,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #bdej ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #ae1 #bjah,mr4 ,lee 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cruz1 and ,mr4 ,rubio7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,bureau of the ,census to conduct a survey to determine income and poverty levels in the ,united ,states in a manner that accounts for the receipt of ,federal means-tested benefits1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,poverty ,measurement ,improvement ,act4 #b4 ,improving the measurement of poverty in the ,united ,states 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,federal means-tested benefit ,the term ,federal means-tested benefit means a benefit1 refundable tax credit1 or other form of assistance provided under any of the following programs3 7,a7 ,cash and general programs 7i7 ,supplemental ,security ,income4 7ii7 ,earned ,income ,tax ,credit 7refundable portion74 7iii7 ,additional ,child ,tax ,credit4 7iv7 ,temporary ,assistance to ,needy ,families4 7v7 ,title ,,iv-,e ,foster ,care4 7vi7 ,title ,,iv-,e ,adoption ,assistance4 7vii7 ,social ,security ,disability ,insurance4 7,b7 ,medical 7i7 ,medicaid4 7ii7 ,state ,children's ,health ,insurance ,program4 7iii7 ,refundable ,premiums and ,out of ,pocket ,subsidies under the ,patient ,protection and ,affordable ,health ,care ,act 7,,ppaca74 7,c7 ,food 7i7 ,supplemental ,nutrition ,assistance ,food ,program 7,agriculture74 7ii7 ,women1 ,infant and ,children 7,,wic7 ,food ,program 7,agriculture74 7iii7 ,school ,breakfast 7,agriculture74 7,d7 ,housing 7i7 ,section #h ,housing 7,,hud74 7ii7 ,public ,housing 7,,hud74 7iii7 ,home ,investment ,partnership ,program 7,,hud74 7iv7 ,rural ,housing ,insurance ,fund 7,agriculture74 7v7 ,rural ,housing ,service 7,agriculture74 7#b7 ,household ,the term household means a householder and one or more people related to the householder by birth1 marriage1 or adoption4 7#c7 ,total family income ,the term total family income means1 with respect to a household1 an amount equal to-- 7,a7 the sum of-- 7i7 all money income 7as defined by the ,bureau of the ,census7 earned by the members of the household2 and 7ii7 the amount1 or cash equivalent1 of all ,federal means-tested benefits received by the members of the household2 minus 7,b7 ,state and ,federal income and payroll taxes attributable to the members of the household4 7#d7 ,income tax data ,the term income tax data means return information disclosed to the ,bureau of the ,census under section #fajc7;j77#a77;,a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7#e7 ,administering agency ,the term administering agency means a ,state or ,federal agency responsible for administering a ,federal means-tested benefit1 and includes the following agencies3 7,a7 ,the ,social ,security ,administration4 7,b7 ,the ,department of the ,treasury4 7,c7 ,the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services4 7,d7 ,the ,department of ,housing and ,urban ,development4 7,e7 ,the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,f7 ,the ,department of ,justice4 7#f7 ,personally identifiable information ,the term personally identifiable information means any information that identifies an individual or could reasonably be used to identify an individual that is-- 7,a7 collected pursuant to a survey conducted by the ,bureau of the ,census2 or 7,b7 disclosed to the ,bureau of the ,census by an administering agency for the purpose of carrying out subsection 7b74 7#g7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of the ,bureau of the ,census4 7b7 ,new poverty measurement linking survey1 administrative1 and income data 7#a7 ,in general ,each fiscal year during the period that begins with fiscal year #bjai and ends with fiscal year #bjbh1 in order to more accurately determine the extent of poverty in the ,united ,states and the anti-poverty effectiveness of means-tested benefit and tax programs1 the ,director shall conduct a new survey of income and poverty in the ,united ,states1 and shall supplement and verify the information obtained pursuant to such survey using the following3 7,a7 ,data from the most recent available ,current ,population ,survey4 7,b7 ,data furnished by administering agencies4 7,c7 ,income tax data4 7#b7 ,data related to formerly incarcerated individuals ,the ,director-- 7,a7 shall include1 as part of the survey conducted under paragraph 7#a71 questions related to whether an individual has previously been incarcerated or is on probation2 and 7,b7 shall collect data from the appropriate administering agencies with respect to the income of1 and ,federal means-tested benefits received by1 individuals who have previously been incarcerated1 or are on probation4 7#c7 ,administering agency data 7,a7 ,in general ,the head of each administering agency shall make available to the ,director such data 7including income tax data7 as the ,director shall require for the purpose of carrying out this subsection4 7,b7 ,payment of expenses ,the ,director shall pay for the data described in subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c7 of paragraph 7#a7 in such amount1 if any 7not exceeding