The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Categorical Eligibility

Gene Falk Specialist in Social Policy Randy Alison Aussenberg Analyst in Nutrition Assistance Policy July 17, 2012

Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R42054

CRS Report for Congress

Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Categorical Eligibility

Summary
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides benefits to low-income, eligible households on an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card; benefits can then be exchanged for foods at authorized retailers. SNAP reaches a large share of low-income households. In April 2012, there were 46 million persons in 22 million households benefitting from SNAP. Federal SNAP law provides two basic pathways for financial eligibility to the program: (1) meeting federal eligibility requirements, or (2) being automatically or categorically eligible for SNAP based on being eligible for or receiving benefits from other specified low-income assistance programs. Categorical eligibility eliminated the requirement that households who already met financial eligibility rules in one specified low-income program go through another financial eligibility determination in SNAP. In its traditional form, categorical eligibility conveys SNAP eligibility through the receipt of cash assistance from Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, or state-run General Assistance (GA) programs. However, since the 1996 welfare reform law, states have been able to expand categorical eligibility beyond its traditional bounds. That law created TANF to replace the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which was a traditional cash assistance program. TANF is a broadpurpose block grant that finances a wide range of social and human services. TANF gives states flexibility in meeting its goals, resulting in a wide variation of benefits and services offered among the states. SNAP allows states to convey categorical eligibility based on receipt of a TANF benefit, not just TANF cash welfare. This provides states with the ability to convey categorical eligibility based on a wide range of benefits and services. TANF benefits other than cash assistance typically are available to a broader range of households and at higher levels of income than are TANF cash assistance benefits. In total, 43 jurisdictions have implemented what the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has called broad-based categorical eligibility. These jurisdictions generally make all households with incomes below a state-determined income threshold eligible for SNAP. States do this by providing households with a low-cost TANF-funded benefit or service such as a brochure or referral to an 800 number telephone hotline. There are varying income eligibility thresholds within states that convey broad-based categorical eligibility, though no state has a gross income limit above 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. In all but five of these jurisdictions, there is no asset test required for SNAP eligibility. Categorically eligible families bypass the regular SNAP asset limits. However, their net incomes (income after deductions for expenses) must still be low enough to qualify for a SNAP benefit. That is, it is possible to be categorically eligible for SNAP but have net income too high to actually receive a benefit. The exception to this is one- or two-person households that would still receive the minimum benefit. The omnibus farm bill (H.R. 6083) ordered to be reported by the House Agriculture Committee on July 11, 2012, would restrict TANF-based categorical eligibility in SNAP to households receiving TANF-funded cash assistance. That is, it would end broad-based categorical eligibility. This provision was previously approved by the full House in H.R. 5652, the Sequestration Replacement Reconciliation Act. The farm bill that passed the Senate (S. 3240) does not address SNAP categorical eligibility.

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Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1 Regular and Categorical Eligibility for SNAP................................................................................. 1 Eligibility Through Meeting Federal Income and Resource Tests ............................................ 1 Categorical Eligibility ............................................................................................................... 2 Early History ....................................................................................................................... 2 The 1996 Welfare Law and TANF ...................................................................................... 3 What TANF Means for Categorical Eligibility ................................................................... 4 Traditional, Narrow, and Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility........................................................ 5 Scope and Reach of Categorical Eligibility............................................................................... 5 State Practices in Providing Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility ......................................... 6 Incomes of SNAP Households....................................................................................................... 12 Estimated Number of People Affected by Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility ........................... 12 Proposals to Restrict Categorical Eligibility.................................................................................. 13

Figures
Figure 1. Scope of SNAP Categorical Eligibility by State .............................................................. 6

Tables
Table 1. SNAP Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility by State ......................................................... 8 Table 2. Gross Incomes of SNAP Households Compared with Poverty: FY2010 ........................ 12 Table A-1. Federal SNAP Monthly Income Eligibility Limits for FY2012................................... 14 Table A-2. Maximum Monthly Earnings a TANF Cash Assistance Applicant Can Receive and Still Meet Initial Eligibility for Benefits for a Family of Three: July 2010 ......................... 15

