I 119THCONGRESS 1 STSESSION H. R. 3156 To reauthorize and reform the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY1, 2025 Mr. L AHOODintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To reauthorize and reform the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jobs and Opportunity 4 with Benefits and Services (JOBS) for Success Act of 5 2025’’. 6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3156 IH Sec. 3. References. Sec. 4. Helping more Americans enter and remain in the workforce. Sec. 5. Expecting universal engagement and case management. Sec. 6. Promoting accountability by measuring work outcomes. Sec. 7. Targeting funds to truly needy families. Sec. 8. Targeting funds to core purposes. Sec. 9. Strengthening program integrity by measuring improper payments. Sec. 10. Prohibition on State diversion of Federal funds to replace State spend- ing. Sec. 11. Inclusion of poverty reduction as a program purpose. Sec. 12. Strengthening accountability through HHS approval of State plans. Sec. 13. Aligning and improving data reporting. Sec. 14. Technical corrections to data exchange standards to improve program coordination. Sec. 15. Set-aside for economic downturns. Sec. 16. Welfare for needs not weed. Sec. 17. Definitions related to use of funds. Sec. 18. Elimination of obsolete provisions. Sec. 19. Effective date. SEC. 3. REFERENCES. 1 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 2 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 3 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi-4 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 5 section or other provision of the Social Security Act. 6 SEC. 4. HELPING MORE AMERICANS ENTER AND REMAIN IN 7 THE WORKFORCE. 8 (a) F AMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—Section 9 403(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)) is amended in each of 10 subparagraphs (A) and (C) by striking ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ 11 and inserting ‘‘2026 through 2030’’. 12 (b) H EALTHYMARRIAGEPROMOTION AND RESPON-13 SIBLEFATHERHOODGRANTS.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) (42 14 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended— 15 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3156 IH (1) by striking ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ and inserting 1 ‘‘2026 through 2030’’; and 2 (2) by striking ‘‘for fiscal year 2017 or 2018’’. 3 (c) T RIBALGRANTS.—Section 412(a) (42 U.S.C. 4 612(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1)(A) and 5 (2)(A) by striking ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2026 6 through 2030’’. 7 (d) G RANTS TO THE TERRITORIES.—Section 8 1108(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1308(b)(2)) is amended by striking 9 ‘‘2017 and 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2026 through 2030’’. 10 SEC. 5. EXPECTING UNIVERSAL ENGAGEMENT AND CASE 11 MANAGEMENT. 12 Section 408(b) (42 U.S.C. 608(b)) is amended to 13 read as follows: 14 ‘‘(b) I NDIVIDUALOPPORTUNITYPLANS.— 15 ‘‘(1) A SSESSMENT.—The State agency respon-16 sible for administering the State program funded 17 under this part shall make an initial assessment of 18 the following for each work-eligible individual (as de-19 fined in the regulations promulgated pursuant to 20 section 407(i)(1)(A)(i)): 21 ‘‘(A) The education obtained, skills, prior 22 work experience, work readiness, and barriers 23 to work of the individual. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(B) The well-being of the children in the 1 family of the individual and, where appropriate, 2 activities or services (such as services offered by 3 a program funded under section 511) to im-4 prove the well-being of the children. 5 ‘‘(2) C ONTENTS OF PLANS .—On the basis of 6 the assessment required by paragraph (1) of this 7 subsection, the State agency, in consultation with 8 the individual, shall develop an individual oppor-9 tunity plan that— 10 ‘‘(A) includes a personal responsibility 11 agreement in which the individual acknowledges 12 receipt of publicly funded benefits and responsi-13 bility to comply with program requirements in 14 order to receive the benefits; 15 ‘‘(B) sets forth the obligations of the indi-16 vidual to participate in work activities (as de-17 fined in section 407(d)), and the number of 18 hours per month for which the individual will so 19 participate pursuant to section 407; 20 ‘‘(C) sets forth an employment goal and 21 planned short-, intermediate-, and long-term ac-22 tions to achieve the goal, and, in the case of an 23 individual who has not attained 24 years of age 24 and is in secondary school or the equivalent, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3156 IH intermediate action may be completion of sec-1 ondary school or the equivalent; 2 ‘‘(D) describes the job counseling and 3 other services the State will provide to the indi-4 vidual to enable the individual to obtain and 5 keep unsubsidized employment; 6 ‘‘(E) may include referral to appropriate 7 substance abuse or mental health treatment; 8 and 9 ‘‘(F) is signed by the individual. 10 ‘‘(3) T IMING.—The State agency shall comply 11 with paragraphs (1) and (2) with respect to a work- 12 eligible individual— 13 ‘‘(A) within 1 year after the effective date 14 of this subsection, in the case of an individual 15 who, as of such effective date, is a recipient of 16 assistance under the State program funded 17 under this part (as in effect immediately before 18 such effective date); or 19 ‘‘(B) within 60 days after the individual is 20 determined to be eligible for the assistance, in 21 the case of any other individual. 22 ‘‘(4) U NIVERSAL ENGAGEMENT .—Subject to 23 paragraph (3) of this subsection, each State shall re-24 quire all work-eligible recipients receiving funds 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3156 IH under the State program funded under this part to 1 engage in work in accordance with the provisions of 2 sections 407(c), 407(d), and 407(e). 3 ‘‘(5) P ENALTY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE BY INDI -4 VIDUAL.—In addition to any other penalties required 5 under the State program funded under this part, the 6 State shall reduce, pursuant to section 407(e)(3), 7 the amount of assistance otherwise payable under 8 the State program to a family that includes an indi-9 vidual who fails without good cause to comply with 10 an individual opportunity plan developed pursuant to 11 this subsection, that is signed by the individual. 12 ‘‘(6) P ERIODIC REVIEW.—The State shall meet 13 with each work-eligible individual assessed by the 14 State under paragraph (1), not less frequently than 15 every 90 days, to— 16 ‘‘(A) review the individual opportunity plan 17 developed for the individual, including the eligi-18 bility of the individual for benefits; 19 ‘‘(B) discuss with the individual the 20 progress made by the individual in achieving 21 the goals specified in the plan; and 22 ‘‘(C) update the plan, as necessary, to re-23 flect any changes in the circumstances of the 24 individual since the plan was last reviewed.