H. R. 244—667 
for payment to the Fund in a total amount not to exceed 
$608,000,000.’’. 
(c) STRENGTHENING WELFARE RESEARCH AND EVALUATION AND 
DEVELOPMENT OF A WHAT WORKS CLEARINGHOUSE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 413 of such 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 programs funded under 
this part and any other State program funded with qualified State 
expenditures (as defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) on employment, 
self-sufficiency, child well-being, unmarried births, marriage, pov-
erty, economic mobility, and other factors as determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD WELL-BEING 
BY PROMOTING HEALTHY MARRIAGE
AND RESPONSIBLE FATHER-
HOOD.—The Secretary shall conduct research to determine the 
effects of the grants made under section 403(a)(2) on child well- 
being, marriage, family stability, economic mobility, poverty, and 
other factors as determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall, in 
consultation with States receiving funds provided under this part, 
develop methods of disseminating information on any research, 
evaluation, or study conducted under this section, including facili-
tating the sharing of information and best practices among States 
and localities. 
‘‘(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 description 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 percent of the cost of the proposed 
evaluation. 
‘‘(e) CENSUS BUREAU RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) The Bureau of the Census shall implement or enhance 
household surveys of program participation, in consultation 
with the Secretary and the Bureau 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 children, 
including those who received assistance or services from a 
State program funded under this part or any other State pro-
gram funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined in 
section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)). The content of the surveys should 
include such information as may be necessary to examine the 
issues of unmarried childbearing, marriage, welfare dependency 
and compliance with work requirements, the beginning and
H. R. 244—668 
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 Secretary, and the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics shall consider ways to improve the surveys 
and data derived from the surveys to— 
‘‘(A) address under reporting 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 facilitating the matching of 
information to better understand intergenerational poverty; 
‘‘(C) generate a better geographical understanding of 
poverty such as through State-based estimates and meas-
ures of neighborhood poverty; 
‘‘(D) increase understanding of the effects of means- 
tested benefits and tax benefits on the earnings and 
incomes of low-income families; and 
‘‘(E) improve how poverty and economic well-being are 
measured, including through the use of consumption meas-
ures, material deprivation measures, social exclusion meas-
ures, and economic and social mobility measures. 
‘‘(f) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION CONDUCTED UNDER THIS SEC-
TION.—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 experi-
mental designs using random assignment or other reliable, evi-
dence-based research methodologies that allow for the strongest 
possible causal inferences when random assignment is not feasible. 
‘‘(g) DEVELOPMENT
OF
WHAT
WORKS
CLEARINGHOUSE
OF 
PROVEN AND PROMISING APPROACHES TO MOVE WELFARE RECIPI-
ENTS INTO WORK.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 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 develop-
mental approach in delivering 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-con-
ducted experimental evaluation of a program or project, using 
random assignment or other research methodologies that allow 
for the strongest possible causal inferences, have shown they 
are proven, promising, developmental, or ineffective approaches. 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA
FOR
EVIDENCE
OF
EFFECTIVENESS
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 effectiveness; and 
‘‘(B) ensure that the process for establishing the cri-
teria—
H. R. 244—669 
‘‘(i) is transparent; 
‘‘(ii) is consistent across agencies; 
‘‘(iii) provides opportunity for public comment; and 
‘‘(iv) takes into account efforts of Federal agencies 
to identify and publicize effective interventions, 
including efforts at the Department of Health and 
Human Services, the Department of Education, and 
the Department of Justice. 
‘‘(h) APPROPRIATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount appropriated by section 
403(a)(1) for each fiscal year, 0.33 percent shall be available 
for research, technical assistance, and evaluation under this 
section. 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount made available under 
paragraph (1) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
available $10,000,000 plus such additional amount as the Sec-
retary deems necessary and appropriate, to carry out subsection 
(e). 
