Food Stamp Act of 1977

Summary

Food and Agriculture Act - Title I: Payment Limitation for Wheat, Feed Grains, and Upland Cotton - Extends through 1982 the payment limitation for wheat, feed grain, and upland cotton programs provided by the Agriculture Act of 1970, as amended. Title II: Dairy - Extends the effectiveness of Class I dairy base plans through 1985 and of other dairy base plans through 1982. Extends through 1982 the authority for making dairy products available to veterans' hospitals and to the military, and for making indemnity payments to dairy farmers who sustain losses as a result of pesticides. Title III: Wool Program - Extends through 1982 the current program for wool. Title IV: Wheat Program - Establishes the cost of production as the basis for target prices for 1979 through 1982 crops of wheat, corn and upland cotton, and requires that the loan rate on these crops shall be not less than 75 percent of the cost of production, subject to adjustment under special circumstances. Sets the target price for wheat for 1978 at $2.91 per bushel, and the loan rate at $2.18 per bushel. Extends through 1982, among other things: (1) the marketing certificate and acreage set-aside programs, and the exemption of processors and exporters from marketing certificate requirements; (2) the suspension of wheat marketing quotas; (3) the exclusion of wheat allotments from the transfer of acreage allotments on public lands; (4) the floor for sales of wheat by the Commodity Credit Corporation and the price at which purchases must be made to offset sales; and (5) the limit on summer fallow use of wheat acreage. Title V: Feed Grain Program - Extends the feed grain program through 1982 and sets the target price of corn for 1978 at $2.28 per bushel and the loan rate at $1.71 per bushel. Title VI: Upland Cotton Program - Extends the cotton program through 1982 and sets the target price for cotton for 1978 at $.511 per pound and the loan rate at $.3833 per pound. Extends through 1982: (1) the minimum base acreage allotment program; (2) the suspension of marketing quotas for cotton; (3) the price formula at which the Commodity Credit Corporation is required to sell upland cotton for unrestricted use; (4) the suspension of the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to equalize the price supports for cottonseed and soybeans; and (5) the application of established rules for classifying skiprows. Title VII: Rice - Extends through 1982 among other things: (1) the national acreage allotment program for rice crops; (2) the established price and loan rate for rice crops; (3) the suspension of rice marketing quotas and the unused acreage allotment program; and (4) the rules regarding the finality of determinations setting out the basis for payments and loans. Title VIII: Food and Agricultural Research - States the findings of Congress and declares that it is the policy of the Federal Government that special measures be undertaken to improve food and agricultural research and that the Secretary of Agriculture should have the primary role in the overall national research effort. Establishes within the executive branch of the United States Government the Federal Food and Agriculture Research Policy Council: (1) to review Federal food and agriculture research programs to insure maximum coordination and cooperation among the Federal departments and agencies in their research efforts; and (2) to submit recommendations annually to the Secretary with respect to supplemental funding or organizational changes necessary to achieve the objectives of food and agriculture research. Establishes within the Department of Agriculture the Federal Food and Agriculture Research Operations and Advisory Committee: (1) to provide a forum for the interchange of information among the organizations represented; (2) to develop a system for compiling information about private and federally supported research projects and for reviewing and evaluating such projects; (3) to develop guidelines for the making of competitive grants; and (4) to submit annual reports identifying high-priority research areas and summarizing the research achievements of the prior fiscal year while making recommendations for research programs for the following year. Establishes within the Department of Agriculture the Users Advisory Board for Food and Agriculture Research, composed of five interest panels representing users of food and agriculture research, which shall annually assess for the Policy Council and Operations Committee: (1) the programs of the Federal departments and agencies performing research; (2) the relationship of the Federal Government to agricultural colleges and State agricultural experiment stations; and (3) the extent of research being conducted by other entities. Expresses the sense of the Congress that Federal food and agricultural research should be annually supported at a level of one-half of one percent of (1) the amount spent annually in the United States on food for personal consumption, and (2) the annual value of agricultural exports from the United States. Allocates to high- priority research not less than 50 percent of the appropriations for the competitive research grants program of the Department of Agriculture. Establishes within the Department of Agriculture the Office of Research and Competitive Grants to compile information about each Federally supported research project and to administer the competitive grants program. Authorizes the Secretary to make competitive five-year grants to State agricultural experiment stations, colleges and research institutions and to Federal and private organizations; and three-year grants to agricultural land-grant colleges and State experiment stations to facilitate on-going State-Federal programs that require