(F) utilize State agency personnel who are 
employed in accordance with the current stand-
ards for a merit system of personnel adminis-
tration or any standards later prescribed by the 
Office of Personnel Management pursuant to 
section 208 of the Intergovernmental Personnel 
Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4728) modifying or su-
perseding such standards relating to the estab-
lishment and maintenance of personnel stand-
ards on a merit basis to make all tentative and 
final determinations of eligibility and ineligi-
bility. 
(4) STREAMLINED
ELIGIBILITY
FOR
CERTAIN 
BENEFICIARIES OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury, the Commissioner of Social Security, 
the Railroad Retirement Board, or the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs, as appropriate, shall 
develop procedures to directly provide energy 
refunds to individuals that are beneficiaries 
under the benefit programs administered by 
such entities and are eligible to receive such re-
funds under the Energy Refund Program, if the 
Secretary of the Treasury determines, in con-
sultation with the Commissioner of Social Secu-
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rity, the Railroad Retirement Board, and the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, that— 
(i) one or more of such entities are 
able to determine the gross income of such 
beneficiaries for purposes of determining 
eligibility for the energy refund; 
(ii) such entities are able to coordi-
nate to ensure that such beneficiaries do 
not receive multiple energy refunds; and 
(iii) Federal provision of energy re-
funds would be more efficient and result in 
receipt of energy refunds by a greater 
number of eligible beneficiaries than deliv-
ery of such refunds by the States. 
(B) RECEIPT OF REFUNDS.—Any low-in-
come beneficiary who receives an energy refund 
pursuant to the procedures developed under this 
paragraph shall not be eligible for an energy re-
fund otherwise provided by a State agency 
under this section. 
(5) REGULATIONS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B), the Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall issue such regulations consistent with 
this section as the Secretary deems necessary or 
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appropriate for the effective and efficient ad-
ministration of the Energy Refund Program, 
and shall promulgate all such regulations in ac-
cordance with the procedures set forth in sec-
tion 553 of title 5, United States Code. 
(B) CERTAIN PROCEDURES.—Without re-
gard to section 553 of title 5 of such Code, the 
Secretary of the Treasury may by rule promul-
gate as final, to be effective until not later than 
2 years after the date of the enactment of the 
America Wins Act, any procedures that are 
substantially the same as the procedures gov-
erning the supplemental nutrition assistance 
program in section 273.2, 273.12, or 273.15 of 
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(C) Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and 
(3) of subsection (i), the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall promulgate regulations requiring 
streamlined eligibility determinations for some 
or all households which include individuals re-
ceiving medical assistance under a State plan 
approved under title XIX or XXI of the Social 
Security Act or individuals receiving premium 
credits for the purchase of qualified health in-
surance coverage pursuant to section 36B of 
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the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The regula-
tions shall institute procedures whereby the 
gross income and family size information used 
for determining eligibility under such provisions 
serve as the basis for determining eligibility for 
the Energy Refund Program. 
(D) EXCEPTION FOR QUARTERLY PROVI-
SION
OF
BENEFITS.—Notwithstanding 
any 
other provision of this section, the Secretary of 
the Treasury may authorize States to provide 
benefits under this section on a quarterly basis 
if the Secretary determines that the amount of 
the benefits that would be provided on a month-
ly basis to households is insufficient to be effi-
ciently paid on a monthly basis in light of the 
administrative expenses of the Energy Refund 
Program. 
(g) TREATMENT.—The value of the refund provided 
under this section shall not be considered income or re-
sources for any purpose under any Federal, State, or local 
laws, including, but not limited to, laws relating to an in-
come tax, or public assistance programs (including, but 
not limited to, health care, cash aid, child care, nutrition 
programs, and housing assistance) and no participating 
State or political subdivision thereof shall decrease any as-
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sistance otherwise provided an individual or individuals be-
cause of the receipt of a refund under this section. 
(h) PROGRAM INTEGRITY.—For purposes of ensuring 
program integrity and complying with the requirements of 
the Improper Payment Information Act of 2002, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall, to the maximum extent pos-
sible, rely on and coordinate with the quality control sam-
ple and review procedures of paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and 
(5) of section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
(7 U.S.C. 2025(c)). 
(i) DEFINITIONS AND SPECIAL RULES.— 
(1) ELECTRONIC
BENEFIT
TRANSFER
SYS-
TEM.—The term ‘‘electronic benefit transfer system’’ 
means a system by which household benefits or re-
funds defined under subsection (e) are issued from 
and stored in a central databank via electronic ben-
efit transfer cards. 
(2) GROSS INCOME.—The term ‘‘gross income’’ 
means the gross income of a household that is deter-
mined in accordance with standards and procedures 
established under section 5 of the Food and Nutri-
tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) and its imple-
menting regulations. 
