II 

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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY LIMITATIONS. 

4 Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

5 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking the section designation and 

7 heading and all that follows through ‘‘(a) Participa8 tion’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS. 

10 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 762 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Participation’’; 

2 (2) in subsection (a)— 

3 (A) by striking the second sentence and in4 serting the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) RECIPIENTS OF OTHER FEDERAL BENE6 FITS.—Except as provided in section 3(n)(4) and 

7 subsections (b), (d)(2), and (g) of section 6, a house8 hold shall be eligible to participate in the supple9 mental nutrition assistance program if each member 

10 of the household receives— 

11 ‘‘(A) cash assistance in the form of ongo12 ing basic needs benefit payments for financially 

13 needy families under the program of block 

14 grants to States for temporary assistance for 

15 needy families established under part A of title 

16 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

17 seq.); 

18 ‘‘(B) cash assistance under the supple19 mental security income program established 

20 under title XVI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et 

21 seq.); or 

22 ‘‘(C) aid to the aged, blind, or disabled 

23 under title I, X, XIV, or XVI of that Act (42 

24 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).’’; 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 762 IS

1 (B) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Ex2 cept for sections 6, 16(e)(1), and section 

3 3(n)(4), households’’ and inserting the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(3) GENERAL ASSISTANCE.—Except as pro6 vided in sections 3(n)(4), 6, and 16(d), a house7 hold’’; and 

8 (C) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

9 ‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Assistance’’; and 

11 (3) in subsection (j)— 

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘cash assistance in the 

13 form of’’ before ‘‘supplemental security income 

14 benefits’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘or who receives benefits’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘or who receives cash assistance’’. 

17 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR RE-ENROLLMENT. 

18 Paragraph (4) of section 5(a) of the Food and Nutri19 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(a)) (as designated by 

20 section 1(2)(C)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Assistance’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 762 IS

1 ‘‘(B) REENROLLMENT.—Any eligible 

2 household that previously received benefits 

3 under the supplemental nutrition assistance 

4 program and applies for reenrollment in the 

5 program shall be required— 

6 ‘‘(i) to complete in full a new applica7 tion; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) to verify that the income and as9 sets of the household are in compliance 

10 with the requirements of the program.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCES BASED ON THE 

12 RECEIPT OF ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAY13 MENTS. 

14 (a) STANDARD UTILITY ALLOWANCE.—Section 5 of 

15 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (e)(6)(C), by striking clause 

18 (iv); and 

19 (2) in subsection (k), by striking paragraph (4) 

20 and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) THIRD PARTY ENERGY ASSISTANCE PAY22 MENTS.—For purposes of subsection (d)(1), a pay23 ment made under a State law (other than a law re24 ferred to in paragraph (2)(G)) to provide energy asVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:38 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S762.IS S762

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 762 IS

1 sistance to a household shall be considered money 

2 payable directly to the household.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

4 2605(f)(2) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 

5 Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)(2)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and for purposes of deter7 mining any excess shelter expense deduction under 

8 section 5(e) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

9 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e))’’, and 

10 (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting before the 

11 semicolon the following: ‘‘, except that such pay12 ments or allowances shall not be deemed to be ex13 pended for purposes of determining any excess shel14 ter expense deduction under section 5(e)(6) of the 

15 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

16 2014(e)(6))’’. 

17 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF FUNDING FOR EMPLOYMENT AND 

18 TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and 

20 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—’’; and all 

23 that follows through ‘‘the following components’’ in 

24 the matter preceding clause (i) in subparagraph (B) 

25 and inserting the following: 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 762 IS

1 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYMENT AND

2 TRAINING PROGRAM.—In this Act, the term 

3 ‘employment and training program’ means a 

4 Federal, State, or private program not adminis5 tered by the Secretary or funded through the 

6 Food and Nutrition Service that contains 1 or 

7 more of the following components’’; 

8 (2) by striking clause (viii) in subparagraph (A) 

9 (as designated in paragraph (1)) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(viii) As approved by the State, other 

12 employment and training programs, edu13 cational programs, projects, and experi14 ments, such as a supported work program, 

15 aimed at accomplishing the purpose of the 

16 employment and training program.’’; 

17 (3) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘subpara18 graph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’; 

19 (4) by striking subparagraphs (H) through (K); 

20 and 

21 (5) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 

22 (G) and (L) and (M) as subparagraphs (B) through 

23 (F) and (G) and (H), respectively. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 762 IS

1 (b) REPEAL OF FUNDING.—Section 16 of the Food 

2 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended 

3 by striking subsection (h). 

