FOOD STAMP UPDATE: Congress clears $500B farm bill (Affecting certain sex offenders and family they live with)

2-5-2014 Washington DC:

The Joint Conference Committee (JCC) has completed the NEW Farm Bill (HR 2642), short of being signed by the President, and the article which informs us of this is HERE if folks want to read it. There are thousand of issues in the bill but we only address the portion that affects folks we advocate for.

The JCC has combined the Senate ver. with the House ver., then modified as shown below. While it IS NOT retroactive, there is still a very onerous SLAM to any family that houses one of these future sex offenders. The SLAM comes in the form of how the household food stamp amount is calculated. see "(2) EFFECTS ON ASSISTANCE AND BENEFITS FOR OTHERS" below. Gut feel, is this actionable? ACLU where are you?

Today all is said and done, there is no way to get this changed, but Advocates should make this a priority in future dealings with folks in Congress. And just a reminder, the Second Chance Act also excludes sex offenders which should be remembered when dealing with folks in Congress!

Note that there are other crime types similarly affected which are not part of our advocacy, see below.



From HR 2642:
SEC. 4008. ELIGIBILITY DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR CERTAIN CONVICTED FELONS.

(a) In General- Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(r) Disqualification for Certain Convicted Felons-

`(1) IN GENERAL- An individual shall not be eligible for benefits under this Act if--

`(A) the individual is convicted of--

`(i) aggravated sexual abuse under section 2241 of title 18, United States Code;

`(ii) murder under section 1111 of title 18, United States Code;

`(iii) an offense under chapter 110 of title 18, United States Code;

`(iv) a Federal or State offense involving sexual assault, as defined in 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)); or

`(v) an offense under State law determined by the Attorney General to be substantially similar to an offense described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii); and

`(B) the individual is not in compliance with the terms of the sentence of the individual or the restrictions under subsection (k) [of 7 USC 2015 below].

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7 USC 2015 (k) Disqualification of fleeing felons

(1) In general

No member of a household who is otherwise eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall be eligible to participate in the program as a member of that or any other household during any period during which the individual is—

(A) fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction, under the law of the place from which the individual is fleeing, for a crime, or attempt to commit a crime, that is a felony under the law of the place from which the individual is fleeing or that, in the case of New Jersey, is a high misdemeanor under the law of New Jersey; or

(B) violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under a Federal or State law.

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`(2) EFFECTS ON ASSISTANCE AND BENEFITS FOR OTHERS- The amount of benefits otherwise required to be provided to an eligible household under this Act shall be determined by considering the individual to whom paragraph (1) applies not to be a member of the household, except that the income and resources of the individual shall be considered to be income and resources of the household.

`(3) ENFORCEMENT- Each State shall require each individual applying for benefits under this Act to attest to whether the individual, or any member of the household of the individual, has been convicted of a crime described in paragraph (1).'.

(b) Conforming Amendment- Section 5(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(a)) is amended in the second sentence by striking `sections 6(b), 6(d)(2), and 6(g)' and inserting `subsections (b), (d)(2), (g), and (r) of section 6'.

(c) Inapplicability to Convictions Occurring on or Before Enactment- The amendments made by this section shall not apply to a conviction if the conviction is for conduct occurring on or before the date of enactment of this Act.

For now, have a great day and a better tomorrow.
eAdvocate