Food Stamp Accountability Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Food Stamp Accountability Act of 1980 - Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to adjust the costs of the thrifty food plan and the amount of the standard deduction annually rather than semiannually. Disqualifies from the food stamp program any individual enrolled in an institution of higher education. Requires that each State agency determine the eligibility of each applicant household by verifying specified income in part through the use of information obtained from other government agencies' records. Permits the State agency to verify prior to certification the size of any applicant household and any factors of eligibility involving households which fall within such agency's error-prone household profiles. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the Commissioner of Social Security to disclose to the Department of Agriculture and to a State food stamp agency information from individual income tax returns with respect to net earnings from self-employment and payments of retirement income which have been disclosed to the Social Security Administration, but only to the extent necessary to determine an individual's eligibility for food stamp benefits. Requires the appropriate State agency to disclose to the Secretary of Agriculture or to any State food stamp agency specified information respecting wages, unemployment compensation, and whether an individual has refused an offer of employment to the extent necessary to determine an individual's eligibility for benefits. Directs the Secretary of Labor to withhold payments from a State which does not substantially comply with such requirements. Requires each State agency to issue a photographic identification card to be presented by any member of a household when utilizing the household authorization card to receive coupons when such household is located in a city of a specified size. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Labor to reimburse specified agencies and organizations operating specified pilot projects involving work for 50 percent of all administrative costs. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to study and report to the appropriate committees of Congress the feasibility of issuing coupons bearing the identification number ascribed to the participating household.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 4, 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 March 4, 1980: Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
SAMUEL HAYAKAWA (R-CA) introduced it on March 4, 1980, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 Republicans.
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 March 4, 1980, 16991 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16991 days ago, on March 4, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers