I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 886 
To provide funds through the Social Services Block Grant program for diaper 
assistance. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2021 
Ms. LEE of California (for herself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CARSON, Ms. MENG, Mr. 
SIRES, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide funds through the Social Services Block Grant 
program for diaper assistance. 
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 ‘‘COVID–19 Diaper As-
sistance Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Infants need between 6 to 12 diapers a day. 
Infants and toddlers lacking access to clean diapers 
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have a greater risk for health complications, which 
require costly and difficult to access medical care. 
(2) Prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, surveys 
indicated that 1 in 3 families in the United States 
with young children could not afford an adequate 
supply of diapers to keep their child clean, dry, and 
healthy. 
(3) Low-income families pay an even higher 
than average price for diapers because they do not 
have access to money saving alternatives such as 
bulk buying or online shopping that can reduce 
costs. Low-income families spend about 14 percent 
of their income on diapers. 
(4) Clean diaper access presents a financial and 
stressful burden on families’ dependent on child care 
services. Research indicates that when diaper need is 
a barrier to child care, parents miss an average of 
4 workdays a month. 
(5) The COVID–19 pandemic has further 
raised demand for diapers and strained diaper 
banks’ ability to meet low-income families’ needs. 
Prior to the COVID–19 pandemic, nonprofit diaper 
bank distribution only met 5 to 6 percent of diaper 
need. Since the start of the COVID–19 pandemic, 
diaper banks around the country have experienced 
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double, triple, or greater increase in demand for dia-
pers due to the pandemic and economic shutdown. 
Nonprofits alone cannot fully address this public 
health crisis that impacts 1 in 3 families in the 
United States. 
SEC. 3. TARGETED FUNDING FOR STATES FOR DIAPER AS-
SISTANCE THROUGH THE SOCIAL SERVICES 
BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR SOCIAL SERVICES 
BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amount specified in 
subsection (c) of section 2003 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1397b) for purposes of subsections 
(a) and (b) of such section is deemed to be 
$1,900,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, of which 
$200,000,000 shall be obligated by States in accord-
ance with subsection (b). 
(2) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 
Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro-
priated, there are appropriated $200,000,000, which 
shall be available for payments under section 2002 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397a), which 
shall remain available for expenditure through De-
cember 31, 2022. 
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(3) 
DEADLINE
FOR
DISTRIBUTION
OF 
FUNDS.—Within 45 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall distribute the funds made 
available by this subsection, which shall be made 
available to States on an emergency basis for imme-
diate obligation and expenditure. 
(4) SUBMISSION
OF
REVISED
PRE-EXPENDI-
TURE REPORT.—Within 90 days after a State re-
ceives funds made available by this subsection, the 
State shall submit to the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services a revised pre-expenditure report 
pursuant to subtitle A of title XX of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1397 et seq,.) that describes 
how the State plans to administer the funds in ac-
cordance with subsection (b). 
(5) DEADLINE FOR OBLIGATION OF FUNDS BY 
STATES.—A State to which funds made available by 
this subsection are distributed shall obligate the 
funds not later than December 31, 2021. 
(6) 
DEADLINE
FOR
EXPENDITURE
OF 
FUNDS.—A grantee to which a State provides funds 
made available by this subsection (or a subgrantee 
of such a grantee) shall expend the funds not later 
than December 31, 2022. 
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(b) RULES
GOVERNING
USE
OF
ADDITIONAL 
FUNDS.—Funds are used in accordance with this sub-
section if— 
(1) the funds are used to provide through social 
service agencies or other nonprofit organizations, 
diapers and diapering supplies (including diaper 
wipes and diaper cream, necessary to ensure that a 
child using a diaper is properly cleaned and pro-
tected from diaper rash) to families in need; 
(2) the funds are used subject to the limitations 
in section 2005 of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1397d); 
(3) the funds are used to supplement, not sup-
plant, State general revenue funds provided for the 
purposes described in paragraph (1); and 
(4) the funds are not used for costs that are re-
imbursable by the Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, under a contract for insurance, or by self- 
insurance. 
(c) REPORTS.— 
(1) GRANTEES AND SUBGRANTEES.—Not later 
than December 31, 2022, each grantee to which a 
State provides funds made available by subsection 
(a) (or a subgrantee of such a grantee) shall submit 
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a report to the State on the use of the funds so pro-
vided. 
(2) SSBG ANNUAL REPORT.—A State shall in-
clude in the annual report required under section 
2006 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397e) 
covering fiscal year 2023, information detailing how 
grantees and subgrantees used funds made available 
under subsection (a) to distribute diapers and dia-
pering supplies to families in need. 
Æ 
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