I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3486 
To reauthorize and amend the program of block grants to States for 
temporary assistance for needy families and related programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 
Ms. MOORE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reauthorize and amend the program of block grants to 
States for temporary assistance for needy families and 
related programs. 
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 ‘‘Rewriting to Improve 
and Secure an Exit Out of Poverty Act’’ or the ‘‘RISE 
Out of Poverty Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Table of contents. 
Sec. 3. References. 
Sec. 4. State plans required to address whether and how States will provide as-
sistance to neediest geographic areas. 
Sec. 5. Funding of the TANF program. 
Sec. 6. Work requirements. 
Sec. 7. Work rules. 
Sec. 8. Prohibition on imposing limit of less than 60 months on duration of as-
sistance. 
Sec. 9. Response of TANF program to economic recessions. 
Sec. 10. Requirement that States use merit-based system in administration of 
TANF programs. 
Sec. 11. Ban on using Federal TANF funds to replace State and local spending 
that does not meet the definition of qualified State expendi-
tures. 
Sec. 12. TANF assistance to meet basic family economic needs. 
Sec. 13. State plans and reports on child poverty. 
Sec. 14. Requirement that States adopt standards and procedures to address 
domestic and sexual violence among TANF recipients. 
Sec. 15. Child care entitlement. 
Sec. 16. Child support enforcement. 
Sec. 17. State option to extend eligibility for assistance to children through age 
21; prohibition on considering financial aid tied to education of 
child in determining eligibility for, or amount of assistance; 
prohibition on imposing additional requirements based on edu-
cational enrollment of child. 
Sec. 18. Elimination of certain other bars to TANF assistance. 
Sec. 19. Testing for controlled substances. 
Sec. 20. Effective date. 
SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, 
wherever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed 
in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or 
other provision, the amendment or repeal shall be consid-
ered to be made to a section or other provision of the So-
cial Security Act. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 4. STATE PLANS REQUIRED TO ADDRESS WHETHER 
AND HOW STATES WILL PROVIDE ASSIST-
ANCE TO NEEDIEST GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. 
Section 402(a)(1)(A)(i) (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(A)(i)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘, including whether and how the 
State will give priority to providing benefits and services 
in areas of the State with the greatest need (such as areas 
with the greatest unemployment rates, the greatest pov-
erty rates, and the least job opportunity to population ra-
tios)’’ before the period. 
SEC. 5. FUNDING OF THE TANF PROGRAM. 
(a) STATE FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANT.— 
(1) 
IN
GENERAL.—Section 
403(a)(1) 
(42 
U.S.C. 603(a)(1)) is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘fis-
cal year 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2015 
and each succeeding fiscal year’’; and 
(B) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(B) 
STATE
FAMILY
ASSISTANCE 
GRANT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State family 
assistance grant payable to a State for a 
fiscal year shall be the greater of— 
‘‘(I) the adjusted basic block 
grant, plus the amount required to be 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
the population of the State that has 
not attained 18 years of age exceeds 
the most recent estimate by the Bu-
reau of the Census of that population 
as of July 1, 1996, expressed as a 
decimal. 
‘‘(iii) CPI DEFINED.—In clause (ii), 
the term ‘CPI’ means the last Consumer 
Price Index for All Urban Consumers pub-
lished by the Department of Labor for the 
period involved. 
‘‘(C) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money 
in the Treasury of the United States not other-
wise appropriated, there are appropriated such 
sums as are necessary for grants under this 
paragraph for each fiscal year.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO ELIMINATE 
SUPPLEMENTAL
GRANTS
FOR
POPULATION
IN-
CREASES IN CERTAIN STATES.—Section 403(a) (42 
U.S.C. 603(a)) is amended by striking paragraph 
(3). 
(b) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN EFFORT 
ADJUSTED
FOR
INFLATION.—Section 409(a)(7) (42 
U.S.C. 609(a)(7)) is amended— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘the in-
flation-adjusted’’ before ‘‘historic State expendi-
tures’’; and 
(2) in subparagraph (B), by redesignating 
clauses (iii) through (v) as clauses (iv) through (vi), 
respectively, and inserting after clause (ii) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(iii) INFLATION-ADJUSTED HISTORIC 
STATE EXPENDITURES.—The term ‘infla-
tion-adjusted historic State expenditures’ 
means, with respect to a fiscal year— 
‘‘(I) historic State expenditures; 
multiplied by 
‘‘(II) 1.00, plus (in the case of 
fiscal year 2016 or any succeeding fis-
cal year) the percentage (if any) by 
which the average of the CPI (as de-
fined in section 403(a)(1)(B)(iii)) for 
the 12-month period ending with June 
of the preceding fiscal year exceeds 
the average of the CPI (as so defined) 
for the 12-month period ending with 
June 2014, expressed as a decimal.’’. 
