Legislative History of the Food Stamp Program

Food Stamp Act of 1977 P.L. 95-113, 91 Stat. 913-1045 Sept. 29, 1977

Eliminated the purchase requirement. Benefits continued to be based on the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP). Households received only the bonus allotment of coupons instead of the total allotment. Bonus determined by taking 30 percent of the household's net income after deductions and subtracting that amount from the TFP allotment for that household size. Separate TFPs for the contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. TFPs for all areas to be adjusted twice a year, to the nearest dollar increase, to reflect changes in the cost of food. USDA not to raise or lower benefits by switching from TFP to a different food plan. In order to be eligible for benefits, a household's income after deductions must fall below the poverty line for the non-farm U.S. ($5,850 a year for a family of four). This limit to apply to all food stamp households including pure PA and SSI households. Different income limits to be set for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. All household income except the following to be counted when determining whether a household is eligible for food stamps and the amount of its benefits:   -- Vendor payments - money which is not payable directly to a household; -- Irregular income -income received too infrequently or irregularly to be reasonably anticipated, but which does not exceed $30 in a three-month period; -- Educational income - that part of educational loans, grants, scholarships, fellowships, veterans' benefits, and the like that is spent on tuition or required school fees at an  institution of higher education or school for the handicapped (portions of educational income remaining after these expenses to be counted as income); -- Loans - no loan to be counted as income except for that part of a deferred educational loan which is not used for tuition and fees; -- Reimbursements - money paid to a household for an expense the household has already incurred - as long as the payment is not more than the household actually paid for the expense; -- Third-party care funds - money received by a household, but used for the care and maintenance of a person who is not a household member; -- Earnings of a child - income earned by a household member who is less than 18 years old and who attends school; -- Nonrecurring lump-sum payments - payments such as income tax refunds or rebates, retroactive lump sum social security or railroad retirement pension payments, and insurance settlements. These payments will be counted as resources unless specifically excluded by other laws. -- Cost of producing self-employment income; and -- Income that other laws specifically exclude from consideration for food stamp purposes such as benefits provided by WIC, Alaskan Native Claims Settlements, etc. Number of allowable deductions from income reduced to the following four only. All households given the advantage of a basic standard deduction which did not previously exist:   -- Standard deduction - all households in the 48 States and D.C. allowed a basic standard deduction of $60 a month regardless of the household's size or income. Separate standards to be set for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Standards for these areas to be determined by comparing expenses in those areas to expenses in the contiguous U.S. Deduction to be adjusted twice each year, beginning July 1, 1978, to the nearest $5 to reflect changes in the cost of living as measured by the CPI for items other than food. -- Earned income deduction - households with earned income allowed a deduction of 20 percent of all their gross earned income to compensate for taxes, other mandatory deductions from salary, and general work expenses such as transportation to work, or the cost of uniforms. Deduction not allowed for any earned income which is excluded for food stamp purposes, such as the earnings of a child or irregular income. -- Deductions for dependent care costs and excess shelter costs:- households that must pay for child care or the care of an incapacitated person, and households with high shelter costs, allowed an additional deduction to cover any one of the following three areas;   1) dependent care costs - households will receive a deduction, up to a maximum of $75 a month, for the cost of paying someone to care for a dependent when such care enables a household member to work or to accept or continue training or education that is preparatory for work. Deduction may be applied to child care costs as well as to care for an incapacitated adult when an attendant is necessary; 2) excess shelter costs - households will receive a deduction, up to a maximum of $75, to cover the amount by which their monthly shelter costs exceed 50% of the household's income after all other deductions are subtracted. Shelter costs continue to include rent or mortgage payments, utility payments, property taxes and insurance costs; 3) combined deduction - households can receive a deduction to cover both dependent care costs and excess shelter costs, but the combined deduction may not exceed $75 a month. $75 ceiling on all three parts of this deduction applies in the 48 States and D.C. This $75 maximum will be adjusted annually, starting July 1, 1978, to reflect changes in the shelter, fuel, and utility components of CPI. A separate maximum amount to be set for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands by comparing shelter costs in each area to shelter costs in the 48 States and D.C., and adjusting the $75 ceiling accordingly. Maximum amount for each of these States or outlying areas to be changed annually to reflect changes in shelter costs. Household income for the