I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2110 
To reauthorize the Assets for Independence Act, to provide for the approval 
of applications to operate new demonstration programs and to renew 
existing programs, to enhance program flexibility, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 22, 2013 
Mr. LEWIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To reauthorize the Assets for Independence Act, to provide 
for the approval of applications to operate new dem-
onstration programs and to renew existing programs, 
to enhance program flexibility, 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; REFERENCE; TABLE OF CON-
TENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reau-
thorization Act of 2013’’. 
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(b) REFERENCE.—Except as otherwise expressly pro-
vided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed 
in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, 
the reference shall be considered to be made to that sec-
tion or other provision of the Assets for Independence Act 
(42 U.S.C. 604 note). 
(c) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; reference; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 4. Definitions. 
Sec. 5. Applications. 
Sec. 6. Demonstration authority; annual grants. 
Sec. 7. Reserve Fund. 
Sec. 8. Eligibility for participation. 
Sec. 9. Deposits by qualified entities. 
Sec. 10. Regulations. 
Sec. 11. Annual progress reports. 
Sec. 12. Sanctions. 
Sec. 13. Evaluations. 
Sec. 14. Costs of training qualified entities. 
Sec. 15. Waiver authority. 
Sec. 16. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 17. Conforming amendments. 
Sec. 18. General effective date. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Section 402 is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Fully 1⁄2’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Almost 1⁄4’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the first sen-
tence and inserting the following: ‘‘Traditional pub-
lic assistance programs concentrate on income and 
consumption and have lacked an asset-building com-
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ponent to promote and support the transition to in-
creased economic self-sufficiency.’’. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that a qualified entity con-
ducting a demonstration project under the Assets for 
Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 note) should, to the 
maximum extent practicable, increase— 
(1) the rate at which the entity matches con-
tributions by individuals participating in the project 
under section 410(a)(1) of such Act; or 
(2) the number of individuals participating in 
the project. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 404 is amended— 
(1) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(4) 
HOUSEHOLD.—The 
term 
‘household’ 
means an individual or group of individuals who live 
in a single residence. Multiple households may share 
a single residence.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (5)(A)— 
(A) by striking clause (iii); 
(B) by redesignating clauses (iv) through 
(vi) as clauses (iii) through (v), respectively; 
and 
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(C) in clause (iv), as redesignated by sub-
paragraph (B), by striking ‘‘clause (vi)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘clause (v)’’; 
(3) in paragraph (7)(A)— 
(A) by amending clause (ii) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(ii) a State or local government 
agency (or a public housing agency, as de-
fined in section 3(b)(6) of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437a(b)(6))) or a tribal government (or a 
tribally designated housing entity, as de-
fined in section 4(22) of the Native Amer-
ican Housing Assistance and Self-Deter-
mination 
Act 
of 
1996 
(25 
U.S.C. 
4103(22)));’’; and 
(B) by striking clause (iii) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(iii) a credit union designated as a 
low-income credit union by the National 
Credit Union Administration (NCUA); or 
‘‘(iv) an organization designated as a 
community development financial institu-
tion by the Secretary of the Treasury (or 
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the Community Development Financial In-
stitutions Fund).’’; and 
(4) in paragraph (8)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)— 
(i) in the first sentence— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘of an eligible in-
dividual or the dependent of an eligi-
ble individual (as such term is used in 
subparagraph (E)(ii))’’ after ‘‘ex-
penses’’; and 
(II) by inserting ‘‘, or to a vendor 
pursuant to an education purchase 
plan approved by a qualified entity’’ 
before the period; 
(ii) in clause (i)— 
(I) in subclause (II), by inserting 
‘‘or for courses described in subclause 
(III)’’ after ‘‘eligible educational insti-
tution’’; and 
(II) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subclauses: 
‘‘(III) 
PREPARATORY 
COURSES.—Preparatory courses for 
an examination required for admission 
to an eligible educational institution, 
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for successful performance at an eligi-
ble educational institution, or for a 
professional licensing or certification 
examination. 
