I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2649 
To provide for a Federal match for earned income credit expansion for 
Puerto Rico. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 9, 2019 
Mr. PASCRELL (for himself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HIGGINS of New 
York, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE of 
California, and Miss GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N of Puerto Rico) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for a Federal match for earned income credit 
expansion for Puerto Rico. 
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 ‘‘Tax Equity and Pros-
perity for Puerto Rican Families Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. EARNED INCOME CREDIT EXPANSION FOR PUERTO 
RICO. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsequent to an amendment of 
the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011 expanding 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:42 May 22, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2649.IH
H2649
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
the earned income credit added by Act 257–2018 in a 
manner that both reduces poverty and encourages labor 
force participation, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
make annual payments to Puerto Rico in the amount de-
termined under subsection (b). Such payments shall be 
made only if Puerto Rico provides to the Secretary of the 
Treasury— 
(1) a report prepared by the Secretary of the 
Treasury of Puerto Rico of the estimated cost of 
such expansion in the first year that the expanded 
earned income credit will be paid by Puerto Rico; 
and 
(2) annually thereafter, a report prepared by 
the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico of the 
estimated cost of such expansion in the year of the 
report and an updated estimate of the actual cost of 
such expansion in the preceding year. 
Puerto Rico shall submit to the Secretary the report in 
paragraph (1) or (2) on or after January 15 of the year 
in which the expanded earned income credit will be paid 
in Puerto Rico, and the Secretary shall make each annual 
payment within three weeks of receiving the report. 
(b) ANNUAL PAYMENT.— 
(1) The payment in any year shall comprise the 
base payment for that year and the adjustment for 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:42 May 22, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2649.IH
H2649
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
any underpayment or overpayment made in the prior 
year. 
(2) The base payment for a year shall be the 
estimated cost for that year under subsection (a) or 
$612,000,000, whichever is less. 
(3) The adjustment for a year shall be an in-
crease equal to any underpayment in the prior year, 
or a decrease equal to any overpayment in the prior 
year. 
(A) An underpayment in the prior year is 
the amount by which the base payment in the 
prior year would have been higher if the esti-
mated cost in the prior year under subsection 
(a) had equaled the updated estimate of the ac-
tual cost in the prior year under subsection 
(a)(2). 
(B) An overpayment in the prior year is 
the amount by which the base payment in the 
prior year would have been lower if the esti-
mated cost in the prior year under subsection 
(a) had equaled the updated estimate of the ac-
tual cost in the prior year under subsection 
(a)(2). 
(c) COST OF EXPANSION.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the cost of expanding the earned income credit in 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:42 May 22, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2649.IH
H2649
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
Puerto Rico as described in subsection (a) for a year shall 
include only the cost of the amendments made as de-
scribed in such subsection relative to the cost of laws in 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act as if those 
laws had remained in effect. 
(d) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—When the Sec-
retary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico submits to the Sec-
retary of the Treasury the report in subsection (a), then 
the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico shall submit 
at the same time a separate report on the application of 
the Puerto Rico earned income credit, including the num-
ber of beneficiaries and household composition, average 
benefits for different households, participation rates for el-
igible populations, error rates and other compliance mat-
ters, and the effects of the credit on labor force participa-
tion and poverty reduction. 
(e) OUTREACH GRANT.—In addition to the payments 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
make a one-time grant in the amount of $5,000,000 to 
Puerto Rico immediately after the enactment by Puerto 
Rico of an expansion of its earned income credit as re-
ferred to in subsection (a), for the purpose of taxpayer 
education efforts relating to the earned income credit, in-
cluding education of paid tax preparers. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:42 May 22, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2649.IH
H2649
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
(f) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are hereby appro-
priated to the Secretary of the Treasury such sums as are 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. 
(g) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For each calendar year be-
ginning after the year of the first payment made 
under subsection (b), the $612,000,000 amount in 
that subsection 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) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986, determined by sub-
stituting the calendar year preceding the year 
of the first payment made under subsection (b) 
for ‘‘2016’’ in subparagraph (A)(ii) thereof. 
(2) ROUNDING.—If any amount calculated 
under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $500, such 
amount shall be rounded to the next lower multiple 
of $500. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:42 May 22, 2019
Jkt 089200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2649.IH
H2649
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS