Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Food Stamp Integrity Act of 2017”.
Food Stamp Integrity Act of 2017
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
Sec. 2 Eligibility disqualifications
Permanent disqualification for misconduct— Section 6(b)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(b)(1)) is amended—
by striking “program—” and inserting “program permanently upon—”;
by striking clauses (i) and (ii); and
in clause (iii)—
in subclause (I) by striking “(I) the third” and inserting the following:
“(A) the first”
in subclause (II) by striking “(II) the second” and inserting the following:
“(B) the first”
in subclause (III) by striking “(III) the first” and inserting the following:
“(C) the first”
in subclause (IV) by striking “(IV) a conviction” and inserting the following:
“(D) a conviction”
by striking “(iii) permanently upon—”.
Disqualification for certain convicted felons— Section 6(r)(1)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(r)(1)(A)) is amended—
in clause (iv) by striking “or” at the end;
in clause (v) by striking “and” at the end; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(vi) an offense under chapter 113B of title 18 of the United States Code; or
“(vii) defrauding the Federal Government, a State, or a unit of local government; and”
Mandatory disqualification for child support arrears— Section 6(n)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(n)(1)) is amended by striking “At the option of a State agency, no” and inserting “No”.
Work requirement; elimination of waiver of work requirement and of 15-Percent exemption— Section 6(o) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)) is amended—
in paragraph (2) by striking “36-month” and inserting “48-month”;
by striking paragraph (4);
in paragraph (5) by striking “36-month” and inserting “48-month”;
by striking paragraph (6); and
by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (7) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively.
Permanent disqualification for obtaining cash by destroying food and collecting deposits— Section 6(p) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(p)) is amended by striking “for such period of time as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation” and inserting “permanently”.
Permanent disqualification for sale of food purchased with supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits— Section 6(q) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(q)) is amended by striking “for such period of time as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation” and inserting “permanently”.
Sec. 3 Excessive loss of EBT cards
Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(t) Excessive loss of EBT cards—At the option of the State agency—
“(1) if the household requests a third EBT card to replace the second of 2 EBT cards issued to the household in the 1-year period ending on the date of such request, the State agency may require the head of the household to appear in person for an interview before any additional EBT card is issued to the household; and
“(2) the participation of a household in the supplemental nutrition assistance program may be terminated for 1 year if the household requests a fifth EBT card to replace the last of 4 EBT cards issued to such households in the 1-year period ending on the date of such request.”
Sec. 4 Effective date; application of amendments
Effective date— Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Application of amendments—
The amendments made by this Act shall not apply with respect to conduct that occurs before the date of the enactment of this Act.
The amendments made by this Act shall not apply with respect to certification periods that begin before the date of the enactment of this Act.
The amendment made by section 4 shall not apply with respect to EBT cards issued before the date of the enactment of this Act.