partners have equal rights to hold each other ac-
countable for plan outcomes and funding. 
(b) FISCAL YEARS.—Pilot projects authorized by 
subsection (a) shall be carried out in each of the fiscal 
years 2020 through 2025. 
SEC. 6. COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR PILOT PROJECTS. 
(a) APPLICATION FOR GRANT.—The Secretaries shall 
each create grant application processes to competitively 
make grants to eligible entities to aid target populations. 
To be eligible to receive a grant for a fiscal year under 
this section, eligible entities shall submit to the appro-
priate Secretary an application that contains a description 
of how the applicant proposes to use the grant funds to 
implement the components of the pilot projects authorized 
by this section. Applications shall be submitted in such 
form, at such time, and containing such other information 
as the Secretaries may require. 
(b) FORM OF GRANTS.—If a Secretary finds it appro-
priate, the Secretary may use cooperative agreements, as 
described in section 6305 of title 31, United States Code, 
for purposes of making grants under this section. 
(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Grants made under this 
section shall range in amounts from $250,000 to 
$3,000,000, and should be proportionate to the geo-
graphical size, project complexity, and number of individ-
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uals participating in each project. Eligible entities may re-
ceive grants made under this section by 2 or more of the 
Secretaries. To the extent funds are available, each Sec-
retary shall make not fewer than 8 such grants annually. 
(d) DISTRIBUTION OF GRANTS.—To the extent prac-
ticable, the Secretaries shall make grants for pilot projects 
that operate statewide, as well as pilot projects designed 
to serve specific rural, urban, and suburban areas. To the 
extent practicable, pilot projects for which grants are 
made shall be distributed among diverse administrative re-
gions of Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
the Department of Health and Human Services, and the 
Department of Agriculture. 
(e) PREFERENCE.—For purposes of making grants 
under this section, preference shall be given for pilot 
projects that— 
(1) serve individuals in historically under- 
served, high-poverty, rural and urban communities, 
(2) simultaneously test both HOPE Accounts 
and HOPE Action Plans, 
(3) involve low-income individuals as equal part-
ners in project planning and implementation, 
(4) make additional funds available directly to 
low-income households through action plans, either 
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through government payments or through nonprofit 
subgrantees, 
(5) are matched by considerable non-Federal 
funds without penalizing very-low income, under- 
served rural and urban communities that cannot 
provide non-Federal matching funds, 
(6) propose concrete plans for long-term sus-
tainability and expansions without future Federal 
grant funds, 
(7) assist low-income households to apply for 
the Federal earned income tax credits and State tax 
credits, 
(8) provide resources in both English and addi-
tional languages commonly spoken in that jurisdic-
tion, 
(9) prioritize client-facing, fully tested, tech-
nology and mobile device applications, 
(10) include a robust monitoring and evaluation 
planning and reporting plan, including proposed 
staffing and reporting for that plan, including re-
porting on the extent to which the pilot makes it 
easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income Ameri-
cans to access a variety of benefits, the extent to 
which the pilot will save administrative funds over 
the long-run, the extent to which the accuracy and 
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integrity of the benefits programs included are main-
tained or improved, and the extent to which low-in-
come households are able to more easily obtain free 
or low-cost banking services, 
(11) subcontract part of the pilot project imple-
mentation work to United States-based private busi-
nesses, banks, savings and loans, credit unions, co- 
ops and section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations 
with relevant, successful experience in similar or re-
lated project activities, 
(12) incorporate a benefits calculator to enable 
applicants to learn how the receipt of some benefits 
might or might not impact whether they are eligible 
for other benefits and might impact the amount of 
those other benefits for which they are eligible, 
(13) include planning and funding for the pilot 
entities to train their staffs and clients to utilize the 
new technologies, 
(14) in rural and other areas without strong 
broad-band service, integrate activities under this 
grant with other activities to strengthen local-broad 
band service, 
(15) enable low-income Americans to obtain 
free or reduced price smart phones and free or re-
duced-price data services, 
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(16) ensure that people without personal smart 
phone, tablet, or computer access are able to benefit 
from the systems and technological improvements in 
the pilot projects at public locations such as public 
libraries, community centers, and social service of-
fices, 
(17) propose a detailed, workable plan to thor-
oughly beta test and field test any new technologies 
or systems in this pilot before making them available 
to all households, individuals, or the entire pilot 
area, and 
(18) identify the applicable Federal, State, 
local, or Tribal statutory and regulatory authorities, 
including waiver authorities, to be potentially lever-
aged to most effectively implement the proposed 
pilot project. 
SEC. 7. HOPE TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CONTRACTS. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Ag-
riculture and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment, shall hold a merit-based competition to award 
HOPE Technology Innovation Contracts to United States- 
based private businesses and section 501(c)(3) nonprofit 
organizations with relevant, successful experience in tech-
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nology, to create technology apps, widgets, and templates 
that pilot entities can use to create HOPE accounts. 
(b) NUMBER OF CONTRACTS.—The Secretary will 
award no more than 10 and not fewer than 2 such con-
tracts each fiscal year. 
(c) SIZE OF CONTRACTS.—Contracts may range in 
size from $200,000 to $4,500,000. 
(d) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—All technologies 
developed with these funds will be open-sourced and avail-
able to the public for free. 
(e) HOUSEHOLD DATA.—No contractor should have 
access to any client or household data through this project, 
except in cases they are also contractors or subgrantees 
for pilot entities, in which case they would have limited, 
functional access to such data. In no case shall a con-
tractor share or sell client or household data. 
(f) PREFERENCES.—Preferences should be given to 
contracts that ensure the following: 
(1) Client facing technology with top pref-
erences mobile device applications and uses and sec-
ondary preferences to tablet and computer and 
texting uses. 
(2) Incorporate fail-safe systems to maintain 
the privacy and security of data. 
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(3) Are easily adaptable at the lowest possible 
financial costs with the least possible staff time by 
pilot entities and other State, county, city, munic-
ipal, and Tribal governments in a manner that can 
easily be utilized by low-income Americans. 
(4) Build in the ability to be easily updated as 
technologies evolve. 
SEC. 8. MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT AND NONDISPLACE-
MENT OF WORKERS. 
None of the pilot projects carried out under this Act 
shall do any of the following: 
(1) Decrease the overall monetary value of Fed-
eral, State, local, or Tribal government funding as-
sistance given to any individual or family, although 
all entities involved could independently, or jointly, 
increase funding under such projects. 
(2) Decrease the overall Federal, State, local, or 
Tribal government funding for antipoverty programs 
spent by participating pilot communities and agen-
cies, although all entities involved may independ-
ently, or jointly, increase funding. 
(3) Lengthen the amount of time or increase 
the requirements necessary to receive any govern-
ment benefits, or in any way make it more difficult 
to obtain any form of government assistance. 
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(4) Limit the legal rights of anyone in the tar-
get populations to receive government or nonprofit 
assistance. 
(5) Decrease overall public sector employment 
in any eligible pilot community, but public employees 
could be transferred at similar or higher salaries and 
pay grades from positions that oversee paperwork to 
positions that provide direct services to the public, 
assuming such transfers do not violate collective bar-
raging agreements or their other rights as public 
employees. 
(6) Decrease or increase work requirements for 
existing government programs. 
(7) Reduce program integrity measures or in-
crease the possibility of fraud in any government 
program. 
(8) Track or monitor the physical location or 
immigration status of immigrants, be used for any 
immigration enforcement activity against any indi-
viduals, or be used to provide any data whatsoever 
to agencies involved in immigration enforcement ac-
tivities or policy. 
(9) Enable any pilot entity or contractor, sub-
contractor, or partner of any pilot entity to share or 
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sell client or household data obtained through those 
projects. 
(10) Eliminate the existing ability of applicants 
to apply for, recertify, or manage government bene-
fits by physically visiting a government office. 
SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than September 30 of each 
of fiscal years 2020 through 2026, the Secretaries shall 
submit to Congress a report on the results of pilot projects 
carried out under this Act. 
(b) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report should in-
clude detailed data on the extent to which the pilot makes 
it easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income Americans 
to access a variety of benefits, the extent to which the pilot 
will save administrative funds over the long-run, the extent 
to which the accuracy and integrity of the benefits pro-
grams included are maintained or improved, and the ex-
tent to which low-income households are able to more eas-
ily obtain free or low-cost banking services. 
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; TECH-
NICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act for 
each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2025— 
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(1) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Housing 
and Urban Development, of which $500,000 shall be 
used internally by the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development for staff and other expenses to 
plan, award, and oversee pilot projects under this 
Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for grants 
under section 6, 
(2) $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Agri-
culture, of which $500,000 shall be used internally 
by Department of Agriculture for staff and other ex-
penses to plan, award, and oversee pilot projects 
under this Act and $9,500,000 shall be available for 
grants under section 6, and 
(3) $15,000,000 to the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, of which $500,000 shall be used 
internally by the Department of Health and Human 
Services for staff and other expenses to plan, award, 
and oversee pilot projects under this Act and 
$9,500,000 shall be available for grants under sec-
tion 6, and 5,000,000 shall be available for contracts 
under section 7. 
(b) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
AUTHORIZED.—The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary 
of Agriculture, the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, the Secretary of Veterans of Affairs, the Sec-
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retary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Com-
missioner of the Internal Revenue Service, the Chief Exec-
utive Officer of the Corporation for National and Commu-
nity Service, the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
ministration, the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget, the Office of Science and Technology, the 
Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 
and the Domestic Policy Council may— 
(1) provide technical assistance, 
(2) solicit voluntary, nonmonetary assistance 
from universities, credit unions, and private sector 
technology companies, banks, and financial institu-
tions, and 
(3) inform eligible entities of the applicable 
Federal, State, local, or Tribal statutory and regu-
latory authorities, including waiver authorities, 
to advance the objectives of the pilot projects carried out 
under this Act. 
Æ 
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