I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 529
To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to respond to the hunger emergency
afflicting American families and children, to attack the causes of hunger
among all Americans, to ensure an adequate diet for low-income people
who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because of the shortage
of affordable housing, to promote self-sufficiency among food stamp
recipients, to assist families affected by adverse economic conditions,
to simplify food assistance programs’ administration, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 21, 1993
Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. EMERSON, Mr. DE LA GARZA, and Mr. HALL
of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Commit-
tee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to respond to the
hunger emergency afflicting American families and chil-
dren, to attack the causes of hunger among all Ameri-
cans, to ensure an adequate diet for low-income people
who are homeless or at risk of homelessness because
of the shortage of affordable housing, to promote self-
sufficiency among food stamp recipients, to assist fami-
lies affected by adverse economic conditions, to simplify
food assistance programs’ administration, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Mickey Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents is
as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. References to Act.
TITLE I—ENSURING ADEQUATE FOOD ASSISTANCE
Sec. 101. Families with high shelter expenses.
Sec. 102. Basic benefit level.
Sec. 103. Continuing benefits to eligible households.
Sec. 104. Homeless families in transitional housing.
Sec. 105. Improving the nutritional status of children in Puerto Rico.
Sec. 106. Households benefiting from general assistance vendor payments.
Sec. 107. Helping low-income high school students.
TITLE II—PROMOTING SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Sec. 201. Child support disregard.
Sec. 202. Child support payments to non-household members.
Sec. 203. Vehicles needed to seek and continue employment and for household
transportation.
Sec. 204. Vehicles necessary to carry fuel or water.
Sec. 205. Improving access to employment and training activities.
TITLE III—SIMPLIFYING THE PROVISION OF FOOD ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Simplifying the household definition for households with children and
others.
Sec. 302. Resources of households with disabled members.
Sec. 303. Assuring adequate funding for the food stamp program.
TITLE IV—COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION TO NEEDY FAMILIES
Sec. 401. Commodity purchases.
TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVE DATES
Sec. 501. Effective dates.
Sec. 502. Budget neutrality requirement.
SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO ACTS.
Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, ref-
erences to ‘‘the Act’’ and sections thereof shall be deemed
to be references to the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2011 et seq.) and the sections thereof.
TITLE I—ENSURING ADEQUATE FOOD
ASSISTANCE
SEC. 101. FAMILIES WITH HIGH SHELTER EXPENSES.
(a) REMOVAL OF CAP.—(1) The fourth sentence of
section 5(e) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (hereinafter
referred to as ‘‘the Act’’) (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended
by striking ‘‘: Provided, That the amount’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘June 30’’.
(2) The fifth sentence of section 5(e) of the Act (7
U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘under clause (2)
of the preceding sentence’’.
(b) TRANSITIONAL CAP.—(1) Effective on the date
of enactment of this Act, section 5(e) of the Act is amend-
ed by inserting after the fourth sentence the following: ‘‘In
the 12-month period ending September 30, 1994, such ex-
cess shelter expense deduction shall not exceed $230 a
month in the forty-eight contiguous States and the Dis-
trict of Columbia, and shall not exceed, in Alaska, Hawaii,
Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States, $400,
$328, $279, and $170 a month, respectively; in the 12-
month period ending September 30, 1995, shall not exceed
$260 a month in the forty-eight contiguous States and the
District of Columbia, and shall not exceed, in Alaska, Ha-
waii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States,
$452, $371, $315, and $192 a month, respectively; in the
12-month period ending September 30, 1996, shall not ex-
ceed $300 a month in the forty-eight contiguous States
and the District of Columbia, and shall not exceed, in
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the Unit-
ed States, $521, $420, $364, and $221 a month, respec-
tively; and in the 12-month period ending September 30,
1997, shall not exceed $360 a month in the forty-eight
contiguous States and the District of Columbia, and shall
not exceed, in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Is-
lands of the United States, $626, $514, $437, and $266
a month, respectively.’’.
(2) Effective October 1, 1997, section 5(e) of the Act
(7 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended by striking the fifth
sentence.
SEC. 102. BASIC BENEFIT LEVEL.
