July 26, 2001

 

 

THE HOUSE FOOD STAMP REAUTHORIZATION PROPOSAL

 

            On July 26, the House Agriculture Committee began its formal consideration of a new ten-year Farm Bill.  The Committee is likely to finalize the bill by late tomorrow or Monday at the latest.  It is unclear when the bill would move to the floor of the House.

 

      The legislation before the Committee would reauthorize the Food Stamp Program for ten years (2002-2011) and includes $3.25 billion in food stamp improvements over the ten year period.  The bill contains benefit increases for certain needy households and provisions that are likely to make the program more accessible for the working poor. This legislation also provides an additional $40 million per year for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). 

 

            Among the most important changes the bill would make in the Food Stamp Program are:

 

            •            Increasing the standard deduction.  The bill would recognize that larger families have greater expenses than smaller ones.  These higher expenses make it harder for these families to afford sufficient food for their families.  This provision would increase benefits for households of four or more persons by excluding more of these families’ income when determining their benefit levels.  Virtually all of the increased benefits would go to families with children; more than half would go to working families.  Almost two-thirds of the benefits from this change would go to families with incomes below 75 percent of the poverty line. 

 

            •            Extending transitional food stamps to six months.  New USDA rules allow states to continue food stamps for three months after a family leaves TANF cash assistance without any further paperwork from the family.  The bill would extend transitional food stamps from three to six months.  The bill also would simplify the transitional food stamp rules making it easier for states to administer these important transitional benefits.  By easing administrative burdens on states, more states should be willing to adopt the option. This provision recognizes the vital importance of the food stamp program as a work support for those families making the transition from welfare to work.

 

            •            Reforming the food stamp quality control system.  Pressure from the food stamp quality control (QC) system has caused many states to increase paperwork requirements on families and to require families to reapply for food stamps more frequently.  These policies appear to have significantly reduced food stamp participation, especially among the working poor.  States feel they must adopt these policies because, under current QC rules, about half of the states are subject to fiscal penalties each year (with many others barely escaping fiscal penalties).  The bill would reform the QC system so that only states with serious, persistent administrative problems would be sanctioned.

            •            Creating incentive payments for states to improve customer service.  The bill would require USDA to measure states’ performance in administering the Food Stamp Program in two important areas: the timely processing of food stamp applications and the extent to which states improperly deny food stamps to terminate benefits to households that meet the eligibility requirements for the program.  Each year, the five states with the best performance and the five most improved states would receive $1 million incentive payments.

 

            •            Simplifying the Food Stamp Program’s definition of income.  America’s Second Harvest’s report The Red Tape Divide last year found that overly complex application forms were interfering with eligible families’ access to food stamps.  The report identified questions about obscure forms of income, such as the proceeds from selling blood plasma or garage sales, as contributing to the length and complexity of many states’ forms.  The bill would give states the option to eliminate consideration of many of these obscure forms of income in the Food Stamp Program if they also do not count them in their state TANF or Medicaid programs.  This should allow states to conform some food stamp rules to the rules in other programs and help them limit the questions on their application forms to items that significantly affect families’ ability to purchase food.

 

            •            Offering grants to develop simplified application forms and eligibility determination systems.  The bill would provide $10 million per year to help states develop simplified application forms or eligibility determination procedures (such as centralized change reporting centers).

 

           

            The House bill does not contain provisions restoring eligibility to legal immigrants or other important benefit improvements.  In some cases, a variant of a provision in the title would be preferable.  The level of funds devoted to improvements in the Food Stamp Program, about $3.25 billion over ten years, also is lower than many advocates had hoped.  Advocates will look hard at the Senate for progress in both of these areas.  Nonetheless, the funding level is a substantial increase over the $2 billion set aside in House Agriculture Committee Chairman Combest’s initial proposal for the Farm Bill.  This package represents solid progress and deserves whole-hearted support.