I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2336 
To authorize the establishment of HOPE Account Pilot Projects, HOPE 
Action Plans Pilot Projects, and competitive grants for pilot projects. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2021 
Mr. MORELLE (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Serv-
ices, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Agri-
culture, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, 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 authorize the establishment of HOPE Account Pilot 
Projects, HOPE Action Plans Pilot Projects, and com-
petitive grants for pilot projects. 
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 ‘‘Health, Opportunity, 
and Personal Empowerment Act of 2021’’ or ‘‘HOPE Act 
of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following: 
(1) In 2018, according to the Department of 
Agriculture, 37,200,000 individuals in the United 
States (including 11,100,000 children) lived in food 
insecure households. That equals 1 in 9 individuals 
and 1 in 7 children. 
(2) In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 
food insecurity in the United States soared, with the 
Census Household Pulse Survey finding that at least 
22 percent of Americans, and 28 percent of children 
in the United States, suffered from food insecurity 
in the height of the pandemic. 
(3) In 2018, according to the Bureau of the 
Census, 
34,000,000 
individuals 
(including 
10,500,000 children) lived below the Federal poverty 
line. The majority of these individuals living in pov-
erty were working people, children, older individuals, 
and individuals with disabilities. 
(4) Many low-income individuals work multiple 
jobs and, contrary to common misconceptions, if un-
employed, they spend a great deal of time looking 
for work. They often travel by public transportation, 
laboriously making multiple connections to shuttle 
between home, work, social service agencies, houses 
of worship, and grocery stores. For those living in 
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rural and suburban areas far from work and without 
adequate public transportation they rely upon vehi-
cles to get to work, but these are often less reliable 
secondhand vehicles, that often break down. From 
traveling greater distances between available jobs 
and livable areas with affordable housing options, 
seeking out scarce childcare options that fit a tight 
budget and a constrained travel schedule, and caring 
for elderly parents or grandparents because a senior 
living facility is not financially realistic, low-income 
individuals have little spare time. 
(5) While government safety net programs help 
tens of million of individuals avoid starvation, home-
lessness, and other outcomes even more dreadful 
than everyday poverty, there are significant obstacles 
that those seeking and maintaining government as-
sistance face for as long as they are eligible. Quali-
fied applicants are often required to travel signifi-
cant distances to multiple government offices, pre-
paring and submitting piles of nearly identical pa-
perwork to access the different government assist-
ance programs. Even when the application process 
begins online, the eligible applicant is typically still 
required to physically follow up with each govern-
ment office with physical copies, for near identical 
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meetings. As a result, many low-income people are 
actually unaware of all the government benefits for 
which they are eligible, reducing the amount of help 
going to individuals in need by tens of billions of 
dollars every year. The lines in these offices can 
seem endless, and sometimes clients need to wait 
outside, for hours, in the worst kinds of weather. 
Many offices don’t have weekend or night hours, so 
an applicant is at risk of losing wages when often 
their only option is to apply for government help 
during work hours. 
(6) Each year, many vital government programs 
go underutilized because eligible beneficiaries are 
hindered by obtrusive, time consuming, and repet-
itive application barriers. In 2017, according to the 
Department of Agriculture, 16 percent of all people 
eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram (SNAP), 53 percent of the ‘‘working poor’’ eli-
gible for SNAP, and 52 percent of adults over 60 
who were eligible failed to receive it. 
(7) The United States has hundreds of thou-
sands of nonprofit groups providing high quality and 
much needed social services, but it is nearly impos-
sible for struggling people to determine which of 
those organizations provides services they need, 
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whether the organization is conveniently located, and 
for which services they are eligible. If they do deter-
mine that a nonprofit (or multiple nonprofits) could 
help, they need to take yet more time to visit each 
one. 
(8) Since many government and nonprofit pro-
grams require frequent reapplications and recertifi-
cations, a low-income person often has to repeat the 
same endless and frustrating process. 
