I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4342 
To establish a pilot program providing certain individuals with a guaranteed 
monthly income, to study the effect of a guaranteed monthly income 
on such individuals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 1, 2021 
Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN (for herself, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. BOW-
MAN, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mr. 
BLUMENAUER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To establish a pilot program providing certain individuals 
with a guaranteed monthly income, to study the effect 
of a guaranteed monthly income on such individuals, 
and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Guaranteed Income 
Pilot Program Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
(1) Too many Americans cannot achieve finan-
cial stability due to income volatility, the rising cost 
of living, wage stagnation, and a lack of affordable 
housing. 
(2) Real wages have failed to keep pace with in-
flation, meaning the purchasing power of American 
households has not changed in 40 years. 
(3) Income volatility, defined as an annual in-
come fluctuation of 25 percent or more, impacts 
nearly half of the United States population. 
(4) Thirty-six percent of American households 
indicate that they would face difficulty covering a 
$400 emergency expense with readily available cash 
or a checking account. There are significant dispari-
ties based on race and ethnicity: While only 38 per-
cent of White households report difficulty meeting 
an unexpected $400 expense, the same is true for 
more than half of Black and Latinx households. 
(5) Full-time minimum wage earners cannot af-
ford an average 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in 
the United States. 
(6) The changing nature of the economy, in-
cluding the rise of the gig economy, unemployment 
risks posed by automation, and the fluctuating na-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
ture of waged labor, will result in increased income 
volatility and prohibit upward economic mobility. 
SEC. 3. GUARANTEED INCOME PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 
with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall establish 
and implement a 3-year pilot program (hereinafter re-
ferred to as the ‘‘program’’) to provide a guaranteed 
monthly income to certain eligible individuals in accord-
ance with this section. 
(b) INCOME SUBSIDY.— 
(1) SELECTION
OF
PARTICIPATING
ELIGIBLE 
INDIVIDUALS.—The Secretary, in consultation with 
the Commissioner and the external partner selected 
pursuant to subsection (d), shall develop selection 
criteria that the Secretary will use to select 12,000 
total eligible individuals for participation in the pro-
gram. 
(2) AMOUNT OF INCOME SUBSIDY.—Of the eli-
gible individuals participating in the program, 6,000 
shall receive a cash payment each month equal to 
the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom home in the 
zip code in which the eligible individual resides, or 
a substantially similar amount as determined by the 
Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner 
and the external partner. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
(3) MONTHLY DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME SUB-
SIDY.—Each participating eligible individual shall 
receive the cash payment on the 15th day of each 
month. 
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMISSIONER OF INTER-
NAL REVENUE.—The Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
shall be responsible for— 
(1) providing the Secretary access to tax 
records to administer and study the program under 
this section; 
(2) updating the Secretary and the external 
partner on changes to the taxable income of a par-
ticipating eligible individual. 
(d) EXTERNAL PARTNER.— 
(1) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select an 
external partner to provide assistance with the de-
sign, administration, and evaluation of the program. 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—An organization selected 
to be the external partner shall have demonstrated 
experience in— 
(A) mixed-methods experimental design; 
and 
(B) implementing cash-transfer programs. 
(3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The external partner, 
and any employee of the external partner, shall be 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
treated as a Federal employee for purposes of sec-
tion 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 
(4) DATA COLLECTION.—The external partner 
shall collect data from participating eligible individ-
uals as necessary to complete the study and reports 
required under section 4, and to conduct any addi-
tional research as the Secretary determines nec-
essary. 
(e) DISREGARD OF CASH PAYMENTS FOR PURPOSES 
OF ALL FEDERAL
AND FEDERALLY ASSISTED PRO-
GRAMS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any 
payment made to participating eligible individuals under 
this section shall not be taken into account as income, and 
shall not be taken into account as resources for a period 
of 12 months from receipt, for purposes of determining 
the eligibility of such eligible individual (or any other indi-
vidual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount or extent 
of benefits or assistance) under any Federal program or 
any State or local program financed in whole or in part 
with Federal funds. 
SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT. 
(a) STUDY ON PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary, in 
collaboration with the Commissioner and the external 
partner, shall conduct a study on outcomes of the pro-
gram. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
(b) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 24 months 
after participating eligible individuals have been begun 
participating in the program, the Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the 
external partner, shall provide an interim report on the 
program under section 3 to the Congress. 
(c) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after 
the conclusion of the program under section 3, the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Internal 
Revenue and the external partner, shall provide a final re-
port on the program to the Congress, including an analysis 
of— 
(1) the effect of the monthly income subsidy 
provided in section 3 on— 
(A) micro-economic outcomes of partici-
pating eligible individuals; 
(B) the health of participating eligible indi-
viduals; 
(C) the social costs of income volatility, in-
cluding connections with income fluctuation and 
health, education, employment, childcare, and 
other outcomes as determined appropriate by 
the Secretary; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
(2) the feasibility of expanding the program 
under section 3 to include a larger number of par-
ticipants. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) 
COMMISSIONER.—The 
term 
‘‘Commis-
sioner’’ means the Commissioner of the Internal 
Revenue Service. 
(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 
individual’’ means an individual taxpayer between 
the ages of 18–65. 
(3) EXTERNAL PARTNER.—The term ‘‘external 
partner’’ means a non-partisan research agency or a 
non-profit academic institution with expertise in so-
cial science experimentation. 
(4) FAIR MARKET RENT.—The term ‘‘fair mar-
ket rent’’ means the applicable fair market rent es-
tablished under section 8(c) of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)). 
(5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $285,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 
through 2025. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:04 Jul 23, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4342.IH
H4342
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS