Automatic Boost to Communities Act
Bill: H.R.1030 | Sponsor: Rep. Tlaib, Rashida (D-MI)
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector

Summary:
Automatic Boost to Communities Act
This bill creates the Boost Communities Program to provide monthly aid during and after the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. Specifically, the bill provides $2,000 a month to individuals until the COVID-19 emergency declaration is terminated, or the national unemployment rate meets specified criteria, whichever is later. Furthermore, the bill provides $1,000 a month to individuals during the following year. The program also provides targeted supplemental assistance for at-risk populations.
The bill provides for the distribution of these funds through direct deposit, debit cards, and the establishment of digital dollar wallets.
The Department of the Treasury is directed to mint and issue two $1 trillion platinum coins and additional coins as needed to fund the program. The Federal Reserve is directed to purchase the coins.


To direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the Boost 
Communities Program to provide monthly payments to America's consumers 
 during the COVID-19 emergency to recover from the emergency, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 ``Automatic Boost to Communities 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the Boost 
        Communities Program as set forth in section 3.
            (2) Interim boost card.--The term ``interim BOOST card'' 
        means a prepaid debit card issued pursuant to section 3.
            (3) Payment period.--The term ``payment period'' means the 
        period--
                    (A) beginning on the first day of the first month 
                beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act; 
                and
                    (B) ending on the later of--
                            (i) the termination of the emergency 
                        declared on March 13, 2020, by the President 
                        under section 501(b) of the Robert Stafford 
                        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                        (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with respect to the COVID-
                        19 pandemic; or
                            (ii) the date on which the national 
                        unemployment rate (as determined by the Bureau 
                        of Labor Statistics) is within 2 percentage 
                        points of the national unemployment rate on the 
                        moving average of December 2019 through 
                        February 2020, and the 3-month average of the 
                        national unemployment rate has declined for two 
                        consecutive months.
            (4) Digital dollars.--The term ``digital dollars'' means 
        dollar balances consisting of digital ledger entries recorded 
        as liabilities in the accounts of any Federal reserve bank and 
        digital coins or currency instruments issued by the United 
        States Treasury as legal tender, and held as bearer instruments 
        in any digital dollar cash wallet approved by the United States 
        Treasury.
            (5) Digital dollar account wallets.--The term ``digital 
        dollar account wallet'' means a digital dollar account, 
        maintained by a Federal reserve bank on behalf of any person, 
        for the purpose of holding digital dollar balances.
            (6) Digital dollar cash wallets.--The term ``digital dollar 
        cash wallet'' means any software program, whose standards, 
        specifications, and functions are authorized and regulated by 
        the United States Treasury, which stores, sends, and receives 
        digital coins or currency instruments issued by the United 
        States Treasury as legal tender, and which are considered 
        bearer instruments in the possession of the individual or 
        entity on whose behalf the wallet is managed and administered.
            (7) At-risk populations.--The term ``at-risk population'' 
        means a population that is experiencing, or reasonably may be 
        expected to experience, unique direct or indirect financial or 
        personal hardship as a result of or during the Coronavirus 
        crisis, including the elderly, homeless, physically disabled, 
        and those in remote areas, as well as any other population as 
        identified by the Secretary.
            (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Treasury.

SEC. 3. BOOST COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to be 
known as the ``Boost Communities Program''. Under the Program, the 
Secretary shall make payments to eligible individuals for each month in 
the payment period. Such payments shall consist of a general assistance 
component and a targeted supplemental assistance component.
    (b) Payments.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) Amount of payments.--The amount of payments under the 
        Program shall be--
                    (A) for general assistance--
                            (i) $2,000 per month to each eligible 
                        individual thereafter during the payment 
                        period; and
                            (ii) $1,000 per month to each eligible 
                        individual a year after the payment period; and
                    (B) for targeted supplemental assistance, such 
                additional amounts and sums as determined by the 
                Secretary to be necessary and appropriate to meet the 
                specific needs of eligible individuals who are members 
                of at-risk populations, as identified by the Secretary.
            (2) Methods of payment.--
                    (A) Direct deposit.--As regards recipients who have 
                previously provided bank account information to the 
                Secretary, the Secretary shall directly deposit Program 
                payments into these accounts, unless recipients 
                indicate a preference to receive an Interim BOOST Card 
                instead, in which case that preference shall be 
                honored, and all subsequent Program payments shall be 
                made exclusively via the BOOST card.
                    (B) Interim boost cards.--In any case in which 
                subparagraph (A) does not apply, the Secretary shall 
                contract with banking institutions that includes 
                minority deposit institutions, community development 
                financial institutions, credit unions, national banking 
                association, and any licensed money transmitter as 
                deemed necessary or appropriate by the Secretary to 
                issue an interim BOOST card.
            (3) Interim boost cards.--
                    (A) Rules relating to interim boost cards.--The 
                interim BOOST card shall--
                            (i) have all the functionality and service 
                        levels currently available to certain 
                        recipients of public benefits through the 
                        Treasury Department's Direct Express program; 
                        and
                            (ii) not be subject to any fees or penalty 
                        charges, usage restrictions, or data collection 
                        practices other than those explicitly 
                        authorized by this Act.
                    (B) Availability of full balance.--The full balance 
                of the interim BOOST card shall be made available for 
                immediate withdrawal into physical currency at any 
                automated teller machine in the country, at any time, 
                and not be subject to any usage or withdrawal fees.
                    (C) Distribution.--
                            (i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        distribute interim BOOST cards using the Postal 
                        Service to all eligible individuals with an 
                        active address on file with any government 
                        agency, and shall be delivered by certified 
                        mail wherever possible, using the fastest 
                        service available, with any associated costs to 
                        the Postal Service reimbursed directly by the 
                        Treasury of the United States.
                            (ii) In person pick-up.--Any eligible 
                        individual who does not have an active address 
                        on file with any government agency, or who 
                        otherwise is not able to or does not receive a 
                        prepaid card pursuant to clause (i) may obtain 
                        an interim or replacement BOOST card through 
                        any card distribution station set up under the 
                        Program, including through any bank (as defined 
                        in section 581 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
                        1986), insured credit union (within the meaning 
                        of section 101(7) of the Federal Credit Union 
                        Act (12 U.S.C. 1752(7))) located in the United 
                        States, post office, United States diplomatic 
                        missions or any other Federal, State, or local 
                        government agency or private contracting 
                        entity, as determined by the Secretary to be 
                        necessary or appropriate.
                            (iii) Web-based access.--The Secretary 
                        shall establish a website for the purposes of 
                        allowing eligible recipients to update their 
                        current mailing address and direct deposit 
                        information, to indicate their preference to 
                        receive an Interim BOOST card instead of 
                        receiving payments via direct deposit, and for 
                        providing account information to users, 
                        including information pertaining to the account 
                        number, status of delivery and receipt of their 
                        allocated funds, and the amount of the funds 
                        still available on their card and to obtain a 
                        check in the amount of the funds in the 
                        account.
                            (iv) Telephone access.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish a dedicated telephone information and 
                        assistance number for the purposes of allowing 
                        eligible recipients to update their current 
                        mailing address and direct deposit information, 
                        to indicate their preference to receive an 
                        Interim BOOST card instead of receiving 
                        payments via direct deposit, and for providing 
                        account or card information to users, including 
                        information pertaining to the status of 
                        delivery and receipt of their allocated funds, 
                        and the amount of the funds still available on 
                        their card.
                            (v) At-risk outreach.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish a dedicated Emergency Responder 
                        Corps, and where necessary or appropriate, as 
                        determined by the Secretary, shall contract 
                        with existing Federal, State, and local 
                        government agencies and private entities, to 
                        perform outreach to at-risk populations, 
                        including the elderly, homeless, physically 
                        disabled, or in remote areas, to ensure that 
                        these populations receive their interim BOOST 
                        card as well as to perform a general wellness 
                        check in case of needed targeted supplemental 
                        assistance, which shall then be provided in 
                        such sums and amounts as determined to be 
                        necessary and appropriate by the Secretary via 
                        any payments mechanism otherwise authorized by 
                        this Act and deemed appropriate for the 
                        circumstances by the Secretary.
            (4) Regulatory treatment of payment.--The Secretary shall 
        apply the ``XX'' code specified in section 212.3 of title 31, 
        Code of Federal Regulations, to designate all Program payments 
        as benefit payments. The Secretary shall further issue such 
        rules or guidance as needed to protect Program payments from 
        garnishment. In addition, the Secretary shall issue such rules 
        or guidance as needed to ensure that any funds distributed 
        through the Program do not render recipients ineligible for any 
        other Federal, State, or local benefits or income that they 
        would otherwise have been entitled to receive in the absence of 
        the Program, including excluding any general assistance or 
        targeted supplemental assistance received via the Program from 
        calculation of reportable annual income for the purpose of 
        calculating eligibility for benefits subject to an income-cap 
        threshold.
    (c) Eligible Individual.--
            (1) In general.--The term ``eligible individual'' means--
                    (A) a citizen or resident (as such terms are used 
                in section 7701(a)(30)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 
                of 1986) of the United States; and
                    (B) any nonresident alien (as defined in section 
                7701(b)(1)(B) of such Code) who has been in the United 
                States for more than the 3-month period beginning on 
                December 13, 2019.
            (2) United states.--The term ``United States'' includes the 
        50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions of the 
        United States, incorporated territories and citizens abroad.
    (d) Rules Relating to Program.--
            (1) Coordination.--To ensure that the Program is as 
        universal and comprehensive as possible, the Secretary shall 
        develop a list of eligible individuals through coordination 
        with the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security 
        Administration, the Federal Election Commission, and every 
        other relevant Federal, State, and local government agency, 
        including State Departments of Motor Vehicles. Any expenses 
        incurred by any entity as a result of compliance with the 
        gathering of this information and construction of this database 
        shall be reimbursed directly by the United States Treasury.
            (2) Database of recipients.--The Secretary shall establish 
        a database of recipients, identified by name and, where 
        available, employer identification number, individual tax 
        identification number, student identification, or swear in an 
        affidavit where you are ineligible for a social security number 
        and unable to submit satisfactory proof that your presence in 
        the United States is authorized by Federal law. This affidavit 
        will not be treated as public record and use solely for the 
        purposes of this program. The database established under this 
        paragraph shall not be shared with any other Federal, State, or 
        local agency, other entity, or Immigration Customs Enforcement 
        and related enforcement agencies, or used for any purpose other 
        than to administer the program, provided that the Secretary may 
        share identifying information with the Board of Governors of 
        the Federal Reserve System and the United States Postal Office 
        for the purpose of developing banking accounts maintained at 
        the Federal Reserve Board or for the purposes of maintain 
        accounts at the United State Postal Office, upon receipt of 
        written consent of recipients for such information to be shared 
        for this purpose.
    (e) Public Awareness Program.--Not later than the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish an awareness 
program to inform the public of the availability of the existence of 
the Program and eligibility of recipients to receive general and 
targeted supplemental assistance, as well as the various payment and 
distribution options available to receive this assistance. The 
Secretary shall use appropriate means of communication to carry out the 
provisions of this section.
    (f) Funding.--
            (1) Directive to mint and issue platinum coins.--The 
        Secretary shall, under section 5112(k) of title 31, United 
        States Code, mint and issue two $1 trillion platinum coins and 
        shall further mint and issue any additional $1 trillion coins 
        on an as-needed basis to cover any direct and indirect expenses 
        related to the Program for the duration of the program.
            (2) Transfer of funds to the general fund.--The Secretary 
        shall direct the United States Mint to sweep all funds received 
        from the sale of the coins under paragraph (2) into the general 
        fund of the Treasury.
    (g) Preserving Federal Reserve Independence and Efficacy of 
Monetary Policy.--To ensure that the Program does not unintentionally 
or unduly interfere with or limit the efficacy of the Federal Reserve 
System in achieving its statutory obligations, including in particular 
with respect to implementation of its monetary policy objectives, the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve shall be authorized:
            (1) Supplemental financing securities.--To issue as Federal 
        reserve notes under section 248(d) of title 12, United States 
        Code, digital securities, including bills, notes, and bonds, of 
        whatever maturity, denomination, and yield, as is deemed 
        appropriate and necessary by the Board of Governors to achieve 
        its statutory objectives under the Federal Reserve Act, in 
        quantities up to an amount equivalent to the total face value 
        of all platinum coins issued by the United States Treasury and 
        held as assets by the Federal Reserve System. Notes issued 
        under this paragraph shall be sold on the open market in a 
        manner similar to the sale of Treasury securities, and, like 
        Federal reserve notes, shall be considered direct obligations 
        of the United States under section 8 of title 18, United States 
        Code, but shall be recorded for accounting purposes as direct 
        liabilities of the Federal Reserve System, and accordingly 
        shall not be included in calculations of public debt subject to 
        limit under section 3101 of title 31, United States Code.
            (2) Establish a dedicated special treasury monetary 
        financing account.--The Federal Reserve Bank of New York shall 
        establish an account titled the ``Special Treasury Monetary 
        Financing Account'', in which shall be recorded any expenses 
        associated with payment of interest on settlement balances or 
        Federal reserve securities up to a total principal amount 
        equivalent to the total principal value of all platinum coins 
        issued by the United States Treasury and held as assets by the 
        Federal Reserve System, plus any additional liabilities 
        incurred as a result of prior interest payments made on 
        liabilities issued against coin assets purchased under the 
        Program. Any ongoing losses incurred by this account shall be 
        recorded as a negative liability, and shall be maintained 
        separately from the rest of the balance sheet of both the 
        Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Federal Reserve 
        System, so as not to reduce or impact the calculation of total 
        income or revenue generated by the Federal Reserve System, or 
        otherwise reduce the total amount of net operating profits to 
        be made available for remittance to the Treasury on an ongoing 
        basis.
    (h) Regulations.--The Secretary and the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System shall issue such regulations or other guidance 
as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out this section.