(9) Technology has fundamentally revamped the 
lives of most individuals, usually for the better. Ac-
cording to the Pew Research Center, 71 percent of 
low-income individuals have a smart phone as of 
2019 (not because a smart phone is a luxury but be-
cause it is an essential tool of learning and work in 
modern America) but they rarely can use these de-
vices to apply for benefits. Digital technology, com-
bined with policy improvements, can simplify the 
lives and boost the long-term self-sufficiency of our 
lowest income residents. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
(1) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 
means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of 
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Housing and Urban Development, acting collabo-
ratively. 
(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible pilot 
community’’ means a State, unit of general purpose 
local government, Tribal government, or an entity 
that represents a smaller geographical area therein 
(including a neighborhood). 
(3) TARGET POPULATION.—The term ‘‘target 
population’’ includes an individual or household 
that— 
(A) earns an income below 200 percent of 
the Federal poverty line, 
(B) suffers from food insecurity, 
(C) earns insufficient income to ensure 
food security or economic security, 
(D) lives in a rural, suburban, or urban 
community that suffers from poverty, hunger, 
or food insecurity, 
(E) is homeless, 
(F) receives (or recently received) assist-
ance under a State program funded under part 
A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. et seq.), relating to temporary assistance 
to needy families, 
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(G) is eligible for benefits under any Fed-
eral nutrition assistance program or Federal 
antipoverty program, or 
(H) is formerly a youth in transition from 
foster care or the juvenile detention facilities. 
(4) PARTNER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The 
term ‘‘partner nonprofit organization’’ means any 
national, regional, State, or local nonprofit group de-
scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 
501(a) of such Code. 
SEC. 4. HOPE ACCOUNTS PILOT PROJECTS. 
(a) PILOT PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretaries 
shall allow eligible entities that apply to do so—based on 
an application to be created by the Secretaries—to carry 
out HOPE (Health, Opportunity, and Personal Empower-
ment) Accounts Pilot Projects (in this section referred to 
as Projects) to enable target populations of individuals to 
establish through banks, credit unions, and any govern-
mental or Tribal agencies HOPE accounts that enable 
such individuals— 
(1) to have their paychecks deposited directly in 
such accounts, 
(2) to use such accounts to increase savings 
that would be matched with funds provided by gov-
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ernment and private sources, including individual de-
velopment accounts, 
(3) to use an account app on a smart phone to 
easily locate and sign-up for job training and place-
ment services online, 
(4) to enable such individuals to use any smart 
phone, tablet, or computer— 
(A) to learn about the public and philan-
thropic programs that provide benefits to such 
individuals, including aid to improve health, nu-
trition, job training and placement, housing, in-
come and to receive Federal and State tax cred-
its, and 
(B) to apply for, submit eligibility docu-
ments for, enroll in, and manage the use of 
such benefits at once through the convenience 
of their device if individuals or their households 
are eligible for 1 or more of such benefits, 
(5) to receive a basic smart phone, tablet, or 
computer, along with a subsidized internet Wi-Fi ac-
cess plan, if such individuals do not own a smart 
phone, tablet, or computer, 
(6) to obtain the access and information de-
scribed in paragraph (4) with assistance at libraries, 
government offices, or nonprofit agencies if such in-
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dividuals are uncomfortable using internet tech-
nology themselves, 
(7) to obtain access to the information de-
scribed in paragraph (4), with the assistance of gov-
ernment or nonprofit employees, AmeriCorps na-
tional service participants, or Senior Corps members, 
to receive home visits if such individuals are elderly 
or disabled, 
(8) to access health care information that speci-
fies medical benefits, and any out-of-pocket costs, 
for each of the health plans for which such individ-
uals may be eligible, and to empower them to easily 
select the plan that works best for them, 
(9) enable such individuals to file directly (and 
without expending funds to obtain third-party tax 
filing services) to obtain Federal tax credits and re-
funds, and in States and localities with their own 
supplemental tax credits, to simultaneously file for 
those, 
(10) to deposit cash in the account that is set 
aside for education, job training, starting a business, 
or buying a home and that would be nontaxable, 
(11) to easily access and monitor, in 1 central 
online account— 
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(A) to be able to check the status, 
amounts, and recertification deadlines for some 
or all their benefits and savings, and 
(B) to pay all bills online, saving high 
check cashing fees and enormous amounts of 
time, 
(12) to budget their resources by using real- 
time cash flow data and long-term financial planning 
data, including calculating how much they would 
lose in interest on credit cards versus how much 
they would gain in interest by saving more, 
(13) to access calendar and scheduling func-
tions that enable them to keep track of all job 
search, work, family, and school obligations, as well 
as any social service filing or appointment dates, 
(14) to be protected by security and privacy 
systems so that only such individuals, and not the 
government, nonprofit, or banking partners would be 
able to see or track private financial and appoint-
ment information, and 
(15) notwithstanding other provisions of law, to 
allow program applicants to easily and clearly au-
thorize their sharing of personal and financial infor-
mation with multiple government agencies, solely for 
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the purpose of those government agencies enabling 
those to apply for and utilize government benefits. 
