[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1926 Considered and Passed Senate (CPS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1926

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to modify the requirements relating 
 to monthly reporting and staggered issuance of coupons for households 
 residing on Indian reservations, to ensure adequate access to retail 
food stores by food stamp households, and to maintain the integrity of 
            the food stamp program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             March 11 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

Mr. Pressler (for himself and Mr. Leahy) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice, considered, read the third time and passed

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to modify the requirements relating 
 to monthly reporting and staggered issuance of coupons for households 
 residing on Indian reservations, to ensure adequate access to retail 
food stores by food stamp households, and to maintain the integrity of 
            the food stamp program, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Food Stamp Program Improvements Act 
of 1994''.

      TITLE I--REPORTING AND STAGGERED ISSUANCE FOR HOUSEHOLDS ON 
                              RESERVATIONS

SEC. 101. BUDGETING AND MONTHLY REPORTING ON RESERVATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 6(c)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2015(c)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by striking clause (ii); and
                    (B) by redesignating clauses (iii) and (iv) as 
                clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(C) A State agency may require periodic reporting on a 
        monthly basis by households residing on a reservation only if--
                    ``(i) the State agency reinstates benefits, without 
                requiring a new application, for any household residing 
                on a reservation that submits a report not later than 1 
                month after the end of the month in which benefits 
                would otherwise be provided;
                    ``(ii) the State agency does not delay, reduce, 
                suspend, or terminate the allotment of a household that 
                submits a report not later than 1 month after the end 
                of the month in which the report is due;
                    ``(iii) on the date of enactment of this 
                subparagraph, the State agency requires households 
                residing on a reservation to file periodic reports on a 
                monthly basis; and
                    ``(iv) the certification period for households 
                residing on a reservation that are required to file 
                periodic reports on a monthly basis is 2 years, unless 
                the State demonstrates just cause to the Secretary for 
                a shorter certification period.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) The second sentence of section 3(c) of such Act (7 
        U.S.C. 2012(c)) is amended by striking ``For'' and inserting 
        ``Except as provided in section 6(c)(1)(C), for''.
            (2) Section 5(f)(2)(C) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2014(f)(2)(C)) 
        is amended by striking ``clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv)'' 
        and inserting ``clauses (i), (ii), and (iii)''.

SEC. 102. STAGGERED ISSUANCES ON RESERVATIONS.

    Section 7(h)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2016(h)(1)) 
is amended by striking the second sentence and inserting the following 
new sentence: ``Upon the request of the tribal organization that 
exercises governmental jurisdiction over the reservation, the State 
agency shall stagger the issuance of benefits for eligible households 
located on reservations for at least 15 days of a month.''.

SEC. 103. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON ADMINISTRATION OF FOOD STAMP PROGRAM 
              BY TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study of the feasibility and desirability of--
            (1) increasing the opportunity for a tribal organization of 
        an Indian tribe to administer the food stamp program 
        established under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 
        seq.) in connection with members of the tribe by--
                    (A) modifying the requirements established under 
                sections 3(n)(2) and 11(d) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
                2012(n)(2) and 2020(d));
                    (B) modifying or eliminating the cost-sharing 
                requirements established for the tribal organization 
                under section 16(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2025); and
                    (C) taking such other actions as the Comptroller 
                General considers appropriate; and
            (2) permitting the tribal organization to establish 
        reasonable and appropriate requirements with respect to 
        issuance, reporting, and certification requirements under the 
        food stamp program for members of the tribe.
    (b) Report.--Not later than December 1, 1994, the Comptroller 
General shall report the results of the study required under subsection 
(a) to the Committee on Agriculture, and the Subcommittee on Native 
American Affairs of the Committee on Natural Resources, of the House of 
Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry, and the Committee on Indian Affairs, of the Senate, so that 
the results of the study may be considered by the Committee on 
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate during the 
reauthorization of the food stamp program during 1995.

SEC. 104. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Section 908 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act Amendments of 1991 (Public Law 102-237; 7 U.S.C. 2015 note) is 
repealed.
    (b) Section 6(c)(4) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 
2015(c)(4)) is amended by striking ``Any'' and inserting ``Except as 
provided in paragraph (1)(C), any''.

