Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act of 2021

Too many Americans cannot achieve financial stability due to income volatility, the rising cost of living, wage stagnation, and a lack of affordable housing.

Real wages have failed to keep pace with inflation, meaning the purchasing power of American households has not changed in 40 years.

Income volatility, defined as an annual income fluctuation of 25 percent or more, impacts nearly half of the United States population.

Thirty-six percent of American households indicate that they would face difficulty covering a $400 emergency expense with readily available cash or a checking account. There are significant disparities based on race and ethnicity: While only 38 percent of White households report difficulty meeting an unexpected $400 expense, the same is true for more than half of Black and Latinx households.

Full-time minimum wage earners cannot afford an average 2-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.

The changing nature of the economy, including the rise of the gig economy, unemployment risks posed by automation, and the fluctuating nature of waged labor, will result in increased income volatility and prohibit upward economic mobility.

In general— The Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, shall establish and implement a 3-year pilot program (hereinafter referred to as the “program”) to provide a guaranteed monthly income to certain eligible individuals in accordance with this section.

Responsibilities of Commissioner of Internal Revenue— The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for—

Disregard of cash payments for purposes of all Federal and Federally assisted programs— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any payment made to participating eligible individuals under this section shall not be taken into account as income, and shall not be taken into account as resources for a period of 12 months from receipt, for purposes of determining the eligibility of such eligible individual (or any other individual) for benefits or assistance (or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance) under any Federal program or any State or local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.

Study on pilot program— The Secretary, in collaboration with the Commissioner and the external partner, shall conduct a study on outcomes of the program.

Interim report— Not later than 24 months after participating eligible individuals have been begun participating in the program, the Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the external partner, shall provide an interim report on the program under section 3 to the Congress.

Final report— Not later than 12 months after the conclusion of the program under section 3, the Secretary, in consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the external partner, shall provide a final report on the program to the Congress, including an analysis of—

Commissioner— The term “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.

Eligible individual— The term “eligible individual” means an individual taxpayer between the ages of 18–65.

External partner— The term “external partner” means a non-partisan research agency or a non-profit academic institution with expertise in social science experimentation.

Fair market rent— The term “fair market rent” means the applicable fair market rent established under section 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)).

Secretary— The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.