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3156 IH SEC. 6. PROMOTING ACCOUNTABILITY BY MEASURING 1 WORK OUTCOMES. 2 (a) I NGENERAL.—Section 407(a) (42 U.S.C. 3 607(a)) is amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘(a) P ERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY AND WORK 5 O UTCOMES.— 6 ‘‘(1) W ORK OUTCOMES.— 7 ‘‘(A) I N GENERAL.—A State to which a 8 grant is made under section 403 shall achieve 9 the requisite minimum level of performance for 10 a fiscal year described in this paragraph with 11 respect to the percentage of employment exits 12 for families receiving assistance under the State 13 program funded under this part, or be subject 14 to penalty as described in section 409(a)(3). 15 ‘‘(B) C ALCULATION OF PERCENTAGE OF 16 EMPLOYMENT EXITS .—For purposes of this 17 paragraph, the percentage of employment exits 18 with respect to a State equals the ratio of the 19 number of work-eligible individuals who are in 20 unsubsidized employment 6 months after their 21 exit to the average monthly number of families 22 receiving assistance under the State program 23 funded under this part. 24 ‘‘(C) A GREEMENT ON REQUISITE LEVEL 25 OF PERFORMANCE .—The Secretary and the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3156 IH State shall negotiate the requisite level of per-1 formance for the State with respect to employ-2 ment exits for each fiscal year beginning with 3 fiscal year 2028. 4 ‘‘(2) P ERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY .— 5 ‘‘(A) P URPOSE.—The purpose of this para-6 graph is to provide for the establishment of per-7 formance accountability measures to assess the 8 effectiveness of States in increasing employ-9 ment, retention, and advancement among fami-10 lies receiving assistance under the State pro-11 gram funded under this part. 12 ‘‘(B) I N GENERAL.—A State to which a 13 grant is made under section 403 for a fiscal 14 year shall achieve the requisite level of perform-15 ance on an indicator described in subparagraph 16 (D) of this paragraph for the fiscal year. 17 ‘‘(C) M EASURING STATE PERFORMANCE .— 18 Each State, in consultation with the Secretary, 19 shall collect and submit to the Secretary the in-20 formation necessary to measure the level of per-21 formance of the State for each indicator de-22 scribed in subparagraph (D), for fiscal year 23 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter, and the 24 Secretary shall use the information collected for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3156 IH fiscal year 2027 to establish the baseline level 1 of performance for each State for each such in-2 dicator. 3 ‘‘(D) I NDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE .— 4 The indicators described in this subparagraph, 5 for a fiscal year, are the following: 6 ‘‘(i) The percentage of individuals who 7 were work-eligible individuals as of the 8 time of exit from the program, who are in 9 unsubsidized employment during the 2nd 10 quarter after the exit. 11 ‘‘(ii) The percentage of individuals 12 who were work-eligible individuals who 13 were in unsubsidized employment in the 14 2nd quarter after the exit, who are also in 15 unsubsidized employment during the 4th 16 quarter after the exit. 17 ‘‘(iii) The median earnings of individ-18 uals who were work-eligible individuals as 19 of the time of exit from the program, who 20 are in unsubsidized employment during the 21 2nd quarter after the exit. 22 ‘‘(iv) The percentage of individuals 23 who have not attained 24 years of age, are 24 attending high school or enrolled in an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3156 IH equivalency program, and are work-eligible 1 individuals or were work-eligible individ-2 uals as of the time of exit from the pro-3 gram, who obtain a high school degree or 4 its recognized equivalent while receiving as-5 sistance under the State program funded 6 under this part or within 1 year after the 7 exit. 8 ‘‘(E) L EVELS OF PERFORMANCE .— 9 ‘‘(i) I N GENERAL.—For each State 10 submitting a State plan pursuant to sec-11 tion 402(a), there shall be established, in 12 accordance with this subparagraph, levels 13 of performance for each of the indicators 14 described in subparagraph (D). 15 ‘‘(ii) W EIGHT.—The weight assigned 16 to such an indicator shall be the following: 17 ‘‘(I) Forty percent, in the case of 18 the indicator described in subpara-19 graph (D)(i). 20 ‘‘(II) Twenty-five percent, in the 21 case of the indicator described in sub-22 paragraph (D)(ii). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(III) Twenty-five percent, in the 1 case of the indicator described in sub-2 paragraph (D)(iii). 3 ‘‘(IV) Ten percent, in the case of 4 the indicator described in subpara-5 graph (D)(iv). 6 ‘‘(iii) A GREEMENT ON REQUISITE 7 PERFORMANCE LEVEL FOR EACH INDI -8 CATOR.— 9 ‘‘(I) I N GENERAL.—The Sec-10 retary and the State shall negotiate 11 the requisite level of performance for 12 the State with respect to each indi-13 cator described in clause (ii), for each 14 fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 15 2028, and shall do so before the be-16 ginning of the fiscal year involved. 17 ‘‘(II) R EQUIREMENTS IN ESTAB -18 LISHING PERFORMANCE LEVELS .—In 19 establishing the requisite levels of per-20 formance, the State and the Secretary 21 shall— 22 ‘‘(aa) take into account how 23 the levels involved compare with 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3156 IH the levels established for other 1 States; and 2 ‘‘(bb) ensure the levels in-3 volved are adjusted, using the ob-4 jective statistical model referred 5 to in clause (v), based on— 6 ‘‘(AA) the differences 7 among States in economic 8 conditions, including dif-9 ferences in unemployment 10 rates or employment losses 11 or gains in particular indus-12 tries; 13 ‘‘(BB) the characteris-14 tics of participants on entry 15 into the program, including 16 indicators of prior work his-17 tory, lack of educational or 18 occupational skills attain-19 ment, or other factors that 20 may affect employment and 21 earnings; and 22 ‘‘(CC) take into account 23 the extent to which the lev-24 els involved promote contin-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3156 IH uous improvement in per-1 formance by each State. 2 ‘‘(iv) R EVISIONS BASED ON ECONOMIC 3 CONDITIONS AND INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING 4 ASSISTANCE DURING THE FISCAL YEAR .— 5 The Secretary shall, in accordance with the 6 objective statistical model referred to in 7 clause (v), revise the requisite levels of per-8 formance for a State and a fiscal year to 9 reflect the economic conditions and charac-10 teristics of the relevant individuals in the 11 State during the fiscal year. 12 ‘‘(v) S TATISTICAL ADJUSTMENT 13 MODEL.—The Secretary shall use an objec-14 tive statistical model to make adjustments 15 to the requisite levels of performance for 16 the economic conditions and characteristics 17 of the relevant individuals, and shall con-18 sult with the Secretary of Labor to develop 19 a model that is the same as or similar to 20 the model described in section 21 116(b)(3)(A)(viii) of the Workforce Inno-22 vation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 23 3141(b)(3)(A)(viii)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(vi) DEFINITION OF EXIT.