[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           TECHNICAL CORRECTION TO THE FOOD STAMP ACT OF 1977

  Mr. de la GARZA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Agriculture be discharged from further consideration of 
the bill (H.R. 5156), technical correction to the Food Stamp Act of 
1977, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. de la Garza). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Texas?
  Mr. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, I will not 
object, and I yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. de la Garza], the 
chairman of the committee.
  (Mr. EMERSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. de la GARZA. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this legislation is to 
make a technical correction in order that we might implement the 
provisions in OBRA, 1933, as Congress intended. The bill was reportedly 
favorably from the committee unanimously.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5156 provides for technical correction to the Food 
Stamp Act.
  Section 13961(2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 
amended the Food Stamp Act to change the reimbursement rate for State 
costs involved in planning and development of automatic data processing 
and information retrieval systems for the program. However, this 
section contained a drafting error that H.R. 5156 will correct.
  This bill is limited only to the technical correction necessary to 
implement this provision in OBRA-93 as Congress intended. The bill was 
ordered reported favorably by the Committee on Agriculture and the 
Department of Agriculture supports its passage. I urge the passage of 
H.R. 5156.
  Mr. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I 
rise in support the bill, H.R. 5156, introduced by the chairman of the 
Committee on Agriculture to make technical corrections to the Food 
Stamp Act. The 1993 Budget Reconciliation Act contained the Mickey 
Leland Childhood Hunger Relief Act, which in turn contained changes to 
the Food Stamp Program.
  One of the provisions in that act reduced, effective April 1, 1994, 
the amount of Federal reimbursement to States for the planning, design, 
development, or installation of computer systems from 63 percent to 50 
percent. A technical mistake was made because the amendment did not 
strike the hyphen or remove the indentation in the law being amended.
  The chairman's bill corrects this technical problem and USAD supports 
this change.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                               H.R. 5156

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

     SECTION 1. TECHNICAL CORRECTION RELATING TO UNIFORM 
                   REIMBURSEMENT RATES UNDER FOOD STAMP PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 16(g) of the Food Stamp Act of 
     1977 (7 U.S.C. 2025(g) is amended by striking ``an amount'' 
     and all that follows through ``October 1, 1991, of'' and 
     inserting ``the amount provided under subsection (a)(6) 
     for''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall be effective as if included in section 13961 of the 
     Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-66; 
     107 Stat. 679).

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________