II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1695 

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 13, 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) at any 

13 time during which this subsection applies; 

14 ‘‘(vii) any funds designated for rebuilding 

15 or relocation (including payments from Federal, 

16 State, or local governments, charitable organi17 zations, employers, or insurance companies) 

18 shall be excluded from consideration under sub19 section (g) in determining the eligibility of an 

20 affected household; 

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

22 considered to customarily purchase food and 

23 prepare meals together with other individuals if 

24 the affected household did not customarily pur25 chase food and prepare meals for home con-
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1 sumption with those individuals immediately 

2 prior to August 29, 2005; and 

3 ‘‘(ix) for purposes of determining the eligi4 bility of an affected household, any immigrant 

5 lawfully present in the United States shall be 

6 treated in the same manner as a refugee eligible 

7 under section 402(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Personal 

8 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconcili9 ation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(A)(i)). 

10 ‘‘(C) DUPLICATE PARTICIPATION.— 

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

12 take such actions as are prudent and reasonable 

13 under the circumstances to identify affected 

14 households that are participating in more than 

15 1 State and to terminate the duplicate partici16 pation of those households. 

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

18 case of deliberate falsehoods, no action may be 

19 taken against any affected household relating to 

20 any duplicate participation during the disaster 

21 recovery period that takes place prior to termi22 nation under clause (i). 

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

24 in the case of intentional program violations as de25 termined under section 6(b), no claim may be estab-
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1 lished under section 13(b) relating to benefits issued 

2 under this subsection. 

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

4 determining the payment error rate of a State agen5 cy under section 16(c), the Secretary shall disregard 

6 any errors resulting from the application of this 

7 paragraph to an affected household during the dis8 aster recovery period. 

9 ‘‘(F) EFFECT OF MORE GENEROUS DISASTER

10 PLANS.—This paragraph shall not supersede any 

11 provision of a plan approved under paragraph (1) 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) provides more complete or expeditious 

14 relief to affected households; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) provides assistance to more individ16 uals.’’. 

17 (b) PROGRAM INFORMATION ACTIVITIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—From funds otherwise ap19 propriated for the food stamp program established 

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

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

22 $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal year 2005 

23 through 2006 to enter into contracts with nonprofit 

24 organizations to support household and community 

25 efforts to address the food assistance and related 
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1 needs resulting from Hurricane Katrina or a related 

2 condition. 

3 (2) EXPEDITING PROVISIONS.—Notwith4 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 

5 shall not be required— 

6 (A) to provide public notice of the avail7 ability of funds described in paragraph (1); or 

8 (B) to accept competitive bids for contracts 

9 under this subsection. 

10 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND 

11 SECTION 32 ASSISTANCE. 

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

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

14 or household that, as determined by the Secretary in con15 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

16 (1) is a victim of Hurricane Katrina or a re17 lated condition; 

18 (2) has been displaced by Hurricane Katrina or 

19 a related condition; or 

20 (3) is temporarily housing 1 or more individuals 

21 displaced by Hurricane Katrina or a related condi22 tion. 

23 (b) ASSISTANCE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

25 provision of law, in addition to funds otherwise made 
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1 available for fiscal year 2005 or 2006 to carry out 

2 the emergency food assistance program established 

3 under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 

4 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.), out of any funds in the 

5 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary 

6 of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary of 

7 Agriculture $200,000,000 to remain available until 

8 expended to provide a variety of food to eligible re9 cipient agencies for providing food assistance to eli10 gible recipients, including— 

11 (A) special supplemental foods for preg12 nant women and infants or for other individuals 

13 with special needs; 

14 (B) infant formula; 

15 (C) bottled water; and 

16 (D) fruit juices. 

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

18 under paragraph (1) may be used to provide com19 modities in accordance with— 

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

21 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2036); 

22 (B) section 203A of the Emergency Food 

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

24 (C) section 204 of the Emergency Food 

25 Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7508). 
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1 (3) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Sec2 retary shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and 

3 shall use to carry out this section the funds trans4 ferred under paragraph (1), without further appro5 priation. 

