← Back to Bill Feed
FederalIn Committee
PATH Act
Introduced Jun 3, 2026 · Last action Jun 3, 2026 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Track this bill
Save bills and get alerts when status changes.
Sign in to saved bills.
Summary
The PATH Act would require people who receive government housing assistance to work at least 40 hours a week, with some exceptions for people who are too young, old, or disabled. Families would have access to supportive services to help them find jobs. The government would enforce these work requirements and could cut off assistance if people don't comply.
Full bill text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4673 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4673
To increase workforce participation by recipients of Federal public
housing assistance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 3, 2026
Mrs. Britt (for herself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To increase workforce participation by recipients of Federal public
housing assistance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pathways to a Thriving Household
Act'' or the ``PATH Act''.
SEC. 2. ASSISTED HOUSING WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION.
(a) In General.--Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Minimum Work Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--A public housing agency, in the case of
public housing, tenant-based assistance (as defined in section
8(f)), or project-based voucher assistance under section
8(o)(13) or an owner, in the case of project-based assistance
(as defined in section 8(f)) excluding project-based voucher
assistance under section 8(o)(13), may establish minimum work
requirements for individuals or families, which--
``(A) shall specify a maximum 40 hour per week work
requirement; and
``(B) shall not apply to--
``(i) an individual under 18 years of age
or over 62 years of age;
``(ii) an individual with a disability;
``(iii) a pregnant woman;
``(iv) the primary parent or caretaker of a
dependent child under 6 years of age or for an
individual that is temporarily incapacitated;
``(v) the primary parent or caretaker of a
dependent with a serious medical condition or
disability, as determined by the State agency
established or designated to administer or
supervise the administration of the State plan;
``(vi) an individual who is enrolled as a
student in an institution of higher education,
as defined in section 102 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002).
``(2) Determination.--A public housing agency or owner
under this Act shall determine whether an individual meets the
criteria for exemption from the work requirements established
under this subsection.
``(3) Work activities.--Participation by an individual
family member in the following activities shall be considered
to fulfill minimum work requirements under paragraph (1), as
determined by the public housing agency or owner:
``(A) Unsubsidized employment.
``(B) Subsidized private sector employment.
``(C) Subsidized public sector employment.
``(D) Work experience (including work associated
with the refurbishing of publicly assisted housing) if
sufficient private sector employment is not available.
``(E) On-the-job training.
``(F) Job search and job readiness assistance.
``(G) Community service programs.
``(H) Vocational educational training.
``(I) Job skills training directly related to
employment.
``(J) Education directly related to employment, in
the case of a recipient who has not received a high
school diploma or a certificate of high school
equivalency, or satisfactory attendance at secondary
school or in a course of study leading to a certificate
of general equivalence, in the case of a recipient who
has not completed secondary school or received such a
certificate.
``(K) The provision of child care services to an
individual who is participating in a community service
program.
``(4) Additional requirements.--A public housing agency or
owner that establishes minimum work requirements for
individuals or families under paragraph (1) shall--
``(A) offer supportive services to assist those
individuals and families with obtaining employment or
otherwise engaging in work activities described in
paragraph (3);
``(B) maintain uniform minimum work requirements
for all applicable tenants within a particular
assistance program;
``(C) include the minimum work requirements
policy--
``(i) in the case of assistance provided
under section 9, in the admission and continued
occupancy policy of the public housing agency;
and
``(ii) in the case of assistance provided
under section 8, in the administrative plan of
the public housing agency and the tenant
selection plan of the public housing agency or
owner, as applicable;
``(D) make a copy of the minimum work requirements
policy available to all applicants, tenants, and
resident organizations, including--
``(i) to tenants at the time a new lease is
executed and annually at the time of lease
renewal; and
``(ii) written notice of the policy not
later than 3 months before implementation of
the policy; and
``(E) implement a written policy for determining
when the work requirement constitutes a hardship for
the assisted individual or family and allow for
exceptions or exemptions from the work requirement if a
hardship determination is made, which shall--
``(i) apply to--
``(I) work-eligible adults seeking
a determination of disability status;
``(II) work-eligible adults who are
temporarily relocated due to a
disaster; and
``(III) work-eligible adults who
are actively trying to comply with the
work requirement but are having
difficulty finding work or engaging in
work activity; and
``(ii) include information on how to
request a hearing for review of denied hardship
requests.
``(5) Application.--The requirements under this section
shall apply to--
``(A) in the case of public housing, tenant-based
assistance, or project-based assistance, a public
housing agency that is not in receivership or
designated as a troubled performer under the public
housing assessment system, the section 8 management
assessment program, or the small rural public housing
agency assessment; and
``(B) in the case of project-based assistance, an
owner that is not in default of the rental assistance
contract and has a current satisfactory management and
occupancy review.
``(6) Enforcement.--
``(A) In general.--A public housing agency or owner
that chooses to implement work requirements shall be
responsible for verification and enforcement, which--
``(i) shall be performed not less
frequently than annually; and
``(ii) may terminate program assistance to
a covered family or family member to whom the
work requirement policies apply, if the family
member does not comply.
``(B) Requirements.--Any termination of assistance
described in subparagraph (A)(ii) shall comply with the
requirements of subpart L of part 982 of title 24, Code
of Federal Regulations.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall take
effect on January 1, 2027.
<all>Official legislative text sourced from the public record (cached on CivicsHQ).
Official source
View the original bill, actions, and full legislative record on Congress.gov.
Status
In Committee
- 1Introduced
- 2Committee
- 3Floor
- 4Passed
- 5Signed
Timeline reflects current normalized status only. Full action history is not yet stored in the API.
Topics
Housing
Sponsors
- Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL]RSenateAL
Cosponsors
Votes
Voting records are not yet available for this bill.