ASSET Act

(a) Short title.— This Act may be cited as the “Allowing Steady Savings by Eliminating Tests Act” or the “ASSET Act”.

(b) Table of contents.— The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

(a) Findings.— Congress finds as follows:

(1) Many means-tested public assistance programs limit eligibility for benefits on the basis of the assets of a family, such as savings and other resources. Such asset limits impede the ability of needy families to improve their financial circumstances and thereby reduce their dependence on public assistance programs.

(2) Restricting eligibility for public assistance programs on the basis of assets negatively affects the financial security of low-income families. For example, to avoid losing eligibility for public assistance under an asset limit, a family may avoid mainstream financial services such as bank accounts, or refrain from acquiring and saving resources that would enable the family to weather an unanticipated expense.

(3) The risk that people who don't need public assistance will take advantage of public assistance programs in the absence of asset limits is low, in part because most applicants for public assistance have very few assets, must meet strict work requirements, and usually may only participate in a program for a limited time.

(4) Evidence from States that have eliminated asset limits suggests that the administrative cost savings associated with the elimination of asset limits outweigh any increases in payments made to beneficiaries.

(b) Sense of Congress.— It is the sense of Congress that certain federally funded means-tested public assistance programs should not utilize asset limits to restrict eligibility for assistance under those programs.

(a) No State limitation on allowable financial resources.— Section 408(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

“(13) No asset or resource limit.— A State to which a grant is made under section 403 shall not apply any asset or resource limit for eligibility of a family for any benefit, assistance, or service provided under the State program funded under this part.”.

(b) Conforming amendments.— Section 408(f) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 608(f)) is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “or resources”; and

(2) in paragraph (1)—

(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking “and resources”;

(B) by striking subparagraph (B);

(C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (B); and

(D) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated), by striking “and resources” each place it appears.

(c) Delay permitted if State legislation required.—

(1) In general.— In the case of a State to which a grant is made under section 403 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603) that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines requires State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) to meet the requirements of paragraph (13) of section 408(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)), such State shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements of such paragraph before the first day of the first calendar quarter that begins after the close of the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of enactment of this Act.

(2) 2-year legislative session.— For purposes of paragraph (1), in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session shall be considered to be a separate regular session of the State legislature.

(a) Eligible households.— Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) in the first sentence, by striking “and other financial resources”; and

(B) in the second sentence, by striking “and (r)” and inserting “and (q)”;

(2) in subsection (d)—

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “, except as provided in subsection (k)”;

(B) in paragraph (10), by striking “program except as otherwise provided in subsection (k) of this section” and inserting “program, except as otherwise provided in subsection (i)”;

(C) in paragraph (12), by striking “section 3112” and inserting “section 5312”;

(D) by striking paragraph (13); and

(E) by redesignating paragraphs (14) through (19) as paragraphs (13) through (18), respectively;

(3) by striking subsections (g) and (j);

(4) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), (k), (l), (m), and (n) as subsections (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l), respectively; and

(5) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated)—

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking “and resources” each place it appears; and

(B) in paragraph (2)—

(i) by striking subparagraph (B); and

(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through (E) as subparagraphs (B) through (D), respectively.

(b) Eligibility disqualifications.— Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended—

(1) in subsection (d)(4)—

(A) in subparagraph (N)(iii)(I)(bb), by striking “subsection (d)(1) or subsection (o)” and inserting “paragraph (1) or subsection (n)”; and

(B) by striking “subsection (o)” each place it appears and inserting “subsection (n)”;

(2) in subsection (f), in the undesignated matter following subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2), by striking “and financial resources”;

(3) by striking subsection (h);

(4) by redesignating subsections (i) through (s) as subsections (h) through (r), respectively;

(5) in paragraph (6) of subsection (n) (as so redesignated)—

(A) in subparagraph (F), by adding a period at the end; and

(B) in subparagraph (G), by striking “(D),, (E) or” and inserting “(D), (E), or”;

(6) in paragraph (1) of subsection (q) (as so redesignated)—

(A) in subparagraph (A)(iv), by inserting “section” after “defined in”; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking “subsection (k)” and inserting “subsection (j)”; and

(7) in paragraph (2) of subsection (r) (as so redesignated)—

(A) by striking “allowable financial resources and”; and

(B) by striking “(g), (i), (k), (l), (m), and (n)” and inserting “(h), (i), (j), (k), and (l)”.

(c) Research, demonstration, and evaluations.— Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended—

(1) by striking subsections (h) and (i);

(2) by redesignating subsections (j) through (n) as subsections (h) through (l), respectively;

(3) in subsection (k) (as so redesignated)—

(A) by striking “subsections (l) through (n)” each place it appears and inserting “subsections (j) through (l)”; and

(B) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking “section 6(l)(2)” and inserting “section 6(k)(2)”; and

(4) in paragraph (4)(A) of subsection (l) (as so redesignated)—

(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “available,—” and inserting “available—”; and

(B) in clause (i)(II), by striking “and financial resources (as described in section 5(g))”.

