,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #afeg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #ah1 #bjac ,mr4 ,stutzman introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh to improve the supplemental nutrition assistance program4 #a4 ,categorical eligibility limitations ,section #e of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking the section designation and heading and all that follows through 7a7 ,participation and inserting the following3 #e4 ,eligible households 7a7 ,requirements 7#a7 ,in general ,participation 2 7#b7 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 by striking the second sentence and inserting the following3 7#b7 ,recipients of other ,federal benefits ,except as provided in section #c7n77#d7 and subsections 7b71 7d77#b71 and 7g7 of section #f1 a household shall be eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if each member of the household receives-- 7,a7 cash assistance in the form of ongoing basic needs benefit payments for financially needy families under the program of block grants to ,states for temporary assistance for needy families established under part ,a of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fja et seq472 7,b7 cash assistance under the supplemental security income program established under title ,,xvi of that ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acha et seq472 or 7,c7 aid to the aged1 blind1 or disabled under title ,i1 ,x1 ,,xiv1 or ,,xvi of that ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cja et seq474 2 7,b7 in the third sentence1 by striking ,except for sections #f1 #af7;e77#a71 and section #c7n77#d71 households and inserting the following3 7#c7 ,general assistance ,except as provided in sections #c7n77#d71 #f1 and #af7;d71 a household 2 and 7,c7 in the fourth sentence1 by striking ,assistance and inserting the following3 7#d7 ,applications ,assistance 2 and 7#c7 in subsection 7j7-- 7,a7 by inserting cash assistance in the form of before supplemental security income benefits2 and 7,b7 by striking or who receives benefits and inserting or who receives cash assistance4 #b4 ,requirements for re-enrollment ,paragraph 7#d7 of section #e7;a7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;a77 7as designated by section #a7b77;,c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,assistance and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,in general ,assistance 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,reenrollment ,any eligible household that previously received benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program and applies for reenrollment in the program shall be required-- 7i7 to complete in full a new application2 and 7ii7 to verify that the income and assets of the household are in compliance with the requirements of the program4 4 #c4 ,standard utility allowances based on the receipt of energy assistance payments 7a7 ,standard utility allowance ,section #e of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7e77#f77;,c71 by striking clause 7iv72 and 7#b7 in subsection 7k71 by striking paragraph 7#d7 and inserting the following3 7#d7 ,third party energy assistance payments ,for purposes of subsection 7d77#a71 a payment made under a ,state law 7other than a law referred to in paragraph 7#b77;,g77 to provide energy assistance to a household shall be considered money payable directly to the household4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendments ,section #bfje7;f77#b7 of the ,low-,income ,home ,energy ,assistance ,act of #aiha 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #hfbd7;f77#b77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking and for purposes of determining any excess shelter expense deduction under section #e7;e7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;e771 and 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by inserting before the semicolon the following3 1 except that such payments or allowances shall not be deemed to be expended for purposes of determining any excess shelter expense deduction under section #e7;e77#f7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;e77#f774 #d4 ,repeal of funding for employment and training programs 7a7 ,in general ,section #f7;d77#d7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjae7;d77#d77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking 7,a7 ,in general4--2 and all that follows through the following components in the matter preceding clause 7i7 in subparagraph 7,b7 and inserting the following3 7,a7 ,definition of employment and training program ,in this ,act1 the term employment and training program means a ,federal1 ,state1 or private program not administered by the ,secretary or funded through the ,food and ,nutrition ,service that contains #a or more of the following components 2 7#b7 by striking clause 7viii7 in subparagraph 7,a7 7as designated in paragraph 7#a77 and inserting the following3 7viii7 ,as approved by the ,state1 other employment and training programs1 educational programs1 projects1 and experiments1 such as a supported work program1 aimed at accomplishing the purpose of the employment and training program4 2 7#c7 in subparagraph 7,e71 by striking subparagraph 7,d7 and inserting subparagraph 7,c72 7#d7 by striking subparagraphs 7,h7 through 7,k72 and 7#e7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,c7 through 7,g7 and 7,l7 and 7,m7 as subparagraphs 7,b7 through 7,f7 and 7,g7 and 7,h71 respectively4 7b7 ,repeal of funding ,section #af of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbe7 is amended by striking subsection 7h74 7c7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,section #e7;d7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;d77 