Senate Committee Approves Partial Food Stamp Restoration

IMMIGRANTS & PUBLIC BENEFITS

Food and Nutrition Programs

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES PARTIAL FOOD STAMP RESTORATION
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 7, Nov. 16, 2001

The Senate Agriculture Committee has voted to restore food stamp eligibility to a large proportion of the immigrants currently excluded from the program. Although the committee proposal falls short of fully restoring assistance to all lawfully present immigrants, it would likely provide assistance to about 60,000 children and as many as 100,000 adults at a cost of about $1.3 billion dollars over 10 years.

The restorations were proposed by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Agriculture Committee, and were part of a $6.2 billion dollar nutrition title of a $70 billion dollar Farm Bill (S. 1628), which passed the committee on November 14. Interestingly, the ranking member of the committee, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), had proposed an even larger nutrition title and a larger food stamp restoration for immigrants. Sen. Lugar's proposal would have provided $10 billion for nutrition and about $1.7 billion in additional food stamp eligibility for legal immigrants. Sen. Lugar's proposal was defeated in the committee by a 12-9 vote.

The Harkin proposal would make the following changes in food stamp eligibility for "qualified" immigrants:

Expand the work history exemption to permit assistance for lawful permanent residents who can claim credit for having worked for 16 quarters in the U.S. (either for their own work, for quarters worked by their parents before they turned 18, or for work by the LPR's spouse). The current exemption requires 40 quarters of work history.
Expand the exemption for children so that it applies without regard to when the child came to the U.S. Currently, the exemption applies only to children who entered the U.S. before Aug. 22, 1996.
Expand the exemption for disabled immigrants so that it applies without regard to when the immigrant came to the U.S. Currently, the exemption applies only to children who entered before Aug. 22, 1996. Note that certain other provisions that limit the participation of these immigrants would remain in place.
Expand the exemption that currently applies to refugees, asylees, and others fleeing persecution, so that persons who qualify for these exemptions will remain eligible even after the seven-year period has expired.

The House has already passed its version of the Farm Bill (H.R. 4626), containing only $3.2 billion dollars in nutrition improvements and no restorations for immigrants. The Senate and House bills now go to a conference committee, which will resolve the differences between them. Most observers expect a final bill to be negotiated and passed by Congress after Thanksgiving but before Congress adjourns for the year.