Farm Bill Commissioners Letter

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Develop Communications Plan: We will implement a plan to educate the public on these changes with special emphasis on the immigrant restorations.

• 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.)

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