[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]
BILLING CODE 4150-04-M