I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2540 
To establish a universal child assistance program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 6, 2023 
Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, and Ms. OMAR) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To establish a universal child assistance program, 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 ‘‘End Child Poverty 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. UNIVERSAL CHILD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) 
COMMISSIONER.—The 
term 
‘‘Commis-
sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Social Security. 
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(2) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Dep-
uty Commissioner’’ means the Deputy Commissioner 
of the Office of Universal Child Assistance. 
(3) QUALIFYING CHILD.—The term ‘‘qualifying 
child’’ means, with respect to a month, an individual 
who— 
(A) resides in the United States; 
(B) is— 
(i) a citizen or national of the United 
States; or 
(ii) a qualified alien (as defined in 
section 431 of the Personal Responsibility 
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641)); and 
(C) is less than 19 years old on the last 
day of such month. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT
OF OFFICE
OF UNIVERSAL 
CHILD ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 
the Social Security Administration an office to be 
known as the Office of Universal Child Assistance. 
The Office shall be headed by a Deputy Commis-
sioner who shall be appointed by the Commissioner 
of Social Security. 
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(2) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
DEPUTY
COMMIS-
SIONER.—The Commissioner, acting through the 
Deputy Commissioner, shall be responsible for— 
(A) hiring personnel and making employ-
ment decisions with regard to such personnel; 
(B) issuing such regulations as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this sec-
tion; 
(C) entering into cooperative agreements 
with other agencies and departments to ensure 
the efficiency of the administration of the pro-
gram; 
(D) determining eligibility for child assist-
ance payments under subsection (c); 
(E) making timely child assistance pay-
ments to qualified children in accordance with 
this section; 
(F) establishing and maintaining a system 
of records relating to the administration of this 
section; 
(G) preventing fraud and abuse relating to 
child assistance payments; 
(H) providing information on request re-
garding eligibility requirements, the application 
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process, payment amounts, and limitations on 
payments; and 
(I) tailoring culturally and linguistically 
competent education and outreach toward in-
creasing utilization rates of payments under 
this section. 
(3) AVAILABILITY
OF
DATA.—The Commis-
sioner shall make available to the Deputy Commis-
sioner such data as the Commissioner determines 
necessary to enable the Deputy Commissioner to ef-
fectively carry out the responsibilities described in 
paragraph (2). 
(c) CHILD ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For every month beginning 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sioner shall pay to each qualified child who has in 
effect an application approved under subsection (d) 
a child assistance payment in an amount equal to 
the child assistance amount for the month (as deter-
mined under paragraph (2)). 
(2) CHILD
ASSISTANCE
AMOUNT.—For pur-
poses of paragraph (1), the child assistance amount 
for a month shall be an amount equal to 1⁄12 of the 
excess of— 
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(A) the annual poverty guideline for the 
calendar year preceding the calendar year in 
which such month occurs (as updated annually 
in the Federal Register by the Department of 
Health and Human Services under the author-
ity of section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget 
Reconciliation Act of 1981) as applicable to a 
two-person household, over 
(B) the annual poverty guideline for such 
preceding calendar year applicable to a single 
individual. 
(3) REPRESENTATIVE PAYEES.—Section 205(j) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(j)) shall 
apply to the payment of child assistance payments 
under this section in the same manner as such sec-
tion 205(j) applies to the payment of benefits under 
title II of such Act. 
(4) PENALTIES.—Section 208 of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 408) shall apply with respect 
to child assistance payments under this section in 
the same manner as such section 208 applies with 
respect to monthly insurance benefits under title II 
of such Act. 
(d) APPLICATION.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—No child assistance payment 
shall be made to an individual unless the Commis-
sioner has approved an application for such payment 
in accordance with the requirements of this para-
graph. 
(2) APPLICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—An indi-
vidual applying for a child assistance payment as (or 
on behalf of) a qualifying child under this section 
shall provide the Commissioner with an application 
in such form and manner as the Commissioner shall 
require, and such application shall include— 
(A) the name, date of birth, and social se-
curity number or taxpayer identification num-
ber of the qualifying child; and 
(B) such other information as the Commis-
sioner deems necessary. 
(3) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION.—The Com-
missioner shall treat an application for a social secu-
rity account number for a qualifying child as an ap-
plication for a child assistance payment under this 
section, unless the applicant affirmatively indicates 
on such application an intent to opt out of such 
child assistance payments. 
(4) DEEMED
APPLICATIONS.—In the case of 
any qualifying child identified to the Commissioner 
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under the data sharing procedures described in sec-
tion 6103(l)(23) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (as amended by subsection (e)) who has not 
otherwise submitted an application for child assist-
ance payments under this section, the Commissioner 
shall treat such qualifying child as having so applied, 
unless the applicant affirmatively indicates to the 
Commissioner, under such procedures as the Com-
missioner may establish, an intent to opt out of such 
child assistance payments. 
(5) TERM
OF
APPLICATION.—The Commis-
sioner may provide that an approval of an individ-
ual’s application for a child assistance payment 
under this subsection shall expire after a specified 
number of months, after which the individual shall 
not be eligible for a child assistance payment until 
a new application is approved under this subsection. 
(e) IRS DATA SHARING WITH COMMISSIONER OF 
SOCIAL SECURITY.—Section 6103(l) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(23) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION 
TO
SOCIAL
SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION
FOR
PUR-
POSES OF CHILD ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall, upon written request from the Commis-
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sioner of Social Security, disclose to the Commis-
sioner any available taxpayer identity information 
from the individual master files of the Internal Rev-
enue Service that the Commissioner deems relevant 
to identifying children of taxpayers or children who 
are taxpayers who qualify for a child assistance pay-
ment under section 2(c) of the End Child Poverty 
Act, including information relating to— 
‘‘(A) citizenship status of a child, 
‘‘(B) age of a child, and 
‘‘(C) country of residence of a child.’’. 
(f) INCOME DISREGARD.—A child assistance pay-
ment made under this section shall not be taken into ac-
count as income and shall not be taken into account as 
resources for purposes of determining the eligibility of 
such individual or any other individual for benefits or as-
sistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, 
under any Federal program or under any State or local 
program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds. 
(g) APPROPRIATION.—There are appropriated to the 
Commissioner for fiscal year 2023 and each subsequent 
fiscal year such sums as are necessary to carry out this 
section. 
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SEC. 3. REPEAL OF CHILD TAX CREDIT AND EARNED IN-
COME TAX CREDIT. 
(a) CHILD TAX CREDIT.—Section 24 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is hereby repealed. 
(b) EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT.—Section 32 of 
such Code is hereby repealed. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) The table of sections for subpart A of part 
IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of subtitle A of 
such Code is amended by striking the item relating 
to section 24. 
(2) The table of sections for subpart C of such 
part is amended by striking the item relating to sec-
tion 32. 
(3) Section 45R(f)(3)(B) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘(as in 
effect on the day before the date of enactment of the 
Universal Child Assistance Act of 2018)’’ after ‘‘sec-
tion 24(d)(2)(C)’’. 
(4) Section 25A(g)(2)(B) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘, 32’’. 
(5) Section 86(f) of such Code is amended by 
striking paragraph (2). 
(6) Section 129(e)(2) of such Code is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) EARNED INCOME.— 
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‘‘(A) The term ‘earned income’— 
‘‘(i) means— 
‘‘(I) wages, salaries, tips, and 
other employee compensation, but 
only if such amounts are includible in 
gross income for the taxable year, 
plus 
‘‘(II) the amount of the tax-
payer’s net earnings from self-employ-
ment for the taxable year (within the 
meaning of section 1402(a)), but such 
net earnings shall be determined with 
regard to the deduction allowed to the 
taxpayer by section 164(f), and 
‘‘(ii) does not include any amounts 
paid or incurred by an employer for de-
pendent care assistance to an employee. 
‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)— 
‘‘(i) the earned income of an indi-
vidual shall be computed without regard to 
any community property laws, 
‘‘(ii) no amount received as a pension 
or annuity shall be taken into account, 
‘‘(iii) no amount to which section 
871(a) applies (relating to income of non-
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resident alien individuals not connected 
with United States business) shall be taken 
into account, 
‘‘(iv) no amount received for services 
provided by an individual while the indi-
vidual is an inmate at a penal institution 
shall be taken into account, 
‘‘(v) no amount described in subpara-
graph (A) received for service performed in 
work activities as defined in paragraph (4) 
or (7) of section 407(d) of the Social Secu-
rity Act to which the taxpayer is assigned 
under any State program under part A of 
title IV of such Act shall be taken into ac-
count, but only to the extent such amount 
is subsidized under such State program, 
and 
‘‘(vi) a taxpayer may elect to treat 
amounts excluded from gross income by 
reason of section 112 as earned income.’’. 
(7) Section 135(d)(1)(B) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘32,’’. 
(8) Section 152(f)(6)(B) of such Code is 
amended— 
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(A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and 
inserting a period, 
(B) by striking clauses (ii) and (iv), and 
(C) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 
(ii). 
(9) Section 501 of such Code is amended— 
(A) in subsection (c)(26), by striking ‘‘(as 
defined in section 24(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘(as de-
fined in subsection (g))’’, and 
(B) by amending subsection (g) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL.—For purposes of sub-
section (c)(5), the term ‘agricultural’ includes the 
art or science of cultivating land, harvesting crops or 
aquatic resources, or raising livestock. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFYING CHILD.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub-
section (c)(26), the term ‘qualifying child’ 
means a qualifying child of the taxpayer (as de-
fined in section 152(c)) who has not attained 
age 17. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN NONCITI-
ZENS.—The term ‘qualifying child’ shall not in-
clude any individual who would not be a de-
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pendent 
if 
subparagraph 
(A) 
of 
section 
152(b)(3) were applied without regard to all 
that follows ‘resident of the United States’.’’. 