‘‘(3) BASELINE.—The baseline established pursuant to sec-
tion 257 of the Balanced Budget and Deficit Control Act of 
1985 (2 U.S.C. 907(b)(2)) for the Temporary Assistance for 
Needy Families Program shall be recorded by the Office of 
Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office 
at the level prior to any transfers recorded pursuant to section 
413(h) of this Act.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 403(a)(1)(B) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, reduced 
by the percentage specified in section 413(h)(1) with respect 
to the fiscal year,’’ before ‘‘as the amount’’. 
SEC. 103. FULL FUNDING FOR STATE COURTS TO IMPROVE THE HAN-
DLING OF CHILD WELFARE CASES. 
Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not 
otherwise appropriated, there are hereby appropriated for fiscal 
year 2017 $20,000,000 for grants under section 438 of the Social 
Security Act, in addition to any other amounts appropriated for 
such purpose. The amounts appropriated by the preceding sentence 
shall be considered to be amounts reserved under section 436(b)(2) 
of such Act for fiscal year 2017, for purposes of clauses (ii) and 
(iii) of section 438(c)(3)(A) of such Act. 
SEC. 104. INCLUSION OF CERTAIN RETIREES IN THE MULTIEMPLOYER 
HEALTH BENEFIT PLAN. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 402(h)(2)(C) of the Surface Mining 
Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1232(h)(2)(C)) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv); and 
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 
‘‘(ii) CALCULATION OF EXCESS.—The excess deter-
mined under clause (i) shall be calculated by taking 
into account only— 
‘‘(I) those beneficiaries actually enrolled in the 
Plan as of the date of the enactment of the Health 
Benefits for Miners Act of 2017 who are eligible 
to receive health benefits under the Plan on the 
first day of the calendar year for which the transfer 
is made, other than those beneficiaries enrolled 
in the Plan under the terms of a participation
H. R. 244—670 
agreement with the current or former employer 
of such beneficiaries; and 
‘‘(II) those beneficiaries whose health benefits, 
defined as those benefits payable, following death 
or retirement or upon a finding of disability, 
directly by an employer in the bituminous coal 
industry under a coal wage agreement (as defined 
in section 9701(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986), would be denied or reduced as a result 
of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012 
or 2015. 
For purposes of subclause (I), a beneficiary enrolled 
in the Plan as of the date of the enactment of the 
Health Benefits for Miners Act of 2017 shall be deemed 
to have been eligible to receive health benefits under 
the Plan on January 1, 2017. 
‘‘(iii) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN RETIREES.—Individ-
uals referred to in clause (ii)(II) shall be treated as 
eligible to receive health benefits under the Plan. 
‘‘(iv) REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSFER.—The amount 
of the transfer otherwise determined under this 
subparagraph for a fiscal year shall be reduced by 
any amount transferred for the fiscal year to the Plan, 
to pay benefits required under the Plan, from a vol-
untary employees’ beneficiary association established 
as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding described in 
clause (ii).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section 
shall apply to fiscal years beginning after September 30, 2016. 
SEC. 105. CUSTOMS USER FEES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13031(j)(3)(A) of the Consolidated 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (19 U.S.C. 58c(j)(3)(A)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 2025’’ and inserting 
‘‘January 14, 2026’’. 
(b) RATE FOR MERCHANDISE PROCESSING FEES.—Section 503 
of the United States–Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation 
Act (Public Law 112–41; 19 U.S.C. 3805 note) is amended by 
striking ‘‘September 30, 2025’’ and inserting ‘‘January 14, 2026’’. 
TITLE II—PUERTO RICO SECTION 
1108(g) AMENDMENT OF 2017 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This title may be cited as ‘‘Puerto Rico Section 1108(g) Amend-
ment of 2017’’. 
SEC. 202. PUERTO RICO SECTION 1108(g) AMENDMENT OF 2017. 
(a) Section 1108(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1308(g)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘and with respect to 
fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2017, if Puerto Rico 
qualifies for a payment under section 1903(a)(6) for a calendar 
quarter (beginning on or after July 1, 2017) of such fiscal 
year’’ after ‘‘1903(a)(3)’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (5)—