‘‘(IV) ROOM
AND
BOARD
AND 
TRANSPORTATION.—Room and board 
and transportation, including com-
muting expenses, necessary to enable 
attendance at courses of instruction at 
an eligible educational institution or 
attendance at courses described in 
subclause (III).’’; 
(iii) by amending clause (ii) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE EDUCATIONAL INSTI-
TUTION.—The term ‘eligible educational 
institution’ means— 
‘‘(I) an institution described in 
section 101 or 102 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1001, 1002); or 
‘‘(II) an area career and tech-
nical education school, as defined in 
section 3(3) of the Carl D. Perkins 
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Career and Technical Education Act 
of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302(3)).’’; and 
(iv) by adding at the end the following 
new clause: 
‘‘(iii) EDUCATION PURCHASE PLAN.— 
The term ‘education purchase plan’ means 
a plan— 
‘‘(I) for the purchase of items or 
services described in subclauses (II) 
through (IV) of clause (i) from enti-
ties other than eligible educational in-
stitutions; 
‘‘(II) that includes a description 
of the items or services to be pur-
chased; and 
‘‘(III) that includes such infor-
mation as a qualified entity may re-
quest from the eligible individual in-
volved regarding the necessity of the 
items or services to a course of study 
at an eligible educational institution 
or a course described in clause 
(i)(III).’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (B)— 
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(i) by amending clause (i) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(i) 
PRINCIPAL
RESIDENCE.—The 
term ‘principal residence’ means a main 
residence the qualified acquisition costs of 
which do not exceed 120 percent of the 
median house price in the area, as deter-
mined by the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development for purposes of section 
203(b) of the National Housing Act (12 
U.S.C. 1709(b)) for a residence occupied 
by a number of families that corresponds 
to the number of households occupying the 
residence involved.’’; and 
(ii) in clause (iii)— 
(I) by amending subclause (I) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to 
subclause (II), the term ‘qualified 
first-time homebuyer’ means an indi-
vidual participating in the project in-
volved who— 
‘‘(aa) has no sole present 
ownership interest in a principal 
residence during the 3-year pe-
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riod ending on the date of acqui-
sition of the principal residence 
to which this subparagraph ap-
plies (except for an interest in 
such principal residence); and 
‘‘(bb) has no co-ownership 
interest in a principal residence 
on the date of acquisition of the 
principal residence to which this 
subparagraph applies (except for 
an interest in such principal resi-
dence).’’; 
(II) by redesignating subclause 
(II) as subclause (III); and 
(III) by inserting after subclause 
(I) the following new subclause: 
‘‘(II) EXCEPTION
FOR
VICTIMS 
OF
DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE.—An indi-
vidual participating in the project in-
volved who is a recent or current vic-
tim of domestic violence (as defined in 
section 40002(a)(8) of the Violence 
Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
U.S.C. 13925(a)(8))) shall not be con-
sidered to fail to be a qualified first- 
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time homebuyer by reason of having a 
co-ownership interest in a principal 
residence with a person who com-
mitted domestic violence against the 
victim.’’; 
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 
and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec-
tively; 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) HOME
REPLACEMENT, REPAIR, OR 
IMPROVEMENT.—Qualified replacement costs or 
qualified repair or improvement costs with re-
spect to a principal residence, if paid from an 
individual development account directly to the 
persons to whom the amounts are due. In this 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(i) 
PRINCIPAL
RESIDENCE.—The 
term ‘principal residence’ means— 
‘‘(I) with respect to payment of 
qualified replacement costs, a main 
residence the qualified replacement 
costs of which do not exceed 120 per-
cent of the median house price in the 
area, as determined by the Secretary 
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of Housing and Urban Development 
for purposes of section 203(b) of the 
National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
1709(b)) for a residence occupied by a 
number of families that corresponds 
to the number of households occu-
pying the residence involved; or 
‘‘(II) with respect to qualified re-
pair or improvement costs, a main 
residence the value of which does not 
exceed, on the day before the com-
mencement of the repairs or improve-
ments, 120 percent of such median 
house price. 
‘‘(ii) 
QUALIFIED
REPLACEMENT 
COSTS.—The term ‘qualified replacement 
costs’ means the costs (including any usual 
or reasonable settlement, financing, or 
other closing costs) of replacing— 
‘‘(I) a manufactured home that 
was manufactured, assembled, or im-
ported for resale before the initial ef-
fectiveness of any Federal manufac-
tured home construction and safety 
standards established pursuant to sec-
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tion 604 of the National Manufac-
tured Housing Construction and Safe-
ty Standards Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
5403); or 
‘‘(II) a residence that fails to 
meet local building codes or is not le-
gally habitable. 
‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED
REPAIR
OR
IM-
PROVEMENT COSTS.—The term ‘qualified 
repair or improvement costs’ means the 
costs of making repairs or improvements 
(including any usual or reasonable financ-
ing costs) that will enhance the habitability 
or long-term value of a residence.’’; and 
(E) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(F) QUALIFIED
TUITION
PROGRAMS.— 
Contributions paid from an individual develop-
ment account of an eligible individual directly 
to a qualified tuition program (as defined in 
subsection (b) of section 529 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986), for the purpose of cov-
ering qualified higher education expenses (as 
defined in subsection (e)(3) of such section) of 
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a dependent of such individual (as such term is 
used in clause (ii) of subparagraph (E)).’’. 
SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS. 
Section 405 is amended— 
(1) in subsection (c)(4), by adding at the end 
the following: ‘‘Such funds include funds received 
under the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 
U.S.C. 9901 et seq.), the Indian Self-Determination 
and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b et 
seq.), the Native American Housing Assistance and 
Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et 
seq.), or title I of the Housing and Community De-
velopment Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) (in-
cluding Community Development Block Grant Act 
funds and Indian Community Development Block 
Grant Act funds), that are formally committed to 
the project.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(h) APPLICATIONS FOR NEW PROJECTS AND RE-
NEWALS OF EXISTING PROJECTS.—For project years be-
ginning on or after the date of the enactment of the Steph-
anie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reauthoriza-
tion Act of 2013, the previous provisions of this section 
shall only apply as follows: 
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‘‘(1) ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 
of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independ-
ence Reauthorization Act of 2013, the Secretary 
shall publicly announce the procedures by which a 
qualified entity may submit an application— 
‘‘(A) to conduct a demonstration project 
under this title; or 
‘‘(B) for renewal of authority to conduct a 
demonstration project under this title. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall, on a 
competitive basis, approve applications submitted 
pursuant to the procedures announced under para-
graph (1), taking into account the assessments re-
quired by subsection (c) and giving special consider-
ation to the applications described in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(3) SPECIAL
CONSIDERATION.—The applica-
tions described in this paragraph are the following: 
‘‘(A) Applications submitted by qualified 
entities proposing to conduct demonstration 
projects under this title that will target the fol-
lowing populations: 
‘‘(i) Individuals who are or have been 
in foster care. 
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‘‘(ii) Victims of domestic violence (as 
defined in section 40002(a)(8) of the Vio-
lence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 
U.S.C. 13925(a)(8))). 
‘‘(iii) Victims of— 
‘‘(I) a major disaster declared to 
exist by the President under section 
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Dis-
aster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) or an 
emergency declared to exist by the 
President under section 501 of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5191); or 
‘‘(II) a situation similar to a 
major disaster or emergency described 
in subclause (I) declared to exist by 
the Governor of a State. 
‘‘(iv) Formerly incarcerated individ-
uals. 
‘‘(v) Individuals who are unemployed 
or underemployed. 
‘‘(B) Applications described in subsection 
(d). 
‘‘(4) CONTRACTS
WITH
NONPROFIT
ENTI-
TIES.—Subsection (f) shall continue to apply. 
