I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2861
To improve the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance
for needy families.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 6, 1997
Mr. SCHUMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Com-
merce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To improve the program of block grants to States for
temporary assistance for needy families.
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 ‘‘Welfare to Work Act
of 1997’’.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PROGRAM PURPOSE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 401 of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 601) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 401. PURPOSE.
‘‘The purpose of this part is to—
‘‘(1) help low income families attain work and
economic self-sufficiency;
‘‘(2) provide assistance to needy families so that
children may be cared for in their own homes or in
the homes of relatives;
‘‘(3) break the cycle of dependence of needy
parents on government benefits by requiring job
preparation and work;
‘‘(4) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-
wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical
goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of
these pregnancies; and
‘‘(5) encourage the formation and maintenance
of two-parent families.’’.
(b) CONFORMING CHANGE IN NAME OF PROGRAM.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—
(A) The title heading of title I of the Per-
sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘TEMPORARY’’.
(B) The part heading of part A of title IV
of the Social Security Act is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘TEMPORARY’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) The Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et
seq.) is amended in the first section 255(h) (2
U.S.C. 905(h)), by striking ‘‘temporary’’.
(B) The heading of clause (ii) of section
116(b)(1)(B) of the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is
amended by striking ‘‘TEMPORARY’’.
SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO
WORK.
(a) MODIFICATIONS
TO REQUIRED CONTENTS
OF
STATE PLANS.—Section 402(a)(1) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)—
(A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and become
self-sufficient’’ and inserting ‘‘, become self-suf-
ficient, or earn their benefits’’; and
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘24 months
(whether or not consecutive)’’ and inserting ‘‘3
months’’; and
(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking clause (iv).
(b) NEW WORK REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 407 of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607) is amended to read as
follows:
‘‘SEC. 407. WORK REQUIREMENTS.
‘‘(a) WORK REQUIRED AFTER 3 MONTHS.—Except
as provided in subsection (b), after a State has provided
assistance for 3 months (whether or not consecutive) to
an adult or a head of household under the State program
funded under this part, the State shall ensure that, for
any period for which the adult or head of household is
provided with such assistance, the adult or head of house-
hold is engaged in work activities for a number of hours
in the period that is not less than—
‘‘(1) the dollar amount of the assistance so pro-
vided during the period; divided by
‘‘(2) the minimum wage rate in effect for the
period under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938.
‘‘(b) STATE AUTHORITY TO MAKE EXEMPTIONS FOR
GOOD CAUSE.—A State shall not be considered to be in
violation of subsection (a) for a period by reason of the
failure of the State to ensure that, during the period, an
adult or a head of household is engaged in work activities
as required by subsection (a) if—
‘‘(1) the State determines that there is good
cause not to require the adult or head of household
to engage in work activities for the period; and
‘‘(2) during the period, such a determination is
in effect with respect to not more than 10 percent
of the adults and heads of households receiving as-
sistance under the State plan funded under this
part.
‘‘(c) WORK ACTIVITIES DEFINED.—As used in this
section, the term ‘work activities’ means—
‘‘(1) unsubsidized employment;
‘‘(2) subsidized private sector employment;
‘‘(3) subsidized public sector employment;
‘‘(4) work experience (including work associated
with the refurbishing of publicly assisted housing) if
sufficient private sector employment is not available;
‘‘(5) on-the-job training;
‘‘(6) community service programs;
‘‘(7) vocational educational training (not to ex-
ceed 6 months with respect to any individual);
‘‘(8) education directly related to employment,
in the case of a recipient who has not received a
high school diploma or a certificate of high school
equivalency; and
‘‘(9) satisfactory attendance at secondary school
or in a course of study leading to a certificate of
general equivalence, in the case of a recipient who
has not completed secondary school or received such
a certificate.
‘‘(d) NONDISPLACEMENT IN WORK ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),
an adult in a family receiving assistance under a
State program funded under this part attributable to
funds provided by the Federal Government may fill
a vacant employment position in order to engage in
a work activity.
‘‘(2) NO FILLING OF CERTAIN VACANCIES.—No
adult in a work activity which is funded, in whole or
in part, by funds provided by the Federal Govern-
ment shall be employed or assigned—
‘‘(A) when any other individual is on layoff
from the same or any substantially equivalent
job; or
‘‘(B) if the employer has terminated the
employment of any regular employee or other-
wise caused an involuntary reduction of its
workforce in order to fill the vacancy so created
with an adult described in paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE.—A State with a
program funded under this part shall establish and
maintain a grievance procedure for resolving com-
plaints of alleged violations of paragraph (2).
‘‘(4) NO PREEMPTION.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall preempt or supersede any provision of
State or local law that provides greater protection
for employees from displacement.
‘‘(e) REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE WORK
PROGRAMS.—During fiscal year 1999, the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Finance of the Senate shall hold hearings
and engage in other appropriate activities to review the
implementation of this section by the States, and shall in-
vite the Governors of the States to testify before them re-
garding such implementation. Based on such hearings,
such Committees may introduce such legislation as may
be appropriate to remedy any problems with the State pro-
grams operated pursuant to this section.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(A) The heading of section 409(a)(3) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(3)) is
amended by striking ‘‘SATISFY MINIMUM PAR-
TICIPATION RATES’’ and inserting ‘‘MEET WORK
REQUIREMENTS’’.
(B) Section 411(a)(1)(A)(xii) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 611(a)(1)(A)(xii)) is
amended by striking ‘‘calculate minimum par-
ticipation rates under’’ and inserting ‘‘deter-
mine degree of compliance with’’.
