This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

30795 

Vol. 86, No. 110 

Thursday, June 10, 2021 

1State programs funded under part A of Title IV 

of the SSA include programs funded by Federal 

TANF block grant funds, as well as programs 

funded by State maintenance-of-effort (MOE) 

dollars that allow a State to receive Federal TANF 

block grant funds. For simplicity, this notice of 

withdrawal will refer to all State programs funded 

under part A of Title IV of the SSA as ‘‘TANFfunded programs,’’ and to benefits from such 

programs as ‘‘TANF benefits.’’ 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food and Nutrition Service 

7 CFR Parts 272 and 273 

[FNS–2018–0037] 

RIN 0584–AE62 

Revision of Categorical Eligibility in 

the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP); Withdrawal 

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service 

(FNS), USDA. 

ACTION: Withdrawal of proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This document informs the 

public that the Food and Nutrition 

Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is withdrawing the 

proposed rule titled Revision of 

Categorical Eligibility in the 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP) that published in the 

Federal Register on July 24, 2019. This 

rule would have refined how receipt of 

the Temporary Assistance for Needy 

Families (TANF) benefits may confer 

categorical eligibility for SNAP. The 

rule would have also required State 

agencies to include in their SNAP State 

Plan of Operations all non-cash TANF 

benefits and certain cash TANF benefits 

that confer categorical eligibility. After 

reviewing and considering the 

comments received, the proposed rule is 

being withdrawn. 

DATES: As of June 10, 2021, the 

proposed rule published on July 24, 

2019, at 84 FR 35570, is officially 

withdrawn. 

ADDRESSES: SNAP Program 

Development Division, Food and 

Nutrition Service, USDA, 1320 

Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 

22314. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Program Design Branch, Program 

Development Division, FNS, 1320 

Braddock Place, Alexandria, Virginia 

22314. SNAPPDBRules@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

decision to withdraw the proposed rule 

and maintain the current categorical 

eligibility regulations is authorized by 

section 5(a) of the Food and Nutrition 

Act of 2008, as amended (the Act), 

which provides that households in 

which each member receives benefits 

under a State program funded under 

part A of Title IV of the Social Security 

Act (SSA) (also known as Temporary 

Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 

block grants) 1 shall be categorically 

eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition 

Assistance Program (SNAP). This action 

withdraws a proposed rule published in 

the Federal Register on July 24, 2019, 

(84 FR 35570), which would have 

revised how receipt of TANF benefits 

may confer categorical eligibility for 

SNAP. Specifically, the proposed rule 

would have limited the TANF 

‘‘benefits’’ that may confer categorical 

eligibility to ‘‘ongoing’’ and 

‘‘substantial’’ benefits. The proposed 

rule defined ‘‘ongoing’’ benefits as those 

that a household receives or is 

authorized to receive for a period of at 

least six months and ‘‘substantial’’ 

benefits as those valued at a minimum 

of $50 per month. The proposed rule 

also limited the types of non-cash TANF 

benefits conferring categorical eligibility 

to those that focus on subsidized 

employment, work supports, and 

childcare. Finally, the proposed rule 

would have required State agencies to 

inform FNS of all non-cash TANF 

benefits that confer categorical 

eligibility. The proposed rule would 

have cost $2.314 billion in 

administrative expenses between 2019– 

2023 and resulted in 3.1 million 

individuals in 1.7 million households 

losing SNAP eligibility in Fiscal Year 

2020. 

During the proposed rule’s 60-day 

comment period, nearly 158,000 

comments were received. All the 

comments may be viewed by going to 

http://www.regulations.gov and 

searching for public submissions under 

docket number FNS–2018–0037. The 

comments came from a broad range of 

stakeholders and generally opposed the 

proposed rule. Commenters opposed the 

rule largely due to concerns about the 

potential impacts on food insecurity, 

particularly among children, veterans, 

individuals with disabilities, and the 

elderly. Others expressed concerns that 

the proposed rule would discourage 

savings and make it more difficult for 

households to become financially selfsufficient and have adverse economic 

impacts for communities. Commenters 

largely opposed the proposed ongoing 

and substantial criteria, arguing that the 

criteria would have undermined the 

Department’s stated goal of the 

supporting self-sufficiency, in addition 

to creating administrative burdens for 

State agencies and unnecessary barriers 

to program participation for applicants. 

Numerous commenters expressed 

concerns about the legality of the 

framework of the proposed rule. 

Commenters claimed the Department 

did not provide valid justifications for 

the changes proposed, identify any 

evidence to support the need for a 

regulatory change, or adequately explain 

its decision-making. Many commenters 

argued that the proposed rule was 

arbitrary and capricious. 

More specifically, many commenters 

responded to concerns raised in the 

proposed rule regarding the impact of 

expanded categorical eligibility on 

SNAP program integrity. These 

commenters disputed the proposed 

rule’s assertion that States have abused 

the flexibility offered by categorical 

eligibility, writing that States have been 

responsible and methodical stewards of 

SNAP. Commenters also wrote that the 

proposed changes went well beyond 

shoring up the integrity of the program 

and were intended to reduce SNAP 

benefits. Several commenters suggested 

that the program integrity concerns 

cited in the proposed rule were 

unwarranted since all households are 

required to submit and verify income 

and other eligibility information to 

determine the SNAP benefit allotment. 

