I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3073
To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act
to provide for grants for projects designed to promote
responsible fatherhood, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 14, 1999
Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut (for herself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr.
LEWIS of Kentucky, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr.
STARK, Mr. CAMP, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. COYNE, and Mr. THOMAS) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways
and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act
to provide for grants for projects designed to promote
responsible fatherhood, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Fathers Count Act of 1999’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—FATHERHOOD GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 101. Fatherhood grants.
TITLE II—FATHERHOOD PROJECTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE
Sec. 201. Fatherhood projects of national significance.
TITLE III—WELFARE-TO-WORK PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
Sec. 301. Flexibility in eligibility for participation in welfare-to-work program.
Sec. 302. Limited vocational educational training included as allowable activity.
Sec. 303. Certain grantees authorized to provide employment services directly.
Sec. 304. Simplification and coordination of reporting requirements.
TITLE IV—ALTERNATIVE PENALTY PROCEDURE RELATING TO
STATE DISBURSEMENT UNITS
Sec. 401. Alternative penalty procedure relating to State disbursement units.
TITLE V—FINANCING PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. Use of new hire information to assist in collection of defaulted stu-
dent loans and grants.
Sec. 502. Elimination of set-aside of portion of welfare-to-work funds for suc-
cessful performance bonus.
TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS
Sec. 601. Change dates for evaluation.
Sec. 602. Report on undistributed child support payments.
Sec. 603. Sense of the Congress.
TITLE I—FATHERHOOD GRANT
PROGRAM
SEC. 101. FATHERHOOD GRANTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601–679b) is amended by insert-
ing after section 403 the following:
‘‘SEC. 403A. FATHERHOOD PROGRAMS.
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to
make grants available to public and private entities for
projects designed to—
‘‘(1) promote marriage through counseling,
mentoring, disseminating information about the ad-
vantages of marriage, enhancing relationship skills,
teaching how to control aggressive behavior, and
other methods;
‘‘(2) promote successful parenting through
counseling, mentoring, disseminating information
about good parenting practices including family
planning, training parents in money management,
encouraging child support payments, encouraging
regular visitation between fathers and their children,
and other methods; and
‘‘(3) help fathers and their families avoid or
leave cash welfare provided by the program under
part A and improve their economic status by pro-
viding work first services, job search, job training,
subsidized employment, career-advancing education,
job retention, job enhancement, and other methods.
‘‘(b) FATHERHOOD GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—An entity desiring a
grant to carry out a project described in subsection
(a) may submit to the Secretary an application that
contains the following:
‘‘(A) A description of the project and how
the project will be carried out.
‘‘(B) A description of how the project will
address all 3 of the purposes of this section.
‘‘(C) A written commitment by the entity
that the project will allow an individual to par-
ticipate in the project only if the individual is—
‘‘(i) a father of a child who is, or
within the past 24 months has been, a re-
cipient of assistance or services under a
State program funded under this part; or
‘‘(ii) a father, including an expectant
or married father, whose income (net of
court-ordered child support) is less than
150 percent of the poverty line (as defined
in section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981, including any
revision required by such section, applica-
ble to a family of the size involved).
‘‘(D) A written commitment by the entity
that the entity will provide for the project, from
funds obtained from non-Federal sources (other
than funds which are counted as qualified State
expenditures for purposes of section 409(a)(7)),
amounts (including in-kind contributions) equal
in value to—
‘‘(i) 20 percent of the amount of any
grant made to the entity under this sub-
section; or
‘‘(ii) such lesser percentage as the
Secretary deems appropriate (which shall
be not less than 10 percent) of such
amount, if the application demonstrates
that there are circumstances that limit the
ability of the entity to raise funds or ob-
tain resources.
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION
OF
APPLICATIONS
BY
INTERAGENCY PANELS.—
‘‘(A) FIRST PANEL.—
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is es-
tablished a panel to be known as the ‘Fa-
therhood Grants Recommendations Panel’
(in this subparagraph referred to as the
‘Panel’).
‘‘(ii) MEMBERSHIP.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The Panel
shall be composed of 10 members, as
follows:
‘‘(aa) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Secretary.
‘‘(bb) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Secretary of Labor.
‘‘(cc) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Chairman of the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives.
‘‘(dd) 1 member of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
ranking minority member of the
Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives.
‘‘(ee) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Chairman of the Committee on
Finance of the Senate.
‘‘(ff) 1 member of the Panel
shall be appointed by the ranking
minority member of the Com-
mittee on Finance of the Senate.
‘‘(II) 
CONFLICTS
OF
INTER-
EST.—An individual shall not be eligi-
ble to serve on the Panel if such serv-
ice would pose a conflict of interest
for the individual.
‘‘(III) 
TIMING
OF
APPOINT-
MENTS.—The appointment of mem-
bers to the Panel shall be completed
not later than March 1, 2000.
‘‘(iii) DUTIES.—
‘‘(I) REVIEW
AND
MAKE
REC-
OMMENDATIONS ON PROJECT APPLI-
CATIONS.—The Panel shall review all
applications submitted pursuant to
paragraph 
(1), 
and 
make 
rec-
ommendations to the Secretary re-
garding which applicants should be
awarded grants under this subsection,
with due regard for the provisions of
paragraph (3), but shall not rec-
ommend that a project be awarded
such a grant if the application de-
scribing the project does not attempt
to meet the requirement of paragraph
(1)(B).
‘‘(II) TIMING.—The Panel shall
make such recommendations not later
than September 1, 2000.
‘‘(iv) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each mem-
ber appointed to the Panel shall serve for
the life of the Panel.
‘‘(v) PROHIBITION
ON
COMPENSA-
TION.—Members of the Panel may not re-
ceive pay, allowances, or benefits by reason
of their service on the Panel.
‘‘(vi) 
TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—Each
member of the Panel shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub-
sistence, in accordance with sections 5702
and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
‘‘(vii) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall
meet as often as is necessary to complete
the business of the Panel.
‘‘(viii) 
CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Chair-
person of the Panel shall be designated by
the Secretary at the time of appointment.
‘‘(ix) STAFF
OF
FEDERAL
AGEN-
CIES.—The Secretary may detail any per-
sonnel of the Department of Health and
Human Services and the Secretary of
Labor may detail any personnel of the De-
partment of Labor to the Panel to assist
the Panel in carrying out its duties under
this subparagraph.
‘‘(x) OBTAINING
OFFICIAL
DATA.—
The Panel may secure directly from any
department or agency of the United States
information necessary to enable it to carry
out this subparagraph. On request of the
Chairperson of the Panel, the head of the
department or agency shall furnish that in-
formation to the Panel.
‘‘(xi) MAILS.—The Panel may use the
United States mails in the same manner
and under the same conditions as other de-
partments and agencies of the United
States.
‘‘(xii) 
TERMINATION.—The 
Panel
shall terminate on September 1, 2000.
‘‘(B) SECOND PANEL.—
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—Effective Jan-
uary 1, 2001, there is established a panel
to be known as the ‘Fatherhood Grants
Recommendations Panel’ (in this subpara-
graph referred to as the ‘Panel’).
‘‘(ii) MEMBERSHIP.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The Panel
shall be composed of 10 members, as
follows:
‘‘(aa) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Secretary.
‘‘(bb) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Secretary of Labor.
‘‘(cc) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Chairman of the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives.
‘‘(dd) 1 member of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
ranking minority member of the
Committee on Ways and Means
of the House of Representatives.
‘‘(ee) 2 members of the
Panel shall be appointed by the
Chairman of the Committee on
Finance of the Senate.
‘‘(ff) 1 member of the Panel
shall be appointed by the ranking
minority member of the Com-
mittee on Finance of the Senate.
‘‘(II) 
CONFLICTS
OF
INTER-
EST.—An individual shall not be eligi-
ble to serve on the Panel if such serv-
ice would pose a conflict of interest
for the individual.
‘‘(III) 
TIMING
OF
APPOINT-
MENTS.—The appointment of mem-
bers to the Panel shall be completed
not later than March 1, 2001.
