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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and SNAP

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. This new law is also referred to as the "stimulus package" or Public Law 111-5. Among many other provisions, it contains changes to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which was formerly called the Food Stamp program. There are many different state-specific names for this program.

ARRA raises monthly SNAP benefit levels, and within the SNAP program affects the status of Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs), the computation of client overissuance claims and work requirements, and the allocation of new administrative funding. In addition to the above, the Act establishes a hold harmless for states in the implementation of its provisions, and established a $50 tolerance level for purposes of a Quality Control error determination for the period that the benefit increases under the Act are in effect.

Adjustments to Monthly SNAP Allotments

ARRA increases Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by raising maximum allotments by 13.6 percent of the June 2008 value of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP). For example, the maximum monthly allotment for a 4-person household in the 48 States and DC increased $80, from $588 to $668 (in 2009).

Because of the nature of the calculation, the legislation also effectively increases the minimum monthly benefit amount for households of one and two persons from $14 to $16 (.08 of the one-person TFP ($200; 8% of this is $16 rounded to the nearest whole dollar). The minimum benefit amounts for one and two-person households increase to $19 for Alaska Urban, $24 for Alaska Rural I, $30 for Alaska Rural II, and $25 for Hawaii.

These adjustments are an entitlement that go into effect April 1, 2009, will not be reduced in future federal fiscal years, and will remain effective until the cost of the June TFP (under law prior to the stimulus legislation) exceeds the levels prescribed in the stimulus legislation and results in higher maximum benefit levels.

The benefit levels for FY 2010 and subsequent years will be based on the greater of 113.6 percent of the value of the TFP in June of 2008 and the value of the TFP in June of 2009.

Treatment of Jobless Workers

Beginning April 1, 2009, and extending through FY 2010, SNAP benefits of Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) will not be limited under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 unless an individual does not comply with the requirements of a program offered by the State agency that meets standards contained in the Act which require that recipients:

·           participate in and comply with the requirements of a work program for 20 hours or more per week, as determined by the State agency;

·           participate in and comply with the requirements of a program under section 20 or a comparable program established by a State or political subdivision of a State.

States may continue to disqualify individuals from SNAP on the basis of their failure to comply with an Employment and Training Program. However, no one may be disqualified on the basis of the time limit unless the State chooses to make a work assignment available that meets the above requirements.

Beginning on October 1, 2010, for the purposes of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 State agencies will disregard any period during which an individual received benefits under the SNAP prior to October 1, 2010. The effect of this provision will be to clear all ABAWD time limits due to the 3 in 36 rule and begin anew.

Quality Control for Maximum Benefit Increase

The Quality Control (QC) variance exclusion will begin on the date of implementation, starting no earlier than April 1, 2009, and continue, for errors related to implementation of the adjusted benefit levels, through September 30, 2009.

Any variances resulting from mistakes in the amount of benefits authorized for a household resulting from the application of the adjusted benefit levels will be excluded for cases with review dates between April 1, and September 30, 2009. If the State implements the new allotment levels based on the Thrifty Food Plan adjustments after April 1, 2009, it will only receive the variance exclusion from the date of implementation.

Benefits overissued as a result of implementing the adjusted benefit levels must be excluded when calculating the amount of a claim against a household. This exclusion will be in effect from April 1, 2009, through September 30, 2009. The USDA is considering the applicability of this provision in the out years.

The $25 QC tolerance level in 7 CFR 275.t2(f)(2) will be raised to $50 beginning April 1, 2009, and continue through September 30, 2009.

Quality Control for Maximum Benefit Increase

The QC variance exclusion will begin on the date of implementation, starting no earlier than April 1, 2009, and continue through September 30, 2010. Any variances resulting from improperly disqualifying ABAWDs because they received 3 months of benefits in a 36-month period will be excluded for cases between April 1, 2009, and September 30, 2009. If a State implements the ABAWD provisions after April 1, 2009, it will only receive the variance exclusion from the date of implementation.

Administrative Expenses

The USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will allocate a portion of $145 million to state agencies administering SNAP for fiscal year 2009. A second allocation of a portion of $150 million will be made for FY 2010. The funds are to be used for State administrative costs associated with carrying out the change in benefits required by the ARRA and for administering SNAP.

As required by the ARRA, 75 percent of the amount available for each fiscal year will be allocated to States based on each State's respective share of households that participate in SNAP for the most recent 12 month period for which data are available to FNS. These allocations will be adjusted for participation in disaster SNAP programs as specified by the ARRA. The remaining 25 percent will be allocated to States based on the increase in the number of households that participate over the most recent 12 month period for which data are available, and adjusted for participation in disaster programs.

Additional Information

Recovery.gov is a federal website that has been created to explain the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, show how, when, and where the money is spent, and provide data that will allow citizens to evaluate the Act's progress and provide feedback. The site will include information about Federal grant awards and contracts as well as formula grant allocations. Federal agencies will provide data on how they are using the money, and eventually, prime recipients of Federal funding will provide information on how they are using their Federal funds. The site will use interactive graphics to illustrate where the money is going, as well as estimates of how many jobs are being created, and where they are located. There will be search capability to make it easier to track the funds. The entire text of the Act is also available. The website is online at:
http://www.recovery.gov/

The USDA has created its own webpage for news about its efforts under the ARRA. It is online at:
http://www.usda.gov/recovery

Source

http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Memo/09/021809.pdf
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/rules/Memo/09/022309.pdf
http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/recovery/recovery-snap.htm

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