Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to make eligible for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program) households in which each member receives cash assistance under the temporary assistance to needy families program (TANF), cash assistance under the supplemental security income program (SSI), or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled program (AABD). (Current law bases categorical SNAP eligibility upon state benefits received rather than such assistance.)
Requires an eligible household that previously received SNAP benefits and applies for program reenrollment to complete a new application and verify that household income and assets are in program compliance.
Limits the employment requirement waiver to areas with an unemployment rate over 10%.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a centralized database to facilitate USDA-state agency cooperation in order to ensure that individuals do not enroll for benefits in more than one state.
Requires states that are sanctioned for three consecutive years of improper payments to pay the entire liability amount, with no alternative payment option available.
Eliminates: (1) the exclusion of low-income home energy assistance from SNAP household income determinations, (2) funding of employment and training programs, and (3) bonuses for states with low SNAP allocation error rates.
Provides funding for state nutrition and obesity prevention grant programs.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 762 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 762
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve the supplemental
nutrition assistance program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 18, 2013
Mr. Thune introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve the supplemental
nutrition assistance program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY LIMITATIONS.
Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is
amended--
(1) by striking the section designation and heading and all
that follows through ``(a) Participation'' and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.
``(a) Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Participation'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking the second sentence and inserting
the following:
``(2) Recipients of other federal benefits.--Except as
provided in section 3(n)(4) and subsections (b), (d)(2), and
(g) of section 6, a household shall be eligible to participate
in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if each member
of the household receives--
``(A) cash assistance in the form of ongoing basic
needs benefit payments for financially needy families
under the program of block grants to States for
temporary assistance for needy families established
under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
``(B) cash assistance under the supplemental
security income program established under title XVI of
that Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); or
``(C) aid to the aged, blind, or disabled under
title I, X, XIV, or XVI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et
seq.).'';
(B) in the third sentence, by striking ``Except for
sections 6, 16(e)(1), and section 3(n)(4), households''
and inserting the following:
``(3) General assistance.--Except as provided in sections
3(n)(4), 6, and 16(d), a household''; and
(C) in the fourth sentence, by striking
``Assistance'' and inserting the following:
``(4) Applications.--Assistance''; and
(3) in subsection (j)--
(A) by inserting ``cash assistance in the form of''
before ``supplemental security income benefits''; and
(B) by striking ``or who receives benefits'' and
inserting ``or who receives cash assistance''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR RE-ENROLLMENT.
Paragraph (4) of section 5(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2014(a)) (as designated by section 1(2)(C)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Assistance'' and inserting the following:
``(A) In general.--Assistance''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) Reenrollment.--Any eligible household that
previously received benefits under the supplemental
nutrition assistance program and applies for
reenrollment in the program shall be required--
``(i) to complete in full a new
application; and
``(ii) to verify that the income and assets
of the household are in compliance with the
requirements of the program.''.
SEC. 3. STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCES BASED ON THE RECEIPT OF ENERGY
ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.
(a) Standard Utility Allowance.--Section 5 of the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e)(6)(C), by striking clause (iv); and
(2) in subsection (k), by striking paragraph (4) and
inserting the following:
``(4) Third party energy assistance payments.--For purposes
of subsection (d)(1), a payment made under a State law (other
than a law referred to in paragraph (2)(G)) to provide energy
assistance to a household shall be considered money payable
directly to the household.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 2605(f)(2) of the Low-Income
Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)(2)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``and for purposes of determining any
excess shelter expense deduction under section 5(e) of the Food
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e))'', and
(2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the semicolon
the following: ``, except that such payments or allowances
shall not be deemed to be expended for purposes of determining
any excess shelter expense deduction under section 5(e)(6) of
the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(6))''.
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF FUNDING FOR EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(A) In general.--''; and all that follows
through ``the following components'' in the matter preceding
clause (i) in subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
``(A) Definition of employment and training
program.--In this Act, the term `employment and
training program' means a Federal, State, or private
program not administered by the Secretary or funded
through the Food and Nutrition Service that contains 1
or more of the following components'';
(2) by striking clause (viii) in subparagraph (A) (as
designated in paragraph (1)) and inserting the following:
``(viii) As approved by the State, other
employment and training programs, educational
programs, projects, and experiments, such as a
supported work program, aimed at accomplishing
the purpose of the employment and training
program.'';
(3) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``subparagraph (D)''
and inserting ``subparagraph (C)'';
(4) by striking subparagraphs (H) through (K); and
(5) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through (G) and (L)
and (M) as subparagraphs (B) through (F) and (G) and (H),
respectively.
(b) Repeal of Funding.--Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended by striking subsection (h).
(c) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 5(d) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2014(d)) is amended--
(A) by striking paragraph (14); and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (15) through (19)
as paragraphs (14) through (18), respectively.
(2) Section 17(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III) of the Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)) is amended--
(A) in item (dd), by striking ``, (4)(F)(i), or
(4)(K)'' and inserting ``or (4)(E)''; and
(B) in item (hh), by striking ``(g), (h)(2), or
(h)(3) of section 16'' and inserting ``or (f) of
section 16''.
SEC. 5. WORK REQUIREMENT.
Section 6(o)(4)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2015(o)(4)(A)) is amended by striking ``reside--'' and all that follows
through the end of clause (ii) and inserting ``reside has an
unemployment rate of over 10 percent.''.
SEC. 6. CENTRALIZED DATABASE FOR CROSS-COMPLIANCE.
Section 11(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2020(o)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Centralized database for cross-compliance.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary
shall develop a centralized database to facilitate
cooperation between the Secretary and State agencies so
as to ensure that an individual does not enroll to
receive benefits in more than 1 State.
``(B) Use of existing databases.--To the maximum
extent practicable to reduce development and
implementation costs, in developing the centralized
database the Secretary shall use Federal databases in
existence as of the date of enactment of this
paragraph.''.
SEC. 7. QUALITY CONTROL.
(a) In General.--Section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (D)(i)(II), by inserting
``except as provided in subparagraph (H),'' before
``require''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(H) States in liability status for a third
consecutive fiscal year.--
``(i) In general.--If a liability amount
has been established for a State agency under
subparagraph (C) for 3 or more consecutive
fiscal years, the Secretary shall require the
State to pay the entire liability amount for
those fiscal years.
``(ii) Alternatives to full payment not
available.--Subparagraph (D) shall not apply to
a State agency described in clause (i).'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as paragraph (10); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
``(9) Penalty for negative error rate.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Affected state agency.--The term
`affected State agency' means a State agency
that maintains, for 2 or more consecutive
fiscal years, a negative error rate that is
more than 50 percent higher than the national
average negative error rate, as determined by
the Secretary.
``(ii) Average negative error rate.--The
term `average negative error rate' means the
product obtained by multiplying--
``(I) the negative error rate of a
State agency; and
``(II) the proportion of the total
negative caseload of that State agency
for the fiscal year, as calculated
under the quality control sample at the
time of the notifications issued under
subparagraph (C), as determined by the
Secretary.
``(iii) Negative error rate.--
``(I) In general.--The term
`negative error rate' means, for a
State agency, the proportion that--
``(aa) the total number of
actions erroneously taken by
the State agency to deny
applications or suspend or
terminate benefits of a
household participating in the
supplemental nutrition
assistance program established
under this Act, as determined
by the Secretary, in that
fiscal year; bears to
``(bb) the total number of
actions taken by the State
agency to deny applications or
suspend or terminate benefits
of households participating in
the supplemental nutrition
assistance program established
under this Act in that fiscal
year.
``(II) Exclusions.--The term
`negative error rate' does not
include--
``(aa) an error resulting
from the application of
regulations promulgated under
this Act during the period--
``(AA) beginning on
the date of enactment
of this clause; and
``(BB) ending on
the date that is 121
days after the date on
which the regulation is
implemented; and
``(bb) an error resulting
from--
``(AA) the use by a
State agency of
correctly processed
information concerning
households or
individuals received
under a Federal
program; or
``(BB) an action
that is based on policy
information that is
approved or
disseminated, in
writing, by the
Secretary or a designee
of the Secretary.
``(B) Penalty amount.--For fiscal year 2012 and
each subsequent fiscal year, the amount of the penalty
for an affected State agency shall be equal to 5
percent of the amount otherwise payable under
subsection (a).
``(C) Information reporting by states.--
``(i) In general.--For each fiscal year,
each State agency shall expeditiously submit to
the Secretary data concerning the operations of
the State agency sufficient for the Secretary
to establish the negative error rate and
penalty amount of the State agency.
``(ii) Relevant information.--The Secretary
may require a State agency to report any
factors necessary to determine the negative
error rate of the State agency.
``(iii) Information not reported.--If a
State agency fails to report information
required by the Secretary, the Secretary may
use any information, as the Secretary considers
appropriate, to establish the negative error
rate of the State agency for the applicable
year.
``(iv) National average error rate.--If a
State agency fails to report information
required by the Secretary, the Secretary may
use the national average negative error rate to
establish the negative error rate for the State
agency.
``(D) Announcement of error rates.--
``(i) Case review.--Not later than May 31
of each fiscal year, the case review and all
arbitration of State-Federal differences on
negative error rates for the previous fiscal
year shall be completed.
``(ii) Determination and announcement.--Not
later than June 30 of each fiscal year, the
Secretary shall, for the previous fiscal year--
``(I) determine--
``(aa) final negative error
rates;
``(bb) the national average
negative error rate; and
``(cc) penalty amounts;
``(II) notify affected State
agencies of the penalty amounts;
``(III) provide a copy of the
notification under subclause (II) to
the chief executive officer and the
legislature of the affected State; and
``(IV) establish a claim against
the State agency for the monetary
penalty amount assessed against the
State agency.
``(E) Review.--
``(i) In general.--For any fiscal year, if
the Secretary imposes a penalty amount against
a State agency under subparagraph (D)(ii), the
following determinations of the Secretary shall
be subject to administrative and judicial
review:
``(I) The final negative error rate
of the State agency.
``(II) A determination of the
Secretary that the negative error rate
of the State agency exceeds 50 percent
of the national average negative error
rate.
``(III) The monetary penalty amount
assessed against the State agency.
``(ii) Determination not reviewable.--The
national average negative error rate under this
paragraph shall not be subject to
administrative or judicial review.
``(F) Payment of penalty amount.--
``(i) In general.--On completion of
administrative and judicial review under
subparagraph (E), an affected State agency
shall pay to the Secretary the penalty amount
designated under subparagraph (D)(ii), subject
to the findings of the administrative or
judicial review, not later than September 30 of
the fiscal year for which the claim has been
issued to the State agency.
``(ii) Alternative method of collection.--
``(I) In general.--If a State
agency fails to make a payment under
clause (i) by September 30 of the
fiscal year for which the claim has
been issued to the State agency, the
Secretary may reduce any amount due to
the State agency under any other
provision of this Act by the amount of
the monetary penalty established under
subparagraph (D)(ii).
``(II) Accrual of interest.--
Interest on the amount owed shall not
accrue until after September 30 of the
applicable fiscal year.''.
SEC. 8. REPEAL OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES WITH LOW SNAP BENEFIT
ALLOCATION ERROR RATES.
(a) In General.--Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended by striking subsection (d).
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 7(h)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2016(h)(4)) is amended by striking ``16(g)'' and
inserting ``16(f)''.
(2) Section 11(e)(3) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(3)) is amended by striking ``section 16(e) of
this Act'' and inserting ``section 16(d)''.
(3) Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2025) (as amended by subsection (a) of this section and
section 4(b)) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a)--
(i) by striking ``subsection (k)'' and
inserting ``subsection (i)''; and
(ii) by striking ``subsection (g)'' and
inserting ``subsection (f)'';
(B) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking
``subsection (g)'' and inserting ``subsection
(f)''; and
(ii) by striking ``, or performance under
the performance measures under subsection (d)''
each place it appears in paragraphs (4) and
(5);
(C) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ``as defined
in subsection (d)(1))'' and inserting ``as defined in
guidance issued by the Secretary''; and
(D) by redesignating subsections (e) through (g)
and (i) through (k) as subsections (d) through (f) and
(g) through (i), respectively.
(4) Section 22(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Food and Nutrition Act
of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2031(d)(1)(B)(ii)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``(g), (h)(2), and (h)(3)'' and
inserting ``and (f)''; and
(B) in the proviso, by striking ``subsection (g) of
section 16'' and inserting ``section 16(f)''.
(5) Section 23(a)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2032(a)(1)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``either
section 16(a) or 16(g)'' and inserting ``subsection (a)
or (f) of section 16''; and
(B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``16(g)'' and
inserting ``16(f)''.
SEC. 9. NUTRITION EDUCATION AND OBESITY PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.
Section 28 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2036a)
is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following:
``(d) Funding.--
``(1) In general.--Of funds made available each fiscal year
under section 18(a)(1), the Secretary shall make available to
each State agency to carry out the nutrition education and
obesity prevention grant program under this section--
``(A) for fiscal year 2013, an amount equal to $5
per household in the State enrolled in the supplemental
nutrition assistance program; and
``(B) for fiscal year 2014 and each subsequent
fiscal year, the applicable amount during the preceding
fiscal year, as adjusted to reflect any increases for
the 12-month period ending the preceding June 30 in the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of
Labor, per household in the State enrolled in the
supplemental nutrition assistance program.
``(2) Timing of determination.--At the end of each fiscal
year, the Secretary shall determine the total number of
households in each State enrolled in the supplemental nutrition
assistance program so as to determine appropriate funding
levels for the coming fiscal year.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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