(10) Section 995(f)(2)(C) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘32,’’. 
(11) Section 3402(f)(1) of such Code is amend-
ed by striking subparagraph (C) and by redesig-
nating subparagraphs (D) through (F) as subpara-
graphs (C) through (E), respectively. 
(12) Section 4293 of such Code is amended by 
striking ‘‘chapter 32 (other than the taxes imposed 
by sections 4064 and 4121)’’. 
(13) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of such Code is 
amended by striking ‘‘24(d),’’ and ‘‘32,’’. 
(14) Section 6213(g)(2) of such Code is amend-
ed— 
(A) in subparagraph (L), by striking ‘‘, 24, 
32,’’, 
(B) by striking subparagraphs (F), (G), 
(I), (K), (M), and (P) and by redesignating 
subparagraphs (H), (J), (L), (N), (O), and (Q) 
as subparagraphs (F), (G), (H), (I), (J), and 
(K), respectively, and 
(C) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (J). 
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(15) Section 6402 of such code is amended by 
striking subsection (m) and by redesignating sub-
section (n) as subsection (m). 
(16) Section 6695(g)(2) of such Code is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘24,’’ and ‘‘ or 32,’’. 
(17) Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)) is amended by striking para-
graph (11). 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2022. 
SEC. 4. REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT FOR ADULT DEPEND-
ENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting before section 33 the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 32A. ADULT DEPENDENT CREDIT. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli-
gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against 
the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an 
amount equal to $600 for each qualifying dependent of 
the taxpayer. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible indi-
vidual’ means any individual if— 
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‘‘(1) such individual is not a dependent for 
whom a deduction is allowable under section 151 to 
another taxpayer for any taxable year beginning in 
the same calendar year as such taxable year, and 
‘‘(2) such individual is not a nonresident alien 
during such taxable year. 
‘‘(c) QUALIFYING DEPENDENT.—The term ‘quali-
fying dependent’ means a dependent (as defined in section 
152) who is over the age of 18. 
‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.—A 
qualifying dependent shall not be taken into account under 
subsection (a) unless the taxpayer includes the name, age, 
and TIN of the qualifying child on the return of tax for 
the taxable year. 
‘‘(e) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any taxable 
year beginning after 2023, the dollar amount in sub-
section (a) shall be increased by an amount equal 
to— 
‘‘(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter-
mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 
year in which the taxable year begins, deter-
mined by substituting ‘calendar year 2022’ for 
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‘calendar year 2016’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
thereof. 
‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—If any amount as adjusted 
under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $0.01, such 
amount shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple 
of $0.01.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 
1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 32 the following 
new item: 
‘‘Sec. 32A. Adult dependent credit.’’ 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2022. 
SEC. 5. REFUNDABLE TAX CREDIT FOR ADULTS AND FAMI-
LIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986, as amended by section 4, is amended by inserting 
after section 32A the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 32B. CREDIT FOR ADULTS AND FAMILIES. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli-
gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against 
the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year $600 
($1200 in the case of a joint return). 
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‘‘(b) LIMITATION BASED ON ADJUSTED GROSS IN-
COME.—The amount of the credit allowed by subsection 
(a) shall be reduced by 5 percent of so much of the tax-
payer’s adjusted gross income as exceeds— 
‘‘(1) $40,000 in the case of a joint return, and 
‘‘(2) $20,000 in any other case. 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible indi-
vidual’ means any individual if— 
‘‘(1) such individual (or, if the individual is 
married, either the individual or the individual’s 
spouse) has attained age 19 but not attained age 65 
before the close of the taxable year, 
‘‘(2) such individual is not a dependent for 
whom a deduction is allowable under section 151 to 
another taxpayer for any taxable year beginning in 
the same calendar year as such taxable year, and 
‘‘(3) such individual is not a nonresident alien 
during such taxable year. 
‘‘(d) IDENTIFICATION NUMBER REQUIREMENT.—No 
credit shall be allowed under this section to an eligible in-
dividual who does not include on the return of tax for the 
taxable year— 
‘‘(1) such individual’s taxpayer identification 
number, and 
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‘‘(2) if the individual is married (within the 
meaning of section 7703), the taxpayer identification 
number of such individual’s spouse. 
‘‘(e) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any taxable 
year beginning after 2023, the dollar amounts in 
subsections (a) and (b) shall be increased by an 
amount equal to— 
‘‘(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by 
‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter-
mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 
year in which the taxable year begins, deter-
mined by substituting ‘calendar year 2022’ for 
‘calendar year 2016’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) 
thereof. 
‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—If any amount as adjusted 
under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $0.01, such 
amount shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple 
of $0.01.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 
1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by 
section 4, is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 32A the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 32B. Credit for adults and families.’’. 
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(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2022. 
Æ 
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