[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 16, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49994-49995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20803]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4253-N-01]


Eligibility Restrictions on Noncitizens: Inapplicability of 
Welfare Reform Act Restrictions on Federal Means-Tested Public Benefits

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Section 403 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (referred to as the ``Welfare 
Reform Act'') places restrictions on providing ``Federal means-tested 
public benefits'' to certain legal aliens. The purpose of this notice 
is to advise the public that no HUD programs fall under the category of 
``Federal means-tested public benefits'' and therefore no HUD programs 
are subject to these restrictions.

DATES: Effective Date: This notice is effective upon publication.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The following persons should be 
contacted:
    For questions about programs administered by HUD's Office of Public 
and Indian Housing: Pat Arnaudo, Office of Public and Indian Housing, 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, 
SW, Room 4226, Washington, DC 20410; telephone (202) 708-0744;
    For questions about programs administered by HUD's Office of 
Community Planning and Development: Salvatore Sclafani, Office of 
Community Planning and Development, U.S. Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Room 7154, Washington, DC 
20410; telephone (202) 708-1283; and
    For questions about programs administered by HUD's Office of 
Housing: Willie Spearmon, Office of Housing, U.S. Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Room 6134, Washington, 
DC 20410; telephone (202) 708-3000.
    Hearing and speech-impaired persons may access the above telephone 
numbers via TTY by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-
800-877-8339. (With the exception of the ``800'' number, these are not 
toll-free numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    On August 22, 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-193, 110 Stat. 
2105) (referred to as the ``Welfare Reform Act'') was enacted into law. 
Section 403 of the Welfare Reform Act imposes restrictions on providing 
``Federal means-tested public benefits'' to certain legal aliens. 
Specifically, unless statutorily excepted, an alien who is a 
``qualified alien,'' as that term is defined in section 431 of the 
Welfare Reform Act, and who enters the United States on or after August 
22, 1996 is ineligible for ``Federal means-tested public benefits'' for 
the first five years after the qualified alien's entry. Following a 
thorough review of the legislative history, HUD has concluded that 
``Federal means-tested public benefits'' refers not to discretionary 
spending programs but only to mandatory spending programs in which 
eligibility for benefits, or the amount of such benefits, or both, are 
determined on the basis of income, resources, or financial need of the 
individual, household, or family unit.
    This conclusion is consistent with that reached by other agencies 
that administer Federal public benefit programs. (Please see the 
notices published by the Department of Health and Human Services and 
the Social Security Administration in the Federal Register on August 
26, 1997, at 62 FR 45256 and 62 FR 45284, respectively, and the notice 
published by the Department of Agriculture on July 7, 1998 at 63 FR 
36653.) HUD has no mandatory spending programs. Accordingly, no HUD 
programs fall within the category of ``Federal means-tested public 
benefits.''
    Another section of the Welfare Reform Act that might appear to 
apply to HUD programs is section 421, which provides that income and 
resources of an alien sponsored under section 213A of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act applying for ``Federal means-tested public 
benefits'' are deemed to include the income and resources of the 
individual's sponsor. That section is only applicable to programs 
covered by section 403 of the Act. Hence, its provisions are 
inapplicable to HUD programs.


[[Page 49995]]


    Dated: June 23, 2000.
Andrew Cuomo,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-20803 Filed 8-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-32-P