I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 702 
To modify the measure and use of the poverty line issued by the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services to more accurately account for the basic 
needs of families and regional costs of living. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 23, 2025 
Ms. SHERRILL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To modify the measure and use of the poverty line issued 
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to more 
accurately account for the basic needs of families and 
regional costs of living. 
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 ‘‘Improving Federal As-
sistance to Families Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. NEW POVERTY LINE INDEX. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of the Census shall 
develop and publish a new poverty line index to be meas-
ured separately for each State on an annual basis and to 
be known as the ‘‘Regionally Adjusted Poverty Line’’. 
(b) REVISIONS.—The Regionally Adjusted Poverty 
Line shall be a revised version of the most recent poverty 
line that, for each State— 
(1) uses new poverty thresholds created by mul-
tiplying the State’s most recent poverty thresholds 
by its most recent Regional Price Parity, divided by 
100; and 
(2) uses new poverty rates created by using the 
poverty thresholds determined in paragraph (1) 
rather than each State’s current poverty thresholds 
to determine the percentage of households that are 
below each State’s poverty line. 
SEC. 3. USE OF THE REGIONALLY ADJUSTED POVERTY 
LINE IN LIEU OF THE POVERTY LINE. 
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment, shall— 
(1) determine, for each State annually, which 
poverty line index between the Regionally Adjusted 
Poverty Line as specified in section 2 and the cur-
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rent poverty line has a higher poverty rate for such 
State; 
(2) issue, and publish in the Federal Register, 
for each State, the poverty line index that has a 
higher poverty rate for such State as specified in 
paragraph (1) in lieu of the poverty line; and 
(3) for each State— 
(A) except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), use the poverty line index that has a high-
er poverty rate for such State as specified in 
paragraph (1) for administrative purposes, in-
cluding for determining financial eligibility for 
certain Federal programs, in lieu of the poverty 
line, and 
(B) for the purpose of determining finan-
cial eligibility for Premium Tax Credits under 
the Affordable Care Act, have flexibility to use 
either the Regionally Adjusted Poverty Line or 
the current poverty line to ensure low-income 
households in States not expanding Medicaid do 
not lose access to Premium Tax Credits. 
SEC. 4. GAO STUDY ON ALICE POVERTY MEASURE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 
enactment of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
General of the United States shall submit to the Com-
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mittee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs of 
the Senate and the Committee on Oversight and Account-
ability of the House of Representatives, a report con-
taining the results of a study on— 
(1) the advantages and disadvantages of the 
ALICE threshold as a measure of poverty and 
household material need relative to the current pov-
erty line, including any additional information that 
the ALICE threshold provides to policymakers that 
is not available from the current poverty line; 
(2) any areas in which the ALICE threshold 
can be improved to better measure household mate-
rial need or improve upon the current poverty line; 
(3) how the Government can assist in the devel-
opment and publication of the ALICE threshold; 
and 
(4) how, if at all, the ALICE threshold could be 
incorporated into the financial eligibility criteria, 
both that maintained by the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and that legislated by Congress, for 
certain Federal programs to better meet the mate-
rial need of households and improve access to cer-
tain Federal programs. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
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(1) ALICE
THRESHOLD.—The term ‘‘ALICE 
threshold’’ means the Asset Limited, Income Con-
strained, Employed measure developed by the United 
Way of Northern New Jersey as an alternative to 
the poverty line that includes the regional minimum 
cost of necessities including housing, child care, 
food, transportation, healthcare, and taxes. 
(2) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 
has the same definition as under section 673 of the 
Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 
9902). 
(3) POVERTY THRESHOLD.—The term ‘‘poverty 
threshold’’ means the dollar amounts used by the 
Bureau of the Census to determine a household’s 
poverty line status. 
(4) REGIONAL PRICE PARITY.—The term ‘‘Re-
gional Price Parity’’ means the difference in price 
levels between a State and the national average, ex-
pressed as a percentage of the overall national price 
level, as published by the Bureau of Economic Anal-
ysis. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-
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lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES. 
Section 2 shall take effect 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act and section 3 shall take effect 
3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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