funding in excess of normal program levels. Sets the formula for determining amounts of grants to State agricultural experiment stations for equipment, supplies and buildings, and to colleges of veterinary medicine and experiment stations for animal health research. Establishes in the United States Treasury a "Department of Agriculture Contingency Research Fund", funded at a minimum level of $5,000,000 to meet irregular or unexpected research needs of any service agency within the Department of Agriculture. Declares that it is the policy of the United States that the Department of Agriculture conduct research in the field of human nutrition. Directs the Secretary to develop a national food and human nutrition research and extension program and to make such research a separate and distinct mission of the Agricultural Research Service. Requires that not less than two percent of the appropriations for the Agricultural Research Service be allocated to improve programs of the Food and Nutrition Service. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the potential value and cost of establishing regional food and human nutrition research centers. States that not less than 15 percent of funds appropriated for distribution to States shall be used by experiment stations for conducting food and human nutrition research projects. Directs the Extension Service to establish a national educational program for dissemination of the results of research, with special attention to the education of low-income individuals. Directs the Secretary to establish an Animal Health Science Research Advisory Board to recommend priorities for the conduct of animal health research programs. Authorizes such appropriations as may be necessary and directs that they be apportioned thus: (1) 4 percent retained by the Department of Agriculture for administration and program assistance; and (2) 96 percent to go to accredited colleges of veterinary medicine and agricultural experiment stations in the several States. Directs the deans of the participating colleges and the director of the State agricultural experiment station for the State to develop a comprehensive animal health research program for each State based on the research capacity of each eligible institution in the State. Requires the dean or director of each eligible institution to cause preparation of and to review project proposals which comply with the purpose and provisions of this Act. Sets the Federal contribution to any eligible institution at $100,000 in addition to amounts matching funds from non-Federal sources. Title IX: Public Law 480 - Extends through 1982 the authority to carry out the "Food for Peace" programs under Public Law 480. Authorizes the President to reallocate commodities earmarked for humanitarian purposes in developing countries when he determines that the quantity of such commodities cannot be effectively used to carry out such purposes. Permits the use of foreign currencies to assist foreign countries in establishing facilities for the handling, storage, and distribution of U.S. agricultural commodities. Increases to 1,500,000 tons (from 1,300,000 tons) the minimum quantity of agricultural commodities to be distributed in each fiscal year under Title II of Public Law 480, and deletes the requirement that one million tons be distributed through voluntary agencies and the World Food Program. Increases to $900,000,000 (from $600,000,000) the maximum level of assistance under Title II of Public Law 480. Permits payment of transportation costs to points of entry other than the seaports of the recipient country. Title X: Food Stamps : - National Food Stamp Reform Act - Redefines the meaning of the term "household" as used in the Food Stamp Act of 1964. Deletes the existing requirement that individuals sharing common living quarters be related in order to qualify as a household. Includes within the meaning of the term "retail food store" any private, nonprofit, cooperative food purchasing venture in which members pay for food purchased prior to receipt of such food. Authorizes such cooperatives to redeem members' food coupons. Amends the definition of the term "elderly person" to delete the requirement that such person be either living alone or with a spouse. Adds definitions to the term "nutritionally adequate diet". Prohibits the distribution of federally donated foods to households except as is considered necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture to effect an orderly transition on an Indian reservation from a food distribution program to the food coupon program. Sets forth standards or eligibility for participation by households in the food stamp program. States that the income standards of eligibility shall be the income poverty guidelines prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget. Defines the terms "gross income" and "household income" as used in determining the eligibility. Sets forth the exemption allowed in determining the amount of each type of income attributable to a household. Limits participation to households with net income at or below the official Federal poverty levels. Replaces itemized deductions with a standard deduction of $70. Establishes a 30-day retrospective accounting period for eligibility determinations. Authorizes the Secretary to establish temporary emergency eligibility standards for households that are victims of a disaster. Directs the Secretary to provide that no household shall be eligible for the food stamp program if such household includes an able-bodied adult between the ages of 18 and 60 (subject to specified exceptions) who without good cause fails to register for employment at a State employment service, or otherwise fails to attempt to find work, or refuses to accept employment or voluntarily