‘‘(iii) DUTIES.—
‘‘(I) REVIEW
AND
MAKE
REC-
OMMENDATIONS ON PROJECT APPLI-
CATIONS.—The Panel shall review all
applications submitted pursuant to
paragraph 
(1), 
and 
make 
rec-
ommendations to the Secretary re-
garding which applicants should be
awarded grants under this subsection,
with due regard for the provisions of
paragraph (3), but shall not rec-
ommend that a project be awarded
such a grant if the application de-
scribing the project does not attempt
to meet the requirement of paragraph
(1)(B).
‘‘(II) TIMING.—The Panel shall
make such recommendations not later
than September 1, 2001.
‘‘(iv) TERM OF OFFICE.—Each mem-
ber appointed to the Panel shall serve for
the life of the Panel.
‘‘(v) PROHIBITION
ON
COMPENSA-
TION.—Members of the Panel may not re-
ceive pay, allowances, or benefits by reason
of their service on the Panel.
‘‘(vi) 
TRAVEL
EXPENSES.—Each
member of the Panel shall receive travel
expenses, including per diem in lieu of sub-
sistence, in accordance with sections 5702
and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.
‘‘(vii) MEETINGS.—The Panel shall
meet as often as is necessary to complete
the business of the Panel.
‘‘(viii) 
CHAIRPERSON.—The 
Chair-
person of the Panel shall be designated by
the Secretary at the time of appointment.
‘‘(ix) STAFF
OF
FEDERAL
AGEN-
CIES.—The Secretary may detail any per-
sonnel of the Department of Health and
Human Services and the Secretary of
Labor may detail any personnel of the De-
partment of Labor to the Panel to assist
the Panel in carrying out its duties under
this subparagraph.
‘‘(x) OBTAINING
OFFICIAL
DATA.—
The Panel may secure directly from any
department or agency of the United States
information necessary to enable it to carry
out this subparagraph. On request of the
Chairperson of the Panel, the head of the
department or agency shall furnish that in-
formation to the Panel.
‘‘(xi) MAILS.—The Panel may use the
United States mails in the same manner
and under the same conditions as other de-
partments and agencies of the United
States.
‘‘(xii) 
TERMINATION.—The 
Panel
shall terminate on September 1, 2001.
‘‘(3) MATCHING GRANTS.—
‘‘(A) GRANT AWARDS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary
shall award matching grants, on a competi-
tive basis, among entities submitting appli-
cations therefor which meet the require-
ments of paragraph (1), in amounts that
take into account the written commitments
referred to in paragraph (1)(D).
‘‘(ii) TIMING.—
‘‘(I) FIRST ROUND.—On October
1, 2000, the Secretary shall award not
more than $70,000,000 in matching
grants after considering the rec-
ommendations submitted pursuant to
paragraph (2)(A)(iii)(I).
‘‘(II) SECOND ROUND.—On Octo-
ber 1, 2001, the Secretary shall award
not more than $70,000,000 in match-
ing grants after considering the rec-
ommendations submitted pursuant to
paragraph (2)(B)(iii)(I).
‘‘(iii) NONDISCRIMINATION.—The pro-
visions of this section shall be applied and
administered so as to ensure that mothers,
expectant mothers, and married mothers
are eligible for benefits and services under
612(a)(3)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘(vii)’’ and
inserting ‘‘(viii)’’.
(c) RECIPIENTS WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF LONG-
TERM DEPENDENCY; CHILDREN AGING OUT OF FOSTER
CARE.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subclause (II) of section
403(a)(5)(C)(iv) 
of 
such 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
603(a)(5)(C)(iv)(II)), as so redesignated by sub-
section (b)(1)(A) of this section, is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(II) to children—
‘‘(aa) who have attained 18
years of age but not 25 years of
age; and
‘‘(bb) who, before attaining
18 years of age, were recipients
of foster care maintenance pay-
ments (as defined in section
475(4)) under part E or were in
foster care under the responsi-
bility of a State.’’.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section
403(a)(5)(C)(iv) 
of 
such 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C.
603(a)(5)(C)(iv)), as so redesignated by subsection
(b)(1)(A) of this section, is amended—