past 30 days to be used as a guide in determining the household's eligibility and benefits, unless the household has experienced or expects a change in income. In such an event, the past 30 days' income to be disregarded and the anticipated level of income to be used to determine eligibility and benefits. Exceptions to this method to remain for teachers, students with annual grants, and self-employed persons who earn their annual income in a period of time shorter than a year. These households will continue to have their income averaged over the year. Resource limits to remain the same, except for the following changes, until USDA studied the issue and prepared a report to the Committees on Agriculture in both the House and Senate by June 1, 1978:   -- Resource limits to apply to all households including those in which all members receive PA and/or SSI; -- Resource limit to be raised to $1,750 per household, including households made up of only one person. Resource limit to remain at $3,000 for households of two or more people when at least one person is over 60 years old; -- Value of a car or licensed vehicle over $4,500 to be counted, except in the case of vehicles used to produce earned income such as taxicabs or business trucks; -- Cars used for transportation to employment to be counted at their Blue Book value. All other resources to continue to be counted at equity value; -- A provision to be added to prevent households from transferring assets for the purpose of qualifying or attempting to qualify for food stamp benefits. Households which put their money, possessions or property in someone else's name in order to qualify for food stamps to be ineligible for a period of up to one year. Household defined as:   1) an individual who lives alone or who, while living with others, customarily purchases food and prepares meals to eat at home separate and apart from the others, or else pays the others for such meals; or 2) a group of individuals who live together and customarily purchase food and prepare meals together to eat at home, or else live with others and pay the others for such meals. In neither event shall any individual or group of individuals be considered a household if they reside in an institution or boarding house except if they are residents of federally subsidized housing for the elderly or residents of an alcohol or drug treatment program. Any person who is otherwise eligible for the FSP, who is physically and mentally fit, and who is between the ages of 18 and 60 (previously 18 to 65) must:   -- Register for employment in a manner determined by USDA; -- Fulfill whatever reasonable job search requirements are prescribed by USDA; -- Not quit any job without good cause. If the head of the household quits, the household is ineligible for food stamps for 60 days starting from the date of the quit. This rule does not apply if the household was certified for food stamps just before the head of the household quit the job. -- Not refuse (without good cause) to accept a job paying either the State or Federal minimum wage, whichever is higher. This requirement does not compel anyone to accept employment at a site or plant subject to a strike or lockout. Persons exempt from work registration requirements are as follows:   -- Currently subject to and complying with work registration requirements under the WIN or the Federal-State unemployment compensation system; -- Parents or other members of households responsible for the care of dependent children under 12 or of incapacitated persons; -- Parents or other caretakers of children in households where there are other able-bodied parents who are subject to employment requirements; -- Bona fide students enrolled at least half-time in any recognized school, training program, or institution of higher education. These students are subject to employment requirements when on any vacation or recess of more than 30 days. -- Regular participants in drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation programs; or -- Persons employed a minimum of 30 hours per week or receiving weekly earnings that equal the minimum hourly rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, multiplied by 30 hours. USDA to implement two work pilot projects in each of the seven geographic Regions of the FNS, these locations to be divided among selected urban and rural locations. Under the pilot projects, any person who   1) has been registered for work for more than 30 days and has not been offered a job by a private employer, 2) whose earned income is less than their allotment of food stamps, will have to accept an offer of employment from a State or local government, or an organization serving as a "prime sponsor" under the CETA. There will be no payment in wages for work performed, the food stamp allotment to which the household is otherwise entitled, will be the payment instead. Three major conditions governed these work pilot projects:   a) the employment not to exceed 40 hours per week; b) regular employees not to be laid off or fired in order to create jobs for food stamp recipients; and c) job openings existing under previously existing CETA provisions must be filled before additional jobs can be offered to food stamp recipients. Student continued to be defined as a person who has reached his/her eighteenth birthday and is enrolled at least half-time in an institution of higher education. Student continued to be disqualified if claimed as a tax dependent by a household which is not eligible for stamps. Student who could have been properly claimed as a tax dependent but was not also disqualified. All students eighteen years of age or older, including those still in high school, must register for work whenever school recesses for more than 30 days. College