out the activities specified in 
paragraph (1), the Bureau of the Census, the Sec-
retary, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall con-
sider ways to improve the surveys and data derived 
from the surveys to— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) address underreporting of the receipt 
of means-tested benefits and tax benefits for low- 
income individuals and families; 
‘‘(B) increase understanding of poverty 
spells and long-term poverty, including by facili-
tating the matching of information to better un-
derstand intergenerational poverty; 
‘‘(C) generate a better geographical under-
standing of poverty such as through State-based 
estimates and measures of neighborhood poverty; 
‘‘(D) increase understanding of the effects of 
means-tested benefits and tax benefits on the 
earnings of low-income families; and 
‘‘(E) improve how poverty and economic 
well-being are measured, including through the 
use of consumption measures. 
‘‘(f) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION CONDUCTED UNDER 
THIS SECTION.—Research and evaluation conducted under 
this section designed to determine the effects of a program 
or policy (other than research conducted under subsection 
(e)) shall use experimental designs using random assign-
ment or other reliable, evidence-based research methodolo-
gies that allow for the strongest possible causal inferences 
when random assignment is not feasible. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(g) DEVELOPMENT
OF WHAT WORKS CLEARING-
HOUSE OF PROVEN AND PROMISING APPROACHES TO MOVE 
WELFARE RECIPIENTS INTO WORK.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of Labor, shall develop a 
database (which shall be referred to as the ‘What 
Works Clearinghouse of Proven and Promising 
Projects to Move Welfare Recipients into Work’) of the 
projects that used a proven approach or a promising 
approach in moving welfare recipients into work, 
based on independent, rigorous evaluations of the 
projects. The database shall include a separate listing 
of projects that used a developmental approach in de-
livering services and a further separate listing of the 
projects with no or negative effects. The Secretary 
shall add to the What Works Clearinghouse of Proven 
and Promising Projects to Move Welfare Recipients 
into Work data about the projects that, based on an 
independent, well-conducted experimental evaluation 
of a program or project, using random assignment or 
other research methodologies that allow for the strong-
est possible causal inferences, have shown they are 
proven, promising, developmental, or ineffective ap-
proaches. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(2) CRITERIA
FOR
EVIDENCE
OF
EFFECTIVE-
NESS OF APPROACH.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Secretary of Labor and organizations with 
experience in evaluating research on the effectiveness 
of various approaches in delivering services to move 
welfare recipients into work, shall— 
‘‘(A) establish criteria for evidence of effec-
tiveness; and 
‘‘(B) ensure that the process for establishing 
the criteria— 
‘‘(i) is transparent; 
‘‘(ii) is consistent across agencies; 
‘‘(iii) provides opportunity for public 
comment; and 
‘‘(iv) takes into account efforts of Fed-
eral agencies to identify and publicize effec-
tive interventions, including efforts at the 
Department of Health and Human Services, 
the Department of Education, and the De-
partment of Justice. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) APPROACH.—The term ‘approach’ 
means a process, product, strategy, or practice 
that is— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) research-based, based on the results 
of 1 or more empirical studies, and linked 
to program-determined outcomes; and 
‘‘(ii) evaluated using rigorous research 
designs. 
‘‘(B) PROVEN APPROACH.—The term ‘prov-
en approach’ means an approach that— 
‘‘(i) meets the requirements of a prom-
ising approach; and 
‘‘(ii) 
has 
demonstrated 
significant 
positive outcomes at more than 1 site in 
terms of increasing work and earnings of 
participants, reducing poverty and depend-
ence, or strengthening families. 
‘‘(C) PROMISING
APPROACH.—The term 
‘promising approach’ means an approach— 
‘‘(i) that meets the requirements of sub-
paragraph (D)(i); 
‘‘(ii) that has been evaluated using 
well-designed and rigorous randomized con-
trolled or quasi-experimental research de-
signs; 
‘‘(iii) that has demonstrated signifi-
cant positive outcomes at only 1 site in 
terms of increasing work and earnings of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
participants, reducing poverty and depend-
ence, or strengthening families; and 
‘‘(iv) under which the benefits of the 
positive outcomes have exceeded the costs of 
achieving the outcomes. 
‘‘(D) 
DEVELOPMENTAL
APPROACH.—The 
term ‘developmental approach’ means an ap-
proach that— 
‘‘(i) is research-based, grounded in rel-
evant empirically-based knowledge, and 
linked to program-determined outcomes; 
‘‘(ii) is evaluated using rigorous re-
search designs; and 
‘‘(iii) has yet to demonstrate a signifi-
cant positive outcome in terms of increasing 
work and earnings of participants in a 
cost-effective way.’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on 
October 1, 2016. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
21:50 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 478 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5169 
[Report No. 114–615, Part I] 
A BILL 
To strengthen welfare research and evaluation, and 
for other purposes. 
JUNE 10, 2016 
Reported from the Committee on Ways and Means with 
an amendment 
JUNE 10, 2016 
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 
printed 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:20 Jun 10, 2016
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6651
Sfmt 6651
E:\BILLS\H5169.RH
H5169
sradovich on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with BILLS