II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1643 

To provide the Secretary of Agriculture with additional authority and funding 

to provide emergency relief, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to victims of Hurricane Katrina and related conditions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 8, 2005 

Mr. HARKIN (for himself and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To provide the Secretary of Agriculture with additional authority and funding to provide emergency relief, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to 

victims of Hurricane Katrina and related conditions. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hurricane Katrina 

5 Food Assistance Relief Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec8 retary of Agriculture. 
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1 SEC. 3. FOOD STAMP PROGRAM DISASTER AUTHORITY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(h) of the Food Stamp 

3 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014(h)) is amended by adding 

4 at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(i) AFFECTED AREA.— 

8 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘af9 fected area’ means an area of a State that 

10 the Secretary determines was affected by 

11 Hurricane Katrina or a related condition. 

12 ‘‘(II) INCLUSION.—The term ‘affected 

13 area’ includes any area that, as a result of 

14 Hurricane Katrina or a related condition, 

15 was covered by— 

16 ‘‘(aa) a natural disaster declara17 tion under section 321(a) of the Con18 solidated Farm and Rural Develop19 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)); or 

20 ‘‘(bb) a major disaster or emer21 gency designation under the Robert T. 

22 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer23 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 

24 et seq.). 

25 ‘‘(ii) AFFECTED HOUSEHOLD.— 
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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘af2 fected household’ means a household— 

3 ‘‘(aa) in an affected area; 

4 ‘‘(bb) in which a member worked 

5 immediately prior to August 29, 2005, 

6 in an affected area; 

7 ‘‘(cc) that was displaced as a re8 sult of Hurricane Katrina or a related 

9 condition to other areas of the same 

10 or another State; or 

11 ‘‘(dd) that the Secretary deter12 mines should receive relief under this 

13 paragraph as a result of Hurricane 

14 Katrina or a related condition. 

15 ‘‘(II) INCLUSION.—The term ‘affected 

16 household’ includes a household containing 

17 1 or more individuals that were displaced 

18 as a result of Hurricane Katrina or a re19 lated condition, as determined by the Sec20 retary. 

21 ‘‘(iii) DISASTER RECOVERY PERIOD.— 

22 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘dis23 aster recovery period’ means the period of 

24 180 days beginning on the date of enact25 ment of this paragraph. 
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1 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION.—The disaster re2 covery period shall be extended for another 

3 180 days unless the President determines 

4 that the extension is not necessary to fully 

5 meet the needs of affected households. 

6 ‘‘(B) DISASTER RECOVERY PERIOD.—During 

7 the disaster recovery period— 

8 ‘‘(i) clauses (iv) and (v) of subsection 

9 (g)(2)(B), subsections (d) and (o) of section 6, 

10 and section 8(c)(1) shall not apply to affected 

11 households; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the application of an affected house13 hold shall be processed under the procedures es14 tablished under section 11(e)(9); 

15 ‘‘(iii) the State agency shall increase the 

16 value to the affected household of the thrifty 

17 food plan determined under section 3(o) by 10 

18 percent when calculating the value of the allot19 ment for an affected household under section 

20 8(a); 

21 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary shall pay each State 

22 agency an amount equal to 100 percent of ad23 ministrative costs allowable under section 16(a) 

24 related to serving affected households in lieu of 
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1 the payments section 16(a) would otherwise re2 quire for those costs; 

3 ‘‘(v) an affected household shall be consid4 ered to meet the requirements of subsection 

5 (c)(2) if the income of the affected household, 

6 as calculated under subsection (c)(2), does not 

7 exceed the level permitted under subsection 

8 (c)(1) by more than 50 percent; 

9 ‘‘(vi) any resource to which the household 

10 lost access because of Hurricane Katrina or a 

11 related condition shall not be considered a fi12 nancial resource under subsection (g); 

13 ‘‘(vii) any funds designated for rebuilding 

14 or relocation (including payments from Federal, 

15 State, or local governments, charitable organi16 zations, employers, or insurance companies) 

17 shall be excluded from consideration under sub18 section (g) in determining the eligibility of an 

19 affected household; and 

20 ‘‘(viii) an affected household may not be 

21 considered to customarily purchase food and 

22 prepare meals together with other individuals if 

23 the affected household did not customarily pur24 chase food and prepare meals for home con-
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1 sumption with those individuals immediately 

2 prior to August 29, 2005. 

3 ‘‘(C) DUPLICATE PARTICIPATION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 take such actions as are prudent and reasonable 

6 under the circumstances to identify affected 

7 households that are participating in more than 

8 1 State and to terminate the duplicate partici9 pation of those households. 

10 ‘‘(ii) NO ACTION TAKEN.—Except in the 

11 case of deliberate falsehoods, no action may be 

12 taken against any affected household relating to 

13 any duplicate participation during the disaster 

14 recovery period that takes place prior to termi15 nation under clause (i). 

16 ‘‘(D) CLAIMS RELATING TO BENEFITS.—Except 

17 in the case of intentional program violations as de18 termined under section 6(b), no claim may be estab19 lished under section 13(b) relating to benefits issued 

20 under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(E) PAYMENT ERROR RATE.—For purposes of 

22 determining the payment error rate of a State agen23 cy under section 16(c), the Secretary shall disregard 

24 any errors resulting from the application of this 
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1 paragraph to an affected household during the dis2 aster recovery period. 

3 ‘‘(F) EFFECT OF MORE GENEROUS DISASTER

4 PLANS.—This paragraph shall not supersede any 

5 provision of a plan approved under paragraph (1) 

6 that— 

7 ‘‘(i) provides more complete or expeditious 

8 relief to affected households; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) provides assistance to more individ10 uals.’’. 

11 (b) PROGRAM INFORMATION ACTIVITIES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—From funds otherwise ap13 propriated for the food stamp program established 

14 under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

15 et seq.), the Secretary may use not more than 

16 $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal year 2005 

17 through 2006 to enter into contracts with nonprofit 

18 organizations to support household and community 

19 efforts to address the food assistance and related 

20 needs resulting from Hurricane Katrina or a related 

21 condition. 

22 (2) EXPEDITING PROVISIONS.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 

24 shall not be required— 
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1 (A) to provide public notice of the avail2 ability of funds described in paragraph (1); or 

3 (B) to accept competitive bids for contracts 

4 under this subsection. 

5 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND 

6 SECTION 32 ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—In this 

8 section, the term ‘‘eligible recipient’’ means an individual 

9 or household that, as determined by the Secretary in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

11 (1) is a victim of Hurricane Katrina or a re12 lated condition; 

13 (2) has been displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 

14 a related condition; or 

15 (3) is temporarily housing 1 or more individuals 

16 displaced by Hurricane Katrina or a related condi17 tion. 

18 (b) ASSISTANCE.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to funds other20 wise made available for fiscal year 2005 or 2006 to 

21 carry out the emergency food assistance program es22 tablished under the Emergency Food Assistance Act 

23 of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.), out of any funds 

24 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Sec25 retary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Sec-
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1 retary of Agriculture $200,000,000 to remain avail2 able until expended to provide a variety of food to 

3 eligible recipient agencies for providing food assist4 ance to eligible recipients, including— 

5 (A) special supplemental foods for preg6 nant women and infants or for other individuals 

7 with special needs; 

8 (B) infant formula; 

9 (C) bottled water; and 

10 (D) fruit juices. 

11 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available 

12 under paragraph (1) may be used to provide com13 modities in accordance with— 

14 (A) section 27 of the Food Stamp Act of 

15 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2036); 

16 (B) section 203A of the Emergency Food 

17 Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7504); and 

18 (C) section 204 of the Emergency Food 

19 Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7508). 

20 (3) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Sec21 retary shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and 

22 shall use to carry out this section the funds trans23 ferred under paragraph (1), without further appro24 priation. 
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1 (c) SECTION 32 FUNDING.—In addition to funds oth2 erwise made available under section 32 of the Act of Au3 gust 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), the Secretary shall use 

4 not less than $200,000,000 of funds made available under 

5 that section to provide food assistance to eligible recipi6 ents, including food described in subparagraphs (A) 

7 through (D) of subsection (b)(1). 

8 SEC. 5. WIC FUNDING. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the Treasury 

10 not otherwise appropriated, in addition to other funds oth11 erwise made available to the Secretary for fiscal year 2005 

12 or 2006 to carry out the special supplemental nutrition 

13 program for women, infants, and children established by 

14 section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1786), the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the 

16 Secretary of Agriculture to carry out that program 

17 $200,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 

18 2007. 

19 (b) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary 

20 shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to 

21 carry out this section the funds transferred under sub22 section (a), without further appropriation. 

23 (c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amounts made 

24 available by the transfer of funds in or pursuant to sub25 section (a) are designated as an emergency requirement 
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1 pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Con2 gress). 

3 (d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding sec4 tion 17(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1786(i)), the Secretary may allocate funds made available 

6 under subsection (a) as the Secretary determines to be 

7 necessary to provide assistance to women, infants, and 

8 children who, as determined by the Secretary in consulta9 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

10 (1) are victims of Hurricane Katrina or a re11 lated condition; or 

12 (2) have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina 

13 or a related condition. 

14 SEC. 6. COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM 

15 FUNDING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the Treasury 

17 not otherwise appropriated, in addition to other funds oth18 erwise made available to the Secretary for fiscal year 2005 

19 or 2006 to carry out the commodity supplemental food 

20 program established under section 5 of the Agriculture 

21 and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c 

22 note; Public Law 93–86), the Secretary of the Treasury 

23 shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture $20,000,000 

24 to carry out that program. 
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1 (b) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary 

2 shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to 

3 carry out this section the funds transferred under sub4 section (a), without further appropriation. 

5 (c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amounts made 

6 available by the transfer of funds in or pursuant to sub7 section (a) are designated as an emergency requirement 

8 pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Con9 gress). 

10 (d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

11 use funds made available under subsection (a) as the Sec12 retary determines to be necessary to provide assistance to 

13 individuals who, as determined by the Secretary in con14 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

15 (1) are victims of Hurricane Katrina or a re16 lated condition; or 

17 (2) have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina 

18 or a related condition. 

19 SEC. 7. REPORT. 

20 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec22 retary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Com23 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 

24 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

25 the Senate a report that— 
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1 (1) describes whether additional funding or au2 thority is needed to continue to address the food 

3 needs of eligible recipients; and 

4 (2) includes any determination by the President 

5 under section 5(h)(4)(A)(iii)(II) of the Food Stamp 

6 Act of 1977 (as added by section 3(a)) that an ex7 tension of the disaster recovery period is not nec8 essary to fully meet the needs of affected house9 holds. 

10 SEC. 8. REGULATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promulgate 

12 such regulations as are necessary to implement this Act. 

13 (b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula14 tions and administration of this Act shall be made without 

15 regard to— 

16 (1) the notice and comment provisions of sec17 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; 

18 (2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of 

19 Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 

20 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 

21 and public participation in rulemaking; and 

22 (3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

23 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

24 Act’’). 
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1 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE2 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

3 use the authority provided under section 808 of title 5, 

4 United States Code. 

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