§ 2013 — Establishment Of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

(1) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated under section 2027 of this title, the Secretary is authorized to formulate and administer a supplemental nutrition assistance program under which, at the request of the State agency, eligible households within the State shall be provided an opportunity to obtain a more nutritious diet through the issuance to them of an allotment, except that a State may not participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if the Secretary determines that State or local sales taxes are collected within that State on purchases of food made with benefits issued under this chapter. The benefits so received by such households shall be used only to purchase food from retail food stores which have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Benefits issued and used as provided in this chapter shall be redeemable at face value by the Secretary through the facilities of the Treasury of the United States. (A) In this paragraph, the term “payment error rate” has the meaning given the term in section 2025(c)(2) of this title. (i) Subject to clause (iii), beginning in fiscal year 2028, if the payment error rate of a State as determined under clause (ii) is— (I) less than 6 percent, the Federal share of the cost of the allotment described in paragraph (1) for that State in a fiscal year shall be 100 percent, and the State share shall be 0 percent; (II) equal to or greater than 6 percent but less than 8 percent, the Federal share of the cost of the allotment described in paragraph (1) for that State in a fiscal year shall be 95 percent, and the State share shall be 5 percent; (III) equal to or greater than 8 percent but less than 10 percent, the Federal share of the cost of the allotment described in paragraph (1) for that State in a fiscal year shall be 90 percent, and the State share shall be 10 percent; and (IV) equal to or greater than 10 percent, the Federal share of the cost of the allotment described in paragraph (1) for that State in a fiscal year shall be 85 percent, and the State share shall be 15 percent. (I) For fiscal year 2028, to calculate the applicable State share under clause (i), a State may elect to use the payment error rate of the State from fiscal year 2025 or 2026. (II) For fiscal year 2029 and each fiscal year thereafter, to calculate the applicable State share under clause (i), the Secretary shall use the payment error rate of the State for the third fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the State share is being calculated. (I) If, for fiscal year 2025, the payment error rate of a State multiplied by 1.5 is equal to or above 20 percent, the implementation date under clause (i) for that State shall be fiscal year 2029. (II) If, for fiscal year 2026, the payment error rate of a State multiplied by 1.5 is equal to or above 20 percent, the implementation date under clause (i) for that State shall be fiscal year 2030. (3) The Secretary may not pay towards the cost of an allotment described in paragraph (1) an amount that is greater than the applicable Federal share under paragraph (2). (1) Distribution of commodities, with or without the supplemental nutrition assistance program, shall be made whenever a request for concurrent or separate food program operations, respectively, is made by a tribal organization. (A) Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), in the event of distribution on all or part of an Indian reservation, the appropriate agency of the State government in the area involved shall be responsible for the distribution. (B) If the Secretary determines that a tribal organization is capable of effectively and efficiently administering a distribution described in paragraph (1), then the tribal organization shall administer the distribution. (C) The Secretary shall not approve any plan for a distribution described in paragraph (1) that permits any household on any Indian reservation to participate simultaneously in the supplemental nutrition assistance program and the program established under this subsection. (3) An individual who is disqualified from participation in the food distribution program on Indian reservations under this subsection is not eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program under this chapter for a period of time to be determined by the Secretary. (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall pay not less than 80 percent of administrative costs and distribution costs on Indian reservations as the Secretary determines necessary for effective administration of such distribution by a State agency or tribal organization. (B) The Secretary shall waive up to 100 percent of the non-Federal share of the costs described in subparagraph (A) if the Secretary determines that— (i) the tribal organization is financially unable to provide a greater non-Federal share of the costs; or (ii) providing a greater non-Federal share of the costs would be a substantial burden for the tribal organization. (C) The Secretary may not reduce any benefits or services under the food distribution program on Indian reservations under this subsection to any tribal organization that is granted a waiver under subparagraph (B). (D) The Secretary may allow a tribal organization to use funds provided to the tribal organization through a Federal agency or other Federal benefit to satisfy all or part of the non-Federal share of the costs described in subparagraph (A) if that use is otherwise consistent with the purpose of the funds. (5) Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this paragraph, the Secretary may purchase bison meat for recipients of food distributed under this subsection, including bison meat from— (A) Native American bison producers; and (B) producer-owned cooperatives of bison ranchers. (A) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary shall establish a fund for use in purchasing traditional and locally- and regionally-grown foods for recipients of food distributed under this subsection. (B) Where practicable, of the food provided under subparagraph (A), at least 50 percent shall be produced by Native American farmers, ranchers, and producers. (C) The Secretary shall determine the definition of the term “traditional and locally- and regionally-grown” with respect to food distributed under this paragraph. (D) In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall purchase or offer to purchase those traditional foods that may be procured cost-effectively. (E) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this paragraph $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2023. (A) Funds made available for a fiscal year to carry out this subsection shall remain available for obligation for a period of 2 fiscal years. (B) Funds made available for a fiscal year to carry out paragraph (4) shall remain available for obligation by the State agency or tribal organization for a period of 2 fiscal years. (c) The Secretary shall issue such regulations consistent with this chapter as the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate for the effective and efficient administration of the supplemental nutrition assistance program and shall promulgate all such regulations in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 553 of title 5. In addition, prior to issuing any regulation, the Secretary shall provide the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a copy of the regulation with a detailed statement justifying it.