year if the adult is making progress in
such activities for at least 35 hours per
week during the month, not fewer than 30
hours per week of which are attributable to
an activity described in subparagraph (A),
(B), (C), or (D) of subsection (b)(1) (or, in
the case of the first 4 weeks for which the
recipient is required under this section to
participate in work activities, an activity
described in subsection (b)(1)(E)).
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1) WORK ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘work ac-
tivities’ means—
‘‘(A) unsubsidized employment;
‘‘(B) subsidized private sector employment;
‘‘(C) subsidized public sector employment
or work experience (including work associated
with the refurbishing of publicly assisted hous-
ing) only if sufficient private sector employment
is not available;
‘‘(D) on-the-job training;
‘‘(E) job search and job readiness assist-
ance;
‘‘(F) education directly related to employ-
ment, in the case of a recipient who has not at-
tained 20 years of age, and has not received a
high school diploma or a certificate of high
school equivalency;
‘‘(G) job skills training directly related to
employment; or
‘‘(H) at the option of the State, satisfac-
tory attendance at secondary school, in the case
of a recipient who—
‘‘(i) has not completed secondary
school; and
‘‘(ii) is a dependent child, or a head of
household who has not attained 20 years
of age.
‘‘(2) FISCAL
YEAR.—The term ‘fiscal year’
means any 12-month period ending on September 30
of a calendar year.
‘‘(c) PENALTIES.—
‘‘(1) AGAINST INDIVIDUALS.—
‘‘(A) APPLICABLE TO ALL FAMILIES.—A
State to which a grant is made under section
403 shall ensure that the amount of cash as-
sistance paid under the State program funded
under this part to a recipient of assistance
under the program who refuses to engage (with-
in the meaning of subsection (a)(1)(C)(iii)) in
work activities required under this section shall
be less than the amount of cash assistance that
would otherwise be paid to the recipient under
the program, subject to such good cause and
other exceptions as the State may establish.
‘‘(B) APPLICABLE
TO
2-PARENT
FAMI-
LIES.—A State to which a grant is made under
section 403 shall reduce the amount of cash as-
sistance otherwise payable to a 2-parent family
for a month under the State program funded
under this part with respect to an adult in the
family who is not engaged (within the meaning
of subsection (a)(2)(B)(iii)) in work activities
for at least 35 hours per week during the
month, pro rata (or more, at the option of the
State) with respect to any period during the
month for which the adult is not so engaged.
‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON FEDERAL AUTHOR-
ITY.—No officer or employee of the Federal
Government may regulate the conduct of States
under this paragraph or enforce this paragraph
against any State.
‘‘(2) AGAINST STATES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter-
mines that a State to which a grant is made
under section 403 for a fiscal year has failed to
comply with subsection (a) for the fiscal year,
the Secretary shall reduce by not more than 5
percent the amount of the grant that would (in
the absence of this paragraph and subsections
(a)(1)(B) and (e) of section 403) be payable to
the State under section 403(a)(1)(A) for the
immediately succeeding fiscal year.
‘‘(B) PENALTY
BASED
ON
SEVERITY
OF
FAILURE.—The Secretary shall impose reduc-
tions under subparagraph (A) based on the de-
gree of noncompliance.
‘‘(d) RULE OF INTERPRETATION.—This section shall
not be construed to prohibit a State from offering recipi-
ents of assistance under the State program funded under
this part an opportunity to participate in an education or
training program, consistent with the requirements of this
section.
‘‘(e) RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall conduct re-
search on the costs and benefits of State activities under
this section.
‘‘(f) EVALUATION OF INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO
EMPLOYING
RECIPIENTS
OF
ASSISTANCE.—The Sec-
retary shall evaluate innovative approaches to employing
recipients of assistance under State programs funded
under this part.
‘‘(g) ANNUAL RANKING OF STATES AND REVIEW OF
MOST AND LEAST SUCCESSFUL WORK PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(1) ANNUAL RANKING OF STATES.—The Sec-
retary shall rank the States to which grants are paid
under section 403 in the order of their success in
moving recipients of assistance under the State pro-
gram funded under this part into long-term private
sector jobs.
‘‘(2) ANNUAL
REVIEW
OF
MOST
AND
LEAST
SUCCESSFUL WORK PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall
review the programs of the 3 States most recently
ranked highest under paragraph (1) and the 3
States most recently ranked lowest under paragraph
(1) that provide parents with work experience, as-
sistance in finding employment, and other work
preparation activities and support services to enable
the families of such parents to leave the program
and become self-sufficient.
‘‘(h) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—In complying with
this section, each State that operates a program funded
under this part is encouraged to assign the highest prior-
ity to requiring families that include older preschool or
school-age children to be engaged in work activities.
‘‘(i) SENSE
OF
THE
CONGRESS
THAT
STATES
SHOULD
IMPOSE
CERTAIN
REQUIREMENTS
ON
NONCUSTODIAL, NONSUPPORTING MINOR PARENTS.—It
is the sense of the Congress that the States should require
noncustodial, nonsupporting parents who have not at-
tained 18 years of age to fulfill community work obliga-
tions and attend appropriate parenting or money manage-
ment classes after school.
‘‘SEC. 405. PROHIBITIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(1) NO ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES WITHOUT A
MINOR CHILD.—A State to which a grant is made
under section 403 may not use any part of the grant
to provide assistance to a family, unless the family
includes a minor child.