quits any job. States that no person shall be eligible to receive food coupons who is not a citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence. States that no individual shall be considered a household member for food stamp program purposes who: (1) has reached his eighteenth birthday; (2) is enrolled in an institution of higher education; and (3) is properly claimed or could be claimed as a dependent by a taxpayer who is not a member of an eligible household. Declares that no household that knowingly transfers liquid or nonliquid assets for the purpose of qualifying or attempting to qualify for the food stamp program shall be eligible to participate in the program for a minimum of 30 days. States that no person who receives supplementary security income benefits under Title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act, State supplementary payments under such title, or payments under specified provisions of Title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of such Act, shall be considered a member of a household for purposes of this Act during specified months. Establishes the face value of the coupon allotment which State agencies shall be authorized to issue to eligible households. States that such allotment will be in an amount sufficient to allow a household to purchase a nutritionally adequate diet. Sets the charge for a household coupon allotment at 27.5 percent of the household's income. Requires issuance of 4 authorization-to-purchase cards to each participating household at the beginning of each month. Directs the extension of the nutrition education program of the Department of Agriculture to the greatest extent possible, including the development and distribution of printed materials. Directs the States to include in their plans for the administration of the food stamp program procedures for: (1) the expedited payment to households of the bonus value of any coupon allotment which has been wrongfully denied, delayed, or terminated as a result of an administrative error; and (2) the expedited determination of an applicant household's eligibility. Establishes measures by which the Secretary may ensure the compliance of State agencies with regulations governing State food stamp programs. Authorizes the use of food coupons by the elderly and disabled to purchase "meals on wheels". Authorizes the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to prescribe regulations permitting applicants and recipients of supplemental security income benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act to apply for food stamps at supplemental security income certification offices. Provides for the use of multilingual personnel and material in the administration of the food stamp program in areas where numerous persons speak a language other than English. Increases the criminal penalties for the fraudulent use of food coupons and authorization to purchase cards. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct experimental projects for purposes of increasing the program's efficiency and improving the delivery of benefits to eligible households. Adds to the Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture now provided by law an Assistant Secretary for food and nutrition programs. Title XI: Rural Development - Extends the rural community fire protection program under the Rural Development Act of 1972 through September 30, 1980, with an annual authorization of appropriations not to exceed $7,000,000. Encourages rural fire fighting forces to make use of excess Federal property. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report to Congress on rural community fire protection. Amends the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to provide that prior Congressional approval of watershed projects will be required only where the estimated Federal contribution is in excess of $750,000. Increases from $250,000 to $500,000 the amount of any loan that can be made for a resource conservation and development project under the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act without prior Congressional approval of the loan. Title XII: Extension of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act - Makes permanent the scientific advisory panel established by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to assess the environmental impact of action proposals for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Extends the authorization for appropriations under the Act for fiscal years 1978 ($65,000,000), 1979 ($70,000,000), and 1980 ($75,000,000). Title XIII: Miscellaneous Provisions - Includes marine and fresh water aquaculture and human nutrition among the basic functions of the Department of Agriculture. Extends through 1982: (1) the authority for making indemnity payments to beekeepers who sustain losses as a result of pesticides; and (2) the authority for the purchase and donation of agricultural commodities with appropriated funds. Authorizes the Secretary, in case of emergency in the National Forest System or when called upon by local or State authorities, to use personnel and equipments and incur expenses in the search for lost persons, in the aid of the seriously ill or injured, or in the transport of dead persons to the nearest place where the body may be transferred to interested parties or local authorities.

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3 official files

• Public Law (PDF)

  Public Law · EN · 30 September 1977

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• Conference report filed in Senate

  summary · EN · 9 September 1977

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• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 18 January 1977

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