Section 3(o) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2012(o)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘(4) through’’ and all that follows through
the end of the subsection, and inserting the following: ‘‘(4)
on October 1, 1993, adjust the cost of such diet to reflect
1031⁄3 percent of the cost of thrifty food plan in the pre-
ceding June (without regard to adjustments made under
clauses (9), (10), and (11) of this subsection as in effect
before the date of the enactment of the Mickey Leland
Childhood Hunger Relief Act), as determined by the Sec-
retary, and round the result to the nearest lower dollar
increment for each household size, (5) on October 1, 1994,
adjust the cost of such diet to reflect 1032⁄3 percent of
the cost of the thrifty food plan in the preceding June
(without regard to adjustments made under such clauses
(9), (10), and (11) and under clause (4)), as determined
by the Secretary, and round the result to the nearest lower
dollar increment for each household size, (6) on October
1, 1995, adjust the cost of such diet to reflect 104 percent
of the cost of the thrifty food plan in the preceding June
(without regard to adjustments made under such clauses
(9), (10), and (11) and under clauses (4) and (5)), as de-
termined by the Secretary, and round the result to the
lowest dollar increment for each household size, (7) on Oc-
tober 1, 1996, adjust the cost of such diet to reflect 1041⁄3
percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan in the preceding
June (without regard to adjustments made under such
clauses (9), (10), and (11) and under clauses (4), (5), and
(6)), as determined by the Secretary, and round the result
to the nearest lower dollar increment for each household
size, (8) on October 1, 1997, adjust the cost of such diet
to reflect 1042⁄3 percent of the cost of the thrifty food plan
in the preceding June (without regard to adjustments
made under such clauses (9), (10), and (11) and under
clauses (4), (5), (6), and (7)), as determined by the Sec-
retary, and round the result to the nearest lower dollar
increment for each household size, and (9) on October 1,
1998, and on every October 1 thereafter, adjust the cost
of such diet to reflect 105 percent of the cost of the thrifty
food plan in the preceding June (without regard to pre-
vious adjustments made under such clauses (9), (10), and
(11), under clauses (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8), and under
this clause), as determined by the Secretary, and round
the result to the nearest lower dollar increment for each
household size.’’.
SEC. 103. CONTINUING BENEFITS TO ELIGIBLE HOUSE-
HOLDS.
Section 
8(c)(2)(B) 
of 
the 
Act 
(7 
U.S.C.
2017(c)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘of more than one
month in’’ after ‘‘following any period’’.
SEC. 104. HOMELESS FAMILIES IN TRANSITIONAL HOUS-
ING.
Section 
5(k)(2)(F) 
of 
the 
Act 
(7 
U.S.C.
2014(k)(2)(F)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(F) housing assistance payments made to a
third party on behalf of a household residing in
transitional housing for the homeless;’’.
SEC. 105. IMPROVING THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHIL-
DREN IN PUERTO RICO.
Section 
19(a)(1)(A) 
of 
the 
Act 
(7 
U.S.C.
2028(a)(1)(A)) is amended:
(1) by striking ‘‘$1,091,000,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$1,111,000,000’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘$1,133,000,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$1,158,000,000’’.
SEC. 106. HOUSEHOLDS BENEFITING FROM GENERAL AS-
SISTANCE VENDOR PAYMENTS.
Section 
5(k)(1)(B) 
of 
the 
Act 
(7 
U.S.C.
2014(k)(1)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(B) a benefit payable to the household for
housing expenses, not including energy or utility-cost
assistance, under—
‘‘(i) a State or local general assistance pro-
gram; or
‘‘(ii) another basic assistance program
comparable to general assistance (as determined
by the Secretary).’’.
SEC. 107. HELPING 
LOW-INCOME 
HIGH 
SCHOOL 
STU-
DENTS.
Section 5(d)(7) is amended by striking ‘‘, who is a
student, and who has not attained his eighteenth birth-
day’’ and inserting ‘‘and who is an elementary or second-
ary student’’.
TITLE II—PROMOTING SELF-SUFFICIENCY
SEC. 201. CHILD SUPPORT DISREGARD.
Section 5 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended—
(1) in clause (13) of subsection (d)—
(A) by striking ‘‘at the option’’ and all
that follows through ‘‘subsection (m),’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(A)’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘and (B) the first $50 of any child support
payments for each month received in that
month, and the first $50 of child support of
each month received in that month if such pay-
ments were made by the absent parent in the
month when due,’’; and
(2) by striking subsection (m).
SEC. 202. CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS TO NON-HOUSEHOLD
MEMBERS.
Section 5(d)(6) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(d)(6)) is
amended by striking the comma at the end and inserting
the following: ‘‘: Provided, That child support payments
made by a household member to or for a person who is
not a member of the household shall be excluded from the
income of the household of the person making such pay-
ments if such household member was legally obligated to
make such payments,’’.
SEC. 203. VEHICLES NEEDED TO SEEK AND CONTINUE EM-
PLOYMENT AND FOR HOUSEHOLD TRANS-
PORTATION.