    TITLE II--ACCESS TO RETAIL FOOD STORES BY FOOD STAMP HOUSEHOLDS

SEC. 201. FOOD STAMP ACT DEFINITIONS.

    Section 3 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) by striking ``means (1) an establishment'' and 
                all that follows through ``spices, (2) an 
                establishment'' and inserting the following: ``means--
            ``(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 4 categories of staple 
                foods specified in subsection (u)(1), including 
                perishable foods in at least 2 of the categories; or
                    ``(B) has over 50 percent of the total sales of the 
                establishment or route in staple foods,
        as determined by visual inspection, sales records, purchase 
        records, counting of stockkeeping units, or other inventory or 
        accounting recordkeeping methods that are customary or 
        reasonable in the retail food industry;
            ``(2) an establishment'';
                    (B) by striking ``section, (3) a store'' and 
                inserting the following: ``section;
            ``(3) a store''; and
                    (C) by striking ``section, and (4) any private'' 
                and inserting the following: ``section; and
            ``(4) any private''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(u)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), `staple foods' means 
foods (as defined in subsection (g)) in the following categories:
            ``(A) Meat, poultry, or fish.
            ``(B) Bread or cereals.
            ``(C) Vegetables or fruits.
            ``(D) Dairy products.
    ``(2) `Staple foods' do not include accessory food items, such as 
coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, candy, 
condiments, and spices.''.

SEC. 202. PERIODIC NOTICE.

    Paragraph (2) of section 9(a) 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) the periodic reauthorization of retail food stores 
        and wholesale food concerns; and
            ``(B) 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. 203. 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: ``Federal law enforcement and 
        investigative agencies and law enforcement and investigative 
        agencies of a State government for the purposes of 
        administering or enforcing this Act or any other Federal or 
        State law and the regulations issued under this Act or such 
        law, and'';
            (2) by inserting after the second sentence the following 
        new sentence: ``Any person who publishes, divulges, discloses, 
        or makes known in any manner or to any extent not authorized by 
        Federal law (including a regulation) any information obtained 
        under this subsection shall be fined not more than $1,000 or 
        imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.''; and
            (3) in the last sentence, by striking ``Such purposes shall 
        not exclude'' and inserting the following: ``The regulations 
        shall establish the criteria to be used by the Secretary to 
        determine whether the information is needed. The regulations 
        shall not prohibit''.

SEC. 204. 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 at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(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.''.

SEC. 205. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.

    An establishment or house-to-house trade route that is otherwise 
authorized to accept and redeem coupons under the Food Stamp Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) on the day before the date of enactment of 
this Act shall be considered to meet the definition of ``retail food 
store'' in section 3(k) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2012(k)) (as amended by 
section 201) until the earlier of--
            (1) the periodic reauthorization of the establishment or 
        route; or
            (2) such time as the eligibility of the establishment or 
        route for continued participation in the food stamp program is 
        evaluated for any reason.

SEC. 206. REPORT ON IMPACT ON RETAIL FOOD STORES.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall prepare and submit to the Committee 
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report on the 
impact of the amendments made by sections 201 and 202 on the 
involvement of retail food stores in the food stamp program established 
under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), including a 
description of--
            (1) the numbers and types of stores that were newly 
        authorized to participate in the food stamp program after 
        implementation of the amendments;
            (2) the numbers and types of stores that were withdrawn 
        from the food stamp program after implementation of the 
        amendments;
            (3) the procedures used by the Secretary, and the adequacy 
        of the procedures used, to determine the eligibility of stores 
        to participate in the food stamp program and to authorize and 
        reauthorize the stores to participate in the food stamp 
        program;
            (4) the adequacy of the guidance provided by the Secretary 
        to retail food stores concerning--
                    (A) the definitions of ``retail food store'', 
                ``staple foods'', ``eligible foods'', and ``perishable 
                foods'' for purposes of the food stamp program; and
                    (B) eligibility criteria for stores to participate 
                in the food stamp program; and
            (5) an assessment of whether the amendment to the 
        definition of ``retail food store'' under section 3(k) of such 
        Act (as amended by section 201(1)) has had an adverse effect on 
        the integrity of the food stamp program.

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