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
PAYMENTS
NOT
TO
BE
DIS-
REGARDED IN DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF AS-
SISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED TO A FAMILY.—
‘‘(A) INCOME SECURITY PAYMENTS.—If a
State to which a grant is made under section
403 uses any part of the grant to provide as-
sistance for any individual who is receiving a
payment under a State plan for old-age assist-
ance approved under section 2, a State program
funded under part B that provides cash pay-
ments for foster care, or the supplemental secu-
rity income program under title XVI (other
than service benefits provided through the use
of a grant made under part C of such title),
then the State may not disregard the payment
in determining the amount of assistance to be
provided to the family of which the individual
is a member under the State program funded
under this part.
‘‘(B) CERTAIN
SUPPORT
PAYMENTS.—A
State to which a grant is made under section
403 may not disregard an amount distributed
to a family under section 457(a)(1)(A) in deter-
mining the income of the family for purposes of
eligibility for assistance under the State pro-
gram funded under this part.
‘‘(3) NO ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN ALIENS.—
Notwithstanding subsection (c)(1), a State to which
a grant is made under section 403 may not use any
part of the grant to provide assistance for an indi-
vidual who is not a citizen or national of the United
States, unless—
‘‘(A)(i) the individual is admitted to the
United States as a refugee under section 207 of
the Immigration and Nationality Act; and
‘‘(ii) 5 years has elapsed since the date the
individual arrived in the United States;
‘‘(B) the individual—
‘‘(i) is lawfully admitted to the United
States for permanent residence;
‘‘(ii) has attained 75 years of age; and
‘‘(iii) has resided in the United States
for at least 5 years; or
‘‘(C) the individual is honorably discharged
from the Armed Forces of the United States.
‘‘(4) NO
ASSISTANCE
FOR
OUT-OF-WEDLOCK
BIRTHS TO MINORS.—
‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—a State to which a
grant is made under section 403 may not use
any part of the grant to provide cash benefits
for a child born out-of-wedlock to an individual
who has not attained 18 years of age, or for the
individual, until the individual attains such age.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR RAPE OR INCEST.—
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect
to a child who is born as a result of rape or in-
cest.
‘‘(5) NO ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR CHIL-
DREN BORN TO FAMILIES RECEIVING ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—A State to which a
grant is made under section 403 may not use
any part of the grant to provide cash benefits
for a minor child who is born to—
‘‘(i) a recipient of benefits under the
program operated under this part; or
‘‘(ii) a person who received such bene-
fits at any time during the 10-month pe-
riod ending with the birth of the child.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR RAPE OR INCEST.—
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply with respect
to a child who is born as a result of rape or in-
cest.
‘‘(6) NO
ASSISTANCE
FOR
MORE
THAN
YEARS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a
grant is made under section 403 may not use
any part of the grant to provide cash benefits
for the family of an individual who, after at-
taining 18 years of age, has received benefits
under the program operated under this part for
60 months (whether or not consecutive) after
the effective date of this part, except as pro-
vided under subparagraph (B).
‘‘(B) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State may ex-
empt a family from the application of sub-
paragraph (A) by reason of hardship.
‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The number of
families with respect to which an exemp-
tion made by a State under clause (i) is in
effect shall not exceed 10 percent of the
number of families to which the State is
providing assistance under the program op-
erated under this part.
‘‘(7) NO ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES NOT CO-
OPERATING
IN
PATERNITY
ESTABLISHMENT
OR
CHILD
SUPPORT.—Notwithstanding 
subsection
(c)(1), a State to which a grant is made under sec-
tion 403 may not use any part of the grant to pro-
vide assistance to a family that includes an individ-
ual whom the agency responsible for administering
the State plan approved under part D determines is
not cooperating with the State in establishing the
paternity of any child of the individual, or in estab-
lishing, modifying, or enforcing a support order with
respect to such a child.
‘‘(8) NO ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES NOT AS-
SIGNING
SUPPORT
RIGHTS
TO
THE
STATE.—Not-
withstanding subsection (c)(1), a State to which a
grant is made under section 403 may not use any
part of the grant to provide assistance to a family
that includes an individual who has not assigned to
the State any rights the individual may have (on be-
half of the individual or of any other person for
whom the individual has applied for or is receiving
such assistance) to support from any other person
for any period for which the individual receives such
assistance.
‘‘(9) WITHHOLDING
OF
PORTION
OF
ASSIST-
ANCE
FOR
FAMILIES
WHICH
INCLUDE
A
CHILD
WHOSE PATERNITY IS NOT ESTABLISHED.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a
grant is made under section 403 may not fail
to—
‘‘(i) withhold assistance under the
State program funded under this part from
a family which includes a child whose pa-
ternity is not established, in an amount
equal to $50 or 15 percent of the amount
of the amount of the assistance that would
(in the absence of this paragraph) be pro-
174
SEC. 514. STATE PLAN.
(a) A State seeking to receive commodities under this
subtitle shall submit a plan of operation and administra-
tion every four years to the Secretary for approval. The
plan may be amended at any time, with the approval of
the Secretary.
(b) The State plan, at a minimum, shall—
(1) designate the State agency responsible for
distributing the commodities received under this sub-
title;
(2) set forth a plan of operation and adminis-
tration to expeditiously distribute commodities under
this subtitle in quantities requested to eligible recipi-
ent agencies in accordance with sections 516 and
520;
(3) set forth the standards of eligibility for re-
cipient agencies; and
(4) set forth the standards of eligibility for indi-
vidual or household recipients of commodities, which
at minimum shall require—
(A) individuals or households to be com-
prised of needy persons; and
(B) individual or household members to be
residing in the geographic location served by
the distributing agency at the time of applica-
tion for assistance.