II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 843

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to convert the Food Stamp Program

into a Block Grant Program, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 23 (legislative day, MAY 15), 1995

Mr. ASHCROFT (for himself, Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. DEWINE, Mr.

SMITH, Mr. INHOFE, and Mr. KEMPTHORNE) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,

Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to convert the

Food Stamp Program into a Block Grant Program, and

for other purposes.

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 ‘‘Food Stamp Flexibility

5 Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FOOD STAMP BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.

7 The Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)

8 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘DEFINITION

2 ‘‘SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the ‘Food

3 Stamp Act’.

4 ‘‘DEFINITION

5 ‘‘SEC. 2. In this Act, the term ‘State’ means each

6 of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Com7 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of

8 the United States, and the reservations of an Indian tribe

9 whose tribal organization meets the requirements of this

10 Act for participation as a State agency.

11 ‘‘PURPOSE; IMPLEMENTATION

12 ‘‘SEC. 3. (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is

13 to strengthen individuals by helping them move from de14 pendence on government benefits to economic independ15 ence by consolidating Federal assistance to the States for

16 food assistance to the needy into a single grant for such

17 purpose, thereby giving States maximum flexibility to—

18 ‘‘(1) require beneficiaries who are parents to

19 ensure that their school-age children attend school;

20 ‘‘(2) require minors who are beneficiaries to at21 tend school;

22 ‘‘(3) require parent beneficiaries to ensure that

23 their children receive the full complement of child24 hood immunizations;

25 ‘‘(4) limit the amount of time beneficiaries may

26 receive assistance;
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1 ‘‘(5) require beneficiaries not to use illegal

2 drugs or abuse other drugs;

3 ‘‘(6) deny assistance to illegal aliens;

4 ‘‘(7) require individuals who sponsor the resi5 dency of legal aliens to support those they sponsor;

6 and

7 ‘‘(8) involve religious and charitable organiza8 tions, voluntary associations, civic groups, commu9 nity organizations, nonprofit entities, benevolent and

10 fraternal orders, philanthropic entities, and other

11 groups in the private sector, as appropriate, in the

12 provision of services and assistance to needy individ13 uals with the funding States receive under this Act.

14 ‘‘(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—This purpose shall be im15 plemented in accordance with conditions in each State and

16 as determined by State law.

17 ‘‘PAYMENT TO STATES

18 ‘‘SEC. 4. (a) STATE MANDATES FOR WORK BY BENE19 FICIARIES.—

20 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK.—As a condi21 tion of receiving a payment of funds under this Act,

22 a State shall require each adult member of any fam23 ily receiving assistance from a State under this Act

24 to work, as defined by State law. Any individual who

25 fails or refuses to work, and any member of such in26 dividual’s family residing with such individual, shall
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1 not be eligible for assistance from funds provided to

2 the State under this Act.

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not

4 apply in the case of an individual who is over sixty5 two years of age.

6 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, subject to

8 the requirements of this Act, be entitled to receive

9 quarter payments for fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998,

10 1999, and 2000 in an amount equal to 25 percent

11 of the annual amount determined under paragraph

12 (2) for such fiscal year for carrying out the purpose

13 described in section 3.

14 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL AMOUNT.—The annual amount

15 determined under this paragraph is equal to—

16 ‘‘(A) in fiscal year 1996, 100 percent of

17 the amount received by a State in fiscal year

18 1994, or 100 percent of the average of amounts

19 received by the State in fiscal years 1992,

20 1993, and 1994, whichever is greater, under

21 this Act; and

22 ‘‘(B) in each fiscal year thereafter, 100

23 percent of the amount received by a State in

24 the preceding fiscal year under this Act (as in

25 effect in such preceding fiscal year),
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1 ‘‘(c) FUNDING REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary of

2 the Treasury shall make quarterly payments described in

3 subsection (b)(1) directly to each State in accordance with

4 section 6503 of title 31, United States Code.

5 ‘‘(d) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS; RAINY DAY FUND.—

6 Amounts received by a State under this Act for any fiscal

7 year shall be expended by the State in such fiscal year

8 or in the succeeding fiscal year, except for such amounts

9 as the State deems necessary to set aside in a separate

10 account to provide, without fiscal limitation, for unex11 pected levels of assistance during periods of high unem12 ployment or other events which cause an unexpected in13 crease in the need for food assistance to needy individuals.

14 Any amounts remaining in such segregated accounts after

15 fiscal year 2000 shall be expended by a State for the pur16 pose described in section 3 of this Act as in effect in fiscal

17 year 2000.

18 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Except as

19 provided in subsection (f), a State to which a payment

20 is made under this section may not use any part of such

21 payment to provide medical services.

22 ‘‘(f) AUTHORITY TO USE PORTION OF GRANT FOR

23 OTHER PURPOSES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may use not more

25 than 30 percent of the annual amount paid to the
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1 State under this Act for a fiscal year to carry out

2 a State program pursuant to any or all of the follow3 ing provisions of law:

4 ‘‘(A) Part A of title IV of the Social Secu5 rity Act.

