This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish and implement a three-year pilot program to provide a guaranteed monthly income to individual taxpayers between the ages of 18-65. HHS must consult with the Internal Revenue Service and certain nonpartisan and nonprofit agencies or academic institutions with expertise in social science experimentation to develop and award income subsidies to eligible taxpayers and to conduct a study on the outcomes of the program.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) introducted the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act, legislation that would establish a nationwide pilot program to test the viability of a federally funded income support program that keeps more American families from experiencing permanent financial fallout and lasting poverty from a single unexpected crisis.

Rep. Coleman argues that while millionaires and billionaires thrive on the labor of hard-working Americans, those working families see just a fraction of profits and continue to live paycheck-to-paycheck. The Coronavirus pandemic, while devastating for everyday families, resulted in the wealthiest Americans doubling their fortunes and widening the gap between the super-rich and the rest of us.  

The COVID crisis exposed the fragility of our economy in its interactions with working people. At the same time, it demonstrated the real and meaningful ability of federal and state programs to keep Americans out of poverty.

“Many policymakers have seen this pandemic as a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, and while that may be true for businesses or markets, for millions of  Americans, this is just one more emergency threatening to wipe out what little savings they have, to finally push them to homelessness, to reinforce the fact that in the wealthiest nation in the world, too many families are just a single mishap away from financial devastation,” said Rep. Coleman. “What we learned when Congress made the decision to send economic impact payments through the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan was that our government can prevent people from falling into poverty, it can build a floor beneath which we say no one in this country should fall. This bill is all about looking at ways to make that floor permanent, giving more families a sense of economic security.”

The Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act of 2023 would establish a three-year nationwide pilot program that gives a monthly support payment to individual taxpayers implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

• The pilot program created by the bill would distribute monthly cash payments to included participants in amounts equal to fair market rent for a 2-bedroom home in their zip code, or a similar amount to be determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, with payments arriving on or near the 15th day of each month.
• Payments to participants made through the pilot program would not be considered when determining eligibility for federal or federally assisted state or local assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.
• The bill requires HHS to work with a non-profit academic or research institution with experience in mixed-method experimental design to support development of the pilot program and ensure measurable results.
• The pilot program would include 20,000 individuals, including a control group of 10,000, to allow comparison of economic security for the families involved at the end of the three-year period.
• The bill requires HHS, the Internal Revenue Service, and the designated research institution to provide an interim report on the pilot program’s outcomes within 24 months of implementation, and a final report within 12 months of the program’s conclusion.

Should Congress pass H.R.5776, the Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act?