(b) FISCAL YEARS.—Pilot projects authorized by 
subsection (a) shall be carried out for a 1-year period in 
each of the fiscal years 2021 through 2026. 
SEC. 5. HOPE ACTION PLANS PILOT PROJECTS. 
(a) PILOT PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretaries 
shall allow eligible entities that apply to do so—based on 
an application to be created by the Secretaries—to carry 
out HOPE Action Plans Pilot Projects to enable target 
populations of individuals to partner with government and 
nonprofit organizations by entering into voluntary agree-
ments to carry out long-term HOPE action plans that— 
(1) specify exactly how the parties to such plans 
will help such individuals and their families earn, 
learn, and save better in order to ensure greater eco-
nomic opportunity for themselves and their children 
by working together in a long-term, positive relation-
ship for the purpose of ensuring upward mobility, 
(2) could empower such individuals and their 
families to better organize their time and focus their 
activities on productive endeavors while providing 
them extra resources to do so, 
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(3) could be short-term, over just a year or 2, 
and aimed at helping families achieve very basic 
goals, such as avoiding homelessness and hunger, 
(4) could be long-term with far more ambitious 
goals for upward mobility, and 
(5) would require that participating individuals 
and families, government entities, and nonprofit 
partners have equal rights to hold each other ac-
countable for plan outcomes and funding. 
(b) FISCAL YEARS.—Pilot projects authorized by 
subsection (a) shall be carried out in each of the fiscal 
years 2021 through 2026. 
SEC. 6. COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR PILOT PROJECTS. 
(a) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—The Secretaries shall 
each create grant application processes to competitively 
make grants to eligible entities to aid target populations. 
To be eligible to receive a grant for a fiscal year under 
this section, eligible entities shall submit to the appro-
priate Secretary an application that contains a description 
of how the applicant proposes to use the grant funds to 
implement the components of the pilot projects authorized 
by this section. Applications shall be submitted in such 
form, at such time, and containing such other information 
as the Secretaries may require. 
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(b) FORM OF GRANTS.—If a Secretary finds it appro-
priate, the Secretary may use cooperative agreements, as 
described in section 6305 of title 31, United States Code, 
for purposes of making grants under this section. 
(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Grants made under this 
section shall range in amounts from $250,000 to 
$3,000,000, and should be proportionate to the geo-
graphical size, project complexity, and number of individ-
uals participating in each project. Eligible entities may re-
ceive grants made under this section by 2 or more of the 
Secretaries. To the extent funds are available, each Sec-
retary shall make not fewer than 8 such grants annually. 
(d) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—To the extent prac-
ticable, the Secretaries shall make grants for pilot projects 
that operate statewide, as well as pilot projects designed 
to serve specific rural, urban, and suburban areas. To the 
extent practicable, pilot projects for which grants are 
made shall be distributed among diverse administrative re-
gions of Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
the Department of Health and Human Services, and the 
Department of Agriculture. 