6 ‘‘(B) Title XVI of such Act.

7 ‘‘(C) Title XIX of such Act.

8 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE RULES.—Any amount paid to

9 the State under this Act that is used to carry out

10 a State program pursuant to a provision of law spec11 ified in paragraph (1) shall not be subject to the re12 quirements of this Act, but shall be subject to the

13 requirements that apply to Federal funds provided

14 directly under the provision of law to carry out the

15 program.

16 ‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY

17 ‘‘SEC. 5. (a) AUDITS; REIMBURSEMENT.—

18 ‘‘(1) AUDITS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State shall, not less

20 than annually, audit the State expenditures

21 from amounts received under this Act. Such

22 audit shall—

23 ‘‘(i) determine the extent to which

24 such expenditures were or were not ex25 pended in accordance with this Act; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) be conducted by an approved en2 tity (as defined in subparagraph (B)) in

3 accordance with generally accepted audit4 ing principles.

5 ‘‘(B) APPROVED ENTITY.—For purposes of

6 subparagraphs (A), the term ‘approved entity’

7 means an entity that is—

8 ‘‘(i) approved by the Secretary of the

9 Treasury.

10 ‘‘(ii) approved by the chief executive

11 officer of the State; and

12 ‘‘(iii) independent of any agency ad13 ministering activities funded under this

14 Act.

15 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30

17 days following the completion of an audit under

18 this subsection, a State shall submit a copy of

19 the audit to the State legislature and to the

20 Secretary of the Treasury.

21 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT.—Each State shall pay

22 to the United States amounts ultimately found

23 by the approved entity under paragraph (1)(A)

24 not to have been expended in accordance with

25 this Act plus 10 percent of such amount as a
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1 penalty, or the Secretary of the Treasury may

2 offset such amounts plus the 10 percent penalty

3 against any other amount in any other year

4 that the State may be entitled to receive under

5 this Act.

6 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL ACCOUNTING REQUIREMENT.—

7 The provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United States

8 Code, shall apply to the audit requirements of this section.

9 ‘‘(c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; FORM, CON10 TENTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL REPORTS.—A State shall prepare

12 comprehensive annual reports on the activities car13 ried out with amounts received by the State under

14 this Act.

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENT.—Reports prepared under this

16 section—

17 ‘‘(A) shall be for the most recently com18 pleted fiscal year;

19 ‘‘(B) shall be in accordance with generally

20 accepted accounting principles, including the

21 provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, United

22 States Code;

23 ‘‘(C) shall include the results of the most

24 recent audit conducted in accordance with the
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1 requirements of subsection (a) of this section;

2 and

3 ‘‘(D) shall be in such form and contain

4 such other information as the State deems

5 necessary—

6 ‘‘(i) to provide an accurate description

7 of such activities; and

8 ‘‘(ii) to secure a complete record of

9 the purposes for which amounts were ex10 pended in accordance with this Act.

11 ‘‘(3) COPIES.—A State shall make copies of the

12 reports required under this section available for pub13 lic inspection within the State. Copies also shall be

14 provided upon request to any interested public agen15 cy, and each such agency may provide its views on

16 such reports to the Congress.

17 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISION.—

18 ‘‘(1) ROLE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREAS19 URY.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

21 Treasury shall supervise the amounts received

22 under this Act in accordance with subparagraph

23 (B).
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITED SUPERVISION.—The super2 vision by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be

3 limited to—

4 ‘‘(i) making quarterly payments to the

5 States in accordance with section 4(c);

6 ‘‘(ii) approving the entities referred to

7 in subsection (a)(1)(B); and

8 ‘‘(iii) withholding payment to a State

9 based on the findings of such an entity in

10 accordance with subsection (a)(2)(B).

11 ‘‘(2) OTHER FEDERAL SUPERVISION.—No ad12 ministrative officer or agency of the United States,

13 other than the Secretary of the Treasury and, as

14 provided for in section 6, the Attorney General, shall

15 supervise the amounts received by the States under

16 this Act or the use of such amounts by the States.

17 ‘‘(e) LIMITED FEDERAL OVERSIGHT.—With the ex18 ception of the Department of the Treasury as provided

19 for in this section and section 6 of this Act, no Federal

20 department or agency may promulgate regulations or issue

21 rules regarding the purpose of this Act.

22 ‘‘NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS

23 ‘‘SEC. 6. (a) NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVID24 UALS.—No individual shall be excluded from participation

25 in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination

26 under any program or activity funded in whole or in part
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1 with amounts received under this Act on the basis of such

2 individual’s—

3 ‘‘(1) disability under section 504 of the Reha4 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794);

5 ‘‘(2) sex under title IX of the Education

6 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or

7 ‘‘(3) race, color, or national origin under title

8 VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d

9 et seq.).

