United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-05-14 monographic deposited born digital 56 p. GA 1.13:RCED-97-118 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118 P0b002ee180395fbd f:rc97118 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118 RCED-97-118 Cost of living Welfare recipients Welfare benefits Cost control Population statistics Eligibility determinations Disadvantaged persons Public assistance programs Food Stamp Program Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program General Public Assistance Program Supplemental Security Income Program Social Security Program AFDC Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the legislative changes to the Food Stamp Program mandated by the 1996 welfare reform act; focusing on, for fiscal year (FY) 1995, the: (1) characteristics of households whose food stamp benefits were limited because of the cap on their deduction for excess shelter expenses; and (2) extent to which food stamp benefits would have been higher for these households if there had not been a cap.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) in FY 1995, households whose food stamp benefits were limited because of the cap on the deduction for excess shelter expenses differed in several key respects from households not affected by this cap; (2) nearly all households affected by the cap had children, while only slightly more than half of households not affected by the cap had children; (3) moreover, households affected by the cap were more likely to: (a) be headed by asingle female; (b) have noncitizen members; (c) have earned income; and (d) live in urban areas; (4) affected households also typically had more household members and received more in food stamp benefits than those not affected by the cap; (5) households affected by the cap tended to be located in the Northeast and West, while households not affected by the cap tended to be located in the South; (6) in the absence of the cap on the excess shelter expenses deduction in FY 1995, the average monthly food stamp benefit for affected households would have been about 12 percent, or $31, higher; (7) total federal food stamp expenditures would have increased by 1.9 percent, for a total of $417 million in FY 1995; (8) the largest increase would have been for households in the Northeast, where average shelter costs are the highest; (9) nationwide, households in urban areas would have received larger increases than those in rural areas; and (10) households in New York and California would have received almost half of these additional benefits. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118.pdf GAO/RCED-97-118 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-97-118 Letter Report GAO/RCED-97-118; Food Stamp Program: Characteristics of Households Affected by Limit on the Shelter Deduction; Cost of living Welfare recipients Welfare benefits Cost control Population statistics Eligibility determinations Disadvantaged persons Public assistance programs Food Stamp Program Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program General Public Assistance Program Supplemental Security Income Program Social Security Program AFDC Public Law 103-66 Public Law 104-193 Title 7 Part 271.2 7 CFR Part 271.2