—In this 1 paragraph, the term ‘exit’ means, with re-2 spect to a State program funded under 3 this part, ceases to a receive a benefit 4 under the program. 5 ‘‘(F) S TATE OPTION TO ESTABLISH COM -6 MON EXIT MEASURES .—Notwithstanding sub-7 paragraph (E)(vi) of this paragraph, a State 8 that has not provided the notification under 9 section 121(b)(1)(C)(ii) of the Workforce Inno-10 vation and Opportunity Act to exclude the State 11 program funded under this part as a mandatory 12 one-stop partner may adopt an alternative defi-13 nition of ‘exit’ for the purpose of creating com-14 mon exit measures to improve alignment with 15 workforce programs operated under title I of 16 such Act. 17 ‘‘(G) R EGULATIONS.—In order to ensure 18 nationwide comparability of data, the Secretary, 19 after consultation with the Secretary of Labor 20 and with States, shall issue regulations gov-21 erning the establishment of the performance ac-22 countability system under this paragraph and a 23 template for performance reports to be used by 24 all States consistent with subsection (b).’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 15 •HR 3156 IH (b) REPORTS ONSTATEPERFORMANCE ON HHS 1 O NLINEDASHBOARD.—Section 407(b) (42 U.S.C. 2 607(b)) is amended to read as follows: 3 ‘‘(b) P UBLICATION OFSTATEPERFORMANCE.—The 4 Secretary shall, directly or through the use of grants or 5 contracts, and in collaboration with each State, establish 6 and operate an Internet website that is accessible to the 7 public, with a dashboard that is regularly updated and 8 provides easy-to-understand information on the perform-9 ance of each State program funded under this part, in-10 cluding a profile for each such program, expressed by use 11 of a template, which shall include— 12 ‘‘(1) information on the indicators and requisite 13 performance levels established for the State under 14 subsection (a), including, with respect to each such 15 level, whether the State achieves, exceeds, or fails to 16 achieve the level on an ongoing basis, including— 17 ‘‘(A) information on any adjustments made 18 to the requisite levels using the statistical ad-19 justment model described in subsection 20 (a)(2)(E)(v); and 21 ‘‘(B) a grade based on the overall perform-22 ance of the State, as determined by the Sec-23 retary and in consultation with the State, and 24 the overall performance shall be graded based 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 16 •HR 3156 IH on the performance indicators and weights for 1 each such indicator as described in subsection 2 (a); 3 ‘‘(2) information reported under section 411 on 4 the characteristics and demographics of individuals 5 receiving assistance under the State program, in-6 cluding— 7 ‘‘(A) the number and percentage of child- 8 only cases and reason why the cases are child- 9 only; and 10 ‘‘(B) the average weekly number of hours 11 that each work-eligible individual in the State 12 program participates in work activities, includ-13 ing a separate section showing the number and 14 percentage of the work-eligible individuals with 15 zero hours of the participation and the reason 16 for non-participation; 17 ‘‘(3) information on the results of improper 18 payments reviews; 19 ‘‘(4) a link to the State plan approved under 20 section 402; and 21 ‘‘(5) information regarding any penalty im-22 posed, or other corrective action taken, by the Sec-23 retary against a State for failing to achieve a req-24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 17 •HR 3156 IH uisite performance level or any other requirement 1 imposed by or under this part.’’. 2 (c) M ODIFICATION OF RULES FORDETERMINING 3 W HETHER ANINDIVIDUALISENGAGED INWORK.—Sec-4 tion 407(c) (42 U.S.C. 607(c)) is amended— 5 (1) in paragraph (1)— 6 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 7 (i) by striking ‘‘For purposes of sub-8 section (b)(1)(B)(i), a’’ and inserting ‘‘A’’; 9 and 10 (ii) by striking ‘‘, not fewer than’’ and 11 all that follows through ‘‘this subsection’’; 12 and 13 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 14 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 15 by striking ‘‘For purposes of subsection 16 (b)(2)(B), an’’ and inserting ‘‘An’’; 17 (ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, not 18 fewer than’’ and all that follows through 19 ‘‘this subsection’’; and 20 (iii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘, not 21 fewer than’’ and all that follows through 22 ‘‘subsection (d)’’; and 23 (2) in paragraph (2)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 18 •HR 3156 IH (A) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 1 (D); 2 (B) in each of subparagraphs (B) and (C), 3 by striking ‘‘For purposes of determining 4 monthly participation rates under subsection 5 (b)(1)(B)(i), a’’ and inserting ‘‘A’’; 6 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 7 and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respec-8 tively; and 9 (D) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(C) S TATE OPTION FOR PARTICIPATION 11 REQUIREMENT EXEMPTIONS .—For any fiscal 12 year, a State may, at its option, not require an 13 individual who is a single custodial parent car-14 ing for a child who has not attained 12 months 15 of age to engage in work, for not more than 12 16 months.’’. 17 (d) M ODIFICATIONS TOALLOWABLEWORKACTIVI-18 TIES.—Section 407(d) (42 U.S.C. 607(d)) is amended— 19 (1) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, including 20 apprenticeships’’ before the semicolon; 21 (2) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘supervised’’ 22 before ‘‘job search’’; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 19 •HR 3156 IH (3) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘(not to ex-1 ceed 12 months with respect to any individual)’’ and 2 inserting ‘‘, including career technical education’’. 3 (e) P ENALTYAGAINSTSTATES.— 4 (1) I N GENERAL.—Section 409(a)(3) (42 5 U.S.C. 609(a)(3)) is amended by striking all that 6 precedes subparagraph (B) and inserting the fol-7 lowing: 8 ‘‘(3) F AILURE TO SATISFY WORK OUTCOMES 9 AND WORK ENGAGEMENT .— 10 ‘‘(A) I N GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter-11 mines that a State to which a grant is made 12 under section 403 for a fiscal year has failed to 13 comply with any of section 407(a)(1), section 14 408(b)(3), or section 408(b)(4) for the fiscal 15 year, the Secretary shall reduce the grant pay-16 able to the State under section 403(a)(1) for 17 the immediately succeeding fiscal year by an 18 amount equal to the applicable percentage of 19 the State family assistance grant.’’. 20 (2) T RANSITION RULE .—The Secretary of 21 Health and Human Services may not impose a pen-22 alty under section 409(a)(3) of the Social Security 23 Act by reason of the failure of a State to comply 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 20 •HR 3156 IH with section 407(a) of such Act for any fiscal year 1 before fiscal year 2027. 