[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 129 (Tuesday, July 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36653-36654]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-17932]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 129 / Tuesday, July 7, 1998 / 
Notices  

[[Page 36653]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service
RIN 0584-AC62


Federal Means-Tested Public Benefits

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The term ``Federal means-tested public benefit'' is used in 
several sections of Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) which restricts welfare 
and public benefits for aliens. The purpose of this notice is to set 
forth the U. S. Department of Agriculture's interpretation of the term 
as it applies to the food assistance programs administered by the Food 
and Nutrition Service (FNS). This notice announces that the Food Stamp 
Program and the food assistance block grant programs in Puerto Rico, 
the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands and American Samoa 
are Federal means-tested programs. It announces that the other food 
assistance programs administered by FNS, e.g., those under the Child 
Nutrition Act and the School Lunch Act are not Federal means-tested 
programs, or are excepted from the application of this term, for 
purposes of PRWORA. (Section 402 of PRWORA limits participation in the 
Food Stamp Program to certain specific categories of aliens. These 
restrictions as well as other related issues will be addressed in a 
separate rule.)

EFFECTIVE DATE: This notice is effective on July 7, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Judith M. Seymour, Chief, Certification Policy Branch, Program 
Development Division, Food Stamp Program, Food and Nutrition Service, 
USDA, 3101 Park Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia 22302; Telephone: 
(703) 305-2520. The internet address is: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    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 this 
Act.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    This notice contains no reporting or recordkeeping requirements 
subject to approval by the Office of Management and Budget in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Executive Order 12866

    This notice has been reviewed by the Office of Management and 
Budget under Executive Order 12866 and been determined to be 
significant.

Executive Order 12372

    The food assistance programs administered by the Food and Nutrition 
Service are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance as 
follows:

10.550  Food Distribution
10.551  Food Stamps
10.553  School Breakfast Program
10.555  National School Lunch Program
10.556  Special Milk Program for Children
10.557  Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants 
and Children
10.558  Child and Adult Care Food Program
10.559  Summer Food Service Program for Children
10.564  Nutrition Education and Training Program
10.565  Commodity Supplemental Food Program
10.566  Nutrition Assistance for Puerto Rico
10.567  Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
10.569  Emergency Food Assistance Program (Food Commodities)
10.570  Nutrition Program for the Elderly
10.572  WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
10.573  Homeless Children Nutrition Program.

    The Food Stamp Program and the food assistance programs in Puerto 
Rico, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands are excluded from the scope of Executive Order 12372 which 
requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials. 
The other food programs listed above are not excluded.

Background

    The term ``Federal means-tested public benefit'' is used in the 
following sections of PRWORA:
    Section 402--This section contains the criteria for determining if 
qualified aliens can be eligible for food stamps, including the 
specific timeframes governing the eligibility of aliens for purposes of 
the Food Stamp Program. Subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii)(I) provides that any 
qualifying quarter of work creditable after December 31, 1996, in which 
an alien received a Federal means-tested public benefit cannot be 
included when determining whether the alien has the 40 quarters needed 
for eligibility for food stamp benefits.
    Section 403--With specified exceptions, a qualified alien who 
enters the U.S. on or after August 22, 1996, is ineligible for any 
Federal means-tested public benefit for 5 years from the date of entry. 
As noted above the specific timeframes governing the Food Stamp Program 
are included in section 402.
    Sections 421(a) and (b)--In determining the eligibility and 
benefits of an alien for any Federal means-tested public benefit, the 
income and resources of the alien are deemed to include the income and 
resources of any person who signs an affidavit of support. The deeming 
period continues until the alien becomes a citizen or has worked 40 
qualifying quarters, not counting quarters in which the alien received 
any Federal means-tested public benefit.
    Section 423--This section amended Title II of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to add requirements for the sponsor's affidavit of 
support. It provides that no affidavit may be used to establish that an 
alien is not excludable as a public charge unless the affidavit is 
executed as a contract which is legally enforceable against the sponsor 
by any agency which provides any means-tested public benefits. Section 
423(e) provides that upon notification that a sponsored alien has 
received any benefit under any means-tested public benefits program, 
the appropriate agency shall request reimbursement by the sponsor in 
the amount of such assistance. The Food Stamp Program is not listed 
among the benefits excepted from this provision. Assistance or benefits 
under the National School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act of 1966 are 
specifically

[[Page 36654]]

listed as benefits not subject to reimbursement.
    Section 435--This section contains a description of qualifying 
quarters of work and disallows any quarter worked by a spouse or parent 
in which the spouse or parent received a Federal means-tested public 
benefit.
    The law, however, does not include a definition of ``Federal means-
tested public benefit.'' Therefore, each Executive Branch agency whose 
programs may be subject to the PRWORA provisions is responsible for 
identifying the benefits to which the term applies.

Definition of Federal Means-Tested Public Benefit

    The Department has determined that the Food Stamp Program and the 
block grant food assistance programs in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are ``Federal 
means-tested public benefit(s)'' for purposes of Title IV of PRWORA. 
Based on the legislative history of PRWORA, the Department interprets 
the term to refer only to mandatory spending programs. The Department 
of Health and Human Services (62 FR 45256, August 26, 1997) and the 
Social Security Administration (62 FR 45284, August 26, 1997) have 
interpreted the term in a similar fashion. The food assistance programs 
listed above are mandatory spending programs.
    The Department has determined that the following Special Nutrition 
Programs are either not a Federal means-tested public benefit, or are 
exempted from the application of the term, for purposes of Title IV of 
PRWORA.

The Nutrition Program for the Elderly
Food services provided through Summer Camps pursuant to Sec. 4(c) of 
the Agricultural and Nutrition Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c 
note)
Disaster Commodity Distribution
The National School Lunch Program
The School Breakfast Program
The Special Milk Program
The Child and Adult Care Food Program
The Homeless Children Nutrition Program
The Summer Food Service Program for Children
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and 
Children
The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program
The Emergency Food Assistance Program
The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations

Regulatory Impact Analysis

    Designation: This action has been designated as significant.
    Decrease in Number of Eligible Aliens: Effective August 22, 1996 
for applicants and no later than August 22, 1997 for participating 
households, PROWRA made most aliens ineligible for food stamps. 
Exceptions were made for certain asylees, refugees, Cubans, Haitian, 
Amerasians, deportees, and persons with a military connection. An 
exception was also made to allow aliens admitted as lawful permanent 
residents to be eligible if they have earned or can be credited with at 
least 40 quarters (about 10 years) of qualified work. This notice only 
affects the eligibility of lawful permanent residents who can be 
credited with at least 40 quarters of work. After 12/31/96, a quarter 
cannot count if the person was receiving a Federal means-tested public 
benefit during that quarter.
    Savings: By counting food stamp benefits as a Federal means-tested 
public benefit, the Federal government may realize an estimated savings 
of as much as $10 million a year for 10 years. This occurs because most 
aliens admitted as a lawful permanent resident became ineligible 8/22/
97, thus any period of food stamp participation between 1/1/97 and 8/
22/97 would delay their fulfillment of the 40 quarter work requirement; 
which, in turn, delays their eligibility. This reduces program costs 
over the 10-year time period. The maximum length of time when 
participating permanent resident aliens could have been working and 
their work would not be counted toward the quarters of coverage is 8 
months, the time between January 1, 1997, and August 22, 1997. In any 
one year, the estimated savings come from only those participants who 
would have achieved their 40 quarters in that year and do not when they 
are not allowed to include the quarters earned between January 1997 and 
August 1997 when they also received food stamps. Assuming that among 
those working, 1/40th are in their 39th quarter, 1/40th are in their 
38th quarter, etc., then no more than 4/40th or 10 percent can have 
their benefits delayed in any year.
    Consistency: A Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) notice 
published on 8/26/97 (62 FR 45256) and a Social Security Administration 
notice published on 8/26/97 (62 FR 45284) have determined that Federal 
means-tested public assistance benefits applies to means-tested 
mandatory spending programs. Therefore, this interpretation is 
consistent with that of other agencies. The DHHS determined that its 
notice was economically significant based on $5.1 billion in savings 
from all of the alien restrictions contained in PRWORA for purposes of 
the Medicaid Program rather than just the definition of a Federal 
means-tested public benefit. The Social Security Administration did not 
designate its notice. USDA is designating this notice as significant 
because it affects the eligibility of aliens, but it is limiting the 
cost estimate to the costs associated with the provisions concerning 
the definition of a Federal means-tested public benefit.
    Effect on small entities: State and local welfare agencies are 
affected to the extent that they administer the Program. The notice 
will affect a number of aliens who could otherwise qualify for food 
stamp participation. The changes and the resulting decrease in benefits 
will have a negative secondary effect on revenues of the approximately 
190,000 food stamp retailers nationwide.

    Dated: June 25, 1998.
Shirley R. Watkins,
Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.
[FR Doc. 98-17932 Filed 7-6-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-30-P