[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3583 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3583
To establish a pilot program in which States may use consolidated
funds, through Upward Mobility Grants, for antipoverty programs, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 6, 2026
Mr. Husted introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a pilot program in which States may use consolidated
funds, through Upward Mobility Grants, for antipoverty programs, 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 ``Upward Mobility Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. CONSOLIDATION OF ANTIPOVERTY PROGRAMS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Antipoverty objectives.--The term ``antipoverty
objectives'' means the objectives described in subsection
(b)(2).
(2) Antipoverty program.--The term ``antipoverty program''
means the set of activities for which a covered amount may be
used.
(3) Covered amount.--
(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
term ``covered amount'' means--
(i) an amount that a State is eligible to
receive in Federal funds, through a grant,
contract, or other payment--
(I) under subsection (a) or (h) of
section 16 of the Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) (relating
to the supplemental nutrition
assistance program);
(II) for benefits (as defined in
section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act
of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012)) for
participants of the supplemental
nutrition assistance program
established under the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et
seq.) pursuant to section 4(a)(1) of
that Act (7 U.S.C. 2013(a)(1));
(III) under paragraph (1) or (2) of
section 403(a) of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)) (relating to the
temporary assistance for needy families
program State family assistance grant);
(IV) under section 658O(b) of the
Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858m(b)), from
amounts appropriated under that Act or
under section 418(a)(3)(A) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
618(a)(3)(A)) (relating to a program of
child care services);
(V) under section 2604 (other than
subsection (e)), 2607A, 2607B, or 2609A
of the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623,
8626a, 8626b, or 8628a) (relating to
programs of home energy assistance);
(VI) under section 132(b)(2)(B) or
section 170 of the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3171(b)(2)(B), 3225) (relating to
assistance for dislocated workers); and
(VII) under subsection (b) or (d)
of section 106 of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42
U.S.C. 5306) (relating to community
development);
(ii) the amount that public housing
agencies, as defined in section 3(b) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437a(b)), located in a State are eligible to
receive through allocations--
(I) under section 8(o) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) for tenant-based
assistance; and
(II) under section 9 of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 1437g) for public housing
from the Capital Fund and Operating
Fund; and
(iii) the amount that persons and families
located in a State (other than members of an
Indian tribe) are eligible to receive in
Federal assistance under section 521 of the
Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a).
(B) Rule.--The term ``covered amount''--
(i) includes an amount described in
subparagraph (A) whether or not the State or
public housing agency involved is directed to
use the amount to provide funding for
localities or other entities under Federal law,
subject to clause (ii); and
(ii) does not include any amount described
in subparagraph (A) that a State or public
housing agency is so directed to use to provide
funding for an Indian tribe.
(4) Direct assistance benefits.--The term ``direct
assistance benefits'' means--
(A) nutrition (including food) benefits;
(B) cash benefits for low-income families and
individuals;
(C) child care subsidies;
(D) home energy (including utility) assistance;
(E) employment and training services provided
directly to a dislocated worker; and
(F) housing (including rent) subsidies.
(5) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(6) Marginal effective tax rate.--The term ``Marginal
Effective Tax Rate'', used with respect to an individual, means
the percentage of an increase in earned income attributable to
the individual's employment, as determined for a State under
subsection (j)(2), that is offset by--
(A) the combined reduction or loss in value of per-
capita direct assistance for the individual; and
(B) the combined increase in Federal, State, and
local income and payroll taxes for the individual.
(7) Per-capita direct assistance.--The term ``per-capita
direct assistance'', used with respect to a State, means--
(A) the total amount of Federal funding used in a
pilot project in any year for direct assistance
benefits from the funding sources listed in paragraph
(3); divided by
(B) the population of the State.
(8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant
Secretary for Children and Families.
(9) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several
States of the United States, and the District of Columbia.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to achieve the goals of--
(A) streamlining service delivery and reducing
inconsistent eligibility requirements and benefit
cliffs through pilot projects promoting antipoverty
objectives;
(B) promoting upward mobility through improved
employment outcomes described in subsection (j)(2)(B),
including increased employment and earnings, among
participants in a pilot project; and
(C) providing incentives to States to reduce
dependence on per-capita direct assistance through the
pilot projects by enabling individuals to achieve the
improved employment outcomes; and
(2) to accomplish those goals by authorizing States to
apply to receive Upward Mobility Grants for the purpose of
carrying out a pilot project to promote antipoverty objectives,
consisting of--
(A) reduced benefit cliffs through benefit
structures that limit Marginal Effective Tax Rates; and
(B) increased levels of employment and earnings
among participants in programs covered by the pilot
project, skills acquisition, housing (including rental
housing) affordability, access to nutrition, reduced
home energy costs, affordable child care, and temporary
assistance to low-income families.
(c) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--There is established a pilot program
through which the Secretary may--
(A) permit not more than 5 States to carry out
pilot projects; and
(B) consolidate funding from antipoverty programs
into Upward Mobility Grants made under subsection
(d)(1), and make those grants to the States to carry
out the projects.
(2) Limited scope pilot projects.--A State may elect to
seek such permission and consolidated funding to carry out a
limited scope pilot project described in the State's
application under subsection (f).