2 (f) P RORATAREDUCTION OFASSISTANCE FORINDI-3 VIDUALNONCOMPLIANCE.—Section 407(e) (42 U.S.C. 4 607(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(3) P RO RATA REDUCTION .—For purposes of 6 paragraph (1)(A), the amount of a pro rata reduc-7 tion in assistance shall be determined by multiplying 8 the total amount of monthly assistance that would, 9 in the absence of the application of this paragraph, 10 be paid to the entire family, by the ratio of— 11 ‘‘(A) the number of hours of required work 12 activities as designated in subsection (d) actu-13 ally performed by the individual during the 14 month; to 15 ‘‘(B) the number of hours of work activi-16 ties that the individual was required to perform 17 during the month in accordance with subsection 18 (c). 19 ‘‘(4) P ENALTIES AND ENGAGEMENT .— 20 ‘‘(A) I N GENERAL.—Subject to the limita-21 tion in (B), if in a given month an individual 22 who received assistance under this part was re-23 quired to engage in work under section 24 408(b)(4), failed to fulfill those obligations and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 21 •HR 3156 IH was subsequently sanctioned in accordance with 1 section 407(e)(2) and (3), that individual shall 2 judged to be engaged in work for that month 3 for purposes of section 408(b)(4). 4 ‘‘(B) L IMITATION.—If an individual re-5 ceives no benefits for two consecutive months 6 due to sanctioning under section 407(e)(2) and 7 (3), that individual shall not be counted as en-8 gaged in work in subsequent months for pur-9 poses of section 408(b)(4) unless actual work in 10 accordance with section 407(d) was resumed.’’. 11 (g) C ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—The heading of sec-12 tion 412(c) (42 U.S.C. 612(c)) is amended by striking 13 ‘‘M INIMUMWORKPARTICIPATIONREQUIREMENTS’’ and 14 inserting ‘‘R EQUIREMENTS FOR WORKOUTCOMEMEAS-15 URES’’. 16 SEC. 7. TARGETING FUNDS TO TRULY NEEDY FAMILIES. 17 (a) P ROHIBITION ONUSE OFFUNDS FORFAMILIES 18 W ITHINCOMEGREATERTHANTWICE THEPOVERTY 19 L INE.—Section 404(k) (42 U.S.C. 604(k)) is amended to 20 read as follows: 21 ‘‘(k) P ROHIBITIONS.— 22 ‘‘(1) U SE OF FUNDS FOR PERSONS WITH IN -23 COME GREATER THAN TWICE THE POVERTY LINE .— 24 A State to which a grant is made under this part 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 22 •HR 3156 IH shall not use the grant to provide any assistance or 1 services to a family whose monthly income exceeds 2 twice the poverty line (as defined by the Office of 3 Management and Budget, and revised annually in 4 accordance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus 5 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 6 9902(2))).’’. 7 (b) R EDUCTION OFLIMITATION OFUSEFUNDS FOR 8 A DMINISTRATIVEACTIVITIES.— 9 (1) U SE OF GRANTS .—Section 404(b) (42 10 U.S.C. 604(b)) is amended— 11 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘15’’ and 12 inserting ‘‘10’’; and 13 (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 14 follows: 15 ‘‘(2) E XCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 16 apply to the use of a grant for— 17 ‘‘(A) information technology and comput-18 erization needed for tracking or monitoring re-19 quired by or under this part; or 20 ‘‘(B) case management necessary to assist 21 an individual in developing an individual oppor-22 tunity plan under section 408(b).’’. 23 (2) P ENALTIES.—Section 409(a) (42 U.S.C. 24 609(a)) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 23 •HR 3156 IH (A) in paragraph (7)(B)(i)(I)(dd), by strik-1 ing ‘‘15’’ and inserting ‘‘10’’; and 2 (B) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(17) P ENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH 4 ADMINISTRATIVE LIMITATION .—If the Secretary de-5 termines that a State to which a grant is made 6 under section 403 for a fiscal year has failed to com-7 ply with section 404(b) for the fiscal year, the Sec-8 retary shall reduce the grant payable to the State 9 under section 403(a)(1) for the immediately suc-10 ceeding fiscal year by an amount equal to not more 11 than 5 percent of the State family assistance 12 grant.’’. 13 (c) P ROHIBITION ONUSE OFFUNDS FORDIRECT 14 S PENDING ONCHILDCARESERVICES ORACTIVITIES.— 15 Section 404(k) (42 U.S.C. 604(k)), as amended by sub-16 section (a) of this section, is amended by adding at the 17 end the following: 18 ‘‘(2) D IRECT SPENDING ON CHILD CARE SERV -19 ICES OR ACTIVITIES.—A State to which a grant is 20 made under this part shall not use the grant for di-21 rect spending on child care and other early childhood 22 education programs, services, or activities.’’. 23 (d) E XPANSION OF AUTHORITYTOTRANSFER 24 F UNDS.—Section 404(d) (42 U.S.C. 604(d)) is amended 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 24 •HR 3156 IH by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(1) I N GENERAL.—A State may transfer not 3 more than 50 percent of the grant made to the State 4 under section 403(a)(1) to a State program pursu-5 ant to any or all of the following provisions of law: 6 ‘‘(A) The Child Care and Development 7 Block Grant Act of 1990. 8 ‘‘(B) Title I of the Workforce Innovation 9 and Opportunity Act. 10 ‘‘(2) A PPLICABLE RULES.— 11 ‘‘(A) I N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 12 subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, any 13 amount paid to a State under this part that is 14 used to carry out a State program pursuant to 15 a provision of law specified in paragraph (1) 16 shall not be subject to the requirements of this 17 part, but shall be subject to the requirements 18 that apply to Federal funds provided directly 19 under the provision of law to carry out the pro-20 gram, and the expenditure of any amount so 21 used shall not be considered to be an expendi-22 ture under this part. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 25 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(B) FUNDS TRANSFERRED TO THE 1 WIOA.—In the case of funds transferred under 2 paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection— 3 ‘‘(i) the State shall provide an assur-4 ance that the funds will be used to support 5 individuals eligible for assistance or serv-6 ices under this part pursuant to subsection 7 (k)(1); and 8 ‘‘(ii) not more than 15 percent of the 9 funds will be reserved for statewide work-10 force investment activities referred to in 11 section 128(a)(1) of the Workforce Innova-12 tion and Opportunity Act. 13 ‘‘(3) WIOA TRANSFER AUTHORITY NOT AVAIL -14 ABLE TO STATES EXCLUDING THE STATE TANF PRO -15 GRAM AS A MANDATORY ONE -STOP PARTNER UNDER 16 THE WIOA.—The authority provided by paragraph 17 (1)(B) of this subsection may not be exercised by a 18 State that has provided the notification referred to 19 in section 407(a)(2)(F).’’. 20 SEC. 8. TARGETING FUNDS TO CORE PURPOSES. 21 (a) R EQUIREMENTTHATSTATESRESERVE25 PER-22 CENT OFGRANT FORSPENDING ONCOREACTIVITIES.— 23 Section 408(a) (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding 24 at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 26 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(13) REQUIREMENT THAT STATES RESERVE 1 25 PERCENT OF GRANT FOR SPENDING ON CORE AC -2 TIVITIES.—A State to which a grant is made under 3 section 403(a)(1) for a fiscal year shall expend not 4 less than 25 percent of the grant on work supports, 5 education and training, apprenticeships, non-recur-6 ring short-term benefits, work activities (as defined 7 in section 407(d)), and case management necessary 8 to assist an individual in developing an individual 9 opportunity plan under section 408(b).’’. 10 (b) R EQUIREMENTTHAT ATLEAST25 PERCENT OF 11 Q UALIFIEDSTATEEXPENDITURESBE FORCOREACTIVI-12 TIES.—Section 408(a) (42 U.S.C. 608(a)), as amended by 13 subsection (a) of this section, is amended by adding at 14 the end the following: 15 ‘‘(14) R EQUIREMENT THAT AT LEAST 25 PER-16 CENT OF QUALIFIED STATE EXPENDITURES BE FOR 17 CORE ACTIVITIES.—Not less than 25 percent of the 18 qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 19 409(a)(7)(B)(ii)) of a State during the fiscal year 20 shall be for work supports, education and training, 21 apprenticeships, non-recurring short-term benefits, 22 work activities (as defined in section 407(d)), and 23 case management necessary to assist an individual 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 27 •HR 3156 IH in developing an individual opportunity plan under 1 section 408(b).’’. 2 SEC. 9. STRENGTHENING PROGRAM INTEGRITY BY MEAS-3 URING IMPROPER PAYMENTS. 4 (a) A PPLICABILITY OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS 5 L AWS.—Section 404 (42 U.S.C. 604) is amended by add-6 ing at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(l) A PPLICABILITY OF IMPROPER PAYMENTS 8 L AWS.— 9 ‘‘(1) I N GENERAL.—The Improper Payments 10 Information Act of 2002 and the Improper Pay-11 ments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 shall 12 apply to a State in respect of the State program 13 funded under this part in the same manner in which 14 such Acts apply to a Federal agency. 15 ‘‘(2) R EGULATIONS.—Within 2 years after the 16 date of the enactment of this subsection, the Sec-17 retary shall prescribe regulations governing how a 18 State reviews and reports improper payments under 19 the State program funded under this part.’’. 20 (b) R EPORT TOCONGRESS.—Within 1 year after the 21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health 22 and Human Services shall submit to the Congress a writ-23 ten report that contains a plan to reduce or eliminate im-24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 28 •HR 3156 IH proper payments made by States under part A of title IV 1 of the Social Security Act within 10 years. 2 SEC. 10. PROHIBITION ON STATE DIVERSION OF FEDERAL 3 FUNDS TO REPLACE STATE SPENDING. 4 Section 408(a) (42 U.S.C. 608(a)), as amended by 5 section 8 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end 6 the following: 7 ‘‘(15) N ON-SUPPLANTATION REQUIREMENT .— 8 Funds made available to a State under this part 9 shall be used to supplement, not supplant, State 10 general revenue spending on activities described in 11 section 404.’’. 12 SEC. 11. INCLUSION OF POVERTY REDUCTION AS A PRO-13 GRAM PURPOSE. 14 Section 401(a) (42 U.S.C. 601(a)) is amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 16 (3); 17 (2) by striking the period at the end of para-18 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(5) reduce child poverty by increasing employ-21 ment entry, retention, and advancement of needy 22 parents.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 29 •HR 3156 IH SEC. 12. STRENGTHENING ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH 1 HHS APPROVAL OF STATE PLANS. 2 (a) I NGENERAL.—Section 402 (42 U.S.C. 602) is 3 amended— 4 (1) in subsection (a)— 5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 6 (1)— 7 (i) by striking ‘‘27-month’’ and insert-8 ing ‘‘24-month’’; and 9 (ii) by striking ‘‘found’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘approved that’’; and 11 (B) in paragraph (1)— 12 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 13 (I) by striking clauses (ii) and 14 (iii) and inserting the following: 15 ‘‘(ii) Require work-eligible individuals 16 (as defined in the regulations promulgated 17 pursuant to section 407(i)(1)(A)(i)) to en-18 gage in work activities consistent with sec-19 tion 407(c).’’; 20 (II) by redesignating clauses (iv) 21 through (viii) as clauses (iii) through 22 (vii), respectively; and 23 (III) by adding at the end the 24 following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 30 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(viii) Describe the case management 1 practices of the State with respect to the 2 requirements of section 408(b), provide a 3 copy of the form or forms that will be used 4 to assess a work-eligible individual (as so 5 defined) and prepare an individual oppor-6 tunity plan for the individual, describe how 7 the State will ensure that such a plan is 8 reviewed in accordance with section 9 408(b)(6), and describe how the State will 10 measure progress under the plan. 11 ‘‘(ix) Propose the requisite levels of 12 performance for the State for purposes of 13 section 407(a) for each year in the 2-year 14 period referred to in subsection (d) of this 15 section, and provide an explanation with 16 supporting data of why each such level is 17 appropriate. 18 ‘‘(x) Describe how the State will en-19 gage low-income noncustodial parents who 20 owe child support and how such a parent 21 will be provided with access to work sup-22 port and other services under the program 23 to which the parent is referred to support 24 their employment and advancement. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 31 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(xi) Describe how the State will com-1 ply with improper payments provisions in 2 section 404(l). 3 ‘‘(xii) Describe coordination with 4 other programs, including whether the 5 State intends to exercise authority pro-6 vided by section 404(d) of this Act to 7 transfer any funds paid to the State under 8 this part, provide assurance that, in the 9 case of a transfer to carry out a program 10 under title I of the Workforce Innovation 11 and Opportunity Act, the State will comply 12 with section 404(d)(3)(B) of this Act and 13 coordinate with the one-stop delivery sys-14 tem under the Workforce Innovation and 15 Opportunity Act, and describe how the 16 State will coordinate with the programs in-17 volved to provide services to families re-18 ceiving assistance under the program re-19 ferred to in paragraph (1) of this sub-20 section. 21 ‘‘(xiii) Describe how the State will 22 promote marriage, such as through tem-23 porary disregard of the income of a new 24 spouse when an individual receiving assist-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 32 •HR 3156 IH ance under the State program marries so 1 that the couple doesn’t automatically lose 2 benefits due to marriage. 