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking paragraph 7#ad72 and 7,b7 by redesignating paragraphs 7#ae7 through 7#ai7 as paragraphs 7#ad7 through 7#ah71 respectively4 7#b7 ,section #ag7;b77#a77;,b77iv77,,iii7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbf7;b77#a77;,b77iv77,,iii77 is amended-- 7,a7 in item 7dd71 by striking 1 7#d77;,f77i71 or 7#d77,k7 and inserting or 7#d77;,e72 and 7,b7 in item 7hh71 by striking 7g71 7h77#b71 or 7h77#c7 of section #af and inserting or 7f7 of section #af4 #e4 ,work ,requirement ,section #f7o77#d77;,a7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjae7o77#d77;,a77 is amended by striking reside-- and all that follows through the end of clause 7ii7 and inserting reside has an unemployment rate of over #aj percent44 #f4 ,centralized database for cross-compliance ,section #aa7o7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbj7o77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#f7 ,centralized database for cross-compliance 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this paragraph1 the ,secretary shall develop a centralized database to facilitate cooperation between the ,secretary and ,state agencies so as to ensure that an individual does not enroll to receive benefits in more than #a ,state4 7,b7 ,use of existing databases ,to the maximum extent practicable to reduce development and implementation costs1 in developing the centralized database the ,secretary shall use ,federal databases in existence as of the date of enactment of this paragraph4 4 #g4 ,quality control 7a7 ,in general ,section #af7;c7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbe7;c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,d77i77,,ii71 by inserting except as provided in subparagraph 7,h71 before require2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,h7 ,states in liability status for a third consecutive fiscal year 7i7 ,in general ,if a liability amount has been established for a ,state agency under subparagraph 7,c7 for #c or more consecutive fiscal years1 the ,secretary shall require the ,state to pay the entire liability amount for those fiscal years4 7ii7 ,alternatives to full payment not available ,subparagraph 7,d7 shall not apply to a ,state agency described in clause 7i74 2 7#b7 by redesignating paragraph 7#i7 as paragraph 7#aj72 and 7#c7 by inserting after paragraph 7#h7 the following3 7#i7 ,penalty for negative error rate 7,a7 ,definitions ,in this paragraph3 7i7 ,affected ,state agency ,the term affected ,state agency means a ,state agency that maintains1 for #b or more consecutive fiscal years1 a negative error rate that is more than #ej percent higher than the national average negative error rate1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7ii7 ,average negative error rate ,the term average negative error rate means the product obtained by multiplying-- 7,i7 the negative error rate of a ,state agency2 and 7,,ii7 the proportion of the total negative caseload of that ,state agency for the fiscal year1 as calculated under the quality control sample at the time of the notifications issued under subparagraph 7,c71 as determined by the ,secretary4 7iii7 ,negative error rate 7,i7 ,in general ,the term negative error rate means1 for a ,state agency1 the proportion that-- 7aa7 the total number of actions erroneously taken by the ,state agency to deny applications or suspend or terminate benefits of a household participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under this ,act1 as determined by the ,secretary1 in that fiscal year2 bears to 7bb7 the total number of actions taken by the ,state agency to deny applications or suspend or terminate benefits of households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under this ,act in that fiscal year4 7,,ii7 ,exclusions ,the term negative error rate does not include-- 7aa7 an error resulting from the application of regulations promulgated under this ,act during the period-- 7,,aa7 beginning on the date of enactment of this clause2 and 7,,bb7 ending on the date that is #aba days after the date on which the regulation is implemented2 and 7bb7 an error resulting from-- 7,,aa7 the use by a ,state agency of correctly processed information concerning households or individuals received under a ,federal program2 or 7,,bb7 an action that is based on policy information that is approved or disseminated1 in writing1 by the ,secretary or a designee of the ,secretary4 7,b7 ,penalty amount ,for fiscal year #bjab and each subsequent fiscal year1 the amount of the penalty for an affected ,state agency shall be equal to #e percent of the amount otherwise payable under subsection 7a74 7,c7 ,information reporting by ,states 7i7 ,in general ,for each fiscal year1 each ,state agency shall expeditiously submit to the ,secretary data concerning the operations of the ,state agency sufficient for the ,secretary to establish the negative error rate and penalty amount of the ,state agency4 7ii7 ,relevant information ,the ,secretary may require a ,state agency to report any factors necessary to determine the negative error rate of the ,state agency4 7iii7 ,information not reported ,if a ,state agency fails to report information required by the ,secretary1 the ,secretary may use any information1 as the ,secretary considers appropriate1 to establish the negative error rate of the ,state agency for the applicable year4 7iv7 ,national average error rate ,if a ,state agency fails to report information required by the ,secretary1 the ,secretary may use the national average negative error rate to establish the negative error rate for the ,state agency4 7,d7 ,announcement of error rates 7i7 ,case review ,not later than ,may #ca of each fiscal year1 the case review and all arbitration of ,state-,federal