    (i) Sense of Congress Regarding Establishment of FedAccounts and 
Treasury-Administered ECash Wallets.--
            (1) Digital dollar account wallets.--
                    (A) Establishment.--It is a sense of Congress that 
                at the end of the payment period, the Board of 
                Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall develop 
                and administer a system of Digital Dollar Account 
                Wallets, which shall be branded as ``FedAccounts'', and 
                made available to all United States citizens, United 
                States residents, and domestically domiciled 
                businesses, along with associated services, including 
                debit cards, online account access, automatic bill-pay, 
                mobile banking, and automatic teller machines 
                maintained in conjunction with the United States Postal 
                Services at its physical locations.
                    (B) Boost payments via digital dollar account 
                wallets.--No later than January 1, 2022, the Secretary 
                shall offer all recipients of BOOST payments the option 
                to receive their payments in digital dollar wallets. 
                BOOST recipients receiving their payments through 
                interim BOOST cards shall instead receive a Federal 
                Reserve Account for debit cards and be given the option 
                to sign up online for fully operational digital dollar 
                account wallets.
                    (C) Authorization for each federal reserve bank to 
                maintain digital account.--Subject to such 
                restrictions, limitations, and regulations as may be 
                imposed by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
                Reserve System, each Federal reserve bank may maintain 
                digital dollar account wallets.
                    (D) Digital dollar account wallets shall not be 
                subject to any account fees, minimum balances, or 
                maximum balances, and shall not be closed or restricted 
                on the basis of profitability.
                    (E) Digital dollar account wallets shall partner 
                with Post Office branches to ensure access and 
                availability to application and account services for 
                all United States citizens and United States residents 
                and domestically domiciled businesses in areas where 
                access to physical member bank branches is limited, in 
                low- or moderate-income geographies; designated 
                disaster areas; distressed or underserved non-
                metropolitan middle-income geographies as designated by 
                the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, 
                Federal Reserve banks.
                    (F) Digital dollar account wallets shall provide 
                account holders with reasonable protection against 
                losses caused by fraud or security breaches but shall 
                not include overdraft coverage.
                    (G) Digital dollar account wallets shall comply 
                with the relevant portions of the Bank Secrecy Act in 
                establishing and maintaining digital dollar account 
                wallets and shall impose privacy obligations on 
                providers under the Privacy Act of 1974 that mirror 
                those applicable to Federal tax returns under sections 
                6103, 7213(a)(1), 7213A, and 7431 of the Internal 
                Revenue Code of 1986.
            (2) Terms of dollar cash wallet system.--At the end of the 
        payment period, the Treasury shall develop and administer a 
        system of digital dollar cash wallets, which shall be branded 
        as ``eCash Wallets'' and made available to any eligible 
        individual to store, send, and receive digital coins or other 
        digital currency instruments issued by the United States 
        Treasury as legal tender.
            (3) Additional sense of congress.--It is the additional 
        sense of Congress that--
                    (A) digital dollar cash wallet hosting services 
                shall be offered directly by the Treasury, in 
                coordination with the Federal Reserve and licensed 
                depository and money transmitter entities, to promote 
                integration with and interoperability between digital 
                dollar cash wallets and digital dollar account wallets 
                managed by the Federal Reserve, and shall not be 
                subject to any associated administrative fees or 
                minimum or maximum balances, and shall not be closed on 
                the basis of profitability considerations;
                    (B) digital dollar cash wallets shall also be 
                capable of being self-hosted on widely available, 
                inexpensive digital devices, including mobile phones, 
                with any necessary software or hardware licensed under 
                an appropriate open source license; and
                    (C) a Digital Financial Privacy Board shall be--
                            (i) established by the Secretary to 
                        oversee, monitor, and report on the design and 
                        implementation of the digital dollar cash 
                        wallet system;
                            (ii) maintained thereafter to provide 
                        ongoing oversight over its administration; and
                            (iii) designed in such a way as to 
                        replicate the privacy and anonymity-respecting 
                        features of physical currency transactions as 
                        closely as possible, including prohibition of 
                        surveillance or censorship-enabling backdoor 
                        features.
            (4) Regulation.--The Board of Governors of the Federal 
        Reserve System shall promulgate regulations carrying out this 
        section.

SEC. 4. ADDRESSING IMPACT ON INEQUALITY.

    After the termination of the emergency declared on March 13, 2020, 
by the President under section 501(b) of the Robert Stafford Disaster 
Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) with respect to 
the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary shall establish an independent 
Commission to--
            (1) investigate and ascertain the short-term and long-term 
        impact of emergency relief measures, including those included 
        in this Act, on overall levels and rates of increase of income 
        and wealth inequality in the United States; and
            (2) identify and propose a comprehensive set of legislative 
        and policy responses to address such impacts, including 
        progressive tax reform as well as the enactment of new Federal 
        programs and emergency response practices to preemptively 
        prevent such outcomes from occurring in the event of future 
        similar crises or emergencies.
                                 <all>