3 ‘‘(xiv) Describe how the State will 4 allow for a transitional period of benefits, 5 such as through temporary earned income 6 disregards or a gradual reduction in the 7 monthly benefit amount, for an individual 8 receiving assistance who obtains employ-9 ment and becomes ineligible due to an in-10 crease in income obtained through employ-11 ment or through an increase in wages.’’; 12 and 13 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 14 clauses (iv) and (v); 15 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 16 following: 17 ‘‘(c) P UBLICAVAILABILITY OFSTATEPLANS.—The 18 Secretary shall make available to the public, on the 19 website described in section 407(b), a link to any plan or 20 plan amendment submitted by a State under this sub-21 section.’’; and 22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 33 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(d) 2-YEARPLAN.—A plan submitted pursuant to 1 this section shall be designed to be implemented during 2 a 2-year period. 3 ‘‘(e) C OMBINEDPLANALLOWED.—A State may sub-4 mit to the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor a com-5 bined State plan that— 6 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements of subsections (a) 7 and (d); and 8 ‘‘(2) is for programs and activities under the 9 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 10 ‘‘(f) A PPROVAL OFPLANS.—The Secretary shall ap-11 prove any plan submitted pursuant to this section that 12 meets the requirements of subsections (a) through (d).’’. 13 (b) D UTIES OF THESECRETARY.— 14 (1) C OORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES ; DISSEMINA-15 TION OF INFORMATION .—Section 416 (42 U.S.C. 16 616) is amended— 17 (A) by inserting ‘‘(a) I NGENERAL.—’’ be-18 fore ‘‘The programs’’; and 19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(b) C OORDINATION OFACTIVITIES.—The Secretary 21 shall coordinate all activities of the Department of Health 22 and Human Services relating to work activities (as defined 23 in section 407(d)) and requirements and measurement of 24 employment outcomes, and, to the maximum extent prac-25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 34 •HR 3156 IH ticable, coordinate the activities of the Department in this 1 regard with similar activities of other Federal entities. 2 ‘‘(c) D ISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec-3 retary shall disseminate, for voluntary informational pur-4 poses, information on practices that scientifically valid re-5 search indicates are most successful in improving the qual-6 ity of State and tribal programs funded under this part.’’. 7 (c) T ECHNICALASSISTANCE.— 8 (1) I N GENERAL.—Section 406 (42 U.S.C. 606) 9 is amended to read as follows: 10 ‘‘SEC. 406. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 11 ‘‘(a) I NGENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide tech-12 nical assistance to States and Indian tribes (which may 13 include providing technical assistance on a reimbursable 14 basis), which shall be provided by qualified experts on 15 practices grounded in scientifically valid research, where 16 appropriate, to support activities related to the publication 17 of State performance under section 407(b) and to carry 18 out State and tribal programs funded under this part. 19 ‘‘(b) P UBLICATION OFSTATEPERFORMANCE.—The 20 Secretary may use funds reserved under this section to 21 carry out section 407(b). 22 ‘‘(c) R ESERVATION OFFUNDS.—The Secretary shall 23 reserve not more than $25,000,000 of the amount appro-24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 35 •HR 3156 IH priated by section 403(a)(1)(C) for a fiscal year to carry 1 out this section.’’. 2 (2) C ONFORMING AMENDMENT .—Section 3 403(a)(1)(B) (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)(B)) is amended 4 by inserting ‘‘and the amount specified in section 5 406(b)’’ after ‘‘section 413(h)(1)’’. 6 SEC. 13. ALIGNING AND IMPROVING DATA REPORTING. 7 (a) R EQUIREMENT THATSTATESREPORTFULL- 8 P OPULATION DATA.—Section 411(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 9 611(a)(1)) is amended— 10 (1) by striking subparagraph (B); 11 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) G ENERAL REPORTING RE -12 QUIREMENT.—’’; and 13 (3) by— 14 (A) redesignating— 15 (i) subparagraph (A) as paragraph 16 (1); 17 (ii) clauses (i) through (xvii) of sub-18 paragraph (A) as subparagraphs (A) 19 through (Q), respectively; 20 (iii) subclauses (I) through (V) of 21 clause (ii) as clauses (i) through (v), re-22 spectively; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 36 •HR 3156 IH (iv) subclauses (I) through (VII) of 1 clause (xi) as clauses (i) through (vii), re-2 spectively; and 3 (v) subclauses (I) through (V) of 4 clause (xvi) as clauses (i) through (v), re-5 spectively; and 6 (B) moving each such redesignated provi-7 sion 2 ems to the left. 8 (b) R EPORT ONPARTICIPATION INWORKACTIVI-9 TIES.—Section 411(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 611(a)(1)), as 10 amended by subsection (a)(3) of this section, is amended 11 by striking subparagraphs (K) and (L) and inserting the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(K) The work eligibility status of each in-14 dividual in the family, and— 15 ‘‘(i) in the case of each work-eligible 16 individual (as defined in the regulations 17 promulgated pursuant to section 18 407(i)(1)(A)(i)) in the family, the number 19 of hours (including zero hours) per month 20 of participation in work activities (as de-21 fined in section 407(d)); and 22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of each individual in 23 the family who is not a work-eligible indi-24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 37 •HR 3156 IH vidual (as so defined), the reason for that 1 status. 2 ‘‘(L) For each work-eligible individual (as 3 so defined) and each adult in the family who 4 did not participate in work activities (as so de-5 fined) during a month, the reason for the lack 6 of participation.’’. 7 (c) R EPORTING OFINFORMATION ON EMPLOYMENT 8 ANDEARNINGSOUTCOMES.—Section 411(c) (42 U.S.C. 9 611(c)) is amended to read as follows: 10 ‘‘(c) R EPORTING OFINFORMATION ON EMPLOYMENT 11 ANDEARNINGSOUTCOMES.—The Secretary, in consulta-12 tion with the Secretary of Labor, shall determine the in-13 formation that is necessary to compute the employment 14 and earnings outcomes and the statistical adjustment 15 model for the employment and earnings outcomes required 16 under section 407, and each eligible State shall collect and 17 report that information to the Secretary.’’. 18 SEC. 14. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO DATA EXCHANGE 19 STANDARDS TO IMPROVE PROGRAM COORDI-20 NATION. 21 (a) I NGENERAL.—Section 411(d) (42 U.S.C. 22 611(d)) is amended to read as follows: 23 ‘‘(d) D ATAEXCHANGESTANDARDS FOR IMPROVED 24 I NTEROPERABILITY.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 38 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall, in 1 consultation with an interagency work group estab-2 lished by the Office of Management and Budget and 3 considering State government perspectives, by rule, 4 designate data exchange standards to govern, under 5 this part— 6 ‘‘(A) necessary categories of information 7 that State agencies operating programs under 8 State plans approved under this part are re-9 quired under applicable Federal law to elec-10 tronically exchange with another State agency; 11 and 12 ‘‘(B) Federal reporting and data exchange 13 required under applicable Federal law. 14 ‘‘(2) R EQUIREMENTS.—The data exchange 15 standards required by paragraph (1) shall, to the ex-16 tent practicable— 17 ‘‘(A) incorporate a widely accepted, non- 18 proprietary, searchable, computer-readable for-19 mat, such as the eXtensible Markup Language; 20 ‘‘(B) contain interoperable standards devel-21 oped and maintained by intergovernmental 22 partnerships, such as the National Information 23 Exchange Model; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 39 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(C) incorporate interoperable standards 1 developed and maintained by Federal entities 2 with authority over contracting and financial 3 assistance; 4 ‘‘(D) be consistent with and implement ap-5 plicable accounting principles; 6 ‘‘(E) be implemented in a manner that is 7 cost-effective and improves program efficiency 8 and effectiveness; and 9 ‘‘(F) be capable of being continually up-10 graded as necessary. 11 ‘‘(3) R ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 12 this subsection shall be construed to require a 13 change to existing data exchange standards found to 14 be effective and efficient.’’. 15 (b) E FFECTIVEDATE.—Not later than the date that 16 is 24 months after the date of the enactment of this sec-17 tion, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 18 issue a proposed rule that— 19 (1) identifies federally required data exchanges, 20 include specification and timing of exchanges to be 21 standardized, and address the factors used in deter-22 mining whether and when to standardize data ex-23 changes; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 40 •HR 3156 IH (2) specifies State implementation options and 1 describes future milestones. 2 SEC. 15. SET-ASIDE FOR ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS. 3 Section 404(e) (42 U.S.C. 604(e)) is amended to read 4 as follows: 5 ‘‘(e) D EADLINES FOR OBLIGATION AND EXPENDI-6 TURES OFFUNDS BYSTATES.— 7 ‘‘(1) I N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-8 graph (2), a State to which a grant is made under 9 section 403(a)(1) shall obligate the funds within 2 10 years after the date the funds are made available, 11 and shall expend the funds within 3 years after such 12 date. 13 ‘‘(2) E XCEPTION FOR LIMITED AMOUNT OF 14 FUNDS SET ASIDE FOR FUTURE USE .— 15 ‘‘(A) I N GENERAL.—A State to which 16 funds are paid under section 403(a)(1) may re-17 serve not more than 15 percent of the funds for 18 use in the State program funded under this 19 part without fiscal year limitation. 20 ‘‘(B) N OTICE OF INTENT TO RESERVE 21 FUNDS.—A State that intends to reserve funds 22 paid to the State under section 402(a)(1) shall 23 notify the Secretary of the intention not later 24 than the end of the period in which the funds 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 41 •HR 3156 IH are available for obligation without regard to 1 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.’’. 2 SEC. 16. WELFARE FOR NEEDS NOT WEED. 3 Section 408(a)(12)(A) (42 U.S.C. 608(a)(12)(A)) is 4 amended— 5 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and insert-6 ing a semicolon; 7 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period and in-8 serting ‘‘; or’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(iv) any establishment that offers 11 marihuana (as defined in section 102 of 12 the Controlled Substances Act) for sale.’’. 13 SEC. 17. DEFINITIONS RELATED TO USE OF FUNDS. 14 Section 419 (42 U.S.C. 619) is amended by adding 15 at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(6) A SSISTANCE.—The term ‘assistance’ 17 means cash, payments, vouchers, and other forms of 18 benefits designed to meet a family’s ongoing basic 19 needs (such as for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, 20 household goods, personal care items, and general 21 incidental expenses). 22 ‘‘(7) W ORK SUPPORTS.—The term ‘work sup-23 ports’ means assistance and non-assistance transpor-24 tation benefits (such as the value of allowances, bus 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 42 •HR 3156 IH tokens, car payments, auto repair, auto insurance 1 reimbursement, and van services) provided in order 2 to help families obtain, retain, or advance in employ-3 ment, participate in work activities (as defined in 4 section 407(d)), or as a non-recurrent, short-term 5 benefit, including goods provided to individuals in 6 order to help them obtain or maintain employment 7 (such as tools, uniforms, fees to obtain special li-8 censes, bonuses, incentives, and work support allow-9 ances and expenditures for job access). 10 ‘‘(8) S UPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term ‘sup-11 portive services’ means services such as domestic vio-12 lence services, and mental health, substance abuse 13 and disability services, housing counseling services, 14 and other family supports, except to the extent that 15 the provision of the service would violate section 16 408(a)(6). 17 ‘‘(9) TANF BENEFIT.—The term ‘TANF ben-18 efit’ means— 19 ‘‘(A) assistance; or 20 ‘‘(B) wage subsidies that are paid, with 21 funds provided under section 403(a) or with 22 qualified State expenditures, with respect to a 23 person who— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 43 •HR 3156 IH ‘‘(i) was a work-eligible individual (as 1 defined in the regulations promulgated 2 pursuant to section 407(i)(1)(A)(i)) at the 3 time of entry into subsidized employment, 4 such as on-the-job training or apprentice-5 ship; and 6 ‘‘(ii) is not receiving assistance.’’. 7 SEC. 18. ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE PROVISIONS. 8 (a) E LIMINATION OFSUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS TO 9 S TATES.—Section 403(a) (42 U.S.C. 603(a)) is amended 10 by striking paragraph (3). 11 (b) E LIMINATION OFBONUSTOREWARDHIGHPER-12 FORMANCESTATES.— 13 (1) I N GENERAL.—Section 403(a) (42 U.S.C. 14 603(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (4). 15 (2) C ONFORMING AMENDMENT .—Section 16 1108(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1308(a)(2)) is amended by 17 striking ‘‘403(a)(4),’’. 18 (c) E LIMINATION OFWELFARE-TO-WORKGRANTS.— 19 (1) I N GENERAL.—Section 403(a) (42 U.S.C. 20 603(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (5). 21 (2) C ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .— 22 (A) E LIMINATION OF EXCLUSION FROM 23 TIME LIMIT.—Section 408(a)(7) (42 U.S.C. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 44 •HR 3156 IH 608(a)(7)) is amended by striking subpara-1 graph (G). 2 (B) E LIMINATION OF PENALTY FOR MIS -3 USE OF COMPETITIVE WELFARE -TO-WORK 4 FUNDS.—Section 409(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 5 609(a)(1)) is amended by striking subpara-6 graph (C). 