[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2322 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2322

     To amend title 37, United States Code, to establish a special 
subsistence allowance for certain members of the uniformed services who 
 are eligible to receive food stamp assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 29, 2000

  Mr. McCain introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend title 37, United States Code, to establish a special 
subsistence allowance for certain members of the uniformed services who 
 are eligible to receive food stamp assistance, 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 ``Remove Servicemembers from Food 
Stamps Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE FOR MEMBERS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE 
              FOOD STAMP ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Allowance.--(1) Chapter 7 of title 37, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 402 the following new section:
``Sec. 402a. Special subsistence allowance
    ``(a) Entitlement.--Upon the application of an eligible member of a 
uniformed service described in subsection (b), the Secretary concerned 
shall pay the member a special subsistence allowance for each month for 
which the member is eligible to receive food stamp assistance.
    ``(b) Covered Members.--An enlisted member referred to in 
subsection (a) is an enlisted member in pay grade E-5 or below.
    ``(c) Termination of Entitlement.--The entitlement of a member to 
receive payment of a special subsistence allowance terminates upon the 
occurrence of any of the following events:
            ``(1) Termination of eligibility for food stamp assistance.
            ``(2) Payment of the special subsistence allowance for 12 
        consecutive months.
            ``(3) Promotion of the member to a higher grade.
            ``(4) Transfer of the member in a permanent change of 
        station.
    ``(d) Reestablished Entitlement.--(1) After a termination of a 
member's entitlement to the special subsistence allowance under 
subsection (c), the Secretary concerned shall resume payment of the 
special subsistence allowance to the member if the Secretary 
determines, upon further application of the member, that the member is 
eligible to receive food stamps.
    ``(2) Payments resumed under this subsection shall terminate under 
subsection (c) upon the occurrence of an event described in that 
subsection after the resumption of the payments.
    ``(3) The number of times that payments are resumed under this 
subsection is unlimited.
    ``(e) Documentation of Eligibility.--A member of the uniformed 
services applying for the special subsistence allowance under this 
section shall furnish the Secretary concerned with such evidence of the 
member's eligibility for food stamp assistance as the Secretary may 
require in connection with the application.
    ``(f) Amount of Allowance.--The monthly amount of the special 
subsistence allowance under this section is $180.
    ``(g) Relationship to Basic Allowance for Subsistence.--The special 
subsistence allowance under this section is in addition to the basic 
allowance for subsistence under section 402 of this title.
    ``(h) Food Stamp Assistance Defined.--In this section, the term 
`food stamp assistance' means assistance under the Food Stamp Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
    ``(i) Termination of Authority.--No special subsistence allowance 
may be made under this section for any month beginning after September 
30, 2005.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 402 the 
following:

``402a. Special subsistence allowance.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 402a of title 37, United States Code, 
shall take effect on the first day of the first month that begins on or 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Annual Report.--(1) Not later than March 1 of each year after 
2000, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 
Congress a report setting forth the number of members of the uniformed 
services who are eligible for assistance under the Food Stamp Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
    (2) In preparing the report, the Comptroller General shall consult 
with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Transportation (with 
respect to the Coast Guard), the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(with respect to the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service), 
and the Secretary of Commerce (with respect to the commissioned 
officers of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), who 
shall provide the Comptroller General with any information that the 
Comptroller General determines necessary to prepare the report.
    (3) No report is required under this subsection after March 1, 
2005.
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