(d) Conforming amendments.—

(1) Section 7(i)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016(i)(1)) is amended by striking “section 6(o)(2)” and inserting “section 6(n)(2)”.

(2) Section 11(e)(22) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(22)) is amended by striking “section 6(i)” and inserting “section 6(h)”.

(3) Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended—

(A) in subsection (a)(9), by striking “section 17(n)” and inserting “section 17(l)”; and

(B) in subsection (h)—

(i) in paragraph (1)—

(I) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking “section 6(o)” and inserting “section 6(n)”;

(II) in subparagraph (E)—

(aa) by striking “section 6(o)(3)” each place it appears and inserting “section 6(n)(3)”;

(bb) by striking “section 6(o)(2)” each place it appears and inserting “section 6(n)(2)”; and

(cc) in clause (ii)—

(AA) in subclause (III), by striking “section 6(o)(4)” and inserting “section 6(n)(4)”; and

(BB) in subclause (IV), by striking “section 6(o)(6)” and inserting “section 6(n)(6)”; and

(III) in subparagraph (F)(ii)(III)(ee)(AA), by striking “section 6(o)” and inserting “section 6(n)”; and

(ii) in paragraph (5)(C)(iv)(I), by striking “section 6(o)(2)” and inserting “section 6(n)(2)”.

(4) Section 18(g)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2027(g)(2)) is amended by striking “section 5(h)” and inserting “section 5(g)”.

(5) Section 103(a)(2)(D) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3113(a)(2)(D)) is amended by striking “section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o))” and inserting “subsection (n) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015)”.

(6) Section 121(b)(2)(B)(iv) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3151(b)(2)(B)(iv)) is amended by striking “section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o))” and inserting “subsection (n) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015)”.

(7) Section 454 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654) is amended—

(A) in paragraph (4)(A)(i), by striking “section 6(l)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(l)(1))” and inserting “subsection (k)(1) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015)”;

(B) in paragraph (6)(B)(i), by striking “subsection (l) or (m) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008” and inserting “subsection (k) or (l) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015)”; and

(C) in paragraph (29)(A)(ii), by striking “section 6(l)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(l)(2))” and inserting “subsection (k)(2) of section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015)”.

(e) Delay permitted if State legislation required.—

(1) In general.— If the Secretary of Agriculture determines that State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) is required in order for a State plan under section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020) to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by this section, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements of that section solely on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet those additional requirements before the first day of the first calendar quarter that begins after the close of the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of enactment of this Act.

(2) Legislative session.— For purposes of paragraph (1), if a State has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session shall be considered to be a separate regular session of the State legislature.

(a) Elimination of limitations on allowable financial resources.— Section 2605(b)(2) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(b)(2)) is amended, in the matter following subparagraph (B), by inserting “, and agrees that the State may not exclude a household from eligibility in a fiscal year solely or partially on the basis of the assets of 1 or more members of the household” before the semicolon.

(b) Delay permitted if State legislation required.—

(1) In general.— In the case of a State plan under section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) that the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines requires State legislation (other than legislation appropriating funds) in order for the plan to meet the additional requirements imposed by the amendment made by this section, the State plan shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements of such section 2605 solely on the basis of the failure of the plan to meet those additional requirements before the first day of the first calendar quarter that begins after the close of the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after the date of enactment of this Act.

(2) 2-year legislative session.— For purposes of paragraph (1), in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative session, each year of the session shall be considered to be a separate regular session of the State legislature.

(a) In general.—

(1) Update in resource limit for individuals and couples.— Section 1611(a)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382(a)(3)) is amended—

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking “$2,250” and all that follows through the end of the subparagraph and inserting “$20,000 in calendar year 2026, and shall be increased as described in section 1617(d) for each subsequent calendar year.”; and

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking “$1,500” and all that follows through the end of the subparagraph and inserting “$10,000 in calendar year 2026, and shall be increased as described in section 1617(d) for each subsequent calendar year.”.

(2) Inflation adjustment.— Section 1617 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1382f) is amended—

(A) in the section heading, by inserting “; inflation adjustment” after “benefits”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

“(d) In the case of any calendar year after 2026, each of the amounts specified in section 1611(a)(3) shall be increased by multiplying each such amount by the quotient (not less than 1) obtained by dividing—

(1) the average of the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI–E, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor) for the 12-month period ending with September of the preceding calendar year, by

(2) such average for the 12-month period ending with September 2025.”.

(b) Effective date.— The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if enacted on January 1, 2026.

Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made by this Act shall apply to benefits for calendar months beginning on or after the date that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.