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Farm Bill Commissioners Letter
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June 12, 2002
Mr. Vincent P. Meconi
Secretary
Department of Health and Social Services
1901 North Dupont Highway
New Castle, Delaware 19720
Dear Mr. Meconi:
On May 13, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-171), commonly referred to
as the Farm Bill. Among other provisions, the law reauthorizes the Food
Stamp Program for 5 years and adds $6.4 billion in new funding to nutrition
programs over 10 years to help in our shared fight against hunger.
The bipartisan legislation supports a commitment of the Bush Administration
to ensure that all eligible low-income individuals and families have access
to the nutritional assistance they need through the Food Stamp Program.
Among its provisions, the legislation:
- Strengthens the nutrition safety net by restoring eligibility
to legal immigrants who have lived in the country for at least 5 years
and to legal immigrant children and individuals receiving disability
benefits without the waiting period, increasing the standard deduction
for larger households, and raising the asset limit from $2,000 to $3,000
for households with a disabled member;
- Supports work by providing State options and flexibilities
that ease the transition from welfare to work, and by allowing State
agencies greater flexibility in their use of employment and training
funding;
- Simplifies Program administration by giving States substantial
new flexibility to align food stamp rules with other assistance programs
and streamline complex food stamp rules making it easier for State agencies
to administer the Program and for low-income households to receive nutritional
benefits;
- Balances Program accountability with other measures of success
by changing the Quality Control system to focus on States with persistently
high error rates and funding incentives for States with superior performance.
A summary of the law’s nutrition provisions is available on the Food
and Nutrition Service’s Web site at.
In the coming months, the Food and Nutrition Service will be working
with you on an implementation strategy that ensures people receive the
benefits they are entitled to receive and informs State agencies about
new policy options. While working on regulations, we will conduct a series
of other activities to enable timely implementation of the food stamp
provisions.
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Issue Implementing Memoranda: By mid-June, we will issue
implementing memoranda that require States to implement the mandatory
provisions and authorize the new statutory options.
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Provide Technical Assistance: On June 11, 2002, in Alexandria,
VA and on June 18, 2002, in Dallas, TX, we will meet with State agencies
to answer questions about the legislation and to hear concerns about
implementation issues. Our regional offices have invited all States
to these meetings. As States begin the implementation process, we
will continue to provide assistance on any issues that develop.
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Monitor Implementation: We will monitor State implementation
activities to ensure that required dates are met and to assess the
extent to which States select new policy choices.
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Develop Communications Plan: We will implement a plan to
educate the public on these changes with special emphasis on the immigrant
restorations.
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Initiate Meetings on Performance Bonus Criteria: We will
meet with State agencies and their national organizations this summer
to begin work on establishing performance bonus criteria.
I understand that the implementation phase of the Farm Bill is coming
at a time when most State agencies are facing budget shortfalls. To relieve
some of the administrative burden, I encourage you to take full advantage
of the simplification provided in the Farm Bill as well as the options
that are already available to you through waivers and regulations. You
will be receiving correspondence shortly giving you further information
about these options and which States are making use of them.
Finally, while the Farm Bill adds new provisions to further strengthen
our nation’s nutrition safety net, many participants are already benefiting
from the Food Stamp Program’s nutrition education messages about the importance
of healthy food choices. Because the nutrition benefits of the Program
are so important, it is critical that we integrate these efforts with
those of our other national nutrition programs such as the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the School
Lunch and Breakfast Programs. In combination, these programs can be even
more effective in decreasing hunger and increasing
participants’ understanding of the important role of a healthful diet.
To facilitate this effort, the Department of Agriculture has established
a new Web site, the Food Stamp Nutrition Connection, linking
the many nutrition education resources that are available. For your convenience,
enclosed is a rolodex card with information about this site.
Sincerely,
/S/ Suzanne M. Biermann
Suzanne M. Biermann
Deputy Under Secretary
Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services
Enclosure
(Identical letters sent to all State Welfare Commissioners.)
Last
modified:
02/16/2012
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