(c) MODIFICATION OF CONTINGENCY FUND.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 403(b) (42 U.S.C. 
603(b)) is amended by striking all that follows para-
graph (1) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
make a grant to each eligible State and each 
Indian tribe that is an economically needy enti-
ty for a calendar quarter, in an amount equal 
to 80 percent of the amount (if any) by which 
the total amount of relevant expenditures of the 
entity for the quarter exceeds the total amount 
of the relevant expenditures of the entity for 
the corresponding quarter in the base year of 
the entity, subject to paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The total amount pay-
able to an entity under this subsection for a fis-
cal year shall not exceed an amount equal to 25 
percent of the amount payable to the entity— 
‘‘(i) if the entity is a State, under sec-
tion 403(a)(1) for the fiscal year; or 
‘‘(ii) if the entity is an Indian tribe, 
under section 412(a)(1) for the fiscal year. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In paragraph (2): 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) ECONOMICALLY
NEEDY
ENTITY.— 
The term ‘economically needy entity’ means, 
with respect to a calendar quarter— 
‘‘(i) an entity with a seasonally ad-
justed average unemployment rate for the 
quarter or any of the preceding 4 calendar 
quarters that exceeds 6.5 percent; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case that the unemploy-
ment rate information described in clause 
(i) is not available with respect to an enti-
ty, an entity that meets such qualifications 
as the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Labor, shall, by regulation, 
prescribe. 
‘‘(B) BASE YEAR.—The term ‘base year’ 
means, with respect to an entity and a calendar 
quarter in a fiscal year— 
‘‘(i) except as provided in clause (ii), 
whichever of the 2 fiscal years most re-
cently preceding the 1st fiscal year of the 
most recent contingency fund eligibility pe-
riod for the entity in which the relevant ex-
penditures of the entity were the lesser; or 
‘‘(ii) if the 1st year of the period re-
ferred to in clause (i) is fiscal year 2015, 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
whichever of fiscal year 2007 or 2008 is 
the fiscal year in which the relevant ex-
penditures of the entity were the lesser. 
‘‘(C) CONTINGENCY FUND ELIGIBILITY PE-
RIOD.—The term ‘contingency fund eligibility 
period’ means, with respect to an entity, a pe-
riod of 1 or more consecutive calendar quarters 
for which the entity is an economically needy 
entity. 
‘‘(D) RELEVANT EXPENDITURES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘relevant 
expenditures’ means expenditures— 
‘‘(I) for assistance under the pro-
gram funded under this part of the 
entity (including, in the case of a 
State, any qualified State expendi-
tures 
(as 
defined 
in 
section 
409(a)(7)(B)(i)) and any expenditures 
under any other State program fund-
ed by such expenditures); 
‘‘(II) for child care; 
‘‘(III) for subsidized employment 
under the program funded under this 
part of the entity (including, in the 
case of a State, such expenditures 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
under any other State program fund-
ed by qualified State expenditures (as 
defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))), 
other than expenditures made using 
Federal funds or with respect to 
which the entity received a grant 
made under paragraph (3) of this 
subsection; and 
‘‘(IV) for administrative costs as-
sociated with making the expenditures 
referred to in the preceding sub-
clauses of this clause. 
‘‘(ii) CHILD CARE EXPENDITURES.— 
For purposes of clause (i)(II), expenditures 
for child care consist of the following: 
‘‘(I) Amounts transferred under 
section 404(d)(1)(B). 
‘‘(II) Expenditures for child care 
assistance from Federal funds pro-
vided under this part. 
‘‘(III) In the case of an entity 
that is a State, expenditures for child 
care assistance that are qualified 
State expenditures (as defined in sec-
tion 409(a)(7)(B)(i)), but only to the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:49 Sep 14, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3486.IH
H3486
emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS