109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2504
To eliminate child poverty.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 4, 2006
Mr. KENNEDY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To eliminate child poverty.
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) More than 13,000,000 children in the United States who are younger
than 18 live below the poverty line.
(2) Most 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. Seven out of 10 poor children
live in a working family and 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. In more
than half of poor households with children in the United States, the members
of the households experience serious deprivations during the year, including
lack of adequate food, utility shutoffs, crowded or substandard housing,
or lack of needed medical care.
(4) Over 8,000,000 children under age 18 in the United States lack health
insurance. With a 2004 uninsured rate of 18.9 percent, poor children are
more likely to be uninsured than children generally.
(5)(A) The members of 1 in 6 households with children in the United States
are hungry or on the verge of hunger, largely due to inadequate household
income.
(i) tend to lack nutrients vital to healthy brain development;
(ii) tend to 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.
(6) Child poverty has risen significantly, by 1,440,000 since 2000.
(7) The poverty rate for children in the United States is substantially
higher than that in most other wealthy industrialized nations.
(8) Children in the United States are more likely to live in poverty than
any other age group in the United States.
(9) 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.
(10) 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.
(11) Poverty is a moral issue and Congress has a moral obligation to address
it.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to set a national goal of cutting child poverty in half within a decade,
and eliminating child poverty entirely as soon as possible; and
(2) to establish a Child Poverty Elimination Trust Fund as an initial
measure to fund Federal programs to achieve that goal.
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').
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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:
`Sec. 9511. Child Poverty Elimination Trust Fund.'.
(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.
END
