,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #deba ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #a1 #bjag,mr4 ,lawson of ,florida 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,gonzalez of ,texas1 ,ms4 ,lee1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,crist1 ,mr4 ,evans1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,michelle ,lujan ,grisham of ,new ,mexico1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 and ,mr4 ,hastings7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 and in addition to the ,committees on ,ways and ,means1 and ,energy and ,commerce1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh to simplify the ,,snap recertification process for the elderly and disabled1 and to spur innovation in the application processes of ,,snap1 the ,medicare ,savings ,program1 and supplemental security income that will increase the utilization of entitlement programs among the most vulnerable of populations4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,snap ,simplification for the ,elderly ,act4 #b4 ,enhanced and coordinated procedures for certain households with elderly or disabled members 7a7 ,longer certification periods for certain households with elderly or disabled members ,section #c7;f7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjab7;f77 shall be amended to read as follows3 7f7 ,certification period means the period for which households shall be eligible to receive benefits4 ,the certification period shall not exceed #ab months1 except as provided in paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b74 ,the limits specified in this subsection may be extended until the end of any transitional benefit period established under section #aa7s74 ,the certification period may be-- 7#a7 up to #bd months if all adult household members are elderly or disabled2 or 7#b7 up to #cf months if-- 7,a7 all adult household members are elderly or disabled2 7,b7 all adult household members who are elderly or disabled are enrolled in ,medicaid1 including those enrolled in the ,medicare ,savings ,program as defined in section #aadd7;c77#g7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#ad7;c77#g772 7,c7 the ,state agency's administration of the program under paragraph 7,b7 is jointly administered or highly coordinated with benefits under this ,act1 as determined by the ,secretary2 and 7,d7 at the time the household is certified the household has no earned income4 4 7b7 ,combined application projects ,section #aa7;j7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbj7;j77 is amended by adding at the end the following-- 7#c7 ,,ssi combined application projects ,the ,secretary and the ,commissioner of ,social ,security shall revise the memorandum of understanding in effect on the date of enactment of the ,,snap ,simplification for the ,elderly ,act regarding services to be provided in ,social ,security offices under this subsection and subsection 7i71 to provide that1 in addition to the other activities under this subsection1 the two agencies shall make available ,combined ,application ,projects to not fewer than #aj additional ,states that are prepared to undertake such projects and satisfy the ,secretary and ,commissioner's requirements for such projects4 4 7c7 ,pilot projects ,section #ag of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbf7 is amended by adding at the end the following-- 7m7 ,pilot projects for ,,ssa senior centers ,to provide integrated delivery of services 7#a7 ,authority for pilot projects ,the ,secretary shall carry out1 in collaboration with the ,commissioner of ,social ,security1 under such terms and conditions as they consider appropriate1 pilot projects in not more than #aj local offices of the ,social ,security ,administration that serve high-poverty areas to develop and test approaches to integrate delivery of benefits to households that include low-income elderly or disabled members4 7#b7 ,pilot projects ,pilot projects carried out under this subsection shall develop and test approaches to improve participation in multiple programs that provide benefits to such members4 7,a7 ,such approaches shall include-- 7i7 developing service delivery offices that-- 7,i7 provide a one-stop shopping approach where applicants and recipients can apply for multiple benefits at local offices of the ,social ,security ,administration2 or 7,,ii7 include collocation of staff of other government entities or nonprofit private organizations at such offices2 7ii7 collaborating with private nonprofit organizations1 such as community-based organizations1 emergency feeding organizations1 or organizations that serve elderly individual or individuals with disabilities2 7iii7 make changes to allow for applications 7which may include recertification applications7 to be collected for a wider range of programs1 for example1 by revising applications and data systems to collect information for multiple programs2 7iv7 targeting education and application assistance to specific sub-populations with low participation rates in included programs2 or 7v7 data-driven approaches that allow sharing relevant data across included programs for the purpose of improving cross-program enrollment4 7,b7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this subsection-- 7i7 the term eligible entity means the ,state agency that administers the supplemental nutrition assistance program in collaboration with the ,social ,security ,administration2 and 7ii7 the term included programs means-- 7,i7 the supplemental nutrition assistance program2 7,,ii7 programs administered by the ,administrator of ,social ,security that are available to individuals who are elderly or have a disability2 7,,iii7 the ,medicare ,savings ,program 7as defined in section #aadd7;c77#g7 of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #acbj;b-#ad7;c77#g772 7,,iv7 at the option of an eligible entity1 any other ,federal1 ,state1 or local program that is available to low-income individuals who are elderly or have disability4 7#c7 ,funding of grants ,the ,secretary shall use not more than #ej1jjj1jjj of funds made available for fiscal year #bjah under section #ah7;a77#a71 to remain available until expended1 to make grants to ,state agencies to pay #ajj percent of the cost of the selected eligible entities to carry out the pilot4 ,such grants shall supplement and not supplant other funding available to the eligible entities4 7#d7 ,eligible entity and lead agency 7,a7 ,to be eligible to receive a grant for a pilot project under this subsection1 an entity shall be a ,state agency administering the supplemental nutrition assistance program in collaboration with the ,social ,security ,administration4 7,b7 ,the ,state agency shall designate a lead agency for the pilot project1 which may be the ,state agency1 a local governmental agency1 or the ,social ,security ,administration4 7#e7 ,application ,to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection a ,state shall submit an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require4 7#f7 ,selection of eligible entities ,the ,secretary and ,commissioner of ,social ,security-- 7,a7 shall develop criteria for the selection of eligible entities to receive grants for pilot projects under this subsection2 and 7,b7 shall give preference to-- 7i7 projects that target individuals or communities with high levels of poverty among seniors and people with disabilities2 7ii7 partnerships between governmental and nongovernmental entities2 7iii7 strategies that test innovative approaches that would be likely to be replicable in other communities2 7iv7 projects that include resources from sources other than the federal government4 7#g7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of ,,snap ,simplification for the ,elderly ,act1 the ,secretary and ,commissioner of ,social ,security jointly shall submit to the ,committees on ,agriculture and ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committees of ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry and ,finance of the ,senate a report that includes-- 7,a7 an assessment of the impact such pilot projects have on participation in included programs and a description of the results of such projects2 7,b7 identification of approaches that are most successful and1 to the extent practicable1 the reasons for the success2 and 7,c7 a discussion of best practices and the factors that would affect whether such approaches can be replicated in other locations4 4