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) Section 5(d) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

6 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(d)) is amended— 

7 (A) by striking paragraph (14); and 

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (15) 

9 through (19) as paragraphs (14) through (18), 

10 respectively. 

11 (2) Section 17(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III) of the Food 

12 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

13 2026(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)) is amended— 

14 (A) in item (dd), by striking ‘‘, (4)(F)(i), 

15 or (4)(K)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (4)(E)’’; and 

16 (B) in item (hh), by striking ‘‘(g), (h)(2), 

17 or (h)(3) of section 16’’ and inserting ‘‘or (f) of 

18 section 16’’. 

19 SEC. 5. WORK REQUIREMENT. 

20 Section 6(o)(4)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

21 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘reside—’’ and all that follows through the end of clause 

23 (ii) and inserting ‘‘reside has an unemployment rate of 

24 over 10 percent.’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 762 IS

1 SEC. 6. CENTRALIZED DATABASE FOR CROSS-COMPLIANCE. 

2 Section 11(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

3 (7 U.S.C. 2020(o)) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(6) CENTRALIZED DATABASE FOR CROSS-COM6 PLIANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

8 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

9 the Secretary shall develop a centralized data10 base to facilitate cooperation between the Sec11 retary and State agencies so as to ensure that 

12 an individual does not enroll to receive benefits 

13 in more than 1 State. 

14 ‘‘(B) USE OF EXISTING DATABASES.—To 

15 the maximum extent practicable to reduce de16 velopment and implementation costs, in devel17 oping the centralized database the Secretary 

18 shall use Federal databases in existence as of 

19 the date of enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

20 SEC. 7. QUALITY CONTROL. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 16(c) of the Food and 

22 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (D)(i)(II), by insert25 ing ‘‘except as provided in subparagraph (H),’’ 

26 before ‘‘require’’; and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 762 IS

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

2 ‘‘(H) STATES IN LIABILITY STATUS FOR A

3 THIRD CONSECUTIVE FISCAL YEAR.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a liability 

5 amount has been established for a State 

6 agency under subparagraph (C) for 3 or 

7 more consecutive fiscal years, the Sec8 retary shall require the State to pay the 

9 entire liability amount for those fiscal 

10 years. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVES TO FULL PAY12 MENT NOT AVAILABLE.—Subparagraph 

13 (D) shall not apply to a State agency de14 scribed in clause (i).’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para16 graph (10); and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(9) PENALTY FOR NEGATIVE ERROR RATE.— 

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

21 ‘‘(i) AFFECTED STATE AGENCY.—The 

22 term ‘affected State agency’ means a State 

23 agency that maintains, for 2 or more con24 secutive fiscal years, a negative error rate 

25 that is more than 50 percent higher than 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 762 IS

1 the national average negative error rate, as 

2 determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(ii) AVERAGE NEGATIVE ERROR

4 RATE.—The term ‘average negative error 

5 rate’ means the product obtained by multi6 plying— 

7 ‘‘(I) the negative error rate of a 

8 State agency; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the proportion of the total 

10 negative caseload of that State agency 

11 for the fiscal year, as calculated under 

12 the quality control sample at the time 

13 of the notifications issued under sub14 paragraph (C), as determined by the 

15 Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(iii) NEGATIVE ERROR RATE.— 

17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term 

18 ‘negative error rate’ means, for a 

19 State agency, the proportion that— 

20 ‘‘(aa) the total number of 

21 actions erroneously taken by the 

22 State agency to deny applications 

23 or suspend or terminate benefits 

24 of a household participating in 

25 the supplemental nutrition assistVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:38 Apr 23, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S762.IS S762

smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 762 IS

1 ance program established under 

2 this Act, as determined by the 

3 Secretary, in that fiscal year; 

4 bears to 

5 ‘‘(bb) the total number of 

6 actions taken by the State agency 

7 to deny applications or suspend 

8 or terminate benefits of house9 holds participating in the supple10 mental nutrition assistance pro11 gram established under this Act 

12 in that fiscal year. 

