HR 5220 — Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act of 2021

As used in this chapter, the term: (a) “Access device” means any card, plate, code, account number, or other means of access, including point of sale devices, that can be used, alone or in conjunction with another access device, to obtain payments, allotments, benefits, money, goods, or other things of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds under this chapter. (b) “Allotment” means the total value of benefits a household is authorized to receive during each month. (c) “Allowable medical expenses” means expenditures for (1) medical and dental care, (2) hospitalization or nursing care (including hospitalization or nursing care of an individual who was a household member immediately prior to entering a hospital or nursing home), (3) prescription drugs when prescribed by a licensed practitioner authorized under State law and over-the-counter medication (including insulin) when approved by a licensed practitioner or other qualified health professional, (4) health and hospitalization insurance policies (excluding the costs of health and accident or income maintenance policies), (5) medicare premiums related to coverage under title XVIII of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.], (6) dentures, hearing aids, and prosthetics (including the costs of securing and maintaining a seeing eye dog), (7) eye glasses prescribed by a physician skilled in eye disease or by an optometrist, (8) reasonable costs of transportation necessary to secure medical treatment or services, and (9) maintaining an attendant, homemaker, home health aide, housekeeper, or child care services due to age, infirmity, or illness. (d) Benefit.— The term “benefit” means the value of supplemental nutrition assistance provided to a household by means of— (1) an electronic benefit transfer under section 2016(h) of this title; or (2) other means of providing assistance, as determined by the Secretary. (e) Benefit Issuer.— The term “benefit issuer” means any office of the State agency or any person, partnership, corporation, organization, political subdivision, or other entity with which a State agency has contracted for, or to which it has delegated functional responsibility in connection with, the issuance of benefits to households. (f) “Certification period” means the period for which households shall be eligible to receive benefits. The certification period shall not exceed 12 months, except that the certification period may be up to 24 months if all adult household members are elderly or disabled. A State agency shall have at least 1 contact with each certified household every 12 months. The limits specified in this subsection may be extended until the end of any transitional benefit period established under section 2020(s) of this title. (g) “Coupon” means any coupon, stamp, type of certificate, authorization card, cash or check issued in lieu of a coupon. (h) “Drug addiction or alcoholic treatment and rehabilitation program” means any such program conducted by a private nonprofit organization or institution, or a publicly operated community mental health center, under part B of title XIX of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x et seq.) to provide treatment that can lead to the rehabilitation of drug addicts or alcoholics. (i) EBT Card.— The term “EBT card” means an electronic benefit transfer card issued under section 2016(h) of this title. (j) “Elderly or disabled member” means a member of a household who— (1) is sixty years of age or older; (2) (A) receives supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), or Federally or State administered supplemental benefits of the type described in section 212(a) of Public Law 93–66 (42 U.S.C. 1382 note), or (B) receives Federally or State administered supplemental assistance of the type described in section 1616(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382e(a)), interim assistance pending receipt of supplemental security income, ...

(a) Income and other financial resources as substantial limiting factors in obtaining more nutritious diet; recipients under Social Security Act Participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall be limited to those households whose incomes and other financial resources, held singly or in joint ownership, are determined to be a substantial limiting factor in permitting them to obtain a more nutritious diet. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter except subsections (b), (d)(2), (g), and (r) of section 2015 of this title and section 2012(m)(4) of this title, households in which each member receives benefits under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.], or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled under title I, X, XIV, or XVI of the Social Security Act [42 U.S.C. 301 et seq., 1201 et seq., 1351 et seq., or 1381 et seq.], shall be eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Except for sections 2015, 2025(e)(1), and section 2012(m)(4) of this title, households in which each member receives benefits under a State or local general assistance program that complies with standards established by the Secretary for ensuring that the program is based on income criteria comparable to or more restrictive than those under subsection (c)(2), and not limited to one-time emergency payments that cannot be provided for more than one consecutive month, shall be eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Assistance under this program shall be furnished to all eligible households who make application for such participation. (b) Eligibility standards Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Secretary shall establish uniform national standards of eligibility (other than the income standards for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States established in accordance with subsections (c) and (e) of this section) for participation by households in the supplemental nutrition assistance program in accordance with the provisions of this section. No plan of operation submitted by a State agency shall be approved unless the standards of eligibility meet those established by the Secretary, and no State agency shall impose any other standards of eligibility as a condition for participating in the program. (c) Gross income standard The income standards of eligibility shall be adjusted each October 1 and shall provide that a household shall be ineligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if— (1) the household’s income (after the exclusions and deductions provided for in subsections (d) and (e)) exceeds the poverty line, as defined in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), for the forty-eight contiguous States and the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and Guam, respectively; and (2) in the case of a household that does not include an elderly or disabled member, the household’s income (after the exclusions provided for in subsection (d) but before the deductions provided for in subsection (e)) exceeds such poverty line by more than 30 per centum. In no event shall the standards of eligibility for the Virgin Islands of the United States or Guam exceed those in the forty-eight contiguous States. (d) Exclusions from income Household income for purposes of the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall include all income from whatever source excluding only— (1) any gain or benefit which is not in the form of money payable directly to a household (notwithstanding its conversion in whole or in part to direct payments to households pursuant to any demonstration project carried out or authorized under Federal law including demonstration projects created by the waiver of provi...