7 (C) E LIMINATION OF EXCLUSION FROM 8 QUALIFIED STATE EXPENDITURES OF STATE 9 FUNDS USED TO MATCH WELFARE -TO-WORK 10 GRANT FUNDS.—Section 409(a)(7)(B)(iv) (42 11 U.S.C. 609(a)(7)(B)(iv)) is amended in the 1st 12 sentence— 13 (i) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end of sub-14 clause (II); and 15 (ii) by striking subclause (III) and re-16 designating subclause (IV) as subclause 17 (III). 18 (D) E LIMINATION OF PENALTY FOR FAIL -19 URE OF STATE TO MAINTAIN HISTORIC EFFORT 20 DURING YEAR IN WHICH WELFARE -TO-WORK 21 GRANT IS RECEIVED .—Section 409(a) (42 22 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by striking para-23 graph (13). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 45 •HR 3156 IH (E) ELIMINATION OF REQUIREMENTS RE -1 LATING TO WELFARE -TO-WORK GRANTS IN 2 QUARTERLY STATE REPORTS .—Section 411(a) 3 (42 U.S.C. 611(a)), as amended by section 4 13(a) of this Act, is amended— 5 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(ex-6 cept for information relating to activities 7 carried out under section 403(a)(5))’’; and 8 (ii) in each of paragraphs (2) through 9 (4), by striking the comma and all that fol-10 lows and inserting a period. 11 (F) I NDIAN TRIBAL PROGRAMS .—Section 12 412(a) (42 U.S.C. 612(a)) is amended by strik-13 ing paragraph (3). 14 (G) E LIMINATION OF REQUIREMENT TO 15 DISCLOSE CERTAIN INFORMATION TO PRIVATE 16 INDUSTRY COUNCIL RECEIVING WELFARE -TO- 17 WORK FUNDS.—Section 454A(f) (42 U.S.C. 18 654a(f)) is amended by striking paragraph (5). 19 (H) G RANTS TO TERRITORIES .—Section 20 1108(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1308(a)(2)) is amended 21 by striking ‘‘403(a)(5),’’. 22 (d) C ONFORMINGAMENDMENTSRELATED TOELIMI-23 NATION OFFEDERALLOANS FORSTATEWELFAREPRO-24 GRAMS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 46 •HR 3156 IH (1) ELIMINATION OF ASSOCIATED PENALTY 1 PROVISION.— 2 (A) I N GENERAL.—Section 409(a) (42 3 U.S.C. 609(a)) is amended by striking para-4 graph (6). 5 (B) C ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 6 412(g)(1) (42 U.S.C. 612(g)(1)) is amended by 7 striking ‘‘(a)(6),’’. 8 (2) E LIMINATION OF PROVISION PROVIDING 9 FOR TRIBAL ELIGIBILITY.—Section 412 (42 U.S.C. 10 612) is amended by striking subsection (f). 11 (3) E LIMINATION OF DISREGARD OF LOAN IN 12 APPLYING LIMIT ON PAYMENTS TO THE TERRI -13 TORIES.—Section 1108(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 14 1308(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘406,’’. 15 (e) E LIMINATION OFLIMITATIONS ONOTHERSTATE 16 P ROGRAMSFUNDEDWITHQUALIFIEDSTATEEXPENDI-17 TURES.— 18 (1) The following provisions are each amended 19 by striking ‘‘or any other State program funded with 20 qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 21 409(a)(7)(B)(i))’’: 22 (A) Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 23 407(e) (42 U.S.C. 607(e)(1) and (2)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 47 •HR 3156 IH (B) Section 411(a)(1) (42 U.S.C. 1 611(a)(1)), as amended by section 2 13(a)(3)(A)(i) of this Act. 3 (C) Subsections (d) and (e)(1) of section 4 413 (42 U.S.C. 613(d) and (e)(1)). 5 (2) Section 413(a) (42 U.S.C. 613(a)) is 6 amended by striking ‘‘and any other State program 7 funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined 8 in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))’’. 9 (f) C ONFORMINGAMENDMENTSRELATED TOELIMI-10 NATION OFREPORT.— 11 (1) I N GENERAL.—Section 409(a)(2) (42 12 U.S.C. 609(a)(2)) is amended— 13 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 14 ‘‘ QUARTERLY’’ before ‘‘REPORT’’; 15 (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 16 ‘‘clause (i)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; 17 (C) by striking ‘‘(A) Q UARTERLY RE-18 PORTS.—’’; 19 (D) by striking subparagraph (B); and 20 (E) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) of 21 subparagraph (A) as subparagraphs (A) and 22 (B), respectively (and adjusting the margins ac-23 cordingly). 24 (2) C ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 48 •HR 3156 IH (A) Section 409(b)(2) (42 U.S.C. 1 609(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘and,’’ and 2 all that follows and inserting a period. 3 (B) Section 409(c)(4) (42 U.S.C. 4 609(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘(2)(B),’’. 5 (g) A NNUALREPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Section 6 411(b)(1)(A) (42 U.S.C. 611(b)(1)(A)) is amended by 7 striking ‘‘participation rates’’ and inserting ‘‘outcome 8 measures’’. 9 (h) R EDUCTION IN FORCEPROVISIONS.—Section 10 416(a) (42 U.S.C. 616(a)), as so designated by section 11 12(b)(1)(A) of this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘, and the 12 Secretary’’ and all that follows and inserting a period. 13 (i) C ONFORMINGCROSS-REFERENCES.— 14 (1) Section 409 (42 U.S.C. 609) is amended— 15 (A) in subsection (a)(7)(B)(i)(III), by 16 striking ‘‘(12)’’ and inserting ‘‘(10)’’; 17 (B) in subsection (a) (as amended by sub-18 sections (c)(2)(D), (d)(2)(B), and (e)(1)(A) of 19 this section), by redesignating paragraphs (7), 20 (8), (9), (11), (12), (14), (15), and (16) as 21 paragraphs (6) through (13), respectively; 22 (C) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘(8), 23 (10), (12), or (13)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (10)’’; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 49 •HR 3156 IH (D) in subsection (c)(4), by striking ‘‘(8), 1 (10), (12), (13), or (16)’’ and inserting ‘‘(10), 2 or (13)’’. 3 (2) Section 452 (42 U.S.C. 652) is amended in 4 each of subsections (d)(3)(A)(i) and (g)(1) by strik-5 ing ‘‘409(a)(8)’’ and inserting ‘‘409(a)(7)’’. 6 (j) M ODIFICATIONS TO MAINTENANCE-OF-EFFORT 7 R EQUIREMENT.—Section 409(a)(6)(B)(i) (42 U.S.C. 8 609(a)(6)(B)(i)), as redesignated by subsection (i)(1)(B) 9 of this section, is amended— 10 (1) in subclause (I)— 11 (A) in the matter preceding item (aa), by 12 striking ‘‘all State programs’’ and inserting 13 ‘‘the State program funded under this part’’; 14 (B) by redesignating items (dd) and (ee) 15 as items (ee) and (ff), respectively, and insert-16 ing after item (cc) the following: 17 ‘‘(dd) Expenditures for a 18 purpose described in paragraph 19 (3), (4), or (5) of section 20 401(a).’’; and 21 (C) in item (ee) (as so redesignated), by 22 striking ‘‘and (ee)’’ and inserting ‘‘(dd), and 23 (ff)’’; 24 (2) by striking subclause (V); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 50 •HR 3156 IH (3) in subclause (IV), by inserting ‘‘, except any 1 of such families whose monthly income exceeds twice 2 the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Manage-3 ment and Budget, and revised annually in accord-4 ance with section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget 5 Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)))’’ 6 before the period. 7 SEC. 19. EFFECTIVE DATE. 8 The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 9 on October 1, 2026. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:25 May 09, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3156.IH H3156 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS