II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1800

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to improve onsite inspections of

State food stamp programs, to provide grants to develop community

partnerships and innovative outreach strategies for food stamp and related programs, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

OCTOBER 27, 1999

Mr. GRAHAM 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 improve onsite

inspections of State food stamp programs, to provide

grants to develop community partnerships and innovative

outreach strategies for food stamp and related programs,

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Food Stamp Outreach and Research for Kids Act of

6 1999’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

Sec. 101. Food stamp participation.

Sec. 102. Food stamp inspections.

Sec. 103. Caseworker materials demonstration program.

Sec. 104. Food stamp studies.

Sec. 105. Grants for community partnerships and innovative access and innovation strategies.

Sec. 106. Demonstration projects for online and telephone participation in food

stamp program.

Sec. 107. Nutrition information.

Sec. 108. General Accounting Office reports.

TITLE II—MEDICAID AND FOOD STAMP INFORMATION THROUGH

TANF PROGRAM AND TAX CREDIT

Sec. 201. Information provided to individuals regarding eligibility under food

stamp program.

Sec. 202. Credit for expansion of toll-free information number.

3 TITLE I—FOOD STAMP

4 PROGRAM

5 SEC. 101. FOOD STAMP PARTICIPATION.

6 Section 11(e)(1)(A) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977

7 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘at the

8 option of the State agency,’’.

9 SEC. 102. FOOD STAMP INSPECTIONS.

10 Section 16 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

11 2025) is amended by adding at the end the following:

12 ‘‘(l) FOOD STAMP INSPECTIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY INSPECTIONS.—During the

14 period beginning on the date of enactment of this

15 subsection, and ending on September 30, 2002, the

16 Secretary shall carry out an annual onsite inspection
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1 or review of the operation of the food stamp pro2 gram by each State agency.

3 ‘‘(2) VISIT.—The Secretary shall include as

4 part of each inspection or review under paragraph

5 (1) a visit to a State or local agency office.’’.

6 SEC. 103. CASEWORKER MATERIALS DEMONSTRATION PRO7 GRAM.

8 Section 16 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

9 2025) (as amended by section 102) is amended by adding

10 at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(m) CASEWORKER DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—

12 The Secretary shall conduct a demonstration program,

13 through State agencies and in consultation with State

14 caseworkers, to develop training materials, guidebooks,

15 and other resources for use by State caseworkers that

16 focus on issues of access and eligibility under the food

17 stamp program.’’.

18 SEC. 104. FOOD STAMP STUDIES.

19 Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

20 2027) is amended by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(g) FOOD STAMP STUDIES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To assist in formulating

23 nutrition policy and to assess the potential costs and

24 benefits of legislative proposals, the Secretary, act-
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1 ing through the Director of the Food and Nutrition

2 Service, shall conduct—

3 ‘‘(A) a study to measure the impacts of the

4 food stamp program; and

5 ‘‘(B) a study to measure the integrity of

6 the food stamp program.

7 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—As soon as practicable after the

8 date of completion of each study under paragraph

9 (1), but not later than 2 years after that date, the

10 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agri11 culture of the House of Representatives and the

12 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

13 of the Senate a report describing the results of the

14 study.

15 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Funds made available under

16 this section may be used by the Secretary to conduct

17 the studies under paragraph (1).’’.

18 SEC. 105. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND

19 INNOVATIVE ACCESS AND INNOVATION

20 STRATEGIES.

21 Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

22 2027) (as amended by section 104) is amended by adding

23 at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(h) GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND

25 INNOVATIVE ACCESS AND INNOVATION STRATEGIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in con2 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human

3 Services, shall establish a program to award grants

4 to eligible organizations described in paragraph

5 (2)—

6 ‘‘(A) to develop and test innovative strate7 gies to ensure that low income, needy families

8 that are former or current recipients of benefits

9 under a State program established under part

10 A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

11 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) continue to receive benefits

12 under this Act;

13 ‘‘(B) to help ensure that families that have

14 applied for benefits under a State program es15 tablished under part A of title IV of the Social

16 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), but that

17 did not receive the benefits because of State di18 version strategies or ineligibility for the bene19 fits, are aware of the availability of, and are

20 provided assistance in receiving, benefits under

21 this Act;

22 ‘‘(C) to place special emphasis on con23 ducting outreach to families with earned income

24 that is at or above the income eligibility limits

25 for benefits under a State program established
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1 under part A of title IV of the Social Security

2 Act; and

3 ‘‘(D) to conduct outreach to families with

4 children.

