,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ejfi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,november #ac1 #bjai 
,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez 7for herself1 ,ms4 
,meng1 ,ms4 ,garcia of ,texas1 ,ms4     
,moore1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 
,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 and ,ms4 ,lee 
of ,california7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was referred to the        
,committee on ,education and ,labor  ,a 
,,bill  ,to require the ,secretary of   
,health and ,human ,services to develop 
for consideration of the ,congress a    
poverty line for purposes of the        
,community ,services ,block ,grant ,act1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,the ,recognizing ,poverty ,act 4  #b4  
,assessment of the adequacy of the      
poverty line2 development of poverty    
line  7a7 ,assessment ,the ,secretary of
 ,health and ,human ,services1 in       
collaboration with the ,bureau of the   
,census and the ,bureau of ,labor       
,statistics1 shall make a contract with 

the ,committee on ,national ,statistics 
of the ,national ,academy of ,sciences  
to assess the adequacy of the poverty   
line 7as defined in section #fgc7b7 of  
the ,community ,services ,block ,grant  
,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #iijb7b777 as a     
measure of the resources families need  
to afford basic goods and services4  7b7
 ,development of poverty line ,the      
,secretary of ,health and ,human        
,services1 in collaboration with the    
,bureau of the ,census and the ,bureau  
of ,labor ,statistics1 shall make a     
contract with the ,committee on         
,national ,statistics of the ,national  
,academy of ,sciences to propose a      
poverty guide for purposes of section   
#fgc7b7 of the ,community ,services     
,block ,grant ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4       
#iijb7b77 that accounts for an          
up-to-date adequate family income level4
 ,such poverty line shall be developed  
for reference family consisting of #b   
adults and their #b related children and
 shall be an amount equal to the income 

that would be sufficient to make ends   
meet1 accounting for expenditures on    
food1 clothing1 shelter1 utilities1 new 
necessities such as internet1 and other 
needs identified1 modified as follows3  
7#a7 ,adjusted for family size using the
 best available equivalence scales that 
consider economies of scale4  7#b7      
,adjusted for differences in the cost of
 goods and services among ,states1      
sub-,state non-metropolitan areas1 and  
metropolitan areas based on the best    
available data4  7#c7 ,adjusted to      
account for data on levels of spending  
on goods and services in prior years and
 adjusted for cost changes from said    
prior years to the current year4  7#d7  
,increased for needs related to health  
insurance for family members1 work      
expenses for the family1 and child care 
needs for each child under the age of   
#ac in the family1 including            
identification and consideration of new 
necessities such as internet access and 
funds needed to secure children's equal 

educational opportunity4                
,notwithstanding any other provision of 
this subsection1 the poverty line       
proposed under this subsection shall not
 be less than the poverty line then in  
effect under such section4  7c7         
,required factors ,for purposes of      
subsection 7b71 the ,secretary shall    
consider--  7#a7 relevant empirical data
 on prevalence at various income levels 
of material hardships such as food--    
7,a7 insecurity1  7,b7 falling behind on
 rent1 mortgage1 or utility bills1      
eviction or overcrowding1 and  7,c7     
experiencing homelessness or living     
doubled up in another person's home1    
7#b7 past ,lower ,living ,standards     
implemented by the ,department of       
,labor1  7#c7 the supplemental poverty  
measure of the ,bureau of the ,census1  
7#d7 the ,self ,sufficiency ,standards  
initially developed by ,diana ,pearce   
and ,wider ,opportunities for ,women1   
7#e7 the ,census ,bureau's ,survey of   
,income and ,program ,participation1 and

  7#f7 other standards of income        
adequacy created by experts and public  
commissions4  7d7 ,publication ,the     
poverty line proposed under this section
 shall be updated and published         
annually4