I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6848 
To temporarily preserve eligibility for foster care benefits, and suspend certain 
education and work requirements, for youth who would otherwise age 
out of eligibility for the benefits during a health emergency or disaster 
declared with respect to the coronavirus pandemic, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2020 
Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. BACON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, and Mr. 
MITCHELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To temporarily preserve eligibility for foster care benefits, 
and suspend certain education and work requirements, 
for youth who would otherwise age out of eligibility for 
the benefits during a health emergency or disaster de-
clared with respect to the coronavirus pandemic, 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 ‘‘Pandemic Protection 
for Transition-age Foster Youth Act’’ or the ‘‘Pandemic 
Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PRESERVATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 
FOSTER CARE BENEFITS, AND SUSPENSION 
OF CERTAIN EDUCATION AND WORK RE-
QUIREMENTS, FOR YOUTH WHO WOULD OTH-
ERWISE AGE OUT OF ELIGIBILITY FOR THE 
BENEFITS DURING A HEALTH EMERGENCY 
OR DISASTER DECLARED WITH RESPECT TO 
THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—During the applicable period— 
(1) a State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 
tribal consortium operating a program under a plan 
approved under part E of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act shall not deny a foster care benefit to an 
eligible youth; and 
(2) section 475(8)(B)(iv) of such Act shall have 
no force or effect. 
(b) FEDERAL PAYMENTS.—For purposes of part E 
of title IV of the Social Security Act, foster care mainte-
nance payments made by such a State, Indian tribe, tribal 
organization, or tribal consortium for the benefit of an eli-
gible child in compliance with subsection (a) of this section 
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shall be considered to be made under section 472 of such 
Act. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—The term ‘‘applica-
ble period’’ means the period that begins on the date 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services de-
clared, pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health 
Service Act, the public health emergency entitled 
‘‘Determination that a Public Health Emergency 
Exists Nationwide as the Result of the 2019 Novel 
Coronavirus’’, and ends 3 months after the later 
of— 
(A) the date the public health emergency 
so declared terminates; or 
(B) the end of the period covered by— 
(i) the emergency declaration issued 
by the President on March 13, 2020, pur-
suant to section 501(b) of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)); and 
(ii) any subsequent major disaster 
declaration under section 401 of the Rob-
ert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) 
that supersedes the emergency declaration 
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referred to in clause (i) of this subpara-
graph. 
(2) ELIGIBLE
YOUTH.—The term ‘‘eligible 
youth’’ means, with respect to a foster care benefit, 
a child who, as of January 1, 2020, was in foster 
care under the responsibility of a State or an Indian 
tribe or was a youth receiving any benefit under sec-
tion 477 of the Social Security Act, and who, in the 
absence of this section, would become ineligible for 
the benefit during the applicable period by reason of 
age. 
(3) FOSTER CARE BENEFIT.—The term ‘‘foster 
care benefit’’ means— 
(A) foster care under the responsibility of 
a State or an Indian tribe; 
(B) foster care maintenance payments 
under section 472 of the Social Security Act; 
and 
(C) any benefit under section 477 of such 
Act. 
Æ 
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