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grants under para7 graph (1) may be awarded to—

8 ‘‘(i) food banks, food rescue, faith9 based, and other community-based pro10 grams, except that the total amount

11 awarded to such organizations shall be not

12 less than 15 percent of the aggregate

13 amount of grants awarded under this sub14 section;

15 ‘‘(ii) schools, health clinics, day care

16 centers, Head Start programs carried out

17 under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831

18 et seq.), Healthy Start programs carried

19 out under section 301 of the Public Health

20 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 241), public health

21 or welfare and private nonprofit health or

22 welfare agencies providing assistance under

23 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

24 U.S.C. 1786), and other organizations con25 ducting medicaid and State Children’s
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1 Health Insurance Program outreach, ex2 cept that the total amount awarded to

3 such organizations shall be not less than

4 15 percent of the aggregate amount of

5 grants awarded under this subsection;

6 ‘‘(iii) States and political subdivisions

7 of States; and

8 ‘‘(iv) other organizations designated

9 by the Secretary of Agriculture, in con10 sultation with the Secretary of Health and

11 Human Services.

12 ‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF

13 RECIPIENTS.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

15 (ii), the Secretary of Agriculture, in con16 sultation with the Secretary of Health and

17 Human Services, shall select, from all eligi18 ble applications received, at least 1 recipi19 ent to receive a grant under this section

20 from each region of the Department of Ag21 riculture, and each additional rural or

22 urban area determined to be appropriate

23 by the Secretary of Agriculture, in con24 sultation with the Secretary of Health and

25 Human Services.
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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of

2 Agriculture may not select grant recipients

3 under clause (i) if the Secretary deter4 mines that an insufficient number of eligi5 ble grant applications has been received.

6 ‘‘(3) SELECTION.—The Secretary of Agri7 culture, in consultation with the Secretary of Health

8 and Human Services, shall develop criteria for se9 lecting recipients of grants under paragraph (1) that

10 include the consideration of—

11 ‘‘(A) the demonstrated track record of an

12 organization in serving low income populations;

13 ‘‘(B) the ability of an organization to reach

14 hard-to-serve populations;

15 ‘‘(C) the level of innovative proposals in

16 the application of an organization for a grant;

17 and

18 ‘‘(D) the development of partnerships be19 tween public and private sector entities and

20 linkages with the community.

21 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Ag23 riculture, in consultation with Secretary of

24 Health and Human Services, shall administer

25 the grant program under this section.
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1 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more

2 than 5 percent of funds made available for the

3 grant program shall be used by the Secretary of

4 Agriculture or the Secretary of Health and

5 Human Services for administrative costs.

6 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of

8 Agriculture and the Secretary of Health

9 and Human Services shall jointly conduct

10 evaluations of programs funded by grants

11 under this section.

12 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Not more than 20

13 percent of funds made available for the

14 grant program shall be used for program

15 evaluations described in clause (i).’’.

16 SEC. 106. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR ONLINE AND

17 TELEPHONE PARTICIPATION IN FOOD STAMP

18 PROGRAM.

19 Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

20 2027) (as amended by section 105) is amended by adding

21 at the end the following:

22 ‘‘(i) ONLINE AND TELEPHONE PARTICIPATION IN

23 FOOD STAMP PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall conduct

24 demonstration projects to evaluate the feasibility and de25 sirability of allowing eligible households to participate in
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1 the food stamp program through the use of the Internet

2 and telephones.’’.

3 SEC. 107. NUTRITION INFORMATION.

4 Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

5 2027) (as amended by section 106) is amended by adding

6 at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(j) NUTRITION INFORMATION.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri9 culture, in consultation with the Secretary of Health

10 and Human Services, shall—

11 ‘‘(A) facilitate partnerships to provide in12 formation on nutrition programs described in

13 paragraph (3); and

14 ‘‘(B) maintain a toll-free information num15 ber for individuals to call to obtain information

16 concerning the nutrition programs.

17 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To carry out para19 graph (1)(A), the Secretary shall facilitate part20 nerships composed of—

21 ‘‘(i) public agencies and organizations;

22 and

23 ‘‘(ii) entities and organizations from

24 the private sector.
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1 ‘‘(B) TAX CREDIT.—An entity or organiza2 tion that participates in a partnership under

3 this section to maintain the toll-free informa4 tion number described in paragraph (1)(B)

5 shall be eligible to receive a tax credit as pro6 vided in section 45D of part IV of subchapter

7 A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code

8 of 1986 (relating to business related credits).

9 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION.—In carrying out this sub10 section, the Secretary shall provide—

11 ‘‘(A) information concerning all Federal

12 nutrition programs, including the food stamp

13 program and child nutrition programs (as de14 fined in section 25(b) of the National School

15 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769f(b));

16 ‘‘(B) information that meets the require17 ments of section 11(e)(1)(B) of the Food

18 Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(1)(B)),

19 regarding individuals that primarily speak a

20 language other than English; and

21 ‘‘(C) access to an individual to provide in22 formation and clarification that is unavailable

23 through an automated phone information sys24 tem.’’.
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1 SEC. 108. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORTS.

2 Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

3 2027) (as amended by section 107) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(k) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) NEGATIVE CASE ERROR RATES.—Not later

7 than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act,

8 the Comptroller General of the United States, in

9 consultation with the Secretary, shall repeat the

10 study conducted in 1987 to verify negative case

11 error rates under the food stamp program.

12 ‘‘(2) FOOD STAMP OUTREACH STRATEGIES.—

13 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment

14 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United

15 States, in consultation with the Secretary, shall con16 duct a study on State and locally-based food stamp

17 outreach strategies that—

18 (1) examines State policies, including the effec19 tiveness of—

20 (A) extending office hours and adding

21 weekend hours; and

22 (B) other outreach strategies employed;

23 and

24 (2) determines how often strategies described in

25 paragraph (1) are employed, including the methods
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1 by which the strategies are advertised by States and

2 localities to the target population.’’.

3 TITLE II—MEDICAID AND FOOD

4 STAMP INFORMATION

5 THROUGH TANF PROGRAM

6 AND TAX CREDIT

7 SEC. 201. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUALS RE8 GARDING ELIGIBILITY UNDER FOOD STAMP

9 PROGRAM.

10 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL STATE TANF PRO11 GRAM APPLICATION.—

12 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of

14 Health and Human Services shall develop a

15 model application for receiving benefits under a

16 State TANF program (as defined in subsection

17 (e)).

18 (B) INFORMATION REGARDING ELIGI19 BILITY FOR MEDICAID AND FOOD STAMPS.—

20 The first page of the model application shall

21 clearly inform an applicant that the applicant

22 may be eligible for benefits under the medicaid

23 program under title XIX of the Social Security

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) and the food

25 stamp program under the Food Stamp Act of
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1 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), and inform the

2 applicant on procedures for applying for bene3 fits at the appropriate State agency, even if the

4 applicant—

5 (i) is determined to be ineligible for

6 benefits under a State TANF program;

7 (ii) receives benefits under such a pro8 gram and is subsequently terminated from

9 such a program; or

10 (iii) is receiving a diversion payment

11 under such a program.

12 (2) VOLUNTARY USE BY STATES.—Use of the

13 model application by the State agency or agencies

14 that administer and supervise a State TANF pro15 gram shall be on a voluntary basis.

16 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF NOTICE REGARDING POTEN17 TIAL CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY UNDER MEDICAID AND

18 FOOD STAMP PROGRAMS.—

19 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 6 months

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary of Health and Human Services, in consulta22 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall develop

23 a 1-page model notice that provides an applicable in24 dividual with the information described in subsection

25 (a)(1)(B).
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1 (2) USE BY STATES.—

2 (A) VOLUNTARY USE.—Subject to sub3 paragraph (B), use of the notice by the State

4 agency or agencies that administer and super5 vise a State TANF program shall be on a vol6 untary basis.

7 (B) MANDATORY USE.—

8 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of

9 Health and Human Services determines

10 (for any period) that a State is providing

11 the information described in subsection

12 (a)(1)(B) to less than 75 percent of appli13 cable individuals, such State shall provide

14 the notice to all applicable individuals until

15 such time as the State demonstrates to the

16 Secretary that the State is providing such

17 information to such percentage of applica18 ble individuals.

19 (ii) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL DE20 FINED.—For purposes of this subpara21 graph, the term ‘‘applicable individual’’

22 means an individual—

23 (I) who is determined to be ineli24 gible for benefits under a State

25 TANF program;
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1 (II) whose benefits under such a

2 program have terminated; or

3 (III) who is receiving a diversion

4 payment under such a program.

5 (c) FORM.—The model application developed pursu6 ant to subsection (a) and the notice developed pursuant

7 to subsection (b) shall use language that is concise and

8 easily understandable by applicants under a State TANF

9 program.

10 (d) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary of Health and

11 Human Services shall distribute the model application de12 veloped pursuant to subsection (a) and the notice devel13 oped pursuant to subsection (b) to the State agency or

14 agencies that administer and supervise a State TANF pro15 gram.

16 (e) DEFINITION OF STATE TANF PROGRAM.—In

17 this section, the term ‘‘State TANF program’’ means any

18 State program established under part A of title IV of the

19 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).

20 SEC. 202. CREDIT FOR EXPANSION OF TOLL-FREE INFOR21 MATION NUMBER.

22 (a) TAX CREDIT.—Subpart D of part IV of sub23 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

24 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by

25 adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 45D. CREDIT FOR EXPANSION OF TOLL-FREE INFOR2 MATION NUMBER.

3 ‘‘For purposes of section 38, the toll-free information

4 number credit of any taxpayer for any taxable year is 10

5 percent of the expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer

6 during such taxable year as a participant in the partner7 ship described in section 17(o)(2) of the Food Stamp Act

8 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2026(o)(2)).’’.

9 (b) CREDIT TREATED AS BUSINESS CREDIT.—Sec10 tion 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating

11 to current year business credit) is amended by striking

12 ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (11), by striking the period

13 at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and

14 by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(13) the toll-free information number credit

16 determined under section 45D.’’.

17 (c) TRANSITIONAL RULE.—Section 39(d) of the In18 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to transitional

19 rules) is amended by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(9) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45D CREDIT

21 BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE.—No portion of the un22 used business credit for any taxable year which is

23 attributable to the credit allowable under section

24 45D may be carried back to a taxable year ending

25 before the date of the enactment of such section.’’.
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1 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

2 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1

3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add4 ing at the end the following:

‘‘Sec. 45D. Credit for expansion of toll-free information number.’’.

5 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

6 this section shall apply to payments made or incurred in

7 taxable years beginning after the date of enactment of this

8 Act.

Æ