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‘‘(5) GRANDFATHERING
OF
EXISTING
STATE-
WIDE PROGRAMS.—Subsection (g) shall continue to 
apply, except that any reference in such subsection 
to the date of enactment of this Act or to 
$1,000,000 shall be deemed to be a reference to the 
date of the enactment of the Stephanie Tubbs Jones 
Assets for Independence Reauthorization Act of 
2013 or to $250,000, respectively.’’. 
SEC. 6. DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY; ANNUAL GRANTS. 
Section 406(a) is amended by inserting ‘‘(or, in the 
case of an application approved under section 405(h)(2), 
not later than 30 days after the date of the approval of 
such application)’’ after ‘‘the date of enactment of this 
title’’. 
SEC. 7. RESERVE FUND. 
Section 407(c) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting ‘‘or orga-
nizations’’ after ‘‘organization’’; and 
(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount pro-
vided to a qualified entity under section 
406(b)— 
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‘‘(i) not more than 5.5 percent shall 
be used for the purpose described in sub-
paragraph (A) of paragraph (1); 
‘‘(ii) not less than 80 percent shall be 
used for the purpose described in subpara-
graph (B) of such paragraph; and 
‘‘(iii) not more than 14.5 percent shall 
be used for the purposes described in sub-
paragraphs (C) and (D) of such para-
graph. 
‘‘(B) 
JOINT
ADMINISTRATION
OF 
PROJECT.—If two or more qualified entities are 
jointly administering a demonstration project, 
no one such entity shall use more than its pro-
portional share of the percentage indicated in 
subparagraph (A) for the purposes described in 
subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph 
(1).’’. 
SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION. 
Section 408 is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(1) INCOME TESTS.—The household meets ei-
ther of the following income tests: 
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‘‘(A) ADJUSTED
GROSS
INCOME
TEST.— 
The adjusted gross income of the household for 
the last taxable year ending in or with the pre-
ceding calendar year does not exceed the great-
er of— 
‘‘(i) 200 percent of the Federal pov-
erty line, as defined in section 673(2) of 
the Community Services Block Grant Act 
(42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), including any revi-
sion required by such section, for a family 
composed of the number of persons in the 
household at the end of such taxable year; 
or 
‘‘(ii) 80 percent of the median income 
for the area for such taxable year, as de-
termined by the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development for purposes of section 
3(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act 
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)), taking 
into account any family-size adjustment by 
the Secretary under such section that cor-
responds to the size of the household at 
the end of such taxable year. 
‘‘(B) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME 
TEST.— 
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amount determined under this clause (or 
such subparagraph) for the previous year 
increased by the annual percentage in-
crease (if any) in the consumer price index 
(all items; U.S. city average) as of Sep-
tember of the calendar year described in 
such subparagraph. 
‘‘(ii) ROUNDING.—Any dollar amount 
determined under clause (i) that is not a 
multiple of $100 shall be rounded to the 
next greatest multiple of $100.’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c); 
(3) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(b) CALCULATING INCOME OF HOUSEHOLD.— 
‘‘(1) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—For purposes 
of subsection (a)(1)(A), the adjusted gross income of 
a household for a taxable year is the sum of the ad-
justed gross incomes of the individuals who are 
members of the household at the end of such year. 
‘‘(2) MODIFIED
ADJUSTED
GROSS
INCOME.— 
For purposes of subsection (a)(1)(B), the modified 
adjusted gross income of a household for a taxable 
year is the sum of the modified adjusted gross in-
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comes of the individuals who are members of the 
household at the end of such year.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para-
graph (2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘, including’’ and all that 
follows and inserting a period; 
(B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS
WHO
MOVE
BECAUSE
OF 
MAJOR DISASTERS OR EMERGENCIES OR TO FIND 
EMPLOYMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations pro-
mulgated under paragraph (1) shall establish 
procedures under which an individual described 
in subparagraph (B) may transfer from one 
demonstration project under this title to an-
other demonstration project under this title 
that is being conducted in another community 
by a qualified entity that agrees to accept the 
individual into the project. Such regulations 
shall not permit such a transfer unless such 
qualified entity has sufficient amounts in its 
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Reserve Fund to make the deposits required by 
section 410 with respect to the individual. 
‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL
DESCRIBED.—An indi-
vidual described in this subparagraph is an in-
dividual 
participating 
in 
a 
demonstration 
project under this title who moves from the 
community in which the project is being con-
ducted— 
‘‘(i) because of— 
‘‘(I) a major disaster declared to 
exist in such community by the Presi-
dent under section 401 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
5170) or an emergency declared to 
exist in such community by the Presi-
dent under section 501 of such Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5191); 
‘‘(II) a situation similar to a 
major disaster or emergency described 
in subclause (I) declared to exist in 
such community by the Governor of a 
State; or 
‘‘(III) a qualifying life event ex-
perienced by such individual; or 
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‘‘(ii) in order to secure employment. 
‘‘(C) 
QUALIFYING
LIFE
EVENT
DE-
FINED.—For 
purposes 
of 
subparagraph 
(B)(i)(III), the term ‘qualifying life event’— 
‘‘(i) means an event determined by 
the Secretary to be similar to an event that 
would permit the individual to make an 
election change with respect to a cafeteria 
plan under section 125 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986; and 
‘‘(ii) includes— 
‘‘(I) a change in the legal marital 
status of the individual; 
‘‘(II) a change in the number of 
dependents of the individual (as such 
term is used in section 404(8)(E)(ii)); 
‘‘(III) the birth or death of a 
child of the individual; 
‘‘(IV) the adoption or placement 
for adoption of a child by the indi-
vidual; 
‘‘(V) a change in the provider of 
daycare for a child of the individual, 
or a significant increase in the cost of 
such daycare; and 
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‘‘(VI) a change in employment 
status of the individual, the individ-
ual’s spouse, or a dependent of the in-
dividual (as such term is used in sec-
tion 404(8)(E)(ii)). 
‘‘(3) RELOCATION TO COMMUNITY WHERE NO 
PROJECT IS AVAILABLE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—An individual de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) shall be permitted 
to withdraw funds from the individual develop-
ment account of the individual during the 1- 
year period following the date such individual 
moves to another community in the same man-
ner that an individual is permitted under sec-
tion 410(d)(2) to withdraw funds during the 1- 
year period following the end of a demonstra-
tion project. 
‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL
DESCRIBED.—An indi-
vidual described in this subparagraph is an in-
dividual who— 
‘‘(i) moves to a community where no 
demonstration project under this title is 
being conducted; or 
‘‘(ii) after moving to another commu-
nity and making such efforts as the Sec-
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retary may require to transfer to another 
demonstration project under this title, is, 
for any reason other than a violation of the 
requirements of this title or regulations 
promulgated by the Secretary under this 
title, not accepted into another demonstra-
tion project under this title. 
‘‘(C) FUNDS
REMAINING
IN
IDA.—Any 
funds remaining in an individual development 
account after the end of the 1-year period de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be treated in 
the same manner as funds remaining in an in-
dividual development account after the end of 
the 1-year period described in subsection 
(d)(2)(A) of section 410 are treated under sub-
section (f) of such section. 
‘‘(4) RELOCATION BY OTHER INDIVIDUALS.— 
The regulations promulgated under paragraph (1) 
shall prohibit any individual who is unable to con-
tinue participating in a demonstration project under 
this title for any reason, except for an individual de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(B) or (3)(B), from being 
eligible to participate in any other demonstration 
project conducted under this title.’’. 
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‘‘(2) ACCESS
FOR
YEAR
AFTER
END
OF 
PROJECT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
ensure that an eligible individual is able to 
withdraw funds from an individual development 
account of the individual during the 1-year pe-
riod following the end of the demonstration 
project with respect to which deposits were 
made into such account (whether such project 
ends by reason of expiration of the authority 
under section 406(a) of the qualified entity to 
conduct the demonstration project, termination 
of such authority under section 413 without 
transfer to another qualified entity, or other-
wise). 
‘‘(B) APPROVAL OF WITHDRAWALS.—Dur-
ing the period described in subparagraph (A), 
an eligible individual may only make a with-
drawal if the withdrawal is approved in writ-
ing— 
‘‘(i) by a responsible official of the 
qualified entity; or 
‘‘(ii) by the Secretary, if the Secretary 
terminated the authority of the qualified 
entity to conduct the demonstration project 
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under section 413 or the Secretary deter-
mines that the qualified entity is otherwise 
unable or unwilling to participate in the 
approval process.’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(f) UNUSED FUNDS IN IDA.—If funds remain in 
an individual development account after the end of the 1- 
year period described in subsection (d)(2)(A), such funds 
shall be disposed of as considered appropriate by the Sec-
retary or a nonprofit entity (as such term is used in sec-
tion 404(7)(A)(i)) designated by the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 10. REGULATIONS. 
Section 411 is amended— 
(1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘; REGULA-
TIONS’’ after ‘‘PROJECTS’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘A qualified entity’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(a) LOCAL
CONTROL
OVER
DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECTS.—A qualified entity’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Subject to subsection (a), not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 
the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Assets for Independence Reau-
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thorization Act of 2013, the Secretary shall promulgate 
such regulations as the Secretary considers necessary to 
implement this title. The Secretary may provide that any 
such regulation takes effect on the date of promulgation, 
but the Secretary shall accept and consider public com-
ments for 60 days after such date.’’. 
SEC. 11. ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 412(b) is amended by 
striking ‘‘subsection (a) to’’ and all that follows and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (a) to the Secretary.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to reports submitted on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 12. SANCTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 413 is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (b)(5) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(5) if, by the end of the 90-day period begin-
ning on the date of the termination, the Secretary 
has not found a qualified entity (or entities) de-
scribed in paragraph (3), shall— 
‘‘(A) make every effort to identify, without 
conducting a competition (unless the Secretary 
determines that conducting a competition would 
be feasible and appropriate), another qualified 
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entity (or entities), in the same or a different 
community, willing and able to conduct one or 
more demonstration projects under this title 
that may differ from the project being termi-
nated; 
‘‘(B) in identifying a qualified entity (or 
entities) under subparagraph (A), give priority 
to qualified entities that— 
‘‘(i) are participating in demonstra-
tion projects conducted under this title; 
‘‘(ii) have waiting lists for participants 
in such demonstration projects; and 
‘‘(iii) can demonstrate the availability 
of non-Federal funds described in section 
405(c)(4), in addition to any such funds 
committed to any demonstration projects 
being conducted by the qualified entity at 
the time the Secretary considers identi-
fying the entity under subparagraph (A), 
to be committed to the demonstration 
project (or projects) described in subpara-
graph (A) as matching contributions; and 
‘‘(C) if the Secretary identifies a qualified 
entity (or entities) under subparagraph (A)— 
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‘‘(i) transfer to the entity (or entities) 
control over the Reserve Fund established 
pursuant to section 407 with respect to the 
project being terminated; and 
‘‘(ii) authorize the entity (or entities) 
to use such Reserve Fund to conduct a 
demonstration project (or projects) in ac-
cordance with an application approved 
under subsection (e) or (h)(2) of section 
405 and the requirements of this title.’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) FOCUS
ON
COMMUNITY
OF
TERMINATED 
PROJECT.—In identifying another qualified entity (or en-
tities) under paragraph (3) or (5) of subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, select a qualified 
entity (or entities) in the community served by the dem-
onstration project being terminated.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to terminations occurring 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(2) DISCRETIONARY APPLICATION TO PREVIOUS 
TERMINATIONS.—The Secretary of Health and 
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Human Services may apply such amendment to ter-
minations occurring within the one-year period end-
ing on the day before the date of the enactment of 
this Act. In the case of such an application, any ref-
erence in such amendment to the date of the termi-
nation is deemed a reference to such date of enact-
ment. 