(3) Duration.--The Secretary shall provide the permission
and grants described in this subsection for a pilot project for
a single period of 5 years.
(d) Upward Mobility Grants.--
(1) Pilot project grant amounts.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of Federal law applicable to an antipoverty program,
except as otherwise provided in this section, for each fiscal
year of the pilot project period applicable to a pilot project
approved for a State pursuant to subsection (g), the Secretary
shall make an Upward Mobility Grant to the State, as calculated
under paragraph (2), for purposes of carrying out the project
for that fiscal year.
(2) Calculation.--
(A) First year.--For the first fiscal year of the
pilot project, the Secretary shall make an Upward
Mobility Grant to the State, in a sum calculated as the
total of the covered amounts received by the State, for
the preceding fiscal year, adjusted by the percentage
change in the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price
Index of the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
Department of Commerce for such preceding fiscal year.
(B) Subsequent years.--For each fiscal year of the
pilot project (referred to in this subparagraph as a
``target fiscal year'') after the first fiscal year
described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make
an Upward Mobility Grant to the State, in an updated
sum equal to the sum calculated for the State under
this paragraph for the preceding fiscal year,
adjusted--
(i) by the percentage change in that
Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index
between the first day of the preceding fiscal
year and the first day of the target fiscal
year; and
(ii) in a manner consistent with the per-
capita direct assistance adjustment prohibition
described in subsection (k).
(C) Adjustment for appropriations lapse.--
(i) First year.--For the purposes of
determining, under subparagraph (A), a total of
covered amounts for a preceding fiscal year in
which there was a lapse in appropriations, the
total of the covered amounts shall be
determined as if the corresponding funding was
appropriated for the entire fiscal year.
(ii) Subsequent years.--For the purposes of
determining, under subparagraph (B), a sum
calculated for a State for a preceding fiscal
year in which there was a lapse in
appropriations, the sum shall be determined as
if the corresponding funding was appropriated
for the entire fiscal year.
(D) Limited scope pilot projects.--Notwithstanding
subparagraphs (A) and (B), if a State has obtained
approval to carry out a limited scope pilot project
under this section, the Upward Mobility Grant for the
State shall be a percentage, between 10 and 100
percent, as indicated by the State in the application
submitted under subsection (f) of the amount the State
would otherwise receive under subparagraph (A) or (B).
(3) Payments.--For each fiscal year quarter during the
pilot project, the Secretary shall make a payment to the State
under the Upward Mobility Grant, equal to 25 percent of the
amount of the grant.
(e) Impact of Participation.--
(1) Waiver.--Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal
law applicable to an antipoverty program, except as otherwise
provided in this section, if a State elects to carry out a
pilot project and obtains approval of an application under
subsection (g), the Secretary shall, subject to paragraph (2)
and consistent with the goals of the antipoverty programs
included in the pilot project, grant the State, for purposes of
the pilot project, such waivers to statutory or regulatory
requirements, as the State requests in its application--
(A) relating to consolidating, replacing, or
altering eligibility requirements;
(B) relating to the design, operation, or delivery
of an antipoverty program; and
(C) relating to the use, allocation, or
distribution of funding.
(2) Provisions excluded from waiver authority.--A waiver
shall not be granted under paragraph (1) with respect to any
provision of law relating to--
(A) the goals of any antipoverty program;
(B) civil rights or the prohibition of
discrimination;
(C) health or safety;
(D) labor standards under the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.);
(E) environmental protection;
(F) any restriction on providing benefits to
individuals who are not citizens of or are unlawfully
present in the United States;
(G) the protection of religious freedom for
providers and beneficiaries of assistance;
(H) any funding restriction or limitation provided
in an appropriations Act;
(I) a maintenance of effort requirement; or
(J) any requirement that a State distribute to a
sub-State entity part or all of an amount paid to the
State.
(3) Housing programs.--Funds made available under a pilot
project for the goals of an antipoverty program related to a
covered amount described in clause (i)(VII), (ii), or (iii) of
subsection (a)(3)(A) shall continue to be provided to the same
eligible local entities or recipients as under applicable law
in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act.
(4) Impact on funding.--
(A) In general.--During the period of the pilot
project--
(i) the State shall not be eligible to
receive Federal funding for the antipoverty
programs, outside the pilot project; and
(ii) individuals receiving per-capita
direct assistance through the pilot project
shall not be eligible for additional benefits
under the antipoverty programs, outside the
pilot project.
(B) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A),
in the case of a State carrying out a limited scope
pilot project described in subsection (c)(2), the State
may continue to receive Federal funding for the
antipoverty programs, outside the pilot project.
(C) SNAP contingency fund.--
(i) In general.--Notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), on the request of a State
carrying out a pilot project, the Secretary of
Agriculture may use contingency reserve funding
made available under the provisions described
in clause (ii) to provide benefits to
individuals receiving per-capita direct
assistance through the pilot project under the
supplemental nutrition assistance program
established under the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) during a period of
economic downturn, a natural disaster, a public
health emergency, or another unanticipated
event that increases the demand for those
benefits, as determined by