I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4535 
To amend title IV–A of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 19, 2021 
Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. HERN, and Mrs. WALORSKI) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 
and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title IV–A of the Social Security Act, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Americans 
Succeed by Measuring Outcomes Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY BY MEASURING 
WORK OUTCOMES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 407 of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 607), as amended by subsection (c) of this 
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section, is amended by inserting before subsection (b) the 
following: 
‘‘(a) PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY
AND WORK 
OUTCOMES.— 
‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 
is to provide for the establishment of performance 
accountability measures to assess the effectiveness of 
States in increasing employment, retention, and ad-
vancement among families receiving assistance under 
the State program funded under this part or any 
other State program funded with qualified State ex-
penditures. 
‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a grant 
is made under section 403 for a fiscal year shall 
achieve the requisite level of performance on an indi-
cator described in paragraph (3)(B) of this sub-
section for the fiscal year. 
‘‘(3) MEASURING STATE PERFORMANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State, in con-
sultation with the Secretary, shall collect and 
submit to the Secretary the information nec-
essary to measure the level of performance of 
the State for each indicator described in sub-
paragraph (B), for fiscal year 2023 and each 
fiscal year thereafter, and the Secretary shall 
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use the information collected for fiscal year 
2023 to establish the baseline level of perform-
ance for each State for each such indicator. 
‘‘(B) INDICATORS
OF
PERFORMANCE.— 
The indicators described in this subparagraph, 
for a fiscal year, are the following: 
‘‘(i) The percentage of individuals who 
were work-eligible individuals as of the 
time of exit from the program, who are in 
unsubsidized employment during the 2nd 
quarter after the exit. 
‘‘(ii) The percentage of individuals 
who were work-eligible individuals as of the 
time of exit from the program, who are in 
unsubsidized employment during the 2nd 
and 4th quarters after the exit. 
‘‘(iii) The median earnings of individ-
uals who were work-eligible individuals as 
of the time of exit from the program, who 
are in unsubsidized employment during the 
2nd quarter after the exit. 
‘‘(iv) The percentage of individuals 
who have not attained 24 years of age, are 
attending high school or enrolled in an 
equivalency program, and are work-eligible 
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individuals or were work-eligible individ-
uals as of the time of exit from the pro-
gram, who obtain a high school degree or 
its recognized equivalent while receiving as-
sistance under the State program funded 
under this part or within 1 year after the 
exit. 
‘‘(C) LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For each State 
submitting a State plan pursuant to sec-
tion 402(a), there shall be established, in 
accordance with this subparagraph, levels 
of performance for each of the indicators 
described in subparagraph (B) of this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(ii) WEIGHT.—The weight assigned 
to such an indicator shall be the following: 
‘‘(I) 40 percent, in the case of 
the indicator described in subpara-
graph (B)(i). 
‘‘(II) 25 percent, in the case of 
the indicator described in subpara-
graph (B)(ii)(II). 
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‘‘(III) 25 percent, in the case of 
the indicator described in subpara-
graph (B)(iii). 
‘‘(IV) 10 percent, in the case of 
the indicator described in subpara-
graph (B)(iv). 
‘‘(iii) AGREEMENT
ON
REQUISITE 
PERFORMANCE
LEVEL
FOR
EACH
INDI-
CATOR.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The Sec-
retary and the State shall jointly es-
tablish the requisite level of perform-
ance for the State with respect to 
each indicator described in clause (ii) 
beginning with fiscal year 2024, and 
shall do so before the beginning of the 
fiscal year involved. 
‘‘(II) REQUIREMENTS IN ESTAB-
LISHING PERFORMANCE LEVELS.—In 
establishing the requisite levels of per-
formance, the State and the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(aa) take into account how 
levels involved compare with the 
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levels 
established 
for 
other 
States; 
‘‘(bb) ensure the levels in-
volved are adjusted, using the ob-
jective statistical model referred 
to in clause (v), based on— 
‘‘(AA) the differences 
among States in economic 
conditions, 
including 
dif-
ferences in unemployment 
rates or employment losses 
or gains in particular indus-
tries; and 
‘‘(BB) the characteris-
tics of participants on entry 
into the program, including 
indicators of prior work his-
tory, lack of educational or 
occupational skills attain-
ment, or other factors that 
may affect employment and 
earnings; and 
‘‘(cc) take into account the 
extent to which the levels in-
volved promote continuous im-
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provement in performance by 
each State. 
‘‘(iv) REVISIONS BASED ON ECONOMIC 
CONDITIONS AND INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING 
ASSISTANCE DURING THE FISCAL YEAR.— 
The Secretary shall, in accordance with the 
objective statistical model referred to in 
clause (v), revise the requisite levels of per-
formance for a State and a fiscal year to 
reflect the economic conditions and charac-
teristics of the relevant individuals in the 
State during the fiscal year. 
‘‘(v) 
STATISTICAL
ADJUSTMENT 
MODEL.—The Secretary shall use an objec-
tive statistical model to make adjustments 
to the requisite levels of performance for 
the economic conditions and characteristics 
of the relevant individuals, and shall con-
sult with the Secretary of Labor to develop 
a model that is the same as or similar to 
the 
model 
described 
in 
section 
116(b)(3)(A)(viii) of the Workforce Inno-
vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 
3141(b)(3)(A)(viii)). 
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‘‘(vi) DEFINITION OF EXIT.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘exit’ means, with re-
spect to a State program funded under 
this part, ceases to receive assistance 
under the program. 
‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—In order to ensure 
nationwide comparability of data, the Secretary, 
after consultation with the Secretary of Labor 
and with States, shall issue regulations gov-
erning the establishment of the performance ac-
countability system under this subsection and a 
template for performance reports to be used by 
all States.’’. 
SEC. 3. TRANSITIONAL PHASE-OUT OF BENEFITS FOR FAMI-
LIES TO SUPPORT SUCCESS IN WORK. 
Section 402(a)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(vi) The document shall include a de-
scription of how the State allows for a 
transitional period of benefits, such as 
through temporary earned income dis-
regards or a gradual reduction in the 
monthly benefit amount, for an individual 
receiving assistance who obtains employ-
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ment and becomes ineligible due to an in-
crease in income obtained through the em-
ployment or through an increase in 
wages.’’. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 
on October 1, 2022. 
Æ 
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