students must fulfill one of the five following special work requirements:   1) work at least 20 hours a week or participate in a Federally financed work study program; 2) work and receive the minimum wage equivalent of 20 hours a week ($46 a week then -- $53 a week effective Jan. 1, 1978); 3) register for work on a 20-hour-per-week minimum basis; 4) be the head of a household containing at least one other person who depends on the student for more than one-half of his or her annual support; or 5) be exempt from the work registration requirement for an allowable reason such as fitness, age, WIN participation, parental status, or caretaker status. To qualify for food stamps each individual must be a resident of the U.S. and be one of the following:   -- a citizen of the U.S., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Guam or a national from American Samoa or Swain's Island; -- an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence as an immigrant not to include alien visitors, tourists, diplomats, alien students or temporary laborers, trainees, or professionals; -- a permanent resident under color of law who has maintained continuous residence in the U.S. since before July 1948; -- an alien who has qualified for conditional entry because of persecution or fear of persecution because of race, religion, or political opinion, or because of being uprooted by a catastrophic natural calamity; -- an alien who is lawfully present for emergent reasons or for reasons accepted as being strictly in the public interest; or -- an alien for whom the Attorney General has withheld deportation because the alien would otherwise be subject to persecution on account of race, religion or political opinion. Required that there be food stamp eligibility workers who are bilingual in areas with high percentages of non-English speaking low-income persons, and that food stamp literature be printed in the appropriate languages to assist non-English speaking people in making application for benefits. Eligibility workers not required to report illegal aliens to the INS. SSI recipients:   -- continue to be exempted from the work registration requirement (exemption age lowered from 65 to 60 years)' -- be able to apply for food stamps at the Social Security Office at the same time that application is made for SSI. Information collected as part of the SSI application would be used to help determine eligibility for food stamps; -- be informed by the State of food stamp eligibility requirements, rules and benefits; -- be required to satisfy the same eligibility standards as all other food stamp recipients (the exemption from the income and resource limits removed); -- remain ineligible for food stamps in the two food stamp "cash-out" States -- California and Massachusetts. (SSI recipients in these two States received a larger SSI benefit instead of food stamps.) -- elderly persons (60 years of age or older) and their spouses continue to be able to use stamps to pay for meals served by private establishments (including restaurants) which contract to offer meals for elderly persons at concessional prices. Also able to use stamps at public or private non-profit establishments such as senior citizens' centers and apartment buildings and at schools that feed senior citizens. Requirement that meals be served during special hours removed, and meals may then be served during regular hours. All elderly and disabled persons, regardless of age, able to use stamps to purchase meals from authorized home meal delivery services. An experimental project is authorized to see whether it would be desirable to provide a check instead of food stamps to eligible households consisting entirely of members who are entitled to SSI or are age 65 or older. Households no longer required to have cooking facilities in order to participate in the FSP. USDA to prescribe standards for locations of food stamp certification and issuance points and the hours of operation of certification and issuance points. USDA to prescribe standards under which States are required to use the mails, telephone interviews, and/or home visits to certify those persons who because of age, disability, or transportation problems are unable to reach a certification office or to apply through an authorized representative. Application forms to be given to interested persons on the same day requested and, if the applicant wishes to submit the application form that day, it must be accepted by the State agency. Within 30 days of receipt, applications must be processed and applicants must be provided with an opportunity to receive food stamps. Benefits retroactive to the period of application. Households in immediate need because of no income after deductions must be certified and issued stamps very quickly (the time period for such certifications to be set by USDA). Certification periods assigned as follows:   -- PA households assigned certification periods which coincide with the period of their PA grant or a maximum of one year; -- Households consisting entirely of unemployable, elderly or self-employed persons may be assigned 12-month certification periods; -- All other households will be assigned certification periods of not less than three months, unless there is a likelihood of frequent changes in household circumstances, in which case shorter certification periods may be assigned. When certification periods assigned, households must be notified and will be given a reporting form to return to the agency if they have a change in their income or in other household circumstances. (USDA to determined exactly which changes must be reported). Households will be notified at the beginning of the last month of their certification period that they must reapply for continued food