H.R.7010: RISE Out of Poverty Act

The RISE Out of Poverty Act was introduced in the 115th Congress and is likely to be reintroduced in the 116th Congress. The legislation would reauthorize TANF and modify key provisions. Namely, the bill would:
Permanently adjust TANF funding to increase with post-1996 and future inflation;
Broaden exceptions to “work-eligible individuals”, such as those applying for disability benefits, reducing work benefit requirement to 20 hours of work, and allowing social services professionals to determine disability qualifications;
Revoke state’s ability to cap lifetime TANF benefit limit to fewer than 5 years, and requires states to reach out to families now subject to a less than the 5-year limit to inform them of added eligibility. Creates a moratorium on the time limit when the state unemployment rate exceeds 6.5% and for the following six months;
Increases benefit size by requiring states to ensure that TANF assistance “meets basic economic needs” of the family, including for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and other household goods;
Replaces the current contingency fund with a $2.5 billion annual fund for certain high unemployment states (6.5 percent or above);
Removes the current requirement that states maintain prior state spending levels to qualify for federal contingency funds;
Creates a new subsidized employment program and removes the current cap on child care funding, while requiring coverage of broad categories of recipients;
Eliminates the current restrictions on TANF for individuals convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and unwed teen parents who drop out of school or do not live in an adult-supervised setting; and
Revokes states the current authority to test TANF recipients for controlled substances.