10 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary of the Treasury

11 determines that a State, or an entity that has received

12 funds from amounts received by the State under this Act,

13 has failed to comply with a provision of law referred to

14 in subsection (a), except as provided for in section 7 of

15 this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall notify the

16 chief executive officer of the State and shall request the

17 officer to secure compliance with such provision of law.

18 If, not later than 60 days after receiving such notification,

19 the chief executive officer fails or refuses to secure compli20 ance, the Secretary of the Treasury may—

21 ‘‘(1) refer the matter to the Attorney General

22 with a recommendation that an appropriate civil ac23 tion be instituted;

24 ‘‘(2) exercise the powers and functions provided

25 under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42
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1 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), title IX of the Education

2 Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or

3 section 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

4 U.S.C. 794a), (as applicable); or

5 ‘‘(3) take such other action as may be provided

6 by law.

7 ‘‘(c) AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL; CIVIL AC8 TIONS.—When a matter is referred to the Attorney Gen9 eral pursuant to subsection (b)(1), or if the Attorney Gen10 eral has reason to believe that an entity is engaged in a

11 pattern or practice in violation of a provision of law re12 ferred to in subsection (a), the Attorney General may

13 bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the

14 United States for such relief as may be appropriate, in15 cluding injunctive relief.

16 ‘‘NONDISCRIMINATION AND INSTITUTIONAL SAFEGUARDS

17 FOR RELIGIOUS PROVIDERS

18 ‘‘SEC. 7. (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section

19 is to allow the participation of religious and charitable or20 ganizations as providers of assistance funded under this

21 Act, on the same basis as any other provider, without im22 pairing or diminishing the religious character or freedom

23 of such organizations.

24 ‘‘(b) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Religious organizations

25 are eligible as providers of food assistance to needy indi26 viduals as provided for under this Act. Neither the Federal
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1 Government nor a State receiving funds under this Act

2 shall discriminate against an organization which is or ap3 plies to be a provider of assistance on the basis that the

4 organization has a religious mission or purpose.

5 ‘‘(c) RELIGIOUS CHARACTER AND FREEDOM.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

7 provision of law, any religious organization partici8 pating as a provider of assistance funded under this

9 Act shall retain its independence from Federal,

10 State, and local governments, including such organi11 zation’s control over the definition, development,

12 practice, and expression of its religious beliefs. Such

13 an organization may select, employ, promote, dis14 cipline, and dismiss its clerics and other

15 ecclesiastics, directors, officers, employees, and vol16 unteers on the basis of religion, a religious belief, or

17 a religious practice. However, a religious organiza18 tion shall not deny needy individuals the benefits of

19 any assistance funded under this Act on the basis of

20 religion, a religious belief, or refusal to participate in

21 a religious practice.

22 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SAFEGUARDS.—Neither the

23 Federal Government nor a State shall require a reli24 gious provider of assistance to—
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1 ‘‘(A) alter its form of internal governance,

2 or form a separate, nonprofit corporation to re3 ceive and administer the assistance funded

4 under this Act; or

5 ‘‘(B) alter real estate or facilities used to

6 provide such assistance, including but not lim7 ited to the removal of religious art, icons, scrip8 ture, or other symbols;

9 in order to be eligible to be a provider of food assist10 ance funded under this Act.

11 ‘‘(3) FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

13 subparagraph (B), any religious organization

14 providing assistance funded under this Act,

15 shall be subject to the same regulations as

16 other providers to account in accord with gen17 erally accepted auditing principles for the use of

18 such funds provided under this Act.

19 ‘‘(B) LIMITED AUDIT.—Religious organiza20 tions may segregate Federal funds provided

21 under this Act into separate accounts, and then

22 only the financial assistance provided with those

23 funds shall be subject to audit.

24 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE.—A religious organization which

25 has its rights under this section violated may enforce its
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1 claim by asserting a civil action for such relief as may

2 be appropriate, including injunctive relief or damages, in

3 an appropriate district court of the United States against

4 the entity or agency that commits such violation.

5 ‘‘(e) RIGHTS OF BENEFICIARIES OF ASSISTANCE.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a beneficiary has a bona

7 fide objection to the religious character of the orga8 nization or institution from which the beneficiary is

9 receiving assistance funded under this Act, each

10 State shall provide such beneficiary a certificate, re11 deemable with any other provider of assistance fund12 ed under this Act, for services the value of which is

13 no less than the value of the funding received by the

14 religious provider from a State to provide assistance

15 funded under this Act for such individual.

16 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON PROVIDING CASH IN EX17 CHANGE FOR CERTIFICATES.—No provider of assist18 ance funded under this Act shall provide a bene19 ficiary a cash amount in exchange for a certificate

20 provided for under paragraph (1).

21 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO THE BUDGET ACT.

22 Section 255(h) of the Balanced Budget and Emer23 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(h)) is

24 amended by striking ‘‘Food stamp programs (12–3505–
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1 0–1–605 and 12–3550–0–1–605);’’ and inserting ‘‘Food

2 Stamp Act;’’.

3 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

4 The amendment made by this Act shall take effect

5 on October 1, 1995.

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