Home > 104th Congressional Bills > H.R. 1136 (ih) To amend title 38, United States Code, to deem certain service in the [Introduced in House] ...H.R. 1136 (ih) To amend title 38, United States Code, to deem certain service in the [Introduced in House] ...
Union Calendar No. 39
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1135
[Report No. 104-77]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the commodity distribution programs of the Department of
Agriculture, to reform and simplify the Food Stamp Program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 14, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Union Calendar No. 39
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1135
[Report No. 104-77]
To improve the commodity distribution programs of the Department of
Agriculture, to reform and simplify the Food Stamp Program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 6, 1995
Mr. Roberts introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
March 14, 1995
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March
6, 1995]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the commodity distribution programs of the Department of
Agriculture, to reform and simplify the Food Stamp Program, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Food Stamp Reform and Commodity
Distribution Act''.
TITLE I--COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Commodity Distribution Act of
1995''.
SEC. 102. AVAILABILITY OF COMMODITIES.
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of
Agriculture (hereinafter in this title referred to as the
``Secretary'') is authorized during fiscal years 1996 through 2000 to
purchase a variety of nutritious and useful commodities and distribute
such commodities to the States for distribution in accordance with this
title.
(b) In addition to the commodities described in subsection (a), the
Secretary may expend funds made available to carry out the section 32
of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), which are not expended
or needed to carry out such sections, to purchase, process, and
distribute commodities of the types customarily purchased under such
section to the States for distribution in accordance with this title.
(c) In addition to the commodities described in subsections (a) and
(b), agricultural commodities and the products thereof made available
under clause (2) of the second sentence of section 32 of the Act of
August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), may be made available by the Secretary
to the States for distribution in accordance with this title.
(d) In addition to the commodities described in subsections (a),
(b), and (c), commodities acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation
that the Secretary determines, in the discretion of the Secretary, are
in excess of quantities needed to--
(1) carry out other domestic donation programs;
(2) meet other domestic obligations;
(3) meet international market development and food aid
commitments; and
(4) carry out the farm price and income stabilization
purposes of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, the
Agricultural Act of 1949, and the Commodity Credit Corporation
Charter Act;
shall be made available by the Secretary, without charge or credit for
such commodities, to the States for distribution in accordance with
this title.
(e) During each fiscal year, the types, varieties and amounts of
commodities to be purchased under this title shall be determined by the
Secretary. In purchasing such commodities, except those commodities
purchased pursuant to section 110, the Secretary shall, to the extent
practicable and appropriate, make purchases based on--
(1) agricultural market conditions;
(2) the preferences and needs of States and distributing
agencies; and
(3) the preferences of the recipients.
SEC. 103. STATE, LOCAL AND PRIVATE SUPPLEMENTATION OF COMMODITIES.
(a) The Secretary shall establish procedures under which State and
local agencies, recipient agencies, or any other entity or person may
supplement the commodities distributed under this title for use by
recipient agencies with nutritious and wholesome commodities that such
entities or persons donate for distribution, in all or part of the
State, in addition to the commodities otherwise made available under
this title.
(b) States and eligible recipient agencies may use--
(1) the funds appropriated for administrative cost under
section 109(b);
(2) equipment, structures, vehicles, and all other
facilities involved in the storage, handling, or distribution
of commodities made available under this title; and
(3) the personnel, both paid or volunteer, involved in such
storage, handling, or distribution;
to store, handle or distribute commodities donated for use under
subsection (a).
(c) States and recipient agencies shall continue, to the maximum
extent practical, to use volunteer workers, and commodities and other
foodstuffs donated by charitable and other organizations, in the
distribution of commodities under this title.
SEC. 104. STATE PLAN.
(a) A State seeking to receive commodities under this title shall
submit a plan of operation and administration every four years to the
Secretary for approval. The plan may be amended at any time, with the
approval of the Secretary.
(b) The State plan, at a minimum, shall--
(1) designate the State agency responsible for distributing
the commodities received under this title;
(2) set forth a plan of operation and administration to
expeditiously distribute commodities under this title in
quantities requested to eligible recipient agencies in
accordance with sections 106 and 110;
(3) set forth the standards of eligibility for recipient
agencies; and
(4) set forth the standards of eligibility for individual
or household recipients of commodities, which at minimum shall
require--
(A) individuals or households to be comprised of
needy persons; and
(B) individual or household members to be residing
in the geographic location served by the distributing
agency at the time of application for assistance.
(c) The Secretary shall encourage each State receiving commodities
under this title to establish a State advisory board consisting of
representatives of all interested entities, both public and private, in
the distribution of commodities received under this title in the State.
