I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2738
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 re-
lated programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 5, 1999
Mr. COYNE (for himself and Mr. LEVIN) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Food Stamp Outreach and Research for Kids Act of
1999’’.
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
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. Studies.
Sec. 105. Grants for community partnerships and innovative outreach strate-
gies.
Sec. 106. Demonstration projects for online and phone participation in food
stamp program.
Sec. 107. Nutrition information.
Sec. 108. Comptroller General study.
TITLE II—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.
TITLE I—FOOD STAMP
PROGRAM
SEC. 101. FOOD STAMP PARTICIPATION.
Section 11(e)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2020 (e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘at the option
of the State agency.’’.
SEC. 102 FOOD STAMP INSPECTIONS.
Section 16 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2025) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(1) FOOD STAMP INSPECTIONS.—
‘‘(1) MANDATORY INSPECTIONS.—Effective
during the 5-year period beginning on the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary
shall carry out an annual onsite inspection or
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review of the operation of the food stamp pro-
gram by each State agency.
‘‘(2) VISIT.—In conducting any annual on-
site inspection or review described in paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall include as part of the
inspection or review visits to State and local
agency offices and consultation with current or
former clients and community groups.’’.
SEC. 103. CASEWORKER TRAINING DEMONSTRATION.
Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2027) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) CASEWORKER DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—
(1) There is authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be necessary for the 2000 fiscal year
and each fiscal year thereafter for the Secretary to
conduct a demonstration program, through State
agencies and in consultation with State caseworkers,
to develop training materials, guidebooks, and other
resources focusing on issues of access and eligibility
for the Food Stamp Program for use by State case-
workers.’’.
SEC. 104. STUDIES.
Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2027) (as amended in section 103) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
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‘‘(h) FNS STUDY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the
2000 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter for
the Secretary, through the Food and Nutrition Serv-
ice, to conduct studies to measure Food Stamp Pro-
gram impacts and integrity to assist in formulating
nutrition policy and to assess the potential costs and
benefits of legislative proposals.
‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Two years after
the date of enactment of this subsection, the Sec-
retary shall report the results of such studies to the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition, and Forestry of the Senate.’’.
SEC. 105. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND
INNOVATIVE OUTREACH STRATEGIES.
Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2027) (as amended by Section 104) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(i) GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND
INNOVATIVE OUTREACH STRATEGIES.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture, in consultation with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, shall establish a program to
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award grants to eligible organizations described in
paragraph (2)—
‘‘(A) to develop and test innovative strate-
gies to ensure that low-income, needy families
that are former or current recipients of benefits
under a State program established under part
A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) continue to receive benefits
under this Act;
‘‘(B) to help ensure that families that have
applied for benefits under a State program es-
tablished under part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), but that
did not receive the benefits because of State di-
version strategies or ineligibility for the bene-
fits, are aware of the availability of, and are
provided assistance in receiving, benefits under
this Act;
‘‘(C) to place special emphasis on con-
ducting outreach to families with earned income
that is at or above the income eligibility limits
for benefits under a State program established
under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act; and
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‘‘(D) to conduct outreach to families with
children.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Grants under para-
graph (1) may be awarded to—
‘‘(i) food banks, food rescue, faith-
based, and other community-based pro-
grams, except that the total amount
awarded to such organizations shall be not
less than 15 percent of the aggregate
amount of grants awarded under this sub-
section;
‘‘(ii) schools, health clinics, non-profit
day care centers, Head Start programs
carried out under the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), Healthy Start pro-
grams carried out under section 301 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
241), agencies providing assistance under
the special supplemental nutrition program
for women, infants, and children estab-
lished under section 17 of the Child Nutri-
tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), and
other organizations conducting Medicaid
and CHIP outreach, except that the total
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amount awarded to such organizations,
shall not be less than 15 percent of the ag-
gregate amount of grants awarded under
this subsection;
‘‘(iii) State and political subdivisions
of States;
‘‘(iv) child nutrition programs (as de-
fined in section 25(b) of the National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769f(b));
and
‘‘(v) other organizations designated by
the Secretary of Agriculture, in consulta-
tion with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services.
