To eliminate child poverty, and for other purposes.

May 19, 2005

Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read the first time

May 20, 2005

Read the second time and placed on the calendar

To eliminate child poverty, 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 `End Child Poverty Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Nearly 13,000,000, or nearly 1 in 5, children in the United States who are younger than 18 live below the poverty line.

(2) The parents of poor children are playing by the rules by working to support their families. Despite their efforts, many of these parents still cannot help their children get ahead, since 7 out of 10 poor children live in a working family and almost 1 poor child in 3 lives with a full-time year-around worker.

(3) Poor children are at least twice as likely as non-poor children to suffer stunted growth or lead poisoning, or to be kept back in school. Poor children score significantly lower on reading, mathematics, and vocabulary tests when compared with otherwise similar non-poor children. More than half of poor people in the United States, including poor children, experience serious deprivations during the year, including lack of food, utility shutoffs, crowded or substandard housing, or lack of a stove or refrigerator.

(4)(A) Eighteen percent of children are hungry or on the verge of hunger, largely because they are living in poverty.

(B) Hungry children--

(i) lack nutrients vital to healthy brain development;

(ii) have difficulty focusing their attention and concentrating in school; and

(iii) often have greater emotional and behavioral problems, have weaker immune systems, and are more susceptible to infections, including anemia, than other children, and often suffer from obesity.

(5) Child poverty has risen significantly, by 1,300,000 since 2000.

(6) The poverty rate for children in the United States is substantially higher than that in other major industrialized nations.

(7) Children in the United States are more likely to live in poverty than any other age group in the United States.

(8) African-American and Latino children are much more likely to live in poverty than White children. One third of African-American children are low-income, as are nearly a third of Latino children.

(9) Great Britain made a public commitment to cut child poverty in half in 10 years, and end child poverty by 2020, and it has already successfully lifted 2,000,000 children out of poverty.

(10) Poverty is a moral issue and Congress has a moral obligation to address it.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

The purpose of this Act is to set a national goal of cutting child poverty in half within a decade, and eliminating child poverty entirely as soon as possible.

SEC. 4. DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN BY CHILD POVERTY ELIMINATION BOARD.

(a) In General- There is established a board to be known as the Child Poverty Elimination Board (referred to in this Act as the `Board').

(b) Composition-

(1) APPOINTMENTS- The Board shall be composed of 12 voting members, to be appointed not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, as follows:

(A) SENATORS- One Senator shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, and one Senator shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.

(B) MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES- One Member of the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one Member of the House of Representatives shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

(C) ADDITIONAL MEMBERS-

(i) APPOINTMENT- Two members each shall be appointed by--

(I) the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(II) the majority leader of the Senate;

(III) the minority leader of the House of Representatives; and

(IV) the minority leader of the Senate.

(ii) EXPERTISE- Members appointed under this subparagraph shall be appointed on the basis of demonstrated expertise in child poverty issues.

(2) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES- Members shall be appointed for the life of the Board. Any vacancy on the Board shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made. The vacancy shall not affect the power of the remaining members to execute the duties of the Board.

(3) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRMAN- The Board shall elect a chairperson and a vice chairperson from among the members of the Board.

(4) MEETINGS- The Board shall first meet not later than 30 days after the date on which all members are appointed, and the Board shall meet thereafter at the call of the chairperson or vice chairperson or a majority of the members.

(c) Plan and Report-

(1) PLAN- The Board shall meet regularly to develop a plan for cutting child poverty in half within a decade, and eliminating child poverty entirely as soon as possible. The plan shall include recommendations for allocations of funds from the Child Poverty Elimination Trust Fund established in section 9511 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to carry out the plan.

(2) REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Board shall prepare and submit a report containing the plan to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the President.

(d) Powers-

(1) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS- The Board may hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the Board considers appropriate. The Board may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before it.

(2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION- The Board may secure directly from any Federal agency information necessary to enable the Board to carry out this Act, if the information may be disclosed under section 552 of title 5, United States Code. Subject to the previous sentence, on the request of the chairperson or vice chairperson of the Board, the head of such agency shall furnish such information to the Board.

(3) USE OF FACILITIES AND SERVICES- Upon the request of the Board, the head of any Federal agency may make available to the Board any of the facilities and services of such agency.

(4) PERSONNEL FROM OTHER AGENCIES- On the request of the Board, the head of any Federal agency may detail any of the personnel of such agency to serve as an Executive Director of the Board or assist the Board in carrying out the duties of the Board. Any detail shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service status or privileges of the Federal employee.

(5) VOLUNTARY SERVICE- Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the chairperson of the Board may accept for the Board voluntary services provided by a member of the Board.

(e) Compensation-

(1) PAY- Members of the Board shall serve without compensation.

(2) TRAVEL EXPENSES- Members of the Board shall be allowed reasonable travel expenses, including a per diem allowance, in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, when performing duties of the Board.

SEC. 5. ISSUANCE AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN.

(a) Issuance- Not later than 90 days after receiving the report containing the plan developed by the Board under section 4(c), the President shall review the report, and shall issue a plan for cutting child poverty in half within a decade, and eliminating child poverty entirely as soon as possible. The plan shall include specifications and allocations of funds to be made from the Child Poverty Elimination Trust Fund, to carry out the plan.

(b) Relationship to Board Plan- The plan issued under subsection (a) shall be the same as the plan developed by the Board under section 4(c) except insofar as the President may determine, for good cause shown and stated together with the plan issued under subsection (a), that a modification of the Board's plan would be more effective for eliminating child poverty.

(c) Implementation- Not later than 90 days after issuing a plan under subsection (a), the President shall ensure the implementation of the plan issued under subsection (a), and shall work with Congress to ensure funding for the implementation of the plan.

SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX SURCHARGE TO FUND CHILD POVERTY ELIMINATION FUND.

(a) In General- Section 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to imposition of tax on individuals) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(j) Additional Income Tax-

`(1) IN GENERAL- If the adjusted gross income of an individual exceeds the threshold amount, the tax imposed by this section (determined without regard to this subsection) shall be increased by an amount equal to 1 percent of so much of the adjusted gross income as exceeds the threshold amount.

`(2) THRESHOLD AMOUNTS- For purposes of this subsection, the term `threshold amount' means--

`(A) $1,000,000 in the case of a joint return, and

`(B) $500,000 in the case of any other return.

`(3) TAX NOT TO APPLY TO ESTATES AND TRUSTS- This subsection shall not apply to an estate or trust.'.

(b) Coordination With Minimum Tax- Section 55(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (defining regular tax) is amended by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4) and by inserting after paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:

`(3) COORDINATION WITH MINIMUM TAX- Solely for purposes of this section, section 1(j) shall not apply in computing the regular tax.'.

(c) Establishment of Child Poverty Elimination Fund-

(1) IN GENERAL- Subchapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to trust fund code) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 9511. CHILD POVERTY ELIMINATION TRUST FUND.

`(a) Creation of Trust Fund- There is established in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund to be known as the `Child Poverty Elimination Trust Fund' (referred to in this section as the `Trust Fund'), consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or credited to the Trust Fund as provided in this section or section 9602(b).

`(b) Transfers to Trust Fund- There is hereby appropriated to the Trust Fund an amount equivalent to the increase in revenues received in the Treasury as the result of the surtax imposed under section 1(j).

`(c) Distribution of Amounts in Trust Fund- Amounts in the Trust Fund shall be available, as provided by appropriation Acts, to make expenditures in connection with Federal programs designed to carry out the plan issued by the President under section 5 of the End Child Poverty Act, to eliminate child poverty.'.

(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of sections for subchapter A of chapter 98 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the following:

(d) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2005.

(e) Section 15 Not To Apply- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall not be treated as a change in a rate of tax for purposes of section 15 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

Calendar No. 110

To eliminate child poverty, and for other purposes.

May 20, 2005

END