534
(A) by striking ‘‘$85’’ and inserting
‘‘$134’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘$145, $120, $170, and
$75, respectively’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘$229, $189, $269, and $118, respectively, for fiscal year
1996; and a standard deduction of $120 a month for each
household, except that households in Alaska, Hawaii,
Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States shall
be allowed a standard deduction of $204, $169, $240, and
$105, respectively, for fiscal years thereafter, adjusted in
accordance with this subsection’’;
(2) in the 2nd sentence by striking ‘‘Such’’ and
all that follows through ‘‘each October 1 thereafter,’’
and inserting ‘‘On October 1, 2001, and on each Oc-
tober 1 thereafter, such standard deductions shall be
adjusted’’;
(3) by striking the 14th sentence; and
(4) by inserting after the 9th sentence the fol-
lowing:
‘‘A State agency may make use of a standard utility allow-
ance mandatory for all households with qualifying utility
costs if the State agency has developed 1 or more stand-
ards that include the cost of heating and cooling and 1
or more standards that do not include the cost of heating
and cooling, and if the Secretary finds that the standards
535
will not result in an increased cost to the Secretary. A
State agency that has not made the use of a standard util-
ity allowance mandatory shall allow a household to switch,
at the end of a certification period, between the standard
utility allowance and a deduction based on the actual util-
ity costs of the household.’’.
SEC. 908. VEHICLE ALLOWANCE.
Section 5(g)(2) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2014(g)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(2) INCLUDED ASSETS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the other
provisions of this paragraph, the Secretary
shall, in prescribing inclusions in, and exclu-
sions from, financial resources, follow the regu-
lations in force as of June 1, 1982 (other than
those relating to licensed vehicles and inacces-
sible resources).
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL
INCLUDED
ASSETS.—
The Secretary shall include in financial re-
sources—
‘‘(i) any boat, snowmobile, or airplane
used for recreational purposes;
‘‘(ii) any vacation home;
‘‘(iii) any mobile home used primarily
for vacation purposes;
536
‘‘(iv) subject to subparagraph (C), any
licensed vehicle that is used for household
transportation or to obtain or continue em-
ployment to the extent that the fair market
value of the vehicle exceeds a level set by
the Secretary, which shall be $4,600 begin-
ning October 1, 1995, and adjusted on
each October 1 thereafter to reflect
changes in the new car component of the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Con-
sumers published by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics for the 12-month period ending
on June 30 preceding the date of such ad-
justment and rounded to the nearest $50;
and
‘‘(v) any savings or retirement ac-
count (including an individual account), re-
gardless of whether there is a penalty for
early withdrawal.
‘‘(C) EXCLUDED
VEHICLES.—A vehicle
(and any other property, real or personal, to the
extent the property is directly related to the
maintenance or use of the vehicle) shall not be
included in financial resources under this para-
graph if the vehicle is—
537
‘‘(i) used to produce earned income;
‘‘(ii) necessary for the transportation
of a physically disabled household member;
or
‘‘(iii) depended on by a household to
carry fuel for heating or water for home
use and provides the primary source of fuel
or water, respectively, for the household.’’.
SEC. 909. VENDOR PAYMENTS FOR TRANSITIONAL HOUS-
ING COUNTED AS INCOME.
Section 5(k)(2) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2014(k)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking subparagraph (F); and
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (G) and
(H) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respectively.
SEC. 910. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR VIOLATING FOOD
STAMP PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.
Section 6(b)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2015(b)(1)) is amended—
(1) in clause (i)—
(A) by striking ‘‘six months’’ and inserting
‘‘1 year’’; and
(B) by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and
(2) striking clauses (ii) and (iii) and inserting
the following:
538
‘‘(ii) permanently upon—
‘‘(I) the second occasion of any such deter-
mination; or
‘‘(II) the first occasion of a finding by a
Federal, State, or local court of the trading of
a controlled substance (as defined in section
102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21
U.S.C. 802)), firearms, ammunition, or explo-
sives for coupons.’’.
SEC. 911. DISQUALIFICATION OF CONVICTED INDIVIDUALS.
Section 6(b)(1)(ii) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977
(7 U.S.C. 2015(b)(1)(iii)), as amended by section 910, is
amended—
(1) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the
end;
(2) in subclause (II), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by inserting after subclause (II) the follow-
ing:
‘‘(IV) a conviction of an offense under sub-
section (b) or (c) of section 15 involving an
item covered by subsection (b) or (c) of section
15 having a value of $500 or more.’’.