Section 5(g)(2) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(2)) is
amended by striking $4,500’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘a level set by the Secretary, which shall be $4,500
through September 30, 1993, and which shall be adjusted
from $4,500 on October 1, 1993, and on each October
1 thereafter, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, for new cars, for the 12-month period
ending the preceding June 30, and rounded to the nearest
$50’’.
SEC. 204. VEHICLES NECESSARY TO CARRY FUEL OR
WATER.
Section 5(g)(2) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(2)) is
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The Sec-
retary shall exclude from financial resources the value of
a vehicle that a household depends upon to carry fuel for
heating or water for home use when such transported fuel
or water is the primary source of fuel or water for the
household.’’.
SEC. 205. IMPROVING ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT AND
TRAINING ACTIVITIES.
(a) DEPENDENT CARE DEDUCTION.—Section 5(e) of
the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)) is amended in clause (1) of
the fourth sentence—
(1) by striking ‘‘$160 a month for each depend-
ent’’ and inserting ‘‘$200 a month for a dependent
child under age 2 and $175 a month for any other
dependent’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘, regardless of the dependent’s
age,’’.
(b) REIMBURSEMENTS TO PARTICIPANTS.—(1) Sec-
tion 
6(d)(4)(I)(i)(I) 
of 
the 
Act 
(7 
U.S.C.
2015(d)(4)(I)(i)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘$25’’ and in-
serting ‘‘$75’’.
(2) Subclause (II) of section 6(d)(4)(I)(i) of the Act
(7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)(I)(i)(II)) is amended by striking
‘‘reimbursements exceed $160’’ and all that follows
through the end of such subclause, and inserting ‘‘reim-
bursements exceed the applicable local market rate as de-
termined by procedures consistent with any such deter-
mination under the Social Security Act. Individuals sub-
ject to the program under this paragraph may not be re-
quired to participate if dependent care costs exceed the
limit established by the State agency under this paragraph
(which limit shall not be less than the limit for the depend-
ent care deduction under section 5(e)).’’.
(c) REIMBURSEMENTS TO STATE AGENCIES.—Sec-
tion 16(h)(3) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(3)) is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking ‘‘$25’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘dependent care costs)’’ and inserting ‘‘the
payment made under section 6(d)(4)(I)(i)(I) but not
more than $75 per participant per month’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘representing $160 per month
per dependent’’ and inserting ‘‘equal to the payment
made under section 6(d)(4)(I)(i)(II) but not more
than the applicable local market rate’’.
TITLE III—SIMPLIFYING THE PROVISION
OF FOOD ASSISTANCE
SEC. 301. SIMPLIFYING THE HOUSEHOLD DEFINITION FOR
HOUSEHOLDS WITH CHILDREN AND OTHERS.
The first sentence of section 3(i) of the Act (7 U.S.C.
2012(i)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (2)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘, or (3) a parent of minor chil-
dren and that parent’s children’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘parents and children, or siblings,’’ and in-
serting ‘‘. Parents and their minor children who live
together and spouses’’; and
(3) by striking ‘‘, unless one of’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘disabled member’’.
SEC. 302. RESOURCES OF HOUSEHOLDS WITH DISABLED
MEMBERS.
Section 5(g)(1) of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(g)(1)) is
amended by striking ‘‘a member who is 60 years of age
or older,’’ and inserting ‘‘an elderly or disabled member,’’.
SEC. 303. ASSURING ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR THE FOOD
STAMP PROGRAM.
Section 18 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 2027) is amended
by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) and redesignating
subsections (e) and (f) as subsections (b) and (c), respec-
tively.
TITLE IV—COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION TO
NEEDY FAMILIES.
SEC. 401—COMMODITY PURCHASES.
Section 214(e) of the Emergency Food Assistance
Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 612c note) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘$175,000,000’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘1992, and’’;
(2) by inserting after the first sentence the fol-
lowing:
‘‘During fiscal year 1994, the Secretary shall spend
$220,000,000 to purchase, process, and distribute addi-
tional commodities under this section.’’; and
(3) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘1991
through’’ and inserting ‘‘1993 and’’.
TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION AND
EFFECTIVE DATES
SEC. 501. EFFECTIVE DATES.
(a) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as other-
wise provided in this Act, the provisions of this Act shall
become effective and be implemented on October 1, 1993.
(b) SPECIAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Sections 103, 106,
201, 202, 204, 205, 301, and 302 of this Act shall become
effective and be implemented on July 1, 1994.
SEC. 502. BUDGET NEUTRALITY REQUIREMENT.
None of the provisions of this Act shall become effec-
tive unless the costs are fully offset in each fiscal year
through fiscal year 1998. No agriculture price or income
support program administered through the Commodity
Credit Corporation under the Agricultural Act of 1949
may be reduced to achieve such offset.
Æ