TITLE I—EMERGENCY FOOD 
ASSISTANCE 
SEC. 101. FOOD STAMP ACT ASSISTANCE IN RESPONSE TO 
HURRICANE KATRINA. 
(a) ASSISTANCE DURING DISASTER RECOVERY PE-
RIOD.—Section 5(h) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2014) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) RESPONSE TO HURRICANE KATRINA.— 
‘‘(A) During the disaster recovery period— 
‘‘(i) the Secretary shall pay each State 
agency an amount equal to 90 per centum of 
administrative costs allowable under section 
16(a) related to serving affected households in 
lieu of the payments section 16(a) would other-
wise require for such costs; 
‘‘(ii) subsection (g)(2)(B)(iv) and sections 
6(d)(4) and 6(o) shall not apply to affected 
households; 
‘‘(iii) an affected household shall be 
deemed to meet the requirements of subsection 
(c)(2) if its income, as calculated under such 
subsection, does not exceed the level permitted 
under subsection (c)(1) by more than 50 per 
centum;
‘‘(iv) except in the case of a household to 
which subparagraph (B)(ii) applies, the State 
agency shall calculate the income of an affected 
household using a standard deduction of $323 
in lieu of the deduction provided under sub-
section (e)(1); and 
‘‘(v) any funds designated for rebuilding or 
relocation, including payments from Federal, 
State, or local governments, charitable organi-
zations, employers, or insurance companies, 
shall be excluded from consideration under sub-
section (g) in determining the eligibility of an 
affected household. 
‘‘(B) During the immediate disaster recovery 
period— 
‘‘(i) subsection (g)(2)(B)(v) and section 
8(c)(1) shall not apply to affected households; 
‘‘(ii) at the option of the State agency, the 
State agency shall increase the value to the 
household of the thrifty food plan determined 
under section 3(o) by six per centum when cal-
culating the value of the allotment for an af-
fected household under section 8(a), in lieu of 
making the adjustment otherwise required by 
subparagraph (A)(iv); and
‘‘(iii) the application of an affected house-
hold shall be processed under procedures estab-
lished under section 11(e)(9). 
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall take such action as 
are prudent and reasonable under the circumstances 
to identify affected households that are participating 
in more than one State and to terminate the dupli-
cate participation of such households. Except in the 
case of deliberate falsehoods, no action shall be 
taken against any affected household relating to any 
duplicate participation during the disaster recovery 
period that takes place prior to such termination. 
‘‘(D) Except in the case of intentional program 
violations as determined under section 6(b), no claim 
shall be established under section 13(b) relating to 
benefits issued under this subsection. 
‘‘(E) For purposes of determining the payment 
error rate of a State agency under section 16(c), the 
Secretary shall disregard any errors resulting from 
the application of this paragraph to an affected 
household during the disaster recovery period. 
‘‘(F) During the disaster recovery period, an af-
fected household shall not be considered to custom-
arily purchase food and prepare meals together with 
other individuals if such household did not custom-
arily purchase food and prepare meals for home con-
sumption with such individuals prior to August 29, 
2005. 
‘‘(G) For purposes of this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘disaster recovery period’ 
means the period beginning on August 29, 
2005, and ending on October 1, 2006, or on 
such earlier date as the Secretary determines 
that the States can fully meet the needs of af-
fected households under the other provisions of 
this Act; 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘immediate disaster recovery 
period’ means the period beginning on August 
29, 2005, and ending on December 1, 2005; 
and 
‘‘(iii) the term ‘affected household’ includes 
a household— 
‘‘(I) that resides in an area of a State 
that the Secretary determines was affected 
by Hurricane Katrina or a related condi-
tion; 
‘‘(II) in which a member worked in an 
area of a State that the Secretary deter-
mines was affected by Hurricane Katrina, 
or a related condition, immediately prior to