the cost of furnishing the data71 as may be determined by the head of the applicable agency that furnishes the data4 7#d7 ,publication of survey data 7,a7 ,survey methods and responses ,the ,director of the ,bureau of the ,census shall publish the methods used to carry out the survey required under paragraph 7#a71 the number of households surveyed1 the rate of responses1 and the extent of survey completion4 7,b7 ,rates and other data 7i7 ,in general ,the ,director of the ,bureau of the ,census shall produce tables and graphs showing for each year the poverty rates and related data calculated using the survey responses and other data collected under paragraph 7#a71 including-- 7,i7 the total family income for survey respondents2 7,,ii7 a breakdown of the amount of income taxes and payroll taxes paid by survey respondents2 and 7,,iii7 for #bjah and subsequent years1 poverty rates calculated using updated poverty thresholds as described in clause 7ii74 7ii7 ,updated poverty thresholds ,for #bjai and subsequent years1 the ,director shall adjust the poverty thresholds used for determining poverty rates by using the personal consumer expenditure price index 7as published by the ,bureau of ,economic ,analysis74 7,c7 ,creation of a public database ,the ,director shall create a database1 available at the ,director's discretion to researchers who meet the security requirements described in subsection 7c77#d71 that contains-- 7i7 data from the survey required under paragraph 7#a72 and 7ii7 data described in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 of paragraph 7#a74 7,d7 ,no publication of personally identifiable information ,the ,director shall ensure that no personally identifiable information is included in any publication of survey information or other data collected under this section1 including the database created pursuant to subparagraph 7,c74 7c7 ,protection and disclosure of personally identifiable information 7#a7 ,in general ,the security1 disclosure1 and confidentiality provisions set forth in this ,act and sections #i and #bc of title #ac1 ,united ,states ,code1 shall apply to personally identifiable information obtained by the ,bureau of the ,census pursuant to this ,act4 7#b7 ,assignment of record identification keys ,all personally identifiable information shall be removed from individual records1 which shall be given record identification keys for purposes of identification4 7#c7 ,staff access to personally identifiable information ,an officer or employee of the ,bureau of the ,census or a representative from an administering agency may access personally identifiable information if such officer1 employee1 or representative has the special sworn status requirements implemented by the ,bureau of the ,census under section #i and section #bc of title #ac1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#d7 ,public access to personally identifiable information ,the ,director may disclose personally identifiable information to an individual who has special sworn status as implemented by the ,bureau of the ,census under section #i and section #bc of title #ab1 ,united ,states ,code4 7#e7 ,penalties ,any individual who knowingly accesses or discloses personally identifiable information in violation of this section shall be guilty of a felony and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in an amount of not more than #cjj1jjj under title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 or imprisoned for not more than five years1 or both4 7#f7 ,inadmissibility of survey data ,data contained in a response to a survey conducted pursuant to subsection 7b77#a7 shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court1 agency1 board1 or other entity4 7d7 ,state reporting of ,federal means-,tested data ,beginning with the first full calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this ,act1 with respect to any ,federal means-tested benefit that is administered at the ,state level by a ,state administering agency1 such ,state administering agency shall submit each year to the ,federal administering agency responsible for administering the benefit at the ,federal level a report that identifies each household that received such benefits during such year by the ,social ,security number of the head of the household and the amount1 or cash equivalent1 of such benefit received by such household4 7e7 ,comparison of individual survey data to consumer expenditure survey ,beginning with the first full calendar year that begins after the date of enactment of this ,act and each year thereafter1 the ,bureau of the ,census shall1 in coordination with the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics1 provide summary statistics comparing the income levels 7constructed using all available administrative1 income1 and ,current ,population ,survey data7 of respondents to the ,consumer ,expenditure ,survey conducted by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics to the consumption habits of such respondents4 7f7 ,sense of ,congress relating to using existing funds ,it is the sense of ,congress that no additional funds should be made available to carry out this section4