Food Stamp Reform Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Food Stamp Reform Act of 1980 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to authorize participating States, rather than the Secretary of Agriculture, to establish eligibility criteria for participation in the food stamp program. Eliminates the uniform eligibility disqualifications and the uniform value of allotment. Eliminates from the State plan of operation all references to or requirements relating to: (1) Federal programs; (2) determinations to be made by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (3) limitations placed on the State agency. Directs the State agency to establish a work program requiring performance of work as a condition of eligibility to receive benefits under the food stamp program. Permits States participating in the food stamp program to establish a program designed to encourage households receiving coupons to purchase nutritional food. Eliminates the Secretary's authority over the administration of the program by the State agencies. Eliminates the administrative cost-sharing and quality control provisions of such Act. Limits the percentage of funds a State agency may use for administrative costs. Eliminates the Secretary's authority to conduct pilot projects and study the feasibility of recovering food stamp benefits from specified households. Sets forth a formula for the distribution of funds by the Secretary to the participating States to provide benefits and pay administrative costs. Directs the State agency to submit annually to the Secretary reports setting forth the purposes for which such funds will be and have been disbursed. Eliminates all Federal restrictions on the value of allotments received by each participating State. Amends the Food Stamp Act Amendments of 1980 to eliminate specified medical deductions for determining income eligibility.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on August 25, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on August 25, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
ROBERT WALKER (R-PA) introduced it on August 25, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on August 25, 1980, 16817 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16817 days ago, on August 25, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers