I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 625
To expand the purposes of the program of block grants to States for tem-
porary assistance for needy families to include poverty reduction, and 
to make grants available under the program for that purpose. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 5, 2003
Mr. STARK (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. LEVIN, Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, 
Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 
FORD, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. JACKSON of Illi-
nois, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
KUCINICH, Ms. LEE, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. 
MCNULTY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. NADLER, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
OWENS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WATSON, 
and Mr. WAXMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To expand the purposes of the program of block grants 
to States for temporary assistance for needy families 
to include poverty reduction, and to make grants avail-
able under the program for that purpose.
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 ‘‘Child Poverty Reduc-
tion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL PURPOSE OF PROGRAM OF BLOCK 
GRANTS TO STATES FOR TEMPORARY ASSIST-
ANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES. 
Section 401(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
601(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) reduce the extent and severity of poverty 
and promote self-sufficiency among families with 
children.’’. 
SEC. 3. ADDITION OF CHILD POVERTY REDUCTION BONUS 
GRANTS TO TANF PROGRAM. 
Section 403(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
603(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) BONUS TO REWARD STATES THAT REDUCE 
CHILD POVERTY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with fiscal 
year 2003, the Secretary shall make a grant 
pursuant to this paragraph to each State for
each fiscal year for which the State is a quali-
fied child poverty reduction State. 
‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to this 
subparagraph, the amount of the grant to 
be made to a qualified child poverty reduc-
tion State for a fiscal year shall be an 
amount equal to—
‘‘(I) the number of children who 
had not attained 18 years of age by 
the end of the then most recently 
completed calendar year and who re-
sided in the State as of the end of 
such calendar year, divided by the 
number of such children who resided 
in the United States as of the end of 
such calendar year; multiplied by 
‘‘(II) the amount appropriated 
pursuant to subparagraph (F) for the 
fiscal year. 
‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(I) 
MINIMUM
GRANT.—The 
amount of the grant to be made to a 
qualified child poverty reduction State
for a fiscal year shall be not less than 
$1,000,000. 
‘‘(II) 
MAXIMUM
GRANT.—The 
amount of the grant to be made to a
qualified child poverty reduction State 
for a fiscal year shall not exceed an 
amount equal to 5 percent of the 
State family assistance grant for the 
fiscal year. 
‘‘(iii) PRO
RATA
INCREASE.—If the 
amount available for grants under this 
paragraph for a fiscal year is greater than 
the total amount of payments otherwise re-
quired to be made under this paragraph 
for the fiscal year, then the amount other-
wise payable to any State for the fiscal 
year under this paragraph shall, subject to 
clause (ii)(II), be increased by such equal 
percentage as may be necessary to ensure 
that the total of the amounts payable for 
the fiscal year under this paragraph equals 
the amount available for the grants. 
‘‘(iv) PRO RATA REDUCTION.—If the 
amount available for grants under this 
paragraph for a fiscal year is less than the