539
SEC. 912. DISQUALIFICATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(d) of the Food Stamp
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)) is amended by striking
‘‘(d)(1) Unless otherwise exempted by the provisions’’ and
all that follows through paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(d) CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION.—
‘‘(1) WORK REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—No physically and
mentally fit individual over the age of 15 and
under the age of 60 shall be eligible to partici-
pate in the food stamp program if the individ-
ual—
‘‘(i) refuses, at the time of application
and every 12 months thereafter, to register
for employment in a manner prescribed by
the Secretary;
‘‘(ii) refuses without good cause to
participate in an employment and training
program under paragraph (4), to the ex-
tent required by the State agency;
‘‘(iii) refuses without good cause to
accept an offer of employment, at a site or
plant not subject to a strike or lockout at
the time of the refusal, at a wage not less
than the higher of—
540
‘‘(I) the applicable Federal or
State minimum wage; or
‘‘(II) 80 percent of the wage that
would have governed had the mini-
mum 
hourly 
rate 
under 
section
6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1))
been applicable to the offer of employ-
ment;
‘‘(iv) refuses without good cause to
provide a State agency with sufficient in-
formation to allow the State agency to de-
termine the employment status or the job
availability of the individual;
‘‘(v) voluntarily and without good
cause—
‘‘(I) quits a job; or
‘‘(II) reduces work effort and,
after the reduction, the individual is
working less than 30 hours per week;
or
‘‘(vi) fails to comply with section 20.
‘‘(B) HOUSEHOLD
INELIGIBILITY.—If an
individual who is the head of a household be-
comes ineligible to participate in the food stamp
541
program under subparagraph (A), the house-
hold shall, at the option of the State agency,
become ineligible to participate in the food
stamp program for a period, determined by the
State agency, that does not exceed the lesser
of—
‘‘(i) the duration of the ineligibility of
the individual determined under subpara-
graph (C); or
‘‘(ii) 180 days.
‘‘(C) DURATION OF INELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(i) FIRST
VIOLATION.—The first
time that an individual becomes ineligible
to participate in the food stamp program
under subparagraph (A), the individual
shall remain ineligible until the later of—
‘‘(I) the date the individual be-
comes eligible under subparagraph
(A);
‘‘(II) the date that is 1 month
after the date the individual became
ineligible; or
‘‘(III) a date determined by the
State agency that is not later than 3
566
as the authorized representative of the individual for
the purpose of receiving an allotment.’’.
SEC. 927. AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH AUTHORIZATION PE-
RIODS.
Section 9(a)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2018(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to issue regulations estab-
lishing specific time periods during which authorization to
accept and redeem coupons under the food stamp program
shall be valid.’’.
SEC. 928. SPECIFIC PERIOD FOR PROHIBITING PARTICIPA-
TION OF STORES BASED ON LACK OF BUSI-
NESS INTEGRITY.
Section 9(a)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2018(a)(1)), as amended by section 927, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following:
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to issue regulations estab-
lishing specific time periods during which a retail food
store or wholesale food concern that has an application
for approval to accept and redeem coupons denied or that
has such an approval withdrawn on the basis of business
integrity and reputation cannot submit a new application
for approval. Such periods shall reflect the severity of
592
‘‘(B) that has been designated by the ap-
propriate State agency, or by the Secretary;
and
‘‘(C) that has been approved by the Sec-
retary for participation in the program estab-
lished under this Act.
‘‘(4) EMERGENCY
FEEDING
ORGANIZATION.—
The term ‘emergency feeding organization’ means a
public or nonprofit organization that administers ac-
tivities and projects (including the activities and
projects of a charitable institution, a food bank, a
food pantry, a hunger relief center, a soup kitchen,
or a similar public or private nonprofit eligible recip-
ient agency) providing nutrition assistance to relieve
situations of emergency and distress through the
provision of food to needy persons, including low-in-
come and unemployed persons.
‘‘(5) FOOD
BANK.—The term ‘food bank’
means a public or charitable institution that main-
tains an established operation involving the provision
of food or edible commodities, or the products of
food or edible commodities, to food pantries, soup
kitchens, hunger relief centers, or other food or feed-
ing centers that, as an integral part of their normal