(3) HOUSEHOLD.— 
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(A) RULES FOR EQUITABLE ADMINISTRA-
TION
OF
REFUND
IN
CERTAIN
CASES.—The 
Secretary of the Treasury shall establish rules 
for providing the energy refund in an equitable 
and administratively simple manner to house-
holds where the group of individuals who live 
together includes members not all of whom are 
described in a single subparagraph of sub-
section (c)(1), or includes additional members 
not described in any such subparagraph. 
(B) CERTAIN GROUPS.—The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall establish rules regarding the 
eligibility and delivery of the energy refund to 
groups of individuals described in section 3(m) 
(4) or (5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(n) (4) or (5)). 
(4) POVERTY LINE.—The term ‘‘poverty line’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 673(2) of 
the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 
9902(2)), including any revision required by that 
section. 
(5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the United States 
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Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands. 
(6) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘State agency’’ 
means an agency of State government, including the 
local offices thereof, that has responsibility for ad-
ministration of the one or more federally aided pub-
lic assistance programs within the State, and in 
those States where such assistance programs are op-
erated on a decentralized basis, the term shall in-
clude the counterpart local agencies administering 
such programs. 
(7) SUPPLEMENTAL
NUTRITION
ASSISTANCE 
PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘supplemental nutrition as-
sistance program’’ means the supplemental nutrition 
assistance program as defined in section 3 of the 
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012). 
(8) OTHER TERMS.—Other terms not defined in 
this section shall have the same meaning as such 
terms have in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program unless the Secretary of the Treasury finds 
for good cause that application of a particular defi-
nition would be detrimental to the purposes of the 
Energy Refund Program. 
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SEC. 4. CONSUMER TAX REBATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 36C. WORKING FAMILIES RELIEF. 
‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli-
gible taxpayer, there shall be allowed as a credit against 
the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an 
amount equal to the working families relief amount. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION BASED ON HOUSEHOLD INCOME.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount allowable as a 
credit under subsection (a) (determined without re-
gard to this subsection) for the taxable year shall be 
reduced (but not below zero) by 0.05 percent for 
every $10 by which the taxpayer’s household income 
for the taxable year exceeds the credit cap amount 
for the calendar year in which such taxable year be-
gins. 
‘‘(2) CREDIT
CAP
AMOUNT.—The credit cap 
mount for any calendar year is the amount which is 
equal to 350 percent of the poverty line (within the 
meaning of section 2110(c)(5) of the Social Security 
Act) for the size of the family involved for such cal-
endar year. 
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‘‘(3) ROUNDING.—Solely for purposes of para-
graph (1), if the eligible taxpayer’s adjusted gross 
income or the credit cap amount is not a multiple 
of $10, such amount shall be rounded to the next 
highest multiple of $10. 
‘‘(c) COORDINATION WITH ENERGY REFUND RE-
CEIVED THROUGH STATE HUMAN SERVICE AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In any taxable year in 
which a taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse receives 
an energy refund under section 3 of the America 
Wins Act, the amount described in subsection (a) 
shall be reduced by the energy refund amount re-
ceived in that taxable year. 
‘‘(2) INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall pro-
mulgate regulations that instruct States on how to 
inform adult individuals who receive an energy re-
fund under section 3 of the America Wins Act the 
refund amount the individuals received and how 
such information shall be provided to the Internal 
Revenue Service. 
‘‘(3) SYSTEM
TO
HANDLE
INQUIRIES.—The 
Secretary shall establish a telephone and online sys-
tem that allows an individual to inquire about the 
refund amount the individual received. 
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‘‘(4) 
ADJUSTMENT
OF
ENERGY
REFUND 
AMOUNT.—In the case of an individual who does not 
report the refund amount that was provided under 
section 3 of the America Wins Act or recorded an 
incorrect number of refund amount, the Secretary 
shall adjust the energy refund under such section 
based on the information received from States. Such 
reduction shall only be made if the Secretary has 
made a determination that the information meets a 
sufficient standard for accuracy. 
‘‘(d) WORKING FAMILIES RELIEF AMOUNT.—For 
purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The working families relief 
amount with respect to any eligible taxpayer for any 
taxable year is an amount equal to— 
‘‘(A) the relief amount for the calendar 
year in which such taxable year begins, multi-
plied by 
‘‘(B) the scale factor applicable to the eli-
gible taxpayer’s family size. 
‘‘(2) RELIEF AMOUNT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The relief amount 
with respect to any calendar year is the amount 
which will provide that the aggregate credits al-
lowed under this section with respect to all eli-
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