This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

36653

Vol. 63, No. 129

Tuesday, July 7, 1998

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

RIN 0584–AC62

Federal Means-Tested Public Benefits

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The term ‘‘Federal meanstested public benefit’’ is used in several

sections of Title IV of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA)

which restricts welfare and public

benefits for aliens. The purpose of this

notice is to set forth the U. S.

Department of Agriculture’s

interpretation of the term as it applies

to the food assistance programs

administered by the Food and Nutrition

Service (FNS). This notice announces

that the Food Stamp Program and the

food assistance block grant programs in

Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the

Northern Marianna Islands and

American Samoa are Federal meanstested programs. It announces that the

other food assistance programs

administered by FNS, e.g., those under

the Child Nutrition Act and the School

Lunch Act are not Federal means-tested

programs, or are excepted from the

application of this term, for purposes of

PRWORA. (Section 402 of PRWORA

limits participation in the Food Stamp

Program to certain specific categories of

aliens. These restrictions as well as

other related issues will be addressed in

a separate rule.)

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective

on July 7, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Judith M. Seymour, Chief, Certification

Policy Branch, Program Development

Division, Food Stamp Program, Food

and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park

Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia

22302; Telephone: (703) 305–2520. The

internet address is:

JudylSeymour@FCS.USDA.Gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This action is not a rule as defined by

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601–612) and thus is exempt from the

provisions of this Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

This notice contains no reporting or

recordkeeping requirements subject to

approval by the Office of Management

and Budget in accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Executive Order 12866

This notice has been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget under

Executive Order 12866 and been

determined to be significant.

Executive Order 12372

The food assistance programs

administered by the Food and Nutrition

Service are listed in the Catalog of

Federal Domestic Assistance as follows:

10.550 Food Distribution

10.551 Food Stamps

10.553 School Breakfast Program

10.555 National School Lunch Program

10.556 Special Milk Program for Children

10.557 Special Supplemental Nutrition

Program for Women, Infants and Children

10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program

10.559 Summer Food Service Program for

Children

10.564 Nutrition Education and Training

Program

10.565 Commodity Supplemental Food

Program

10.566 Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico

10.567 Food Distribution Program on

Indian Reservations

10.569 Emergency Food Assistance Program

(Food Commodities)

10.570 Nutrition Program for the Elderly

10.572 WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition

Program

10.573 Homeless Children Nutrition

Program.

The Food Stamp Program and the

food assistance programs in Puerto Rico,

American Samoa and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands are excluded from the scope of

Executive Order 12372 which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. The other food

programs listed above are not excluded.

Background

The term ‘‘Federal means-tested

public benefit’’ is used in the following

sections of PRWORA:

Section 402—This section contains

the criteria for determining if qualified

aliens can be eligible for food stamps,

including the specific timeframes

governing the eligibility of aliens for

purposes of the Food Stamp Program.

Subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii)(I) provides that

any qualifying quarter of work

creditable after December 31, 1996, in

which an alien received a Federal

means-tested public benefit cannot be

included when determining whether the

alien has the 40 quarters needed for

eligibility for food stamp benefits.

Section 403—With specified

exceptions, a qualified alien who enters

the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996, is

ineligible for any Federal means-tested

public benefit for 5 years from the date

of entry. As noted above the specific

timeframes governing the Food Stamp

Program are included in section 402.

Sections 421(a) and (b)—In

determining the eligibility and benefits

of an alien for any Federal means-tested

public benefit, the income and resources

of the alien are deemed to include the

income and resources of any person

who signs an affidavit of support. The

deeming period continues until the

alien becomes a citizen or has worked

40 qualifying quarters, not counting

quarters in which the alien received any

Federal means-tested public benefit.

Section 423—This section amended

Title II of the Immigration and

Nationality Act to add requirements for

the sponsor’s affidavit of support. It

provides that no affidavit may be used

to establish that an alien is not

excludable as a public charge unless the

affidavit is executed as a contract which

is legally enforceable against the

sponsor by any agency which provides

any means-tested public benefits.

Section 423(e) provides that upon

notification that a sponsored alien has

received any benefit under any meanstested public benefits program, the

appropriate agency shall request

reimbursement by the sponsor in the

amount of such assistance. The Food

Stamp Program is not listed among the

benefits excepted from this provision.

Assistance or benefits under the

National School Lunch Act and Child

Nutrition Act of 1966 are specifically
36654 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 /Tuesday, July 7, 1998 / Notices

listed as benefits not subject to

reimbursement.

Section 435—This section contains a

description of qualifying quarters of

work and disallows any quarter worked

by a spouse or parent in which the

spouse or parent received a Federal

means-tested public benefit.

The law, however, does not include a

definition of ‘‘Federal means-tested

public benefit.’’ Therefore, each

Executive Branch agency whose

programs may be subject to the

PRWORA provisions is responsible for

identifying the benefits to which the

term applies.

