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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 529

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to respond to the hunger emergency

afflicting American families and children, to attack the causes of hunger

among all Americans, to ensure an adequate diet for low-income people

who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because of the shortage

of affordable housing, to promote self-sufficiency among food stamp

recipients, to assist families affected by adverse economic conditions,

to simplify food assistance programs’ administration, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 21, 1993

Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. DE LA GARZA, and Mr. HALL

of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to respond to the

hunger emergency afflicting American families and children, to attack the causes of hunger among all Americans, to ensure an adequate diet for low-income people

who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because

of the shortage of affordable housing, to promote selfsufficiency among food stamp recipients, to assist families affected by adverse economic conditions, to simplify

food assistance programs’ administration, and for other

purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is

7 as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. References to Act.

TITLE I—ENSURING ADEQUATE FOOD ASSISTANCE

Sec. 101. Families with high shelter expenses.

Sec. 102. Basic benefit level.

Sec. 103. Continuing benefits to eligible households.

Sec. 104. Homeless families in transitional housing.

Sec. 105. Improving the nutritional status of children in Puerto Rico.

Sec. 106. Households benefiting from general assistance vendor payments.

Sec. 107. Helping low-income high school students.

TITLE II—PROMOTING SELF-SUFFICIENCY

Sec. 201. Child support disregard.

Sec. 202. Child support payments to non-household members.

Sec. 203. Vehicles needed to seek and continue employment and for household

transportation.

Sec. 204. Vehicles necessary to carry fuel or water.

Sec. 205. Improving access to employment and training activities.

TITLE III—SIMPLIFYING THE PROVISION OF FOOD ASSISTANCE

Sec. 301. Simplifying the household definition for households with children and

others.

Sec. 302. Resources of households with disabled members.

Sec. 303. Assuring adequate funding for the food stamp program.

TITLE IV—COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION TO NEEDY FAMILIES

Sec. 401. Commodity purchases.

TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVE DATES

Sec. 501. Effective dates.

Sec. 502. Budget neutrality requirement.
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1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO ACTS.

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, ref3 erences to ‘‘the Act’’ and sections thereof shall be deemed

4 to be references to the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

5 2011 et seq.) and the sections thereof.

6 TITLE I—ENSURING ADEQUATE FOOD

7 ASSISTANCE

8 SEC. 101. FAMILIES WITH HIGH SHELTER EXPENSES.

9 (a) REMOVAL OF CAP.—(1) The fourth sentence of

10 section 5(e) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (hereinafter

11 referred to as ‘‘the Act’’) (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended

12 by striking ‘‘: Provided, That the amount’’ and all that

13 follows through ‘‘June 30’’.

14 (2) The fifth sentence of section 5(e) of the Act (7

15 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘under clause (2)

16 of the preceding sentence’’.

17 (b) TRANSITIONAL CAP.—(1) Effective on the date

18 of enactment of this Act, section 5(e) of the Act is amend19 ed by inserting after the fourth sentence the following: ‘‘In

20 the 12-month period ending September 30, 1994, such ex21 cess shelter expense deduction shall not exceed $230 a

22 month in the forty-eight contiguous States and the Dis23 trict of Columbia, and shall not exceed, in Alaska, Hawaii,

24 Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States, $400,

25 $328, $279, and $170 a month, respectively; in the 12-

26 month period ending September 30, 1995, shall not exceed
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1 $260 a month in the forty-eight contiguous States and the

2 District of Columbia, and shall not exceed, in Alaska, Ha3 waii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States,

4 $452, $371, $315, and $192 a month, respectively; in the

5 12-month period ending September 30, 1996, shall not ex6 ceed $300 a month in the forty-eight contiguous States

7 and the District of Columbia, and shall not exceed, in

8 Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the Unit9 ed States, $521, $420, $364, and $221 a month, respec10 tively; and in the 12-month period ending September 30,

11 1997, shall not exceed $360 a month in the forty-eight

12 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, and shall

13 not exceed, in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Is14 lands of the United States, $626, $514, $437, and $266

15 a month, respectively.’’.

16 (2) Effective October 1, 1997, section 5(e) of the Act

17 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended by striking the fifth

18 sentence.

19 SEC. 102. BASIC BENEFIT LEVEL.

20 Section 3(o) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2012(o)) is amend21 ed by striking ‘‘(4) through’’ and all that follows through

22 the end of the subsection, and inserting the following: ‘‘(4)

23 on October 1, 1993, adjust the cost of such diet to reflect

1031 24 ⁄3 percent of the cost of thrifty food plan in the pre25 ceding June (without regard to adjustments made under
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1 clauses (9), (10), and (11) of this subsection as in effect

