[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 53 (Friday, March 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5793]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 18, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
45 CFR Part 235
Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program; Adult Assistance
Programs; Provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993
To Eliminate Enhanced Federal Funding
AGENCY: Administration for Children and Families (ACF), HHS.
ACTION: Final rules.
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SUMMARY: These final rules implement provisions of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993, which eliminate enhanced Federal funding
rates for the optional fraud control program conducted under the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and training activities
conducted under the Adult Assistance programs.
dates: EFFECTIVE DATES: April 1, 1994. Applicability Dates: These
regulations do not apply to States whose legislatures meet biennially
and do not have a regular session scheduled in calendar year 1994. For
those States, these final rules are enforce no later than the first day
of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close of the first
regular session of the State legislature convening after the date of
enactment of this Act.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mack A. Storrs, Director, Division
of AFDC Program, Office of Family Assistance, Fifth floor, 370 L'Enfant
Promenade SW., Washington, DC 20447, telephone (202) 401-9289.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 13741 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1993 (OBRA-93), Public Law 103-66, amended
section 403 of the Social Security Act (the Act) by eliminating
enhanced Federal matching funding rates for certain categories of AFDC
expenditures. The AFDC program expenditures affected pertain to: (1)
The planning, design, and development or installation of an approved
Family Assistance Management Information System (FAMIS), (2) the
operation of an optional AFDC Fraud Control Program, and (3) the alien
status verification system with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service designated Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements
(SAVE) program.
The current enhanced Federal matching rates are: (1) 90 percent for
FAMIS, (2) 75 percent for AFDC Fraud Control, and (3) 100 percent for
SAVE. These rates are reduced to 50 percent.
This legislation also eliminated the enhanced Federal matching
rates for the Adult Assistance programs in Guam, Puerto Rico, and the
Virgin Islands. These programs are the Old-Age Assistance for the Aged;
Aid to the Blind; Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled; and Aid
to the Aged, Blind, or Disabled under titles I, X, XIV, and XVI (AABD)
of the Social Security Act respectively. The current Federal matching
rates for training and SAVE, which are 75 percent and 100 percent
respectively, are reduced to 50 percent.
Reductions in the Federal matching rates for the AFDC Fraud Control
Program and for training under the Adult Assistance Programs are
addressed in these regulations. Separate regulations will be issued
pertaining to the FAMIS system.
The statutory SAVE requirements were implemented without
regulations via program action transmittals and information memoranda.
In an action transmittal, ACF-AT-93-16, we provided instructions
regarding the reduction of 100 percent Federal funding for the SAVE
program, applicable to both the AFDC and Adult Assistance Programs, to
50 percent Federal matching.
Optional AFDC Fraud Control Program
Section 9102 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 added
section 416 to the Act permitting State agencies to establish and
operate an optional fraud control program. This authorized States to
impose disqualification penalties on an individual found to have
committed an intentional program violation(s) by a State administrative
disqualification hearing or by a Federal or State court, and to claim
Federal matching at a 75 percent Federal matching rate for costs
directly attributed to the operation of an AFDC fraud control program.
Section 13741 of OBRA-93 reduced all the AFDC enhanced Federal
matching rates, including the 75 percent rate for operation of the AFDC
Fraud Control Program. The new rate is 50 percent. The funding
provisions at 45 CFR 235.112 are revised accordingly including the
distinction between regular and enhanced funding for pre-eligibility
fraud detection activities.
Training Programs for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled
Staff development and training activities pertaining to the Adult
Assistance programs conducted under titles I, X, XIV, and XVI (AABD) in
Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have historically been
matched at the 75 percent Federal matching rate. Final rules on the
transfer of these training provisions from the Handbook of Public
Assistance Administration to the Code of Federal Regulations were
published in the Federal Register on February 27, 1971 (36 FR 3863).
These rules included the transfer of the 75 percent Federal financial
participation rate.
Section 13741 of OBRA-93 amended sections 3(a)(4), 1003(a)(3),
1403(a)(3), and 1603(a)(4) of the Social Security Act to reduce all of
the Adult Assistance program enhanced Federal matching rates. This
change includes the 75 percent Federal financial participation rate for
training. That rate is changed to 50 percent. The funding provisions at
45 CFR 235.64 are revised accordingly.
Regulatory Procedures
Justification for Dispensing With Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The amendments to these regulations are being published as final
rules. The Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), provides
that, if the Department for good cause finds that the Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking is unnecessary, impracticable or contrary to the
public interest, it may dispense with such notice if it incorporates a
brief statement of the reasons for doing so in the rules issued. The
Department finds that there is good cause to dispense with a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking with respect to these amendments. Publication of
these rules in proposed form is unnecessary as the amendments simply
implement the statutory provisions and do not involve administrative
discretion.
Executive Order 12866
Executive Order 12866 requires that regulations be reviewed to
ensure that they are consistent with the priorities and principles set
forth in the Executive Order. The Deapartment has determined that this
rule is consistent with these priorities and principles. An assessment
of the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives
(including not regulating) demonstrated that the approach taken in the
regulation is the most cost-effective and least burdensome while still
achieving the regulatory objectives.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These final rules do not contain any information collection
activities and, therefore, no approvals are necessary under section
3504(h) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-511).
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96-354) requires the
Federal government to anticipate and reduce the impact of regulations
and paperwork requirements on small businesses.
The primary impact of these final rules is on State governments and
individuals. Therefore, we certify that these final rules will not have
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
because they affect payments to individuals and States. Thus, a
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Programs 13.780, Assistance
Payments-Maintenance Assistance)
List of Subjects 45 CFR Part 235
Aid to Families with Dependent children, Fraud, Grant programs--
social programs, Public assistance programs.
Dated: January 13, 1994.
Approved: February 28, 1994.
Mary Jo Bane,
Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.
Donna E. Shalala,
Secretary of Health and Human Services.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, part 235 of chapter II,
title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, is amended as set forth
below:
PART 235--ADMINISTRATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
1. The authority citation for part 235 is revised to read as
follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 603, 616, and 1302.
2. Section 235.64 is amended by revising the section heading and
the introductory text to the section to read as follows:
Sec. 235.64 FFP rates, and activities and costs matchable as training
expenditures.
Under title I, IV-A, X, XIV, or XVI(AABD) of the Act, FFP is
available at the rate of 50 percent for the following costs:
* * * * *
3. Section 235.112 is amended by removing paragraph (f),
redesignating paragraph (g) as paragraph (f), and revising the newly
designated paragraph (f) as follows:
Sec. 235.112 Optional AFDC Fraud Control Program.
* * * * *
(f) Federal financial participation--(1) Allowable costs. Federal
financial participation (FFP) is authorized at the 50 percent
reimbursement rate to a State agency with an approved plan to establish
and operate a fraud control program pursuant to section 416 of the
Social Security Act. All costs must adhere to cost principles found at
OMB Circular No. A-87 (available from the Executive Office of the
President, Publications Unit, room 2200, New Executive Office Building,
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503) and to cost allocation
provisions found at Sec. 205.150 of this chapter.
(2) Cost allocation. Where common activities or efforts are
undertaken in support of both the AFDC and Food Stamp programs, the
cost allocation plan pursuant to Sec. 205.150 of this chapter must
provide for a distribution of these costs to both programs.
[FR Doc. 94-5793 Filed 3-17-94; 8:45 am]
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