stamp benefits. Eligible households that reapply by the 15th day of the last month in the certification period to receive their next month's stamps without an interruption in benefits. Households which reapply and are found ineligible or eligible for a smaller food stamp benefit may appeal the decision, but they will not receive continued benefits at their original level after their original certification period. For households wrongfully denied food stamps or terminated from the FSP, lost benefits to be restored by increasing the amount of their food stamps each month. The stamps to be issued over a specified period of time set by USDA rather than in one lump-sum. USDA to set caseload (staffing) standards. Eligibility workers to be hired in accordance with standards prescribed by the U.S. Civil Service Commission. State agencies to be responsible for a continuing comprehensive training program for certification staff. Bilingual eligibility workers to be hired in localities where significant percentages of the population speak a language other than English. A simplified, uniform national food stamp application to be designed by USDA, and only those States with special approval will use State-designed forms. Special approval may be given to States with combined PA/food stamp forms, to States with computer systems which require a special State form, or where other serious problems warrant use of a State-designed form. USDA and HEW to jointly develop a system whereby a single interview to be conducted to determine eligibility for food stamps and AFDC. Combined food stamp/PA application forms to be developed so that the food stamp form will be a part of the PA form and even applicants who are denied PA benefits can be certified as eligible for food stamps if adequate information is contained in the combined form. Food stamp applications to be provided and accepted at Social Security Offices from SSI applicants. Individuals found by an administrative hearing to have defrauded the program to be disqualified from the program for a period of three months; if such individuals are found by a court to have criminally or civilly defrauded the program, the disqualification to be extended for not less than six or more than 24 additional months. Penalty for a misdemeanor related to the program to be reduced from $5,000 to $1,000 to make prosecution of fraud easier and more timely; however, the penalty of imprisonment for up to one year remained, as did the felony penalties of up to $10,000 fine and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years. Households transferring assets in order to qualify for food stamp benefits to be disqualified for food stamps for a period of up to one year from the date of discovery of the transfer. State agencies to be paid 75 percent of the costs of State food stamp investigations and prosecutions. State agencies which reduced their error rates to below 5 percent had an additional 10 percent of their administrative costs paid by the Federal Government and were not required to submit corrective action plans relating to error rates. States failing to meet program standards without good cause penalized by having Federal funds for administrative costs withheld in an amount that USDA determined appropriate. States entitled to an administrative review if they disagree with the determination. States which do not comply with program requirements may be referred to the Attorney General who may issue the appropriate injunctive relief. States which have been determined to have committed negligence or fraud in the certification of applicant households may be required to pay for coupons improperly issued. USDA no longer had to establish that gross negligence occurred before billing a State. Coupon issuers convicted of failing to report inventory levels or operations as required to be fined up to $1,000 and/or imprisoned for up to one year. Coupon issuers convicted of knowingly providing false information in a report to be fined up to $10,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 5 years. When a household makes a purchase with food stamps and is due change, cash change up to 99 cents to be given to the household instead of credit slips as formerly. Hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption not eligible for purchase with food stamps, except through nonprofit meal delivery services, communal dining facilities, and institutions that serve meals to drug addicts and alcoholics. Food stamp recipients who live in remote areas of Alaska no longer able to use food stamps to buy clothing or equipment for transportation or shelter. Still able to use food stamps to buy hunting and fishing equipment. Only those stores at least half of whose food sales are staple foods -- such as meat, poultry, fish, bread, cereals, vegetables, fruits, dairy products and the like, but not including accessory food items, such as coffee, tea, cocoa, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, candy, condiments and spices -- to be authorized to accept food stamps. Stores selling hunting and fishing equipment to residents of remote areas of Alaska may also be authorized. Authorized nonprofit food-buying organizations to be able to accept payment for food orders prior to delivering the food orders. USDA to authorize only those wholesalers needed for the effective and efficient operation of the FSP. No firm to be authorized as both a retailer and a wholesaler at the same time. Organizations authorized to accept food stamps to serve meals to drug addicts and alcoholics not allowed to redeem food stamps through banks. USDA may, in lieu of a period of disqualification, levy a fine of up to $5,000 for each violation against a firm that has violated the regulations if USDA determines that disqualifying the firm would cause a hardship to food stamp households. State government agencies responsible for conducting food programs on the Indian reservations within their boundaries. These agencies must consult with the tribal organizations on the reservations and in general must be responsive to the needs of the Indians. However, if it is demonstrated that the agencies cannot run the reservations' FSP properly, USDA may determine whether or not a tribal organization is capable of effectively and efficiently administering that program. Provided for the operation of the Food Distribution Program -- either jointly with the FSP or separately -- whichever is requested by a tribal organization. Where a reservation has both a FSP and a Food Distribution Program, there must be safeguards to prevent simultaneous participation in both programs. Food distribution to be administered by the State government, except when USDA determines that the tribal organization is capable of effective and efficient administration in which cases the tribe could administer the program. Tribes wishing to administer the Food Distribution Program, as well as the FSP on reservations where the State is not running the program(s) properly, may request and receive training and assistance from USDA to enable them to administer the program(s). USDA authorized to pay the agency running a food stamp or Food Distribution Program on an Indian reservation for such portion of the administrative costs for running these programs as USDA determines to be necessary for effective program operations. USDA could pay either a State or a tribe for more than 50% of the costs of administering the program on an Indian reservation, if USDA determined this to be necessary. State agencies obligated to inform low-income households about the availability, eligibility requirements, and benefits of the FSP including but no limited to a) notification of recipients of 1) AFDC payments, 2) SSI, and 3) unemployment compensation; b) distribution of application forms; and c) associated instructions in filling out such forms and on the documentation required to verify household income. States must use appropriate bilingual personnel and printed material where there are a substantial number of low-income persons who speak a language other than English. States not allowed to conduct any other outreach activities of a noninformational nature in areas where a Federally funded community action program is conducting food stamp outreach. States must prominently display in all food stamp and PA offices posters supplied by USDA which list:   -- foods that contain substantial amounts of recommended daily allowances of vitamins, minerals, and protein for children and adults; -- menus that combine such foods into meals; -- details on eligibility for other programs administered by USDA that provide nutrition benefits; and -- general information on the relationship between health and diet. Pamphlets with nutritional information for home use to be developed or obtained by USDA and made available in food stamp and PA offices. USDA to extend the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) to the greatest extent possible to reach FSP participants. USDA to develop printed materials specifically designed for persons with low reading comprehension levels on how to buy and prepare more nutritious and economic meals and on the relationship between food and good health. Deleted provision allowing an emergency program for areas struck by mechanical disasters (computer breakdowns). Allowed the income and resources of victims of a disaster to be considered for program purposes (these were previously disregarded). State agencies required to develop a plan for providing food stamps to disaster victims. USDA to establish a Food Stamp Disaster Task Force to assist States in conducting the disaster program. USDA authorized to undertake research that will help improve the administration and effectiveness of the FSP in delivering nutrition-related benefits. These projects to be supported by contracts with or grants to public or private organizations or agencies. USDA authorized to conduct pilot projects to test changes in the FSP. Several possible projects specifically authorized by law as follows:   -- the payment of benefits in the form of cash rather than food stamps to eligible households whose members are either 1) all over age 65 or 2) all entitled to SSI benefits; -- the payment of benefits in the form of cash rather than food stamps to eligible households whose members are either 1) all over age 65 or 2) all entitled to SSI benefits; -- the payment of benefits in the form of cash rather than food stamps to eligible households whose members are either 1) all over age 65 or 2) all entitled to SSI benefits; -- the payment of benefits in the form of cash rather than food stamps to eligible households whose members are either 1) all over age 65 or 2) all entitled to SSI benefits; -- the payment of benefits in the form of cash rather than food stamps to eligible households whose members are either 1) all over age 65 or 2) all entitled to SSI benefits; -- the use of countersigned food coupons or similar identification mechanisms that do not invade a household's privacy; -- the use of food checks or other voucher-type forms in place of food coupons; and -- the performance of work in exchange for food stamp benefits (the law requires USDA to conduct this pilot project). USDA to issue reports to the appropriate Congressional committees on the progress of the pilot projects (for the work projects, the reports must be submitted jointly by USDA and DOL. A final report on this project is due no later than 18 months following enactment of this law).

Last modified: 02/19/2008