‘‘(A) the dollar value of the assistance that
would otherwise be provided to the family for
the month under the State program funded
under this part; or
‘‘(B)(i) the aggregate number of hours
during the immediately preceding month that
the adult (or adults) in the family is (or are)
engaged in such activities; multiplied by
‘‘(ii) the minimum wage rate in effect
under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938.’’.
(d) PENALTY APPLICABLE TO STATES FOR FAILURE
TO MAKE REQUIRED MONTHLY CASH PAYMENTS
TO
FAMILIES ENGAGING IN REQUIRED WORK ACTIVITIES.—
Section 409(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
609(a), as amended by section 7(b)(1) of this Act, is
amended by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
‘‘(6) FAILURE TO MAKE REQUIRED MONTHLY
CASH
PAYMENTS
TO
FAMILIES
ENGAGING
IN
RE-
QUIRED WORK ACTIVITIES.—If the Secretary deter-
mines that, during a fiscal year, a State has not pro-
vided to a family engaging in work activities re-
quired pursuant to section 407 a monthly cash pay-
ment in the amount required by section 408(a)(7),
the Secretary shall reduce the grant payable to the
State under section 403(a)(1) for the immediately
succeeding fiscal year by an amount equal to 3 times
the difference (whether positive or negative) between
the amount so required to be paid to the family for
the month and the amount paid to the family for the
month under the State program funded under this
part.’’.
(e) EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES EXCEPTION TO
MEDICAID DISQUALIFICATION FOR ADULTS WHO FAIL
TO MEET WORK REQUIREMENT.—Section 1931(b)(3) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396v(b)(3)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(C) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY MEDI-
CAL
SERVICES.—Subparagraph (A) shall not
apply to terminate medical assistance for care
and services that are necessary for the treat-
ment of an emergency medical condition (as de-
fined in section 1903(v)(3)) and that are not
related to an organ transplant procedure.’’.
SEC. 4. INCREASED COMMITMENT TO CHILD CARE.
(a) INCREASED CHILD CARE FUNDING.—Section
418(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3))
is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) APPROPRIATION.—For grants under this
section, there are appropriated—
‘‘(A) $2,967,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;
‘‘(B) $3,067,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;
‘‘(C) $3,167,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
‘‘(D) $3,367,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
and
‘‘(E) 
$3,567,000,000 
for 
fiscal 
year
2002.’’.
(b) CHILD CARE REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED TO
FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN UNDER AGE 6.—Section
408(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(12) PROVISION OF CHILD CARE TO FAMILIES
WITH A CHILD UNDER AGE 6.—A State to which a
grant is made under section 403 shall take such
steps as may be necessary to ensure that each family
receiving assistance under the State program funded
under this part is provided with child care for any
child in the family who has not attained 6 years of
age.’’.
(c) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE REQUIRED
CHILD CARE.—Section 409(a) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 609(a)), as amended by section 5(b) of this
Act, is amended by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(9) FAILURE TO PROVIDE REQUIRED CHILD
CARE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter-
mines that a State to which a grant is made
under section 403 for a fiscal year has violated
section 408(a)(12) during the fiscal year, the
Secretary shall reduce the grant payable to the
State under section 403(a)(1) for the imme-
diately succeeding fiscal year by an amount
equal to not more than 10 percent of the State
family assistance grant.
‘‘(B) PENALTY
BASED
ON
SEVERITY
OF
FAILURE.—The Secretary shall impose reduc-
tions under subparagraph (A) with respect to a
fiscal year based on the degree of noncompli-
ance.’’.
(d) ELIMINATION OF PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO
MAINTAIN ASSISTANCE TO ADULT SINGLE CUSTODIAL
PARENTS WHO CANNOT OBTAIN CHILD CARE FOR CHILD
UNDER AGE 6.—Section 409(a) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by striking paragraph
(11).
SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF 5-YEAR LIMIT ON ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(a) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by striking para-
graph (7).
(b) ELIMINATION OF ASSOCIATED PENALTY.—Sec-
tion 409(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a))
is amended by striking paragraph (9).
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)(IV) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)(B)(i)(IV)) is
amended by striking ‘‘, families that would be eligi-
ble for such assistance but for the application of sec-
tion 408(a)(7) of this Act,’’.
(2) Section 411(a)(1)(A)(xvi) of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 611(a)(1)(A)(xvi)) is amend-
ed—
(A) by striking subclause (III); and
(C) by redesignating subclauses (IV) and
(V) as subclauses (III) and (IV), respectively.
SEC. 6. CHANGES RELATED TO GRANTS TO STATES.
(a) AMOUNT OF FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANT.—Sec-
tion 403(a)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
603(a)(1)(B)) is amended—
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘1992, 1993, and
1994’’ and inserting ‘‘1994, 1995, and 1996’’; and
(2) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘1994’’ and in-
serting ‘‘1996’’.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT FOR
OPERATION OF WORK PROGRAMS IN LIEU OF SUPPLE-
MENTAL GRANT FOR POPULATION INCREASES IN CER-
TAIN STATES AND BONUS TO REWARD HIGH PERFORM-
ANCE STATES.—Section 403(a) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 603(a)) is amended by striking paragraphs (3)
and (4) and inserting the following:
‘‘(3) SUPPLEMENTAL GRANT FOR OPERATION
OF WORK PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each eligible State
shall be entitled to receive from the Secretary
a grant, in an amount described in subpara-
graph (B), for each fiscal year specified in sub-
paragraph (C), which shall be used by the State
only to comply with section 407.
‘‘(B) AMOUNT
OF
GRANT.—The amount
described in this subparagraph with respect to
a State is the amount that bears the same ratio
to $1,000,000,000 as the amount of the State
family assistance grant bears to the total of the
State family assistance grants of all States.
‘‘(C) APPROPRIATION.—There are author-
ized to be appropriated for grants under this