13 ‘‘(II) EXCLUSIONS.—The term 

14 ‘negative error rate’ does not in15 clude— 

16 ‘‘(aa) an error resulting 

17 from the application of regula18 tions promulgated under this Act 

19 during the period— 

20 ‘‘(AA) beginning on the 

21 date of enactment of this 

22 clause; and 

23 ‘‘(BB) ending on the 

24 date that is 121 days after 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 762 IS

1 the date on which the regu2 lation is implemented; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) an error resulting 

4 from— 

5 ‘‘(AA) the use by a 

6 State agency of correctly 

7 processed information con8 cerning households or indi9 viduals received under a 

10 Federal program; or 

11 ‘‘(BB) an action that is 

12 based on policy information 

13 that is approved or dissemi14 nated, in writing, by the 

15 Secretary or a designee of 

16 the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(B) PENALTY AMOUNT.—For fiscal year 

18 2012 and each subsequent fiscal year, the 

19 amount of the penalty for an affected State 

20 agency shall be equal to 5 percent of the 

21 amount otherwise payable under subsection (a). 

22 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION REPORTING BY

23 STATES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal 

25 year, each State agency shall expeditiously 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 762 IS

1 submit to the Secretary data concerning 

2 the operations of the State agency suffi3 cient for the Secretary to establish the 

4 negative error rate and penalty amount of 

5 the State agency. 

6 ‘‘(ii) RELEVANT INFORMATION.—The 

7 Secretary may require a State agency to 

8 report any factors necessary to determine 

9 the negative error rate of the State agency. 

10 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION NOT RE11 PORTED.—If a State agency fails to report 

12 information required by the Secretary, the 

13 Secretary may use any information, as the 

14 Secretary considers appropriate, to estab15 lish the negative error rate of the State 

16 agency for the applicable year. 

17 ‘‘(iv) NATIONAL AVERAGE ERROR

18 RATE.—If a State agency fails to report in19 formation required by the Secretary, the 

20 Secretary may use the national average 

21 negative error rate to establish the nega22 tive error rate for the State agency. 

23 ‘‘(D) ANNOUNCEMENT OF ERROR

24 RATES.— 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 762 IS

1 ‘‘(i) CASE REVIEW.—Not later than 

2 May 31 of each fiscal year, the case review 

3 and all arbitration of State-Federal dif4 ferences on negative error rates for the 

5 previous fiscal year shall be completed. 

6 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION AND AN7 NOUNCEMENT.—Not later than June 30 of 

8 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall, for 

9 the previous fiscal year— 

10 ‘‘(I) determine— 

11 ‘‘(aa) final negative error 

12 rates; 

13 ‘‘(bb) the national average 

14 negative error rate; and 

15 ‘‘(cc) penalty amounts; 

16 ‘‘(II) notify affected State agen17 cies of the penalty amounts; 

18 ‘‘(III) provide a copy of the noti19 fication under subclause (II) to the 

20 chief executive officer and the legisla21 ture of the affected State; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) establish a claim against 

23 the State agency for the monetary 

24 penalty amount assessed against the 

25 State agency. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 762 IS

1 ‘‘(E) REVIEW.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal 

3 year, if the Secretary imposes a penalty 

4 amount against a State agency under sub5 paragraph (D)(ii), the following determina6 tions of the Secretary shall be subject to 

7 administrative and judicial review: 

8 ‘‘(I) The final negative error rate 

9 of the State agency. 

10 ‘‘(II) A determination of the Sec11 retary that the negative error rate of 

12 the State agency exceeds 50 percent 

13 of the national average negative error 

14 rate. 

15 ‘‘(III) The monetary penalty 

16 amount assessed against the State 

17 agency. 

18 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION NOT REVIEW19 ABLE.—The national average negative 

20 error rate under this paragraph shall not 

21 be subject to administrative or judicial re22 view. 

