COVID–19 Diaper Assistance Act
Bill: S.237 | Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher (D-CT)
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
COVID-19 Diaper Assistance Act
This bill provides additional funding for FY2021 for the Social Services Block Grant to provide diapers, wipes, and other diapering supplies to families in need. This grant is a flexible funding stream used by states and territories to support a wide range of social services.

To provide funds through the Social Services Block Grant program for 
                           diaper assistance.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``COVID-19 Diaper Assistance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Infants need between 6 to 12 diapers a day. Infants and 
        toddlers lacking access to clean diapers have a greater risk 
        for health complications, which require costly and difficult to 
        access medical care.
            (2) Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys indicated that 
        1 in 3 families in the United States with young children could 
        not afford an adequate supply of diapers to keep their child 
        clean, dry, and healthy.
            (3) Low-income families pay an even higher than average 
        price for diapers because they do not have access to money 
        saving alternatives such as bulk buying or online shopping that 
        can reduce costs. Low-income families spend about 14 percent of 
        their income on diapers.
            (4) Clean diaper access presents a financial and stressful 
        burden on families' dependent on child care services. Research 
        indicates that when diaper need is a barrier to child care, 
        parents miss an average of 4 workdays a month.
            (5) The COVID-19 pandemic has further raised demand for 
        diapers and strained diaper banks' ability to meet low-income 
        families' needs. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofit 
        diaper bank distribution only met 5 to 6 percent of diaper 
        need. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, diaper banks 
        around the country have experienced double, triple, or greater 
        increase in demand for diapers due to the pandemic and economic 
        shutdown. Nonprofits alone cannot fully address this public 
        health crisis that impacts 1 in 3 families in the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. TARGETED FUNDING FOR STATES FOR DIAPER ASSISTANCE THROUGH THE 
              SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Increase in Funding for Social Services Block Grant Program.--
            (1) In general.--The amount specified in subsection (c) of 
        section 2003 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397b) for 
        purposes of subsections (a) and (b) of such section is deemed 
        to be $1,900,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, of which 
        $200,000,000 shall be obligated by States in accordance with 
        subsection (b).
            (2) Appropriation.--Out of any money in the Treasury of the 
        United States not otherwise appropriated, there are 
        appropriated $200,000,000, which shall be available for 
        payments under section 2002 of the Social Security Act (42 
        U.S.C. 1397a), which shall remain available for expenditure 
        through December 31, 2022.
            (3) Deadline for distribution of funds.--Within 45 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services shall distribute the funds made 
        available by this subsection, which shall be made available to 
        States on an emergency basis for immediate obligation and 
        expenditure.
            (4) Submission of revised pre-expenditure report.--Within 
        90 days after a State receives funds made available by this 
        subsection, the State shall submit to the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services a revised pre-expenditure report pursuant to 
        subtitle A of title XX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1397 et seq.) that describes how the State plans to administer 
        the funds in accordance with subsection (b).
            (5) Deadline for obligation of funds by states.--A State to 
        which funds made available by this subsection are distributed 
        shall obligate the funds not later than December 31, 2021.
            (6) Deadline for expenditure of funds.--A grantee to which 
        a State provides funds made available by this subsection (or a 
        subgrantee of such a grantee) shall expend the funds not later 
        than December 31, 2022.
    (b) Rules Governing Use of Additional Funds.--Funds are used in 
accordance with this subsection if--
            (1) the funds are used to provide through social service 
        agencies or other nonprofit organizations, diapers and 
        diapering supplies (including diaper wipes and diaper cream, 
        necessary to ensure that a child using a diaper is properly 
        cleaned and protected from diaper rash) to families in need;
            (2) the funds are used subject to the limitations in 
        section 2005 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397d);
            (3) the funds are used to supplement, not supplant, State 
        general revenue funds provided for the purposes described in 
        paragraph (1); and
            (4) the funds are not used for costs that are reimbursable 
        by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, under a contract 
        for insurance, or by self-insurance.
    (c) Reports.--
            (1) Grantees and subgrantees.--Not later than December 31, 
        2022, each grantee to which a State provides funds made 
        available by subsection (a) (or a subgrantee of such a grantee) 
        shall submit a report to the State on the use of the funds so 
        provided.
            (2) SSBG annual report.--A State shall include in the 
        annual report required under section 2006 of the Social 
        Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397e) covering fiscal year 2023, 
        information detailing how grantees and subgrantees used funds 
        made available under subsection (a) to distribute diapers and 
        diapering supplies to families in need.
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