[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 1 (Monday, January 3, 1994)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59-60]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 93-32047]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 3, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food and Nutrition Service
Food Distribution Program; Level of Assistance From October 1,
1993 to September 30, 1994
AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the initial level of per-meal assistance
for the Nutrition Program for the Elderly (NPE) for Fiscal Year 1994.
The initial level of assistance is set at $.6146 for each eligible meal
in accordance with section 311(a)(4) of the Older Americans Act of
1965, as amended by section 310 of the Older Americans Act Amendments
of 1992.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1993.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Philip K. Cohen, Program
Administration Branch, Food Distribution Division, Food and Nutrition
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive,
Alexandria, Virginia 22302-1594 or telephone (703) 305-2660.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Classification
This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance under Nos. 10.550 and 10.570 and is subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental
consultation with State and local officials. (See 7 CFR part 3015,
subpart V, and final rule related notice published at 48 FR 29114, June
24, 1983.)
This notice imposes no new reporting or recordkeeping provisions
that are subject to Office of Management and Budget review in
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C. 3507).
This action is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act
(5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from the provisions of that Act.
Legislative Background
On September 30, 1992, the President signed Public Law 102-375, the
Older Americans Act Amendments of 1992. Section 310 of this law amended
section 311(a)(4) of the Older Americans Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C.
3030a(a)(4), to require the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain an
annually programmed level of assistance equal to the greater of: (1)
The current appropriation divided by the number of meals served in the
preceding fiscal year; or (2) 61 cents per meal adjusted annually
beginning with Fiscal Year 1993 to reflect changes in the Consumer
Price Index (CPI). Section 311(c)(2) of the Older Americans Act was
amended to provide that the final reimbursement claims shall be
adjusted to use the full amount appropriated for the fiscal year.
Notwithstanding the initial rates established by the Older
Americans Act, the Department must comply with the spending clause of
the U.S. Constitution and 31 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1)(A) (known as the
Antideficiency Act), which prohibit the obligation or expenditure of
funds in excess of the available appropriation. Thus the Department is
required to establish (and, if necessary, adjust) rates in such a
manner as to not exceed the program appropriation.
In Fiscal Year 1994, a situation exists similar to that at the
beginning of Fiscal Year 1993, i.e., the Fiscal Year 1994 appropriation
will not sustain reimbursement at the mandated annually adjusted rate.
However, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-111),
which appropriated NPE funding for Fiscal Year 1994, imposed additional
rate management requirements for this year. Title IV, Domestic Food
Programs, of the Act provides that `` * * * a maximum rate of
reimbursement to States will be established by the Secretary, subject
to reduction if obligations would exceed the amount of available funds,
with any unobligated funds to remain available for obligation in the
fiscal year beginning October 1, 1994.'' Thus the Department cannot
increase the initially announced Fiscal Year 1994 rate, and can
decrease this rate only if it cannot be sustained throughout the year.
Fiscal Year 1994 Rate and Procedures
Senate Report No. 102, 103rd Cong., 1st Sess., at 125 (July 20,
1993) clarifies the congressional intent of Public Law 103-111 with
regard to the 1994 level of NPE funding by identifying the FY 1994 rate
as `` * * * the maximum reimbursement per meal permitted by law as
estimated by the Secretary at the beginning of the fiscal year within
the level of available funds.'' Thus the Department is required to
establish the highest initial per-meal reimbursement rate which it
believes can be sustained throughout the fiscal year.
Accordingly, the Department hereby announces an initial rate of
$.6146 per meal, which will not be increased, and which can be
decreased only if necessary to keep expenditures within the limit of
the $150 million NPE appropriation established by Public Law 103-111.
This consistent and stable rate will enable State agencies to better
plan and budget their operations, and local project operators can, in
turn, depend on a steady, uniform flow of meal service support during
the fiscal year. Any funds not paid out for Fiscal Year 1994
reimbursement will, in accordance with legislative mandate, be carried
over into Fiscal Year 1995 and expended in per-meal reimbursement for
that year. In the unlikely event that the rate needs to be decreased,
the adjustment will be announced in the Federal Register.
Dated: December 10, 1993.
George A. Braley,
Acting Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 93-32047 Filed 12-30-93; 8:45 am]
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