(d) A State agency receiving commodities under this title may--
(1)(A) enter into cooperative agreements with State
agencies of other States to jointly provide commodities
received under this title to eligible recipient agencies that
serve needy persons in a single geographical area which
includes such States; or
(B) transfer commodities received under this title to any
such eligible recipient agency in the other State under such
agreement; and
(2) advise the Secretary of an agreement entered into under
this subsection and the transfer of commodities made pursuant
to such agreement.
SEC. 105. ALLOCATION OF COMMODITIES TO STATES.
(a) In each fiscal year, except for those commodities purchased
under section 110, the Secretary shall allocate the commodities
distributed under this title as follows:
(1) 60 percent of the such total value of commodities shall
be allocated in a manner such that the value of commodities
allocated to each State bears the same ratio to 60 percent of
such total value as the number of persons in households within
the State having incomes below the poverty line bears to the
total number of persons in households within all States having
incomes below such poverty line. Each State shall receive the
value of commodities allocated under this paragraph.
(2) 40 percent of such total value of commodities shall be
allocated in a manner such that the value of commodities
allocated to each State bears the same ratio to 40 percent of
such total value as the average monthly number of unemployed
persons within the State bears to the average monthly number of
unemployed persons within all States during the same fiscal
year. Each State shall receive the value of commodities
allocated to the State under this paragraph.
(b)(1) The Secretary shall notify each State of the amount of
commodities that such State is allotted to receive under subsection (a)
or this subsection, if applicable. Each State shall promptly notify the
Secretary if such State determines that it will not accept any or all
of the commodities made available under such allocation. On such a
notification by a State, the Secretary shall reallocate and distribute
such commodities as the Secretary deems appropriate and equitable. The
Secretary shall further establish procedures to permit States to
decline to receive portions of such allocation during each fiscal year
as the State determines is appropriate and the Secretary shall
reallocate and distribute such allocation as the Secretary deems
appropriate and equitable.
(2) In the event of any drought, flood, hurricane, or other natural
disaster affecting substantial numbers of persons in a State, county,
or parish, the Secretary may request that States unaffected by such a
disaster consider assisting affected States by allowing the Secretary
to reallocate commodities from such unaffected State to States
containing areas adversely affected by the disaster.
(c) Purchases of commodities under this title shall be made by the
Secretary at such times and under such conditions as the Secretary
determines appropriate within each fiscal year. All commodities so
purchased for each such fiscal year shall be delivered at reasonable
intervals to States based on the allocations and reallocations made
under subsections (a) and (b), and or carry out section 110, not later
than December 31 of the following fiscal year.
SEC. 106. PRIORITY SYSTEM FOR STATE DISTRIBUTION OF COMMODITIES.
(a) In distributing the commodities allocated under subsections (a)
and (b) of section 105, the State agency, under procedures determined
by the State agency, shall offer, or otherwise make available, its full
allocation of commodities for distribution to emergency feeding
organizations.
(b) If the State agency determines that the State will not exhaust
the commodities allocated under subsections (a) and (b) of section 105
through distribution to organizations referred to in subsection (a),
its remaining allocation of commodities shall be distributed to
charitable institutions described in section 113(3) not receiving
commodities under subsection (a).
(c) If the State agency determines that the State will not exhaust
the commodities allocated under subsections (a) and (b) of section 105
through distribution to organizations referred to in subsections (a)
and (b), its remaining allocation of commodities shall be distributed
to any eligible recipient agency not receiving commodities under
subsections (a) and (b).
SEC. 107. INITIAL PROCESSING COSTS.
The Secretary may use funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to
pay the costs of initial processing and packaging of commodities to be
distributed under this title into forms and in quantities suitable, as
determined by the Secretary, for use by the individual households or
eligible recipient agencies, as applicable. The Secretary may pay such
costs in the form of Corporation-owned commodities equal in value to
such costs. The Secretary shall ensure that any such payments in kind
will not displace commercial sales of such commodities.
SEC. 108. ASSURANCES; ANTICIPATED USE.
(a) The Secretary shall take such precautions as the Secretary
deems necessary to ensure that commodities made available under this
title will not displace commercial sales of such commodities or the
products thereof. The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate by December 31,
1997, and not less than every two years thereafter, a report as to
whether and to what extent such displacements or substitutions are
occurring.
(b) The Secretary shall determine that commodities provided under
this title shall be purchased and distributed only in quantities that
can be consumed without waste. No eligible recipient agency may receive
commodities under this title in excess of anticipated use, based on
inventory records and controls, or in excess of its ability to accept
and store such commodities.
SEC. 109. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Purchase of Commodities.--To carry out this title, there are
authorized to be appropriated $260,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
1996 through 2000 to purchase, process, and distribute commodities to
the States in accordance with this title.
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