SEC. 13. EVALUATIONS. 
Section 414 is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into 
one or more contracts with one or more independent re-
search organizations to evaluate the demonstration 
projects conducted under this title, individually and as a 
group, including all qualified entities participating in and 
sources providing funds for the demonstration projects 
conducted under this title. Such contract or contracts may 
also provide for the evaluation of other asset-building pro-
grams and policies targeted to low-income individuals.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking paragraph (3); 
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘, and 
how such effects vary among different popu-
lations or communities’’; 
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(C) by striking paragraphs (5) and (6); 
and 
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 
(7) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 
(3) in subsections (b) and (c), by inserting ‘‘(or 
organizations)’’ after ‘‘research organization’’ each 
place it appears. 
SEC. 14. COSTS OF TRAINING QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 
The Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 
note) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 416 as section 417; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 415 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 416. COSTS OF TRAINING QUALIFIED ENTITIES. 
‘‘If the Secretary determines that a qualified entity 
conducting a demonstration project under this title should 
receive training in order to conduct the project in accord-
ance with an application approved under subsection (e) or 
(h)(2) of section 405 or the requirements of this title, or 
to otherwise successfully conduct the project, the Sec-
retary may use funds appropriated under section 418 to 
cover the necessary costs of such training, including the 
costs of travel, accommodations, and meals.’’. 
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SEC. 15. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 
The Assets for Independence Act (42 U.S.C. 604 
note) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 417, as redesig-
nated by section 14(1) of this Act, as section 418; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 416 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 417. WAIVER AUTHORITY. 
‘‘In order to carry out the purposes of this title, the 
Secretary may waive any requirement of this title— 
‘‘(1) relating to— 
‘‘(A) the definition of a qualified entity; 
‘‘(B) the approval of a qualified entity to 
conduct a demonstration project under this title 
or to receive a grant under this title; 
‘‘(C) eligibility criteria for individuals to 
participate in a demonstration project under 
this title; 
‘‘(D) amounts or limitations with respect 
to— 
‘‘(i) the matching by a qualified entity 
of amounts deposited by an eligible indi-
vidual in the individual development ac-
count of the individual; 
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‘‘(ii) the amount of funds that may be 
granted to a qualified entity by the Sec-
retary; or 
‘‘(iii) uses by a qualified entity of the 
funds granted to the qualified entity by the 
Secretary; or 
‘‘(E) the withdrawal of funds from an indi-
vidual development account only for qualified 
expenses or as an emergency withdrawal; or 
‘‘(2) the waiver of which is necessary to— 
‘‘(A) permit the Secretary to enter into an 
agreement with the Commissioner of Social Se-
curity; 
‘‘(B) allow individuals to be placed on a 
waiting list to participate in a demonstration 
project under this title; or 
‘‘(C) allow demonstration projects under 
this title to be targeted to populations described 
in section 405(h)(3)(A) and to successfully re-
cruit individuals from such populations for par-
ticipation.’’. 
SEC. 16. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
Section 418, as redesignated by section 15(1) of this 
Act, is amended by inserting after ‘‘2003’’ the following: 
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‘‘and $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014, 2015, 
2016, 2017, and 2018’’. 
SEC. 17. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 414(e) is amended by 
striking ‘‘section 416’’ and inserting ‘‘section 418’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 
section 2 of the Community Opportunities, Accountability, 
and Training and Educational Services Act of 1998 (Pub-
lic Law 105–285) is amended as follows: 
(1) By striking the item relating to section 411 
and inserting the following new item: 
Sec. 411. Local control over demonstration projects; Regulations. 
(2) By striking the items relating to sections 
415 and 416 and inserting the following new items: 
Sec. 415. No reduction in benefits. 
Sec. 416. Costs of training qualified entities. 
Sec. 417. Waiver authority. 
Sec. 418. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 18. GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by sections 4 through 9 of 
this Act shall apply to project years beginning on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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