Definition of Federal Means-Tested

Public Benefit

The Department has determined that

the Food Stamp Program and the block

grant food assistance programs in Puerto

Rico, American Samoa, and the

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

Islands are ‘‘Federal means-tested

public benefit(s)’’ for purposes of Title

IV of PRWORA. Based on the legislative

history of PRWORA, the Department

interprets the term to refer only to

mandatory spending programs. The

Department of Health and Human

Services (62 FR 45256, August 26, 1997)

and the Social Security Administration

(62 FR 45284, August 26, 1997) have

interpreted the term in a similar fashion.

The food assistance programs listed

above are mandatory spending

programs.

The Department has determined that

the following Special Nutrition

Programs are either not a Federal

means-tested public benefit, or are

exempted from the application of the

term, for purposes of Title IV of

PRWORA.

The Nutrition Program for the Elderly

Food services provided through Summer

Camps pursuant to § 4(c) of the

Agricultural and Nutrition Protection Act

of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note)

Disaster Commodity Distribution

The National School Lunch Program

The School Breakfast Program

The Special Milk Program

The Child and Adult Care Food Program

The Homeless Children Nutrition Program

The Summer Food Service Program for

Children

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program

for Women, Infants, and Children

The WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program

The Emergency Food Assistance Program

The Food Distribution Program on Indian

Reservations

Regulatory Impact Analysis

Designation: This action has been

designated as significant.

Decrease in Number of Eligible Aliens:

Effective August 22, 1996 for applicants

and no later than August 22, 1997 for

participating households, PROWRA

made most aliens ineligible for food

stamps. Exceptions were made for

certain asylees, refugees, Cubans,

Haitian, Amerasians, deportees, and

persons with a military connection. An

exception was also made to allow aliens

admitted as lawful permanent residents

to be eligible if they have earned or can

be credited with at least 40 quarters

(about 10 years) of qualified work. This

notice only affects the eligibility of

lawful permanent residents who can be

credited with at least 40 quarters of

work. After 12/31/96, a quarter cannot

count if the person was receiving a

Federal means-tested public benefit

during that quarter.

Savings: By counting food stamp

benefits as a Federal means-tested

public benefit, the Federal government

may realize an estimated savings of as

much as $10 million a year for 10 years.

This occurs because most aliens

admitted as a lawful permanent resident

became ineligible 8/22/97, thus any

period of food stamp participation

between 1/1/97 and 8/22/97 would

delay their fulfillment of the 40 quarter

work requirement; which, in turn,

delays their eligibility. This reduces

program costs over the 10-year time

period. The maximum length of time

when participating permanent resident

aliens could have been working and

their work would not be counted toward

the quarters of coverage is 8 months, the

time between January 1, 1997, and

August 22, 1997. In any one year, the

estimated savings come from only those

participants who would have achieved

their 40 quarters in that year and do not

when they are not allowed to include

the quarters earned between January

1997 and August 1997 when they also

received food stamps. Assuming that

among those working, 1/40th are in

their 39th quarter, 1/40th are in their

38th quarter, etc., then no more than 4/

40th or 10 percent can have their

benefits delayed in any year.

Consistency: A Department of Health

and Human Service (HHS) notice

published on 8/26/97 (62 FR 45256) and

a Social Security Administration notice

published on 8/26/97 (62 FR 45284)

have determined that Federal meanstested public assistance benefits applies

to means-tested mandatory spending

programs. Therefore, this interpretation

is consistent with that of other agencies.

The DHHS determined that its notice

was economically significant based on

$5.1 billion in savings from all of the

alien restrictions contained in PRWORA

for purposes of the Medicaid Program

rather than just the definition of a

Federal means-tested public benefit.

The Social Security Administration did

not designate its notice. USDA is

designating this notice as significant

because it affects the eligibility of aliens,

but it is limiting the cost estimate to the

costs associated with the provisions

concerning the definition of a Federal

means-tested public benefit.

Effect on small entities: State and

local welfare agencies are affected to the

extent that they administer the Program.

The notice will affect a number of aliens

who could otherwise qualify for food

stamp participation. The changes and

the resulting decrease in benefits will

have a negative secondary effect on

revenues of the approximately 190,000

food stamp retailers nationwide.

Dated: June 25, 1998.

Shirley R. Watkins,

Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition, and

Consumer Services.

[FR Doc. 98–17932 Filed 7–6–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 98–031N]

Technologies for the Detection and

Reduction of Pathogens To Improve

Food Safety

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; Request for Technical

Papers and Presenters

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and

Inspection Service will hold a

conference on ‘‘Technology to Improve

Food Safety’’ on July 28, 1998, in

Washington, DC. The purpose of the

conference is to focus on emerging

technologies that aid in the detection of

pathogens and on pathogen

interventions that help to ensure food

safety within the farm-to-table

continuum. The emphasis will be on

both existing and emerging technologies

to detect pathogens, including those

which are close to practical application

within the farm-to-table continuum.

DATES: The conference will be held from

8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on July 28, 1998.

Abstracts of scientific papers must be

received no later than COB July 8, 1998;

the final papers no later than COB July

20, 1998. The Conference will be held

in two sessions: Technologies for

Reducing Pathogens and Technologies

for Detecting Pathogens. Please specify

for which session the paper is intended.

Two copies of the abstracts and final

papers should be sent to Ms. Mary

Harris at the address below.