differences on negative error rates for the previous fiscal year shall be completed4 7ii7 ,determination and announcement ,not later than ,june #cj of each fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall1 for the previous fiscal year-- 7,i7 determine-- 7aa7 final negative error rates2 7bb7 the national average negative error rate2 and 7cc7 penalty amounts2 7,,ii7 notify affected ,state agencies of the penalty amounts2 7,,iii7 provide a copy of the notification under subclause 7,,ii7 to the chief executive officer and the legislature of the affected ,state2 and 7,,iv7 establish a claim against the ,state agency for the monetary penalty amount assessed against the ,state agency4 7,e7 ,review 7i7 ,in general ,for any fiscal year1 if the ,secretary imposes a penalty amount against a ,state agency under subparagraph 7,d77ii71 the following determinations of the ,secretary shall be subject to administrative and judicial review3 7,i7 ,the final negative error rate of the ,state agency4 7,,ii7 ,a determination of the ,secretary that the negative error rate of the ,state agency exceeds #ej percent of the national average negative error rate4 7,,iii7 ,the monetary penalty amount assessed against the ,state agency4 7ii7 ,determination not reviewable ,the national average negative error rate under this paragraph shall not be subject to administrative or judicial review4 7,f7 ,payment of penalty amount 7i7 ,in general ,on completion of administrative and judicial review under subparagraph 7,e71 an affected ,state agency shall pay to the ,secretary the penalty amount designated under subparagraph 7,d77ii71 subject to the findings of the administrative or judicial review1 not later than ,september #cj of the fiscal year for which the claim has been issued to the ,state agency4 7ii7 ,alternative method of collection 7,i7 ,in general ,if a ,state agency fails to make a payment under clause 7i7 by ,september #cj of the fiscal year for which the claim has been issued to the ,state agency1 the ,secretary may reduce any amount due to the ,state agency under any other provision of this ,act by the amount of the monetary penalty established under subparagraph 7,d77ii74 7,,ii7 ,accrual of interest ,interest on the amount owed shall not accrue until after ,september #cj of the applicable fiscal year4 4 #h4 ,repeal of incentive payments to ,states with low ,,snap benefit allocation error rates 7a7 ,in general ,section #af of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbe7 is amended by striking subsection 7d74 7b7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,section #g7;h77#d7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaf7;h77#d77 is amended by striking #af7;g7 and inserting #af7;f74 7#b7 ,section #aa7;e77#c7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbj7;e77#c77 is amended by striking section #af7;e7 of this ,act and inserting section #af7;d74 7#c7 ,section #af of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbe7 7as amended by subsection 7a7 of this section and section #d7;b77 is amended-- 7,a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7i7 by striking subsection 7k7 and inserting subsection 7i72 and 7ii7 by striking subsection 7g7 and inserting subsection 7f72 7,b7 in subsection 7c7-- 7i7 in paragraph 7#a77;,b77i71 by striking subsection 7g7 and inserting subsection 7f72 and 7ii7 by striking 1 or performance under the performance measures under subsection 7d7 each place it appears in paragraphs 7#d7 and 7#e72 7,c7 in subsection 7i77#a71 by striking as defined in subsection 7d77#a77 and inserting as defined in guidance issued by the ,secretary2 and 7,d7 by redesignating subsections 7e7 through 7g7 and 7i7 through 7k7 as subsections 7d7 through 7f7 and 7g7 through 7i71 respectively4 7#d7 ,section #bb7;d77#a77;,b77ii7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjca7;d77#a77;,b77ii77 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking 7g71 7h77#b71 and 7h77#c7 and inserting and 7f72 and 7,b7 in the proviso1 by striking subsection 7g7 of section #af and inserting section #af7;f74 7#e7 ,section #bc7;a77#a7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcb7;a77#a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,c71 by striking either section #af7;a7 or #af7;g7 and inserting subsection 7a7 or 7f7 of section #af2 and 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,e71 by striking #af7;g7 and inserting #af7;f74 #i4 ,nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program ,section #bh of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcf;a7 is amended by striking subsection 7d7 and inserting the following3 7d7 ,funding 7#a7 ,in general ,of funds made available each fiscal year under section #ah7;a77#a71 the ,secretary shall make available to each ,state agency to carry out the nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program under this section-- 7,a7 for fiscal year #bjac1 an amount equal to #e per household in the ,state enrolled in the supplemental nutrition assistance program2 and 7,b7 for fiscal year #bjad and each subsequent fiscal year1 the applicable amount during the preceding fiscal year1 as adjusted to reflect any increases for the #ab-month period ending the preceding ,june #cj in the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers published by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics of the ,department of ,labor1 per household in the ,state enrolled in the supplemental nutrition assistance program4 7#b7 ,timing of determination ,at the end of each fiscal year1 the ,secretary shall determine the total number of households in each ,state enrolled in the supplemental nutrition assistance program so as to determine appropriate funding levels for the coming fiscal year4 4