Revised: June 29, 1998

The Ag. Research Act Restores Food Stamps
to Some Vulnerable Immigrants

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 250,000 low-income legal immigrants would have their eligibility for food stamps restored under the Agriculture Research, Extension and Education Reform Act (Public Law No. 105-185) enacted on June 23, 1998. This legislation allows some of the most vulnerable groups of legal immigrants, such as the elderly, the disabled, children and certain refugees and asylees, whose eligibility the 1996 welfare law eliminated, to receive food stamps if they meet the program's other eligibility requirements. These changes generally are consistent with the SSI and Medicaid changes enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act last year.

The immigrant food stamp restoration package included in the Agriculture Research bill consists of the following provisions, all of which would take effect on November 1, 1998. Most benefit restorations only benefit those immigrants who were living in the United States before the welfare law was enacted on August 22, 1996.

The cost of these expansions is financed by changing the accounting rules under which states charge the administrative expenses shared by the TANF, food stamps and Medicaid programs to prevent states from charging to the food stamp program administrative costs that the AFDC program historically paid. The bill also reduces funding for the food stamp employment and training (FS E&T) program for two years.


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