Title: SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
SNAP Simplification for the Elderly Act
This bill (1) extends the certification period for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for certain households, (2) expands the use of combined applications for SNAP and certain other benefits, and (3) requires the Department of Agriculture to carry out pilot projects to integrate the delivery of various benefits to certain low-income households.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4521 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4521

   To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to simplify the SNAP 
   recertification process for the elderly and disabled, and to spur 
 innovation in the application processes of SNAP, the Medicare Savings 
   Program, and supplemental security income that will increase the 
   utilization of entitlement programs among the most vulnerable of 
                              populations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 1, 2017

Mr. Lawson of Florida (for himself, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Gonzalez of Texas, 
Ms. Lee, Mr. Soto, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Norton, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Crist, Mr. 
   Evans, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Wilson of 
  Florida, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. 
 Cardenas, and Mr. Hastings) introduced the following bill; which was 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 
Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, 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 amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to simplify the SNAP 
   recertification process for the elderly and disabled, and to spur 
 innovation in the application processes of SNAP, the Medicare Savings 
   Program, and supplemental security income that will increase the 
   utilization of entitlement programs among the most vulnerable of 
                              populations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``SNAP Simplification for the Elderly 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCED AND COORDINATED PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN HOUSEHOLDS WITH 
              ELDERLY OR DISABLED MEMBERS.

    (a) Longer Certification Periods for Certain Households With 
Elderly or Disabled Members.--Section 3(f) of the Food and Nutrition 
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(f)) shall be amended to read as follows:
    ``(f) `Certification period' means the period for which households 
shall be eligible to receive benefits. The certification period shall 
not exceed 12 months, except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2). The 
limits specified in this subsection may be extended until the end of 
any transitional benefit period established under section 11(s). The 
certification period may be--
            ``(1) up to 24 months if all adult household members are 
        elderly or disabled; or
            ``(2) up to 36 months if--
                    ``(A) all adult household members are elderly or 
                disabled;
                    ``(B) all adult household members who are elderly 
                or disabled are enrolled in Medicaid, including those 
                enrolled in the Medicare Savings Program as defined in 
                section 1144(c)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 
                U.S.C. 1320b-14(c)(7));
                    ``(C) the State agency's administration of the 
                program under paragraph (B) is jointly administered or 
                highly coordinated with benefits under this Act, as 
                determined by the Secretary; and
                    ``(D) at the time the household is certified the 
                household has no earned income.''.
    (b) Combined Application Projects.--Section 11(j) of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020(j)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following--
            ``(3) SSI combined application projects.--The Secretary and 
        the Commissioner of Social Security shall revise the memorandum 
        of understanding in effect on the date of enactment of the SNAP 
        Simplification for the Elderly Act regarding services to be 
        provided in Social Security offices under this subsection and 
        subsection (i), to provide that, in addition to the other 
        activities under this subsection, the two agencies shall make 
        available Combined Application Projects to not fewer than 10 
        additional States that are prepared to undertake such projects 
        and satisfy the Secretary and Commissioner's requirements for 
        such projects.''.
    (c) Pilot Projects.--Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended by adding at the end the following--
    ``(m) Pilot Projects for SSA Senior Centers To Provide Integrated 
Delivery of Services.--
            ``(1) Authority for pilot projects.--The Secretary shall 
        carry out, in collaboration with the Commissioner of Social 
        Security, under such terms and conditions as they consider 
        appropriate, pilot projects in not more than 10 local offices 
        of the Social Security Administration that serve high-poverty 
        areas to develop and test approaches to integrate delivery of 
        benefits to households that include low-income elderly or 
        disabled members.
            ``(2) Pilot projects.--Pilot projects carried out under 
        this subsection shall develop and test approaches to improve 
        participation in multiple programs that provide benefits to 
        such members.
                    ``(A) Such approaches shall include--
                            ``(i) developing service delivery offices 
                        that--
                                    ``(I) provide a `one-stop shopping' 
                                approach where applicants and 
                                recipients can apply for multiple 
                                benefits at local offices of the Social 
                                Security Administration; or
                                    ``(II) include collocation of staff 
                                of other government entities or 
                                nonprofit private organizations at such 
                                offices;
                            ``(ii) collaborating with private nonprofit 
                        organizations, such as community-based 
                        organizations, emergency feeding organizations, 
                        or organizations that serve elderly individual 
                        or individuals with disabilities;
                            ``(iii) make changes to allow for 
                        applications (which may include recertification 
                        applications) to be collected for a wider range 
                        of programs, for example, by revising 
                        applications and data systems to collect 
                        information for multiple programs;
                            ``(iv) targeting education and application 
                        assistance to specific sub-populations with low 
                        participation rates in included programs; or
                            ``(v) data-driven approaches that allow 
                        sharing relevant data across included programs 
                        for the purpose of improving cross-program 
                        enrollment.
                    ``(B) Definitions.--For purposes of this 
                subsection--
                            ``(i) the term `eligible entity' means the 
                        State agency that administers the supplemental 
                        nutrition assistance program in collaboration 
                        with the Social Security Administration; and
                            ``(ii) the term `included programs' means--
                                    ``(I) the supplemental nutrition 
                                assistance program;
                                    ``(II) programs administered by the 
                                Administrator of Social Security that 
                                are available to individuals who are 
                                elderly or have a disability;
                                    ``(III) the Medicare Savings 
                                Program (as defined in section 
                                1144(c)(7) of the Social Security Act 
                                (42 U.S.C. 1320b-14(c)(7));
                                    ``(IV) at the option of an eligible 
                                entity, any other Federal, State, or 
                                local program that is available to low-
                                income individuals who are elderly or 
                                have disability.
            ``(3) Funding of grants.--The Secretary shall use not more 
        than $50,000,000 of funds made available for fiscal year 2018 
        under section 18(a)(1), to remain available until expended, to 
        make grants to State agencies to pay 100 percent of the cost of 
        the selected eligible entities to carry out the pilot. Such 
        grants shall supplement and not supplant other funding 
        available to the eligible entities.
            ``(4) Eligible entity and lead agency.--
                    ``(A) To be eligible to receive a grant for a pilot 
                project under this subsection, an entity shall be a 
                State agency administering the supplemental nutrition 
                assistance program in collaboration with the Social 
                Security Administration.
                    ``(B) The State agency shall designate a lead 
                agency for the pilot project, which may be the State 
                agency, a local governmental agency, or the Social 
                Security Administration.
            ``(5) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this subsection a State shall submit an application at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary may require.
            ``(6) Selection of eligible entities.--The Secretary and 
        Commissioner of Social Security--
                    ``(A) shall develop criteria for the selection of 
                eligible entities to receive grants for pilot projects 
                under this subsection; and
                    ``(B) shall give preference to--
                            ``(i) projects that target individuals or 
                        communities with high levels of poverty among 
                        seniors and people with disabilities;
                            ``(ii) partnerships between governmental 
                        and nongovernmental entities;
                            ``(iii) strategies that test innovative 
                        approaches that would be likely to be 
                        replicable in other communities;
                            ``(iv) projects that include resources from 
                        sources other than the federal government.
            ``(7) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date of the enactment of SNAP Simplification for the Elderly 
        Act, the Secretary and Commissioner of Social Security jointly 
        shall submit to the Committees on Agriculture and Ways and 
        Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees of 
        Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Finance of the Senate 
        a report that includes--
                    ``(A) an assessment of the impact such pilot 
                projects have on participation in included programs and 
                a description of the results of such projects;
                    ``(B) identification of approaches that are most 
                successful and, to the extent practicable, the reasons 
                for the success; and
                    ``(C) a discussion of best practices and the 
                factors that would affect whether such approaches can 
                be replicated in other locations.''.
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