I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6567 
To replace certain Federal nutrition programs with a block grant to the 
States, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 2, 2012 
Mr. HUELSKAMP (for himself, Mr. BROUN of Georgia, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. JOR-
DAN, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, and Mr. WESTMORELAND) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ag-
riculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and 
Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined 
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To replace certain Federal nutrition programs with a block 
grant to the States, 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 
‘‘State Nutrition Assistance Flexibility Act of 2012’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Purpose. 
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Sec. 3. Grants to States. 
Sec. 4. Administrative and fiscal accountability. 
Sec. 5. Nondiscrimination provisions. 
Sec. 6. Definitions. 
Sec. 7. Report on reduction of Federal administrative expenditures. 
Sec. 8. Repeals. 
Sec. 9. Severability. 
Sec. 10. Effective date. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to provide Federal finan-
cial assistance to the States, in the form of a single grant, 
to allow the States maximum flexibility in providing, and 
financing the provision of, supplemental food and nutri-
tion assistance. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO STATES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the requirements of 
this Act, each State that meets the requirements of sub-
section (d) is entitled to receive from the Secretary of the 
Treasury a grant for each quarter of fiscal years 2013, 
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 
2022, in an amount that is equal to 25 percent of the 
sum of— 
(1) the total amount of funds received by a 
State; and 
(2) with funds not received by a State, the dol-
lar value of in-kind benefits (as determined by the 
Secretary of Agriculture) provided to residents of 
such State; 
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under the provisions listed in section 8 for fiscal year 
2008. 
(b) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any money in the 
Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, 
there are appropriated for fiscal years 2013, 2014, 2015, 
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 such sums 
as are necessary for grants under this subsection (a). 
(c) REQUIREMENTS RELATING
TO INTERGOVERN-
MENTAL FINANCING.—The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall make the transfer of funds under grants under sub-
section (a) directly to each State in accordance with the 
requirements of section 6503 of title 31, United States 
Code. 
(d) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive a 
grant under subsection (a), the Governor of a State shall 
certify to the Secretary of the Treasury that the supple-
mental food and nutrition assistance that will be provided 
by the State using such grant will include— 
(1) as conditions of receiving supplemental food 
and nutrition assistance, work requirements that are 
at least as strict as the work requirements which a 
State is required to impose under a State program 
funded under part A of title IV of the Social Secu-
rity Act on recipients of assistance under such a 
program; and 
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(2) limitations on the eligible uses of benefits 
that are at least as restrictive as the limitations in 
place for the supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram established under the Food and Nutrition Act 
of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) as of May 31, 2012. 
(e) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), amounts received by a State under sub-
section (a) for any fiscal year shall be expended by 
the State in such fiscal year or in the succeeding fis-
cal year. 
(2) USE OF RAINY DAY FUND PERMITTED.—Of 
the amounts received by a State under subsection 
(a), the State may set aside, in a separate account, 
such amounts as the State deems necessary to pro-
vide, without fiscal limitation, supplemental food and 
nutrition assistance and services for indigent individ-
uals during— 
(A) periods of unexpectedly high rates of 
unemployment; or 
(B) periods related to circumstances that 
are not described in subparagraph (A) and that 
cause unexpected increases in the need for such 
assistance and services for such individuals. 
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(3) FUNDS
REMAINING
AFTER
FISCAL
YEAR 
2022.—If, after 2022, a State has funds in the ac-
count under paragraph (2), the State may only ex-
pend such funds if such funds are used in a manner 
that is permitted under subsection (f), as such sub-
section is in effect on September 30, 2022. 
(f) USE
OF FUNDS.—A State may only use the 
amounts received under subsection (a) as follows: 
(1) GENERAL
PURPOSE.—For the purpose 
under section 2, except that nothing in this Act shall 
be construed as limiting the flexibility of a State to 
determine which providers of such assistance and 
services qualify to receive payment from a grant 
made to the State under subsection (a). 
(2) AUTHORITY TO USE PORTION OF FEDERAL 
ASSISTANCE
FOR
OTHER
WELFARE-RELATED
PRO-
GRAMS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to the limit 
under subparagraph (B), to carry out a State 
program pursuant to any or all of the following 
provisions of law: 
(i) Part A of title IV of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 
(ii) Section 1616 of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1382e). 
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(B) LIMITATION.—A State may not use 
more than 30 percent of the amount received 
under subsection (a) for a fiscal year to carry 
out a State program, or programs, under sub-
paragraph (A). 
(C) REQUIREMENTS
ON
FUNDS.—Any 
amounts that are used under subparagraph 
(A)— 
(i) shall not be subject to any of the 
requirements of subsection (e) or section 5; 
and 
(ii) shall be subject to— 
(I) the audit requirements under 
section 4; and 
(II) any requirements that apply 
to Federal funds provided directly for 
such State program. 
(g) NO FUNDING FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS.—Except as 
provided under this Act, no funds appropriated in this Act 
may be used to provide supplemental food and nutrition 
assistance to an alien who is not lawfully admitted for per-
manent residence or otherwise permanently residing in the 
United States under color of law. 
(h) NONENTITLEMENT.—Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed as providing an individual with an entitlement 
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to supplemental food and nutrition assistance under this 
Act. 
SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY. 
(a) AUDITS.— 
(1) CONTRACT WITH APPROVED AUDITING EN-
TITY.—Not later than October 1, 2013, and annu-
ally thereafter, a State shall contract with an ap-
proved auditing entity (as defined under paragraph 
(3)(B)) for purposes of conducting an audit under 
paragraph (2) (with respect to the fiscal year ending 
September 30 of such year). 
(2) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—Under a contract 
under paragraph (1), an approved auditing entity 
shall conduct an audit of the expenditures or trans-
fers made by a State from amounts received under 
a grant under this section 3(a) with respect to the 
fiscal year which such audit covers, to determine the 
extent to which such expenditures and transfers 
were expended in accordance with this Act. 
(3) ENTITY CONDUCTING AUDIT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—With respect to a 
State, the audit under paragraph (2) shall be 
conducted by an approved auditing entity in ac-
cordance with generally accepted auditing prin-
ciples. 
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(B) APPROVED
AUDITING
ENTITY.—For 
purposes of this section, the term ‘‘approved 
auditing entity’’ means, with respect to a State, 
an entity that is— 
(i) approved by the Secretary of the 
Treasury; 
(ii) approved by the chief executive of-
ficer of the State; and 
(iii) independent of any Federal, 
State, or local agency. 
(4) SUBMISSION
OF
AUDIT.—Not later than 
December 31, 2013, and annually thereafter, a State 
shall submit the results of the audit under para-
graph (2) (with respect to the fiscal year ending on 
September 30 of such year) to the State legislature 
and to the Secretary of the Treasury. 
(5) 
ADDITIONAL
ACCOUNTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The provisions of chapter 75 of title 31, 
United States Code, shall apply to the audit require-
ments of this section. 
(b) REIMBURSEMENT AND PENALTY.—If, through an 
audit conducted under subsection (a), an approved audit-
ing entity finds that any amounts paid to a State under 
a grant under section 3(a) were not expended in accord-
ance with this Act— 
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(1) the State shall pay to the Treasury of the 
United States any such amount, plus 10 percent of 
such amount as a penalty; or 
(2) the Secretary of the Treasury shall offset 
such amount plus the 10 percent penalty against 
any other amount in any other fiscal year that the 
State may be entitled to receive under a grant under 
section 3(a). 
(c) ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 31, 
2014, and annually thereafter, each State shall sub-
mit to the Secretary of the Treasury and the State 
legislature a report on the activities carried out by 
the State during the most recently completed fiscal 
year with funds received by the State under a grant 
under section 3(a) for such fiscal year. 
(2) CONTENT.—A report under paragraph (1) 
shall, with respect to a fiscal year— 
(A) contain the results of the audit con-
ducted by an approved auditing entity for a 
State for such fiscal year, in accordance with 
the requirements of subsection (a) of this sec-
tion; 
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(B) specify the amount of the grant made 
to the State under section 3(a) that is used to 
carry out a program under section 3(f)(2); and 
(C) be in such form and contain such other 
information as the State determines is nec-
essary to provide— 
(i) an accurate description of the ac-
tivities conducted by the State for the pur-
pose described under section 2 and any 
other use of funds permitted under sub-
sections (d) and (e) of section 3; and 
(ii) a complete record of the purposes 
for which amounts were expended in ac-
cordance with this Act. 
(3) CONFORMITY
WITH
ACCOUNTING
PRIN-
CIPLES.—Any financial information in the report 
under paragraph (1) shall be prepared and reported 
in accordance with generally accepted accounting 
principles, including the provisions of chapter 75 of 
title 31, United States Code. 
(4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—A State shall make 
copies of the reports required under this section 
available on a public Web site and shall make copies 
available in other formats upon request. 
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(d) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS.— 
The Secretary of the Treasury shall not make any pay-
ment to a State under a grant authorized by section 
3(a)— 
(1) if an audit for a State is not submitted as 
required under subsection (a), during the period be-
tween the date such audit is due and the date on 
which such audit is submitted; or 
(2) if a State fails to submit a report as re-
quired under subsection (c), during the period be-
tween the date such report is due and the date on 
which such report is submitted. 
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE
SUPERVISION
AND
OVER-
SIGHT.— 
(1) LIMITED ROLE FOR SECRETARY OF THE 
TREASURY AND THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
(A) TREASURY.—The authority of the Sec-
retary of the Treasury under this Act is limited 
to— 
(i) promulgating regulations, issuing 
rules, or publishing guidance documents to 
the extent necessary for purposes of imple-
menting subsections (a)(3)(B), (b), and 
(d); 
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(ii) making quarterly payments to the 
States under grants under this Act in ac-
cordance with section 3(a); 
(iii) approving entities under sub-
section (a)(3)(B) for purposes of the audits 
required under subsection (a); 
(iv) withholding payment to a State of 
a grant under subsection (d) or offsetting 
a payment of such a grant to a State 
under subsection (b); and 
(v) exercising the authority relating to 
nondiscrimination that is specified in sec-
tion 5(b). 
(B) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The authority 
of the Attorney General to supervise the 
amounts received by a State under section 3(a) 
is limited to the authority under section 5(c). 
(2) FEDERAL SUPERVISION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided 
under paragraph (1), an administrative officer, 
employee, department, or agency of the United 
States (including the Secretaries of Agriculture 
and Health and Human Services) may not— 
(i) supervise— 
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(I) the amounts received by the 
States under section 3(a); or 
(II) the use of such amounts by 
the States; or 
(ii) promulgate regulations or issue 
rules in accordance with this Act. 
(B) LIMITATION ON SECRETARIES OF AG-
RICULTURE AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERV-
ICES.—The Secretaries of Agriculture and 
Health and Human Services shall have no au-
thority over any provision of this Act. 
(f) RESERVATION OF STATE POWERS.—Nothing in 
this section shall be construed to limit the power of a 
State, including the power of a State to pursue civil and 
criminal penalties under State law against any individual 
or entity that misuses, or engages in fraud or abuse re-
lated to the funds provided to a State under this Act. 
SEC. 5. NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS. 
(a) NONDISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIVIDUALS.— 
No individual shall be excluded from participation in, de-
nied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination under, 
any program or activity funded in whole or in part with 
amounts paid to a State under this section 3(a) on the 
basis of such individual’s— 
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(1) disability under section 504 of the Rehabili-
tation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); 
(2) sex under title IX of the Education Amend-
ments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); or 
(3) race, color, or national origin under title VI 
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d 
et seq.). 
(b) COMPLIANCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the Secretary of the 
Treasury determines that a State or an entity that 
has received funds from amounts paid to a State 
under a grant under section 3(a) has failed to com-
ply with a provision of law referred to in subsection 
(a), the Secretary of the Treasury shall notify the 
chief executive officer of the State of such failure to 
comply and shall request that such chief executive 
officer secure such compliance. 
(2) REFUSAL TO SECURE COMPLIANCE.—If, not 
later than 60 days after receiving notification under 
paragraph (1), the chief executive officer of a State 
fails or refuses to secure compliance with the provi-
sion of law referred to in such notification, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury may— 
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(A) refer the matter to the Attorney Gen-
eral with a recommendation that an appropriate 
civil action be instituted; or 
(B) exercise the powers and functions pro-
vided under section 505 of the Rehabilitation 
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794a), title IX of the 
Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 
1681 et seq.), or title VI of the Civil Rights Act 
of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.) (as applica-
ble). 
(c) CIVIL ACTIONS.—If a matter is referred to the 
Attorney General under subsection (b)(2)(A), or the At-
torney General has reason to believe that a State or entity 
has failed to comply with a provision of law referred to 
in subsection (a), the Attorney General may bring a civil 
action in an appropriate district court of the United States 
for such relief as may be appropriate, including injunctive 
relief. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this Act: 
(1) SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD AND NUTRITION AS-
SISTANCE.—The term ‘‘supplemental food and nutri-
tion assistance’’ shall be defined by a State with re-
spect to use of such term for purposes of the appli-
cation of this Act to the State. 
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(2) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 3 of the Food and Nu-
trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012) as of May 31, 
2012. 
SEC. 7. REPORT ON REDUCTION OF FEDERAL ADMINISTRA-
TIVE EXPENDITURES. 
Beginning not later than October 31, 2013, and an-
nually thereafter until October 31, 2022, the Secretaries 
of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit 
a report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce in 
the House of Representatives and the Finance Committee 
in the Senate containing a description of the total reduc-
tion in Federal expenditures required to administer and 
provide oversight for the programs to provide supple-
mental food and nutrition assistance to indigent individ-
uals under this Act, compared to the expenditures re-
quired to administer and provide oversight for the pro-
grams listed in section 8, as such programs were in effect 
on September 30, 2012. 
SEC. 8. REPEALS. 
The following provisions are repealed: 
(1) The Emergency Food Assistance Act of 
1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.). 
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(2) Section 5 of the Agriculture and Consumer 
Protection Act of 1973, (commonly known as the 
commodity supplemental food program) (7 U.S.C. 
612c note). 
(3) Section 4402 of Public Law 107–171 (relat-
ing to the seniors farmers’ market nutrition pro-
gram) (7 U.S.C. 3007). 
(4) The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 
(5) Section 19 of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769a). 
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such 
provision to any person or circumstance, is found to be 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the applica-
tion of that provision to other persons or circumstances, 
shall not be affected. 
SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect with respect to items and services furnished 
on or after October 1, 2012. 
Æ 
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