No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6437 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6437
To extend eligibility for programs under title IV of the Social
Security Act to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2023
Mr. Sablan (for himself, Mr. Moylan, Mrs. Radewagen, Ms. Plaskett, and
Mr. Case) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To extend eligibility for programs under title IV of the Social
Security Act to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 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 ``Fostering Family Cohesion Nationwide
Act''.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF ELIGIBILITY.
(a) In General.--Section 1101(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1301(a)(1)) is amended in the final sentence by inserting ``and
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands'' before the period at
the end.
(b) Eligibility for the Program of Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families.--
(1) In general.--Part A of title IV of such Act (42 U.S.C.
401-419) is amended by inserting after section 413 the
following:
``SEC. 414. APPLICABILITY TO THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA
ISLANDS.
``(a) Family Assistance Grant.--The Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands (in this section referred to as the `Commonwealth')
shall be entitled to receive from the Secretary a family assistance
grant in an amount equal to $1,631,000 for each fiscal year covered by
a family assistance plan approved under subsection (b).
``(b) 3-Year Family Assistance Plan.--The Secretary shall approve a
3-year family assistance plan submitted by the Commonwealth if the
plan--
``(1) outlines the approach of the Commonwealth to
providing benefits and services for needy families for the 3-
year period, consistent with this section;
``(2) specifies whether the benefits and services provided
under the plan will be provided by the Commonwealth or through
agreements or contracts with other entities;
``(3) provides that a family receiving assistance under the
plan may not receive duplicative assistance from other State
programs funded under this part; and
``(4) identifies the employment opportunities in the
Commonwealth and the manner in which the Commonwealth will
cooperate and participate in enhancing such opportunities for
recipients of assistance under the plan.
``(c) Limitations on Applicability of Other Sections of This
Part.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in this subsection,
the other sections of this part, other than section 418, shall
not apply to the Commonwealth.
``(2) Minimum work participation requirements; time limits;
emergency assistance; accountability.--Subsections (c), (d),
and (e)(1) of section 412 shall apply to the Commonwealth in
the same manner in which such subsections apply to an Indian
tribe.
``(3) Eligibility for federal loans.--Section 406 shall
apply to the Commonwealth, if the Commonwealth has a family
assistance plan approved under this section, in the same manner
as such section applies to any other State, except that section
406(c) shall be applied by substituting `section 414(a)' for
`section 403(a)'.
``(4) Penalties.--
``(A) Subsections (a)(1), (a)(6), (b), and (c) of
section 409 shall apply to the Commonwealth in the same
manner as such subsections apply to any other State.
``(B) Section 409(a)(3) shall apply to the
Commonwealth by substituting `meet minimum work
participation requirements established under section
414(c)(2)' for `comply with section 407(a)'.
``(5) Data collection and reporting.--Section 411 shall
apply to the Commonwealth if the Commonwealth has a family
assistance plan approved under this section.
``(d) Appropriation.--Out of any money in the Treasury of the
United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated for
each fiscal year such sums as are necessary for grants under this
section.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 419(5) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 619(5)) is amended by striking ``and American Samoa''
and inserting ``American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands''.
(c) Matching Grants; Limitation on Total Payments.--
(1) In general.--Section 1108(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1308(c)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and American
Samoa'' and inserting ``American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands''; and
(B) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in subparagraph (C), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by inserting after subparagraph (D)
the following:
``(E) $2,131,000 with respect to the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
(2) Technical amendment.--Section 1108(a)(1) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 1308(a)(1)) is amended by inserting ``(as in effect
before the amendment made by section 301 of the Social Security
Amendments of 1972)'' after ``XVI''.
(d) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Sharing of collected child support with the federal
government.--Section 457(c)(3)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
657(c)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ``and American Samoa'' and
inserting ``American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands''.
(2) Exemption from afdc-related eligibility requirement in
making foster care maintenance payments.--Section 472(a)(1)(B)
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672(a)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting
``in the case of a State other than the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands,'' before ``the child''.
(3) Exemption from electronic interstate data exchange
requirements with respect to cases involving the interstate
placement of children.--Section 471(a)(25) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 671(a)(25)) is amended by striking ``or American Samoa''
and inserting ``American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands''.
(e) Start-Up Funding for Child Support Enforcement Program.--The
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall make a grant of $5,000,000
to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for the costs of
developing a program pursuant to part D of title IV of the Social
Security Act that are reasonable, necessary, and allocable to the
program, including the following:
(1) Planning for the initial development and implementation
of the program.
(2) Developing laws, codes, guidelines, systems, and
procedures necessary for the program.
(3) Recruiting, hiring, and training program staff.
(4) Any other reasonable, necessary, and allocable costs
with a direct correlation to the initial development of the
program, consistent with the cost principles in subpart E of
part 75 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, and approved
by the Secretary.
(f) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to fiscal years beginning after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(g) Technical Assistance.--Not later than October 1 of the 1st
fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands with technical assistance
in developing plans to meet the requirements of sections 402, 454, and
471(a) of the Social Security Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1107)
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Work and Welfare.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line