23 ‘‘(F) PAYMENT OF PENALTY AMOUNT.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On completion of 

25 administrative and judicial review under 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 762 IS

1 subparagraph (E), an affected State agen2 cy shall pay to the Secretary the penalty 

3 amount designated under subparagraph 

4 (D)(ii), subject to the findings of the ad5 ministrative or judicial review, not later 

6 than September 30 of the fiscal year for 

7 which the claim has been issued to the 

8 State agency. 

9 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF COL10 LECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a State 

12 agency fails to make a payment under 

13 clause (i) by September 30 of the fis14 cal year for which the claim has been 

15 issued to the State agency, the Sec16 retary may reduce any amount due to 

17 the State agency under any other pro18 vision of this Act by the amount of 

19 the monetary penalty established 

20 under subparagraph (D)(ii). 

21 ‘‘(II) ACCRUAL OF INTEREST.— 

22 Interest on the amount owed shall not 

23 accrue until after September 30 of the 

24 applicable fiscal year.’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 762 IS

1 SEC. 8. REPEAL OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES WITH 

2 LOW SNAP BENEFIT ALLOCATION ERROR 

3 RATES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 16 of the Food and Nutri5 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended by striking 

6 subsection (d). 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) Section 7(h)(4) of the Food and Nutrition 

9 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016(h)(4)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘16(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘16(f)’’. 

11 (2) Section 11(e)(3) of the Food and Nutrition 

12 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(3)) is amended by 

13 striking ‘‘section 16(e) of this Act’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘section 16(d)’’. 

15 (3) Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act 

16 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) (as amended by subsection 

17 (a) of this section and section 4(b)) is amended— 

18 (A) in subsection (a)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘subsection (k)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘subsection (i)’’; and 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘subsection (g)’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’; 

23 (B) in subsection (c)— 

24 (i) in paragraph (1)(B)(i), by striking 

25 ‘‘subsection (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

26 (f)’’; and 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 762 IS

1 (ii) by striking ‘‘, or performance 

2 under the performance measures under 

3 subsection (d)’’ each place it appears in 

4 paragraphs (4) and (5); 

5 (C) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ‘‘as de6 fined in subsection (d)(1))’’ and inserting ‘‘as 

7 defined in guidance issued by the Secretary’’; 

8 and 

9 (D) by redesignating subsections (e) 

10 through (g) and (i) through (k) as subsections 

11 (d) through (f) and (g) through (i), respectively. 

12 (4) Section 22(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Food and Nu13 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2031(d)(1)(B)(ii)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘(g), (h)(2), and (h)(3)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘and (f)’’; and 

17 (B) in the proviso, by striking ‘‘subsection 

18 (g) of section 16’’ and inserting ‘‘section 16(f)’’. 

19 (5) Section 23(a)(1) of the Food and Nutrition 

20 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2032(a)(1)) is amended— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘ei22 ther section 16(a) or 16(g)’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘subsection (a) or (f) of section 16’’; and 

24 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

25 ‘‘16(g)’’ and inserting ‘‘16(f)’’. 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 762 IS

1 SEC. 9. NUTRITION EDUCATION AND OBESITY PREVENTION 

2 GRANT PROGRAM. 

3 Section 28 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

4 (7 U.S.C. 2036a) is amended by striking subsection (d) 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of funds made available 

8 each fiscal year under section 18(a)(1), the Sec9 retary shall make available to each State agency to 

10 carry out the nutrition education and obesity preven11 tion grant program under this section— 

12 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2013, an amount equal 

13 to $5 per household in the State enrolled in the 

14 supplemental nutrition assistance program; and 

15 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2014 and each subse16 quent fiscal year, the applicable amount during 

17 the preceding fiscal year, as adjusted to reflect 

18 any increases for the 12-month period ending 

19 the preceding June 30 in the Consumer Price 

20 Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

21 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart22 ment of Labor, per household in the State en23 rolled in the supplemental nutrition assistance 

24 program. 

25 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF DETERMINATION.—At the end 

26 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall determine the 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 762 IS

1 total number of households in each State enrolled in 

2 the supplemental nutrition assistance program so as 

3 to determine appropriate funding levels for the com4 ing fiscal year.’’. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS