I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5214 
To amend the Social Security Act, the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 
and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to require 
that the value of child’s savings accounts be disregarded for the purpose 
of determining eligibility to receive benefits under such Acts; and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 12, 2016 
Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. RIBBLE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
SMITH of Washington, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. HINOJOSA, and 
Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agri-
culture, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Social Security Act, the Food and Nutrition 
Act of 2008, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assist-
ance Act of 1981 to require that the value of child’s 
savings accounts be disregarded for the purpose of deter-
mining eligibility to receive benefits under such Acts; 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children’s Savings Ac-
counts Offer Parents Plenty Of Reasons To Understand 
and Invest in Tuition Yearly Act’’ or the ‘‘CSA OPPOR-
TUNITY Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CHILD’S
SAVINGS
ACCOUNT.—The term 
‘‘child’s savings account’’ means a trust created or 
organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the 
qualified expenses of only an individual who, when 
the trust is created or organized, has not attained 
18 years of age, if the written governing instrument 
creating the trust contains the following require-
ments: 
(A) The trustee is a federally insured fi-
nancial institution, or a State insured financial 
institution if a federally insured financial insti-
tution is not available. 
(B) The assets of the trust will be invested 
in accordance with the direction of the indi-
vidual or of a parent or guardian of the indi-
vidual, after consultation with the entity pro-
viding the initial contribution to the trust or, if 
applicable, a matching or other contribution for 
the individual. 
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(C) The assets of the trust will not be 
commingled with other property except in a 
common trust fund or common investment 
fund. 
(D) Any amount in the trust that is attrib-
utable to an account seed or matched deposit 
may be paid or distributed from the trust only 
for the purpose of paying qualified expenses of 
the individual. 
(2) QUALIFIED EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘quali-
fied expenses’’ means, with respect to an individual, 
expenses that— 
(A) are incurred after the individual re-
ceives a secondary school diploma or its recog-
nized equivalent; and 
(B) are— 
(i) postsecondary educational expenses 
(as defined in section 529 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986) of the individual; 
(ii) for the purchase of a first home 
by the individual; or 
(iii) for the capitalization of a busi-
ness owned by the individual. 
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TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 
SEC. 101. INTEREST IN, AND DISTRIBUTION FROM, A QUALI-
FIED TUITION PROGRAM REQUIRED TO BE 
DISREGARDED UNDER THE TANF PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(a) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(13) REQUIREMENT TO DISREGARD INTEREST 
IN AND DISTRIBUTION FROM, A QUALIFIED TUITION 
PROGRAM.—A State to which a grant is made under 
section 403 shall disregard the value of any interest 
in, or distribution from, a qualified tuition program 
(as defined in section 529(b) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986), in determining the eligibility of, 
and the amount or type of assistance to be provided 
to an individual or family under the State program 
funded under this part.’’. 
(b) PENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 409(a) of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(17) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO DISREGARD 
INTEREST IN, OR DISTRIBUTION FROM, A QUALIFIED 
TUITION PROGRAM.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary finds 
that a State to which a grant is made under 
section 403 for a fiscal year has failed to com-
ply with section 408(a)(13) during the fiscal 
year, the Secretary shall reduce the grant oth-
erwise payable to the State under section 
403(a)(1) for the succeeding fiscal year by the 
percentage specified in subparagraph (B) of 
this paragraph. 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT
OF
REDUCTION.—The re-
duction required under subparagraph (A) shall 
be— 
‘‘(i) not less than 1 nor more than 2 
percent; 
‘‘(ii) not less than 2 nor more than 3 
percent, if the finding is the 2nd consecu-
tive finding made pursuant to subpara-
graph (A); or 
‘‘(iii) not less than 3 nor more than 5 
percent, if the finding is the 3rd or a sub-
sequent consecutive such finding.’’. 
(2) NO EXCEPTION FOR REASONABLE CAUSE.— 
Section 409(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(b)(2)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘or (13)’’ and inserting 
‘‘(13), or (17)’’. 
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SEC. 102. EXCLUSION OF INTEREST IN, AND DISTRIBUTION 
FROM, 
A 
QUALIFIED 
TUITION 
PROGRAM 
FROM RESOURCES UNDER THE SSI PRO-
GRAM. 
Section 1613(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1382b(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(16); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (17) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (17) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(18) the value of any interest in, or distribu-
tion from, a qualified tuition program (as defined in 
section 529(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986).’’. 
SEC. 103. CHILD’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT REQUIRED TO BE 
DISREGARDED UNDER THE TANF PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(a)(13) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)), as amended by section 
101(a) of this Act, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(13)’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘A State’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(13) REQUIREMENT TO DISREGARD INTEREST 
IN, AND DISTRIBUTION FROM, A QUALIFIED TUITION 
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PROGRAM, AND VALUE OF A CHILD’S SAVINGS AC-
COUNT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘and the value of any child’s 
savings account (as defined in section 2 of the CSA 
OPPORTUNITY Act)’’ after ‘‘1986)’’. 
(b) 
PENALTY
FOR
NONCOMPLIANCE.—Section 
409(a)(17) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(17)), as added 
by section 101(b)(1) of this Act, is amended in the para-
graph heading, by inserting ‘‘OR VALUE OF A CHILD’S SAV-
INGS ACCOUNT’’ after ‘‘PROGRAM’’. 
SEC. 104. EXCLUSION OF CHILD’S SAVINGS ACCOUNT FROM 
RESOURCES UNDER THE SSI PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1613(a) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)), as amended by section 
102 of this Act, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(17); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (18) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(19) any child’s savings account (as defined in 
section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY Act), includ-
ing accrued interest or other earnings thereon.’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1613(e)(5) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382b(e)(5)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘of this Act or section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY 
Act’’ before the period. 
TITLE II—AMENDMENT TO THE 
FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT 
OF 2008 
SEC. 201. EXCLUSION OF CHILD’S SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 
FROM 
RESOURCES 
UNDER 
THE 
SUPPLE-
MENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
Section 5(g) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
(7 U.S.C. 2014(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(9) EXCLUSION
OF
CHILD’S
SAVINGS
AC-
COUNTS
FROM
ALLOWABLE
FINANCIAL
RE-
SOURCES.— 
‘‘(A) EXCLUSION.—The Secretary shall ex-
clude from financial resources under this sub-
section the value of funds in any child’s savings 
account. 
‘‘(B) CHILD’S
SAVINGS
ACCOUNT.—For 
purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘child’s 
savings account’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY 
Act.’’. 
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TITLE III—AMENDMENT TO LOW- 
INCOME HOME ENERGY AS-
SISTANCE ACT OF 1981 
SEC. 201. EXCLUSION OF CHILD’S SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 
FROM RESOURCES UNDER THE LOW-INCOME 
HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
Section 2605(f) of the Low-Income Home Energy As-
sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF CHILD’S SAVINGS ACCOUNTS 
FROM ALLOWABLE FINANCIAL RESOURCES.— 
‘‘(A) EXCLUSION.—The income of a household 
shall be determined under this section without re-
gard to the value of funds in any child’s savings ac-
count. 
‘‘(B) CHILD’S
SAVINGS
ACCOUNT.—For pur-
poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘child’s savings 
account’ has the meaning given such term in section 
2 of the CSA OPPORTUNITY Act.’’. 
Æ 
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