HR 2909 111th Congress House Social Welfare Census and government statistics Government information and archives Health care costs and insurance Health care coverage and access Poverty and welfare assistance

Measuring American Poverty Act of 2009

Introduced: June 17, 2009 See on congress.gov

Everywhere this bill has been 4 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Jun 17, 2009

Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform

Jun 17, 2009

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Jun 17, 2009

Referred to House Ways and Means

Jun 17, 2009

Introduced in House

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Measuring American Poverty Act of 2009 - Amends part A of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau), in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to calculate modern poverty thresholds and modern poverty rates for each calendar year.

Directs the Census Bureau and the BLS to choose: (1) the most appropriate distribution of consumption expenditures on food, clothing, and shelter, which may, if appropriate, exclude families receiving subsidies for food, clothing, or shelter; and (2) the reference family for the modern poverty measure.

Declares that the modern poverty threshold for a reference family shall be an amount equal to the average of 120% of the 33rd percentile of the distribution chosen, allowing for calculations to rely on a limited band converging on this percentile, during four or more of the most recent years for which data is available from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, a superior federal government source of data, or some combination of such sources. Prescribes requirements for determining modern poverty rates.

Directs the Census Bureau, in collaboration with the BLS, to contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to develop and publish methods of: (1) calculating a decent living standard threshold; and (2) measuring the extent to which the income of families in the United States is sufficient to meet it.

Directs the Census Bureau, in collaboration with the BLS, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to contract with NAS to develop and publish a method of: (1) measuring the extent of medical care risk in the United States; and (2) calculating the number and percentage of individuals in the United States who lack adequate health insurance, leaving them at risk of being unable to afford needed treatment.

Directs the Census Bureau to contract with NAS to develop a set of recommendations for methods to implement annual modern poverty measurement at the state and local level and a timeframe for the implementation.

What's happening now June 17, 2009

Referred to House Oversight and Government Reform

Committees of jurisdiction 2