HR-4074 : Still Just a Bill

Pathways Out of Poverty Act of 2017

This bill establishes and expands various programs related to education, housing, employment, and social welfare.

The Department of Education must award grants to states for the development and implementation of prekindergarten programs.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within the Department of Justice may award grants to assist communities in addressing juvenile delinquency and gang prevention.

The bill expands:

  • the Pell Grant program,
  • the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and
  • the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.

With respect to housing, the bill:

  • phases out the federal mortgage-interest income-tax deduction, replacing it with a new mortgage-interest income-tax credit;
  • expands the federal low-income housing income-tax credit;
  • expands certain affordable-housing programs; and
  • establishes a federal income-tax credit for low-income renters.

With respect to employment, the bill:

  • expands unemployment compensation benefits;
  • establishes several new employment-related programs to be carried out by the Department of Labor;
  • establishes a tax credit for employers that hire long-term unemployed individuals;
  • establishes prohibitions on employment discrimination based on an individual's status as unemployed;
  • increases the federal minimum wage, incrementally over a period of seven years, to $15.00 per hour.

In addition, the bill:

  • expands the federal earned-income tax credit,
  • makes refundable a federal income-tax credit for dependent care expenses,
  • and expands eligibility for certain child-care benefits.

The bill also establishes:

  • within the Congressional Budget Office, a Poverty Impact Division; and
  • within the Department of Health and Human Services, a Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty.

Action Timeline

Action DateTypeTextSource
2017-10-26CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition.House committee actions
2017-10-17CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.House committee actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralReferred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, Financial Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Rules, the Budget, and the Judiciary, 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.House floor actions
2017-10-16IntroReferralIntroduced in HouseLibrary of Congress

Policy Area :

Social Welfare
See Subjects
  • Academic performance and assessments
  • Advisory bodies
  • Air quality
  • Child care and development
  • Child safety and welfare
  • Climate change and greenhouse gases
  • Community life and organization
  • Cooperative and condominium housing
  • Crime victims
  • Crimes against women
  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • Disability and paralysis
  • Disaster relief and insurance
  • Domestic violence and child abuse
  • Drug trafficking and controlled substances
  • Economic performance and conditions
  • Education programs funding
  • Elementary and secondary education
  • Employment and training programs
  • Executive agency funding and structure
  • Federal officials
  • Food assistance and relief
  • Government information and archives
  • Government studies and investigations
  • Government trust funds
  • Higher education
  • House of Representatives
  • Housing finance and home ownership
  • Housing supply and affordability
  • Income tax credits
  • Income tax deductions
  • Inflation and prices
  • Interest, dividends, interest rates
  • Intergovernmental relations
  • Labor standards
  • Legislative rules and procedure
  • Low- and moderate-income housing
  • Nutrition and diet
  • Performance measurement
  • Poverty and welfare assistance
  • Preschool education
  • Public housing
  • Public-private cooperation
  • Separation, divorce, custody, support
  • Sex offenses
  • State and local finance
  • State and local government operations
  • State and local taxation
  • Student aid and college costs
  • Tax treatment of families
  • Teenage pregnancy
  • Unemployment
  • Wages and earnings