[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3436 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 3436

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to ensure adequate access to retail 
food stores by recipients of food stamps and to maintain the integrity 
                       of the Food Stamp Program.






103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3436

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to ensure adequate access to retail 
food stores by recipients of food stamps and to maintain the integrity 
                       of the Food Stamp Program.

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

SECTION 1. FOOD STAMP ACT DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended 
by--
            (1) amending clause (1) of subsection (k) to read as 
        follows: ``(1) an establishment or house-to-house trade route 
        that sells food for home preparation and consumption and (A) 
        offers for sale on a continuous basis a variety of foods in 
        each of the four categories of staple foods as defined in 
        subsection (u), including perishable foods in at least two such 
        categories, or (B) has over 50 percent of its total sales in 
        staple foods, as determined by visual inspection, sales 
        records, purchase records, counting of stock keeping units, or 
        other inventory or accounting recordkeeping methods that are 
        customary or reasonable in the retail food industry,''; and
            (2) adding a new subsection (u) at the end thereof to read 
        as follows--
    ``(u) `Staple foods' means foods in the following categories: (1) 
meat, poultry, or fish; (2) bread or cereals; (3) vegetables or fruits; 
and (4) dairy products. Staple foods do not include accessory food 
items such as coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, 
candy, condiments, and spices.''.

SEC. 2. PERIODIC NOTICE.

    Section 9(a)(2) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2018(a)(2)) 
is amended to read as follows:
    ``(2) The Secretary shall issue regulations providing for a 
periodic reauthorization of retail food stores and wholesale food 
concerns, and providing for periodic notice to participating retail 
food stores and wholesale food concerns of the definitions of `retail 
food store', `staple foods', `eligible foods', and `perishable 
foods'.''.

SEC. 3. USE AND DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY RETAIL FOOD 
              STORES AND WHOLESALE FOOD CONCERNS.

    Section 9(c) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2018(c)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the second sentence by inserting after ``disclosed 
        to and used by'' the following: ``(1) Federal law enforcement 
        and investigative agencies and law enforcement and 
        investigative agencies of a State government for the purposes 
        of administering or enforcing the provisions of this Act or any 
        other Federal or State law and the regulations issued under 
        this Act or such law, and (2)'';
            (2) by inserting after the second sentence the following: 
        ``Any person who publishes, divulges, discloses, or makes known 
        in any manner or to any extent not authorized by Federal law, 
        or the regulations issued under this Act, any information 
        obtained under this subsection shall be fined not more than 
        $1,000, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.''; and
            (3) in the last sentence by striking ``Such purposes shall 
        not exclude'' and inserting the following: ``Such regulations 
        shall establish the criteria to be used by the Secretary to 
        determine that such information is needed. Such regulations 
        shall not prohibit''.

SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS TESTING ACTIVITIES DIRECTED AT 
              TRAFFICKING IN COUPONS.

    Section 17 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended 
by adding a new subsection (l) at the end thereof as follows:
    ``(l) The Secretary shall use up to $4,000,000 of the funds 
provided in advance in appropriations Acts for projects authorized by 
this section to conduct demonstration projects in which State or local 
food stamp agencies test innovative ideas for working with State or 
local law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute coupon 
trafficking by recipients, buyers, and authorized retail food 
stores.''.

SECTION 5. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.

    An establishment or house-to-house trade route is otherwise 
authorized to accept and redeem coupons under the Food Stamp Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) at the time of enactment of this Act shall 
be considered to meet the definition of ``retail food store'' in 
section 3(k) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended by section 1 of 
this Act, until its periodic reauthorization or until such time as the 
eligibility of the establishment or house-to-house trade route for 
continued participation in the food stamp program is evaluated for any 
reason.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 10, 1993.

            Attest:






                                                                Clerk.