6 (c) SECTION 32 FUNDING.—In addition to funds oth7 erwise made available under section 32 of the Act of Au8 gust 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), the Secretary shall use 

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

10 that section to provide food assistance to eligible recipi11 ents, including food described in subparagraphs (A) 

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

13 SEC. 5. CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) DEFINITION OF DISASTER RECOVERY PERIOD.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

16 ‘‘disaster recovery period’’ means the period of 180 

17 days beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (2) EXTENSION.—The disaster recovery period 

19 shall be extended for another 180 days unless the 

20 President determines that the extension is not nec21 essary to fully meet the needs of affected house22 holds. 

23 (b) CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS DISASTER AU24 THORITY.—After consultation with the official empowered 

25 to exercise the authority provided for by sections 402 and 
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1 502 of the Robert. T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer2 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170a, 5192), the Sec3 retary may modify the conditions for assistance for pro4 grams authorized under the Richard B. Russell National 

5 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the Child 

6 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) during 

7 the disaster recovery period for households that are vic8 tims of a disaster or in areas affected by the disaster if 

9 the households are in need of temporary food assistance. 

10 SEC. 6. WIC FUNDING. 

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

12 not otherwise appropriated, in addition to other funds oth13 erwise made available to the Secretary for fiscal year 2005 

14 or 2006 to carry out the special supplemental nutrition 

15 program for women, infants, and children established by 

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

17 1786), the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the 

18 Secretary of Agriculture to carry out that program 

19 $200,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 

20 2007. 

21 (b) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary 

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

23 carry out this section the funds transferred under sub24 section (a), without further appropriation. 
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1 (c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amounts made 

2 available by the transfer of funds in or pursuant to sub3 section (a) are designated as an emergency requirement 

4 pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Con5 gress). 

6 (d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding sec7 tion 17(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

8 1786(i)), the Secretary may allocate funds made available 

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

10 necessary to provide assistance to women, infants, and 

11 children who, as determined by the Secretary in consulta12 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

13 (1) are victims of Hurricane Katrina or a re14 lated condition; or 

15 (2) have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina 

16 or a related condition. 

17 SEC. 7. COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM 

18 FUNDING. 

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

20 not otherwise appropriated, in addition to other funds oth21 erwise made available to the Secretary for fiscal year 2005 

22 or 2006 to carry out the commodity supplemental food 

23 program established under section 5 of the Agriculture 

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

25 note; Public Law 93–86), the Secretary of the Treasury 
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1 shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture $20,000,000 

2 to carry out that program. 

3 (b) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary 

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

5 carry out this section the funds transferred under sub6 section (a), without further appropriation. 

7 (c) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The amounts made 

8 available by the transfer of funds in or pursuant to sub9 section (a) are designated as an emergency requirement 

10 pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Con11 gress). 

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

13 use funds made available under subsection (a) as the Sec14 retary determines to be necessary to provide assistance to 

15 individuals who, as determined by the Secretary in con16 sultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security— 

17 (1) are victims of Hurricane Katrina or a re18 lated condition; or 

19 (2) have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina 

20 or a related condition. 

21 SEC. 8. REPORT. 

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Com25 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 
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1 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

2 the Senate a report that— 

3 (1) describes whether additional funding or au4 thority is needed to continue to address the food 

5 needs of eligible recipients; and 

6 (2) includes any determination by the President 

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

8 Act of 1977 (as added by section 3(a)) that an ex9 tension of the disaster recovery period is not nec10 essary to fully meet the needs of affected house11 holds. 

12 SEC. 9. REGULATIONS. 

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

14 such regulations as are necessary to implement this Act. 

15 (b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula16 tions and administration of this Act shall be made without 

17 regard to— 

18 (1) the notice and comment provisions of sec19 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; 

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

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

22 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 

23 and public participation in rulemaking; and 
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1 (3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

2 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

3 Act’’). 

4 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE5 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

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

7 United States Code. 

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