Withdrawal 

After reviewing and considering the 

comments received, the Department has 

determined that the proposed rule to 

revise categorical eligibility should not 

be finalized. In withdrawing this 

proposed rule, the Department reaffirms 

its longstanding categorical eligibility 

policy, codified in regulations at 7 CFR 

273.2(j). The Department has 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
30796 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 110 / Thursday, June 10, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

determined that the proposed revisions 

did not sufficiently justify the impact on 

the estimated 1.7 million SNAP 

households that would have lost 

eligibility under the rule and did not 

adequately mitigate the disproportionate 

impact the rule would have had on 

households with an elderly member. 

Additionally, the Deparment has 

determined that the proposed changes 

and concerns raised regarding program 

integrity were not adequately supported 

by data and do not justify the costs to 

State agencies of implementing the 

change. 

In withdrawing this proposed rule, 

the Department reaffirms the purpose of 

categorical eligibility to simplify the 

SNAP application process for both 

SNAP State agencies and households by 

reducing the amount of information that 

must be verified if a household has 

already been determined eligible to 

receive benefits from another assistance 

program specified in Sec. 5(a) of the 

Act. Beginning in 2009, the Department 

proactively encouraged States to 

implement expanded categorical 

eligibility policies in order to increase 

SNAP participation and reduce State 

administrative burdens. The Department 

acknowledges that the flexibility 

afforded by expanded categorical 

eligibility policies are critical to 

reducing the burden on needy 

households and State agencies 

administering benefit programs. 

The Department agrees with the 

issues raised by many commenters and 

no longer believes that the limitations 

the proposed rule would have put on 

categorical eligibility are appropriate. 

Accordingly, the proposed rule to revise 

categorical eligibility for SNAP 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 24, 2019, (84 FR 35570) is hereby 

withdrawn. 

Cynthia Long, 

Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–12183 Filed 6–9–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

10 CFR Part 431 

[EERE–2017–BT–STD–0021] 

RIN 1904–AD90 

Energy Conservation Program: Energy 

Conservation Standards for Unfired 

Hot Water Storage Tanks 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notification of proposed 

determination and request for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Energy Policy and 

Conservation Act, as amended (EPCA), 

prescribes energy conservation 

standards for various consumer 

products and certain commercial and 

industrial equipment, including unfired 

hot water storage tanks (UFHWSTs). 

EPCA also requires the U.S. Department 

of Energy (DOE or the Department) to 

periodically determine whether morestringent, amended standards would 

result in significant additional 

conservation of energy, be 

technologically feasible, and be 

economically justified. After carefully 

considering the available market and 

technical information for this 

equipment, DOE has tentatively 

concluded in this document that it lacks 

clear and convincing evidence that 

more-stringent standards for UFHWSTs 

would save a significant additional 

amount of energy and would be 

economically justified. As such, DOE 

has initially determined that energy 

conservation standards for UFHWSTs 

do not need to be amended. DOE 

requests comment on this notification of 

proposed determination (NOPD), as well 

as the associated analyses and results. 

DATES: Meeting: DOE will hold a 

webinar on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, from 

12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. See section VII, 

‘‘Public Participation,’’ for webinar 

registration information, participant 

instructions, and information about the 

capabilities available to webinar 

participants. 

Comments: Written comments and 

information are requested and will be 

accepted on or before August 9, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

encouraged to submit comments using 

the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Alternatively, interested persons may 

submit comments by email to the 

following address: 

UnfiredCommercialWH2017STD0021@

ee.doe.gov. Include docket number 

EERE–2017–BT–STD–0021 and/or RIN 

number 1904–AD90 in the subject line 

of the message. Submit electric 

comments in WordPerfect, Microsoft 

Word, PDF, or ASCII file format, and 

avoid the use of special characters or 

any form of encryption. No 

telefacsimiles (faxes) will be accepted. 

For detailed instructions on submitting 

comments and additional information 

on this process, see section VII (Public 

Participation) of this document. 

Although DOE has routinely accepted 

public comment submissions through a 

variety of mechanisms, including postal 

mail and hand delivery/courier, the 

Department has found it necessary to 

make temporary modifications to the 

comment submission process in light of 

the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. DOE is 

currently accepting only electronic 

submissions at this time. If a commenter 

finds this change poses an undue 

hardship, please contact Appliance 

Standards Program staff at (202) 586– 

1445 to discuss the need for alternative 

arrangements. Once the Covid-19 

pandemic health emergency is resolved, 

DOE anticipates resuming all of its 

regular options for public comment 

submissions, including postal mail and 

hand delivery/courier. 

Docket: The docket for this activity, 

which includes Federal Register 

notices, public meeting attendee lists 

and transcripts, comments, and other 

supporting documents/materials, is 

available for review at https://

www.regulations.gov. All documents in 

the docket are listed in the https://

www.regulations.gov index. However, 

some documents listed in the index, 

such as information that is exempt from 

public disclosure, may not be publicly 

available. 

The docket web page can be found at: 

https://www.regulations.gov/ 

docket?D=EERE-2017-BT-STD-0021. 

The docket web page contains 

instructions on how to access all 

documents, including public comments, 

in the docket. See section VII, ‘‘Public 

Participation,’’ for further information 

on how to submit comments through 

https://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Catherine Rivest, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Building 

Technologies Office, EE–5B, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20585- 0121. Telephone: (202) 586– 

7335. Email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

Mr. Eric Stas, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 

GC–33, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585–0121. 

Telephone: (202) 586-5827. Email: 

Eric.Stas@hq.doe.gov. 

For further information on how to 

submit a comment or review other 

public comments and the docket, 

contact the Appliance and Equipment 

Standards Program staff at (202) 287– 

1445 or by email: 

ApplianceStandardsQuestions@

ee.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Synopsis of the Proposed Determination 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS