The Food Stamp Program meets dual purposes–providing both nutritional assistance and an income supplement to low-income individuals and families. Governors recognize that the Food Stamp Program plays a critical role in working to alleviate hunger. And while strongly supporting the continuation of this safety net, Governors also believe that food stamp benefits for many recipients should be viewed in a broader context of moving individuals toward self-sufficiency. As such, food stamps should be regarded as an essential income supplement. With the advent of welfare reform, more low-income families are improving their economic status by moving from welfare to work. Governors believe the Food Stamp Program is a key component in states’ efforts to assist in individuals’ transition from welfare to work and toward self-sufficiency.

As with many other human service programs, success in the Food Stamp Program relies heavily on a strong state-federal partnership. Although food stamp benefits are 100 percent federally funded, states administer the program. Further, the administrative financing is shared fifty-fifty. Governors believe strengthening the state-federal partnership will help to improve the effectiveness of the Food Stamp Program.

As welfare reform has progressed throughout the country, policies within the Food Stamp Program have primarily remained stagnant. While Governors believe the current food stamp system provides a key benefit for individuals and families, many of the outdated policies should be reconsidered in light of welfare reform. The current Food Stamp Program is increasingly complex to administer, and the program’s quality control (QC) system largely ignores measures to support working families. Federal restrictions, such as the requirement that states must continue to spend 80 percent of their food stamp employment and training (E&T) funds on a decreasing segment of the population, diminishes the effectiveness of the E&T program. These increasing administrative complexities weaken the ultimate purpose of the program, which is to serve low-income individuals and families.

In addition, Governors recognize the concern that some individuals who are eligible for food stamps may not be receiving benefits. After an initial decline in food stamp caseloads in many states following the enactment of welfare reform, many states have undertaken extensive outreach efforts to ensure that access to food stamp benefits is available for those who are eligible. These efforts could be enhanced, however, by program simplification at the federal level. While ensuring access to benefits is imperative, personal choice ultimately dictates whether an individual seeks assistance.

Governors believe that enacting changes in the Food Stamp Program will prove to be beneficial to all low-income citizens in need. It is important to note that not all individuals eligible for food stamps are connected with the time-limited benefits such as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. For certain individuals such as the elderly and the disabled, food stamps may be an ongoing benefit, rather than a temporary income supplement while moving from welfare to work. Bearing in mind the various populations served and the differing missions of food stamps, Governors believe overall system reform will greatly improve the current effectiveness of the Food Stamp Program.

Governors are encouraged by recent congressional proposals to improve and simplify the Food Stamp Program and urge Congress to include a strong nutrition title in the reauthorization of the Farm Bill. Congress and the Administration should make a significant financial investment in reforming the Food Stamp Program. Specifically, Governors support the following changes to the Food Stamp Program.

22.2.1 Increase waiver authority. Governors believe that, as with other human service programs, states should be encouraged to develop innovative approaches to administering food stamp benefits. Flexibility such as that provided in the TANF block grant program has demonstrated the ability for Governors to administer programs in a way that best meets the needs of individuals in their states. Current waiver authority in the food stamp system is extremely restrictive and burdensome, leading to numerous waiver requests being denied. Governors urge Congress and the Administration to broaden current waiver authority and allow for state demonstration projects.

22.2.2 Decrease the administrative burden on recipients. In order to better serve low-income working families, the restrictive paperwork requirements should be made more recipient-friendly. While frequent and detailed income reporting is administratively complex for the states, Governors believe it is even more burdensome for the individuals the program is designed to serve. For example, requiring frequent face-to-face redeterminations often disrupts an individual’s workday, decreasing effectiveness on the job. Governors believe states should have the option to freeze deductions between scheduled household eligibility reviews. Recognizing the importance of reliable transportation as families move from welfare to work, Governors also believe states should have the option to exclude the total value of all vehicles when determining food stamp eligibility and to align Food Stamp Program rules, including asset limits, with TANF and other related programs.

In addition, the current system for determining food stamp eligibility is extremely complex and burdensome to both the recipient and the state. Congress should take steps to significantly simplify the eligibility determination process by standardizing and reducing the number of deductions used by states to calculate food stamp eligibility.

22.2.3 Improve program benefits for the elderly and the disabled. Changes in the current food stamp rules also could benefit those not connected to TANF, such as the elderly and the disabled. For example, the minimum food stamp benefit level is currently set at $10. Complex paperwork for a very small benefit may discourage many elderly and disabled from accessing food stamp benefits. Congress also should consider simplifying the program for elderly and disabled recipients by conforming asset limits, excluding retirement savings from eligibility calculations, and by allowing better coordination with the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.

22.2.4 Streamline the quality control (QC) process. Governors believe that the existing QC system for food stamps is extremely burdensome and conflicts with the broader public policy goal of encouraging low-income individuals to maintain steady employment. Notwithstanding the need for accountability within the food stamp system, the current QC requirements diminish the time and resources that could be more appropriately dedicated to providing benefits to individuals in need. Further, as more food stamp recipients are going to work, their income levels begin to more frequently fluctuate. These income fluctuations often lead to the increased chance for food stamp worker error. States are essentially penalized, therefore, as a result of more individuals working. Governors are encouraged by recent progress made by Congress in moving towards more of an outcome-based system.

Governors are concerned, however, about a recent proposal that would provide new authority for the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to impose significant fiscal penalties on the basis of a finding of "serious negligence" in any given program year. While recognizing the need to maintain a high level of integrity for the program, Governors believe authorizing additional fiscal sanctions based on a new, subjectively administered standard of program performance takes the QC system in the wrong direction. Governors are willing to work with Congress and the Administration to explore options to ensure that states address any serious program deficiencies in a timely manner.

22.2.5 Adjust the employment and training program. Within a state’s allocation for the Food Stamp Employment and Training program, 80 percent of the funds must be set-aside for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). Unfortunately, very few ABAWDs are now in the food stamp system, and therefore the E&T money remains underutilized. Governors urge Congress to provide states with greater flexibility to more effectively use the food stamp E&T funds to assist in moving additional populations into the workforce.

22.2.6 Restore benefits for legal immigrants. The 1996 welfare reform law restricted access to food stamp benefits for many immigrants. However, benefits for certain categories of eligibility have now been restored, and the piecemeal approach has led to increased complexity and confusion among both program administrators and potential recipients. Congress should restore food stamp eligibility for legal noncitizens.

22.2.7 Extend transitional benefits. Recognizing the importance of food stamp benefits as a key component of the transition from welfare to work for many families, transitional food stamp benefits should be extended from three months to six months after leaving cash assistance without requiring additional paperwork.

22.2.8 Address disparities in the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Program. From the time when the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was taken out of the Food Stamp Program in 1982, authorization levels for the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Block Grant have been insufficient for it to keep pace with the Food Stamp Program. As a result, great disparities in both benefit and eligibility levels between the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Program and the Food Stamp Program have developed. While mindful of the limits of federal funding for nutrition programs, Governors believe that citizens of the United States and other eligible individuals who reside in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico should be safeguarded against hunger and treated on an equitable and fair basis with other citizens under federal nutritional programs. Governors urge Congress to take meaningful steps toward remedying this funding disparity.

Additionally, Governors support recent proposals to provide a consolidated funding structure for nutrition assistance in American Samoa within the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Program to ensure continued funding for those targeted for assistance in American Samoa.