(a) Payments to governmental entities (1) Definition of governmental entity In this subsection, the term “governmental entity” means— (A) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and (B) American Samoa. (2) Block grants (A) Amount of block grants From the sums appropriated under this chapter, the Secretary shall, subject to this section, pay to governmental entities to pay the expenditures for nutrition assistance programs for needy persons as described in subparagraphs (B) and (C)— (i) for fiscal year 2003, $1,401,000,000; and (ii) subject to the availability of appropriations under section 2027(a) of this title, for each fiscal year thereafter, the amount specified in clause (i), as adjusted by the percentage by which the thrifty food plan has been adjusted under section 2012(u)(3) of this title between June 30, 2002, and June 30 of the immediately preceding fiscal year. (B) Payments to Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (i) In general For fiscal year 2003 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall use 99.6 percent of the funds made available under subparagraph (A) for payment to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to pay— (I) 100 percent of the expenditures by the Commonwealth for the fiscal year for the provision of nutrition assistance included in the plan of the Commonwealth approved under subsection (b); and (II) 50 percent of the related administrative expenses. (ii) Exception for expenditures for certain systems Notwithstanding clause (i), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico may spend in fiscal year 2002 or 2003 not more than $6,000,000 of the amount required to be paid to the Commonwealth for fiscal year 2002 under this paragraph (as in effect on the day before May 13, 2002) to pay 100 percent of the costs of— (I) upgrading and modernizing the electronic data processing system used to carry out nutrition assistance programs for needy persons; (II) implementing systems to simplify the determination of eligibility to receive the nutrition assistance; and (III) operating systems to deliver the nutrition assistance through electronic benefit transfers. (C) Payments to American Samoa For fiscal year 2003 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary shall use 0.4 percent of the funds made available under subparagraph (A) for payment to American Samoa to pay 100 percent of the expenditures by American Samoa for a nutrition assistance program extended under section 1469d(c) of title 48. (D) Carryover of funds For fiscal year 2002 and each fiscal year thereafter, not more than 2 percent of the funds made available under this paragraph for the fiscal year to each governmental entity may be carried over to the following fiscal year. (3) Time and manner of payments to Commonwealth of Puerto Rico The Secretary shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (b), pay to the Commonwealth for the applicable fiscal year, at such times and in such manner as the Secretary may determine, the amount estimated by the Commonwealth pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A)(iv), reduced or increased to the extent of any prior overpayment or current underpayment which the Secretary determines has been made under this section and with respect to which adjustment has not already been made under this subsection. (b) Plan for provision of assistance; approval; noncompliance (1) (A) In order to receive payments under this chapter for any fiscal year, the Commonwealth shall have a plan for that fiscal year approved by the Secretary under this section. By July 1 of each year, if the Commonwealth wishes to receive payments, it shall submit a plan for the provision of the assistance described in subsection (a)(2)(B) for the following fiscal year which— (i) designates the agency or agencies directly responsible for the administration, or supervision of the administration, of the program for the provision of such assistance; (ii) assesses the food and nutrition needs of needy persons residing in the Commonwealth; (iii) describes the program for the provision of such assi...