(e) PREFERENCE.—For purposes of making grants 
under this section, preference shall be given for pilot 
projects that— 
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(1) serve individuals in historically under- 
served, high-poverty, rural and urban communities, 
(2) simultaneously test both HOPE Accounts 
and HOPE Action Plans, 
(3) involve low-income individuals as equal part-
ners in project planning and implementation, 
(4) make additional funds available directly to 
low-income households through action plans, either 
through government payments or through nonprofit 
subgrantees, 
(5) are matched by considerable non-Federal 
funds without penalizing very-low income, under- 
served rural and urban communities that cannot 
provide non-Federal matching funds, 
(6) propose concrete plans for long-term sus-
tainability and expansions without future Federal 
grant funds, 
(7) assist low-income households to apply for 
the Federal earned income tax credits and State tax 
credits, 
(8) provide resources in both English and addi-
tional languages commonly spoken in that jurisdic-
tion, 
(9) prioritize client-facing, fully tested, tech-
nology and mobile device applications, 
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(10) include a robust monitoring and evaluation 
planning and reporting plan, including proposed 
staffing and reporting for that plan, including re-
porting on the extent to which the pilot makes it 
easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income Ameri-
cans to access a variety of benefits, the extent to 
which the pilot will save administrative funds over 
the long-run, the extent to which the accuracy and 
integrity of the benefits programs included are main-
tained or improved, and the extent to which low-in-
come households are able to more easily obtain free 
or low-cost banking services, 
(11) subcontract part of the pilot project imple-
mentation work to United States-based private busi-
nesses, banks, savings and loans, credit unions, co- 
ops and section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations 
with relevant, successful experience in similar or re-
lated project activities, 
(12) incorporate a benefits calculator to enable 
applicants to learn how the receipt of some benefits 
might or might not impact whether they are eligible 
for other benefits and might impact the amount of 
those other benefits for which they are eligible, 
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(13) include planning and funding for the pilot 
entities to train their staffs and clients to utilize the 
new technologies, 
(14) in rural and other areas without strong 
broad-band service, integrate activities under this 
grant with other activities to strengthen local-broad 
band service, 
(15) enable low-income Americans to obtain 
free or reduced price smart phones and free or re-
duced-price data services, 
(16) ensure that people without personal smart 
phone, tablet, or computer access are able to benefit 
from the systems and technological improvements in 
the pilot projects at public locations such as public 
libraries, community centers, and social service of-
fices, 
(17) propose a detailed, workable plan to thor-
oughly beta test and field test any new technologies 
or systems in this pilot before making them available 
to all households, individuals, or the entire pilot 
area, and 
(18) identify the applicable Federal, State, 
local, or Tribal statutory and regulatory authorities, 
including waiver authorities, to be potentially lever-
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aged to most effectively implement the proposed 
pilot project. 
SEC. 7. HOPE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CONTRACTS. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag-
riculture and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment, shall hold a merit-based competition to award 
HOPE Technology Innovation Contracts to United States- 
based private businesses and section 501(c)(3) nonprofit 
organizations with relevant, successful experience in tech-
nology, to create technology apps, widgets, and templates 
that pilot entities can use to create HOPE accounts. 
(b) NUMBER OF CONTRACTS.—The Secretary will 
award no more than 10 and not fewer than 2 such con-
tracts each fiscal year. 
(c) SIZE OF CONTRACTS.—Contracts may range in 
size from $200,000 to $4,500,000. 
(d) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—All technologies 
developed with these funds will be open-sourced and avail-
able to the public for free. 
(e) HOUSEHOLD DATA.—No contractor should have 
access to any client or household data through this project, 
except in cases they are also contractors or subgrantees 
for pilot entities, in which case they would have limited, 
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functional access to such data. In no case shall a con-
tractor share or sell client or household data. 
(f) PREFERENCES.—Preferences should be given to 
contracts that ensure the following: 
(1) Client facing technology with top pref-
erences mobile device applications and uses and sec-
ondary preferences to tablet and computer and 
texting uses. 
(2) Incorporate fail-safe systems to maintain 
the privacy and security of data. 
(3) Are easily adaptable at the lowest possible 
financial costs with the least possible staff time by 
pilot entities and other State, county, city, munic-
ipal, and Tribal governments in a manner that can 
easily be utilized by low-income Americans. 
(4) Build in the ability to be easily updated as 
technologies evolve. 
SEC. 8. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND NONDISPLACE-
MENT OF WORKERS. 
None of the pilot projects carried out under this Act 
shall do any of the following: 
(1) Decrease the overall monetary value of Fed-
eral, State, local, or Tribal government funding as-
sistance given to any individual or family, although 
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