2 before the date of the enactment of the Mickey Leland

3 Childhood Hunger Relief Act), as determined by the Sec4 retary, and round the result to the nearest lower dollar

5 increment for each household size, (5) on October 1, 1994,

adjust the cost of such diet to reflect 1032 6 ⁄3 percent of

7 the cost of the thrifty food plan in the preceding June

8 (without regard to adjustments made under such clauses

9 (9), (10), and (11) and under clause (4)), as determined

10 by the Secretary, and round the result to the nearest lower

11 dollar increment for each household size, (6) on October

12 1, 1995, adjust the cost of such diet to reflect 104 percent

13 of the cost of the thrifty food plan in the preceding June

14 (without regard to adjustments made under such clauses

15 (9), (10), and (11) and under clauses (4) and (5)), as de16 termined by the Secretary, and round the result to the

17 lowest dollar increment for each household size, (7) on October 1, 1996, adjust the cost of such diet to reflect 1041 18 ⁄3

19 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan in the preceding

20 June (without regard to adjustments made under such

21 clauses (9), (10), and (11) and under clauses (4), (5), and

22 (6)), as determined by the Secretary, and round the result

23 to the nearest lower dollar increment for each household

24 size, (8) on October 1, 1997, adjust the cost of such diet

to reflect 1042 25 ⁄3 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan
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1 in the preceding June (without regard to adjustments

2 made under such clauses (9), (10), and (11) and under

3 clauses (4), (5), (6), and (7)), as determined by the Sec4 retary, and round the result to the nearest lower dollar

5 increment for each household size, and (9) on October 1,

6 1998, and on every October 1 thereafter, adjust the cost

7 of such diet to reflect 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty

8 food plan in the preceding June (without regard to pre9 vious adjustments made under such clauses (9), (10), and

10 (11), under clauses (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8), and under

11 this clause), as determined by the Secretary, and round

12 the result to the nearest lower dollar increment for each

13 household size.’’.

14 SEC. 103. CONTINUING BENEFITS TO ELIGIBLE HOUSE15 HOLDS.

16 Section 8(c)(2)(B) of the Act (7 U.S.C.

17 2017(c)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘of more than one

18 month in’’ after ‘‘following any period’’.

19 SEC. 104. HOMELESS FAMILIES IN TRANSITIONAL HOUS20 ING.

21 Section 5(k)(2)(F) of the Act (7 U.S.C.

22 2014(k)(2)(F)) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(F) housing assistance payments made to a

24 third party on behalf of a household residing in

25 transitional housing for the homeless;’’.
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1 SEC. 105. IMPROVING THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHIL2 DREN IN PUERTO RICO.

3 Section 19(a)(1)(A) of the Act (7 U.S.C.

4 2028(a)(1)(A)) is amended:

5 (1) by striking ‘‘$1,091,000,000’’ and inserting

6 ‘‘$1,111,000,000’’; and

7 (2) by striking ‘‘$1,133,000,000’’ and inserting

8 ‘‘$1,158,000,000’’.

9 SEC. 106. HOUSEHOLDS BENEFITING FROM GENERAL AS10 SISTANCE VENDOR PAYMENTS.

11 Section 5(k)(1)(B) of the Act (7 U.S.C.

12 2014(k)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(B) a benefit payable to the household for

14 housing expenses, not including energy or utility-cost

15 assistance, under—

16 ‘‘(i) a State or local general assistance pro17 gram; or

18 ‘‘(ii) another basic assistance program

19 comparable to general assistance (as determined

20 by the Secretary).’’.

21 SEC. 107. HELPING LOW-INCOME HIGH SCHOOL STU22 DENTS.

23 Section 5(d)(7) is amended by striking ‘‘, who is a

24 student, and who has not attained his eighteenth birth25 day’’ and inserting ‘‘and who is an elementary or second26 ary student’’.
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1 TITLE II—PROMOTING SELF-SUFFICIENCY

2 SEC. 201. CHILD SUPPORT DISREGARD.

3 Section 5 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended—

4 (1) in clause (13) of subsection (d)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘at the option’’ and all

6 that follows through ‘‘subsection (m),’’ and in7 serting ‘‘(A)’’; and

8 (B) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘and (B) the first $50 of any child support

10 payments for each month received in that

11 month, and the first $50 of child support of

12 each month received in that month if such pay13 ments were made by the absent parent in the

14 month when due,’’; and

15 (2) by striking subsection (m).

16 SEC. 202. CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS TO NON-HOUSEHOLD

17 MEMBERS.

18 Section 5(d)(6) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(d)(6)) is

19 amended by striking the comma at the end and inserting

20 the following: ‘‘: Provided, That child support payments

21 made by a household member to or for a person who is

22 not a member of the household shall be excluded from the

23 income of the household of the person making such pay24 ments if such household member was legally obligated to

25 make such payments,’’.
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1 SEC. 203. VEHICLES NEEDED TO SEEK AND CONTINUE EM2 PLOYMENT AND FOR HOUSEHOLD TRANS3 PORTATION.

4 Section 5(g)(2) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(2)) is

5 amended by striking $4,500’’ and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘a level set by the Secretary, which shall be $4,500

7 through September 30, 1993, and which shall be adjusted

8 from $4,500 on October 1, 1993, and on each October

9 1 thereafter, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price

10 Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau

11 of Labor Statistics, for new cars, for the 12-month period

12 ending the preceding June 30, and rounded to the nearest

13 $50’’.

14 SEC. 204. VEHICLES NECESSARY TO CARRY FUEL OR

15 WATER.

16 Section 5(g)(2) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(2)) is

17 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Sec18 retary shall exclude from financial resources the value of

19 a vehicle that a household depends upon to carry fuel for

20 heating or water for home use when such transported fuel

21 or water is the primary source of fuel or water for the

22 household.’’.
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1 SEC. 205. IMPROVING ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT AND

2 TRAINING ACTIVITIES.

3 (a) DEPENDENT CARE DEDUCTION.—Section 5(e) of

4 the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended in clause (1) of

5 the fourth sentence—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘$160 a month for each depend7 ent’’ and inserting ‘‘$200 a month for a dependent

8 child under age 2 and $175 a month for any other

9 dependent’’; and

10 (2) by striking ‘‘, regardless of the dependent’s

11 age,’’.

12 (b) REIMBURSEMENTS TO PARTICIPANTS.—(1) Sec13 tion 6(d)(4)(I)(i)(I) of the Act (7 U.S.C.

14 2015(d)(4)(I)(i)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘$25’’ and in15 serting ‘‘$75’’.

16 (2) Subclause (II) of section 6(d)(4)(I)(i) of the Act

17 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(I)(i)(II)) is amended by striking

18 ‘‘reimbursements exceed $160’’ and all that follows

19 through the end of such subclause, and inserting ‘‘reim20 bursements exceed the applicable local market rate as de21 termined by procedures consistent with any such deter22 mination under the Social Security Act. Individuals sub23 ject to the program under this paragraph may not be re24 quired to participate if dependent care costs exceed the

25 limit established by the State agency under this paragraph
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1 (which limit shall not be less than the limit for the depend2 ent care deduction under section 5(e)).’’.

3 (c) REIMBURSEMENTS TO STATE AGENCIES.—Sec4 tion 16(h)(3) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(3)) is amend5 ed—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘$25’’ and all that follows

7 through ‘‘dependent care costs)’’ and inserting ‘‘the

8 payment made under section 6(d)(4)(I)(i)(I) but not

9 more than $75 per participant per month’’; and

10 (2) by striking ‘‘representing $160 per month

11 per dependent’’ and inserting ‘‘equal to the payment

12 made under section 6(d)(4)(I)(i)(II) but not more

13 than the applicable local market rate’’.

14 TITLE III—SIMPLIFYING THE PROVISION

15 OF FOOD ASSISTANCE

16 SEC. 301. SIMPLIFYING THE HOUSEHOLD DEFINITION FOR

17 HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN AND OTHERS.

18 The first sentence of section 3(i) of the Act (7 U.S.C.

19 2012(i)) is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (2)’’;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘, or (3) a parent of minor chil22 dren and that parent’s children’’ and all that follows

23 through ‘‘parents and children, or siblings,’’ and in24 serting ‘‘. Parents and their minor children who live

25 together and spouses’’; and
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1 (3) by striking ‘‘, unless one of’’ and all that

2 follows through ‘‘disabled member’’.

3 SEC. 302. RESOURCES OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH DISABLED

4 MEMBERS.

5 Section 5(g)(1) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(1)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘a member who is 60 years of age

7 or older,’’ and inserting ‘‘an elderly or disabled member,’’.

8 SEC. 303. ASSURING ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR THE FOOD

9 STAMP PROGRAM.

10 Section 18 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2027) is amended

11 by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) and redesignating

12 subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (b) and (c), respec13 tively.

14 TITLE IV—COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION TO

15 NEEDY FAMILIES.

16 SEC. 401—COMMODITY PURCHASES.

17 Section 214(e) of the Emergency Food Assistance

18 Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 612c note) is amended—

19 (1) by striking ‘‘$175,000,000’’ and all that fol20 lows through ‘‘1992, and’’;

21 (2) by inserting after the first sentence the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘During fiscal year 1994, the Secretary shall spend

24 $220,000,000 to purchase, process, and distribute addi25 tional commodities under this section.’’; and
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1 (3) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘1991

2 through’’ and inserting ‘‘1993 and’’.

3 TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION AND

4 EFFECTIVE DATES

5 SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATES.

6 (a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as other7 wise provided in this Act, the provisions of this Act shall

8 become effective and be implemented on October 1, 1993.

9 (b) SPECIAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Sections 103, 106,

10 201, 202, 204, 205, 301, and 302 of this Act shall become

11 effective and be implemented on July 1, 1994.

12 SEC. 502. BUDGET NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.

13 None of the provisions of this Act shall become effec14 tive unless the costs are fully offset in each fiscal year

15 through fiscal year 1998. No agriculture price or income

16 support program administered through the Commodity

17 Credit Corporation under the Agricultural Act of 1949

18 may be reduced to achieve such offset.

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