To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to improve the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Latest action (18 Apr 2013): Introduced
What this bill does
H.R. 1657 would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to change several aspects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It would narrow "categorical eligibility" so that households qualify automatically for SNAP only if every member receives certain specified cash assistance (such as TANF, SSI, or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled), rather than broader non-cash benefits. It would require households reapplying after previously receiving SNAP to file a full new application and re-verify income and assets. It would change how energy assistance payments are treated in calculating utility allowances, eliminate certain SNAP employment-and-training program funding and definitions, tighten work-requirement exemptions tied to local unemployment rates, and direct USDA to build a centralized database to prevent duplicate enrollment across states. It would also revise state quality-control rules, add new penalties for states with high "negative error rates" (wrongful denials/terminations), repeal incentive payments to states with low error rates, and adjust funding formulas for SNAP nutrition education and obesity prevention grants.
The bill would primarily affect SNAP applicants and recipients, state agencies administering the program, and USDA, which oversees SNAP. Recipients could face stricter eligibility and reapplication rules and narrower work-requirement exemptions, while states would face new reporting, penalty, and database obligations.
The bill was introduced on April 18, 2013, in the 113th Congress by Rep. Marlin Stutzman and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. It did not receive a vote and did not become law.
Plain-English summary generated by Bill100 AI from the official record. Always verify against the source below.
Official summary
Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to make eligible for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program) households in which each member receives cash assistance under the temporary assistance to needy families program (TANF), cash assistance under the supplemental security income program (SSI), or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled program (AABD). (Current law bases categorical SNAP eligibility upon state benefits received rather than such assistance.)
Requires an eligible household that previously received SNAP benefits and applies for program reenrollment to complete a new application and verify that household income and assets are in program compliance.
Limits the employment requirement waiver to areas with an unemployment rate over 10%.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a centralized database to facilitate USDA-state agency cooperation in order to ensure that individuals do not enroll for benefits in more than one state.
Requires states that are sanctioned for three consecutive years of improper payments to pay the entire liability amount, with no alternative payment option available.
Eliminates: (1) the exclusion of low-income home energy assistance from SNAP household income determinations, (2) funding of employment and training programs, and (3) bonuses for states with low SNAP allocation error rates.
Provides funding for state nutrition and obesity prevention grant programs.
Common questions
- What does H.R. 1657 do?
- H.R. 1657 would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to change several aspects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It would narrow "categorical eligibility" so that households qualify automatically for SNAP only if every member receives certain specified cash assistance (such as TANF, SSI, or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled), rather than broader non-cash benefits. It would require households reapplying after previously receiving SNAP to file a full new application and re-verify income and assets. It would change how energy assistance payments are treated in calculating utility allowances, eliminate certain SNAP employment-and-training program funding and definitions, tighten work-requirement exemptions tied to local unemployment rates, and direct USDA to build a centralized database to prevent duplicate enrollment across states. It would also revise state quality-control rules, add new penalties for states with high "negative error rates" (wrongful denials/terminations), repeal incentive payments to states with low error rates, and adjust funding formulas for SNAP nutrition education and obesity prevention grants. The bill would primarily affect SNAP applicants and recipients, state agencies administering the program, and USDA, which oversees SNAP. Recipients could face stricter eligibility and reapplication rules and narrower work-requirement exemptions, while states would face new reporting, penalty, and database obligations. The bill was introduced on April 18, 2013, in the 113th Congress by Rep. Marlin Stutzman and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. It did not receive a vote and did not become law.
- Has H.R. 1657 become law?
- Not yet. As of 18 Apr 2013, H.R. 1657 is introduced.
- Who sponsored H.R. 1657?
- H.R. 1657 was sponsored by Rep. Marlin Stutzman [R-IN3] (Republican-IN), with 8 cosponsors.
- What's the latest action on H.R. 1657?
- Introduced (18 Apr 2013).
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