‘‘(B) GEOGRAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION
OF
RECIPIENTS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause
(ii), the Secretary of Agriculture, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, shall select, from all eligi-
ble applications received, at least 1 recipi-
ent to receive a grant under this section
from each USDA region and each addi-
tional rural or urban area determined to be
appropriate by the Secretary of Agri-
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culture, in consultation with the Secretary
of Health and Human Services.
‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of
Agriculture may not select grant recipients
under clause (i) if the Secretary deter-
mines that an insufficient number of eligi-
ble grant applications has been received.
‘‘(3) SELECTION.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture, in consultation with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, shall develop criteria for se-
lecting recipients of grants under paragraph (1) that
include the consideration of—
‘‘(A) the demonstrated track record of an
organization in serving low income populations;
‘‘(B) the ability of an organization to reach
hard-to-serve populations;
‘‘(C) the level of innovation in the pro-
posals submitted in the application of an orga-
nization for a grant; and
‘‘(D) the development of partnerships be-
tween the public and private sector entities and
linkages with the community.
‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Ag-
riculture, in consultation with the Secretary of
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Health and Human Services, shall administer
the grant program under this section.
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more
than 5 percent of funds made available for the
grant program shall be used by the Secretary of
Agriculture or the Secretary of Health and
Human Services for administrative costs.
‘‘(C) PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of
Agriculture and the Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall jointly conduct
evaluations of programs funded by grants
under this section.
‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Not more than 20
percent of funds made available for the
grant program shall be used for program
evaluations described in clause(i).’’.
SEC. 106. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS FOR ONLINE AND
TELEPHONE PARTICIPATION IN FOOD STAMP
PROGRAM.
Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act (7 U.S.C. 2027)
(as amended by Section 105) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘(j) ONLINE AND TELEPHONE PARTICIPATION IN
THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM.—There is authorized to be
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appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the 2000
fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter for the Secretary
to conduct demonstration projects to evaluate the feasi-
bility and desirability of allowing eligible households to
participate in the food stamp program through the use
of the Internet and telephones.’’.
SEC. 107. NUTRITION INFORMATION.
Section 18 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2027) (as amended by section 106) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(k) NUTRITION INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture, in consultation with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, shall—
‘‘(A) facilitate partnerships to provide in-
formation on nutrition programs described in
paragraph (3); and
‘‘(B) maintain a toll-free information num-
ber for individuals to call to obtain information
concerning the nutrition programs.
‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—To carry out para-
graph (1)(A), the Secretary shall facilitate part-
nerships composed of—
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‘‘(i) public agencies and organizations;
and
‘‘(ii) entities and organizations from
the private sector; and
‘‘(iii) states and political subdivisions
of states.
‘‘(B) TAX CREDIT.—An entity or organiza-
tion that participates in a partnership under
this section to maintain the toll-free informa-
tion numbers described in paragraph (1)(B)
shall be eligible to receive a tax credit as pro-
vided in section 45D of part IV of subchapter
A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relat-
ing to business related credits).
‘‘(3) INFORMATION.—In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary shall provide—
‘‘(A) information concerning all Federal
nutrition programs, including the food stamp
program and child nutrition programs (as de-
fined in section 25(b) of the National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769f(b));
‘‘(B) information which complies with all
provisions of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 2020(e)(1)) regarding access for non-
English speakers;
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‘‘(C) access to an individual to provide in-
formation and clarification that is available
through an automated phone information sys-
tem.’’.
SEC. 108. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.
(a) STUDY.—
(1) CATALOGUE
OF
STATE
ACTIVITIES.—The
Comptroller General of the United States shall con-
duct a study of State outreach efforts, including ex-
tended hours for working families. On-site investiga-
tions shall be used to verify when extended hours are
held, how often, and how such hours are advertised
to eligible families.
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen-
eral shall report his findings to the Committee on
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives,
the Finance Committee of the Senate, the Com-
mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa-
tives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry of the Senate.’’.
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TITLE II—FOOD STAMP INFOR-
MATION THROUGH TANF PRO-
GRAM AND TAX CREDIT
SEC. 201. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO INDIVIDUALS RE-
GARDING ELIGIBILITY UNDER FOOD STAMP
PROGRAM.
(a) DEVELOPMENT OF MODEL STATE TANF PRO-
GRAM APPLICATION.—
(1) DEVELOPMENT.—
(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—The 
Secretary 
of
Health and Human Services shall develop a
model application for receiving benefits under a
State TANF program (as defined in subsection
(e)).
(B) 
INFORMATION
REGARDING
ELIGI-
BILITY FOR FOOD STAMPS.—The first page of
the model application shall clearly inform an
applicant that the applicant may be eligible for
benefits under the food stamp program under
the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et
seq.), and inform the applicant on procedures
for applying for benefits at the appropriate
State agency, even if the applicant—
(i) is determined to be ineligible for
benefits under a State TANF program;
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(ii) receives benefits under such a pro-
gram and is subsequently terminated from
such a program; or
(iii) is receiving a diversion payment
under such a program.
(2) VOLUNTARY USE BY STATES.—Use of the
model application by the State agency or agencies
that administer and supervise a State TANF
progam shall be on a voluntary basis.
(b) DEVELOPMENT OF NOTICE REGARDING POTEN-
TIAL CONTINUED ELIGIBILITY UNDER FOOD STAMP PRO-
GRAM.—
(1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 6 months
after the date of enactment, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, in consultation with the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, shall develop a 1-page notice
that provides an applicable individual with the infor-
mation described in subsection (a)(1)(B).
(2) USE BY STATES.—
(A) VOLUNTARY
USE.—Subject to sub-
paragraph (B), use of the notice by the State
agency or agencies that administer and super-
vise a State TANF program shall be on a vol-
untary basis.
(B) MANDATORY USE.—
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(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary of
Health and Human Services determines
(for any period) that a State is providing
the information described in subsection
(a)(1)(B) to less than 75 percent of appli-
cable individuals, such State shall provide
the notice to all applicable individuals until
such time as the State demonstrates to the
Secretary that the State is providing such
information to such percentage of applica-
ble individuals.
(ii) 
APPLICABLE
INDIVIDUAL
DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this subpara-
graph, the term ‘‘applicable individual’’
means an individual—
(I) who is determined to be ineli-
gible for benefits under a State
TANF program;
(II) whose benefits under such a
program have terminated; or
(III) who is receiving a diversion
payment under such a program.
(c) FORM.—The model application developed pursu-
ant to subsection (a) and the notice developed pursuant
to subsection (b) shall use language that is concise and
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easily understandable by applicants under a State TANF
program.
(d) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary of Health and
Human Services shall distribute the model application de-
veloped pursuant to subsection (a) and the notice devel-
oped pursuant to subsection (b) to the State agency or
agencies that administer and supervise a State TANF pro-
gram.
(e) DEFINITION OF STATE TANF PROGRAM.—In
this section, the term ‘‘State TANF program’’ means
State programs established under part A of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
SEC. 202. CREDIT FOR EXPANSION OF TOLL-FREE INFOR-
MATION NUMBER.
(a) TAX CREDIT.—Subpart D of part IV of sub-
chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 45D. CREDIT FOR EXPANSION OF TOLL-FREE INFOR-
MATION NUMBER.
‘‘For purposes of section 38, the toll-free information
number credit of any taxpayer for any taxable year is 10
percent of the expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer
during such taxable year as a participant in the partner-
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ship described in section 17(o)(2) of the Food Stamp Act
of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2026(o)(2)).’’.
(b) CREDIT TREATED AS BUSINESS CREDIT.—Sec-
tion 38(b)of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating
to current year business credit) is amended by striking
‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (11), by striking the period
at the end of paragraph (12) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(13) the toll-free information number credit
determined under section 45D.’’.
(c) TRANSITIONAL RULE.—Section 39(d) of the In-
ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to transitional
rules) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45D CREDIT
BEFORE EFFECTIVE DATE.—No portion of the un-
used business credit for any taxable year which is
attributable to the credit allowable under section
45D may be carried back to a taxable year ending
before the date of the enactment of such section.’’.
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘Sec. 45D. Credit for expansion of toll-free number.’’.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply to payments made or incurred in