Appendixes
Appendix........................................................................................................................................ 14

Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 16 Area of Expertise by Author .......................................................................................................... 16

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Introduction
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provided food assistance to 46.2 million people in 22.1 million households in April 2012. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that under current law, SNAP benefits will peak at $82 billion in FY2013 before falling beginning in FY2014, as they project the economy to improve.1 SNAP participation and costs have increased markedly since FY2007, mostly as a result of automatic and legislated responses to the recession. While much of the recent increase is attributable to the poor economy, recently states have been increasingly adopting more expansive categorical eligibility rulesa set of policies that make a SNAP applicant eligible based on the applicants involvement with other low-income assistance programs: benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and state-financed General Assistance (GA) programs. This report discusses categorical eligibility and some of the issues raised by it. It first describes the three different types of categorical eligibility: traditional categorical eligibility conveyed through receipt of need-based cash assistance, and the newer narrow and broad-based categorical eligibilities conveyed via TANF noncash benefits. It also provides recent information on current state practices with regard to categorical eligibility. Finally, the report discusses proposals to restrict TANF-based categorical eligibility.

Regular and Categorical Eligibility for SNAP

Federal law provides the basic eligibility rules for SNAP. There are two basic pathways to gain financial eligibility for SNAP: (1) having income and resources below specified levels set out in federal law; and (2) being categorically, or automatically, eligible based on receiving benefits from other specified low-income assistance programs.

Eligibility Through Meeting Federal Income and Resource Tests

Under the regular federal rules, SNAP provides eligibility to households based on low income and limited assets. Households must have net income (income after specified deductions) below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines. In addition, federal rules provide that households without an elderly or disabled2 member must have gross income (income before deductions) below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines (see Table A-1). Additionally, the regular eligibility rules provide that a household must have liquid assets below a specified level. Under federal rules in FY2012, a households liquid assets must also be below $2,000, and below $3,250 in the case of households with an elderly or disabled member. The value of the home is excluded from this assets test, as are certain other forms of assets (e.g., retirement and educational savings).

1 2

This figure is according to CBOs January 2012 baseline. Elderly or disabled is defined in Section 3(j) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

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Further, a portion of the value of a households vehicles is not counted toward the asset limit (up to $4,650 of the fair market value of a households vehicles). However, federal law gives states the option to further exclude the value of vehicles from being counted toward the asset limit. States may elect to use the exclusion applicable for TANF assistance in their SNAP program. Under TANF, many states fully exclude the value of one vehicle. This option is separate from categorical eligibility.

Categorical Eligibility
Federal law also makes households in which all members are either eligible for or receive benefits from TANF, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and state-financed GA programs categorically, or automatically, eligible for SNAP.3 These households, who have already gone through eligibility determination for those programs, bypass the income and resource tests discussed above and are deemed financially eligible.4 They then have their SNAP benefits determined. Categorically eligible households have their SNAP benefits determined under the same rules as other households. A households SNAP benefits amount is based on the maximum benefit (which varies by household size) and its net countable income after deductions for certain expenses. While the household may be categorically eligible, its net income may be too high to actually receive a SNAP benefit. The exception is that all eligible households consisting of one or two persons are eligible for at least the minimum monthly benefit, set at $16 in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia in FY2012.

Early History
Special rules providing for expedited eligibility of cash assistance recipients date back to amendments to the Food Stamp program enacted in 1971.5 These rules were eliminated in the rewrite of food stamp law enacted in 1977, but they were reinstated in phases during the early 1980s through 1990.6 Categorical eligibility was seen as advancing the goals of simplifying administration, easing entry to the program for eligible households, emphasizing coordination among low-income assistance programs, and reducing the potential for errors in establishing eligibility for benefits.7 The Food Security Act of 1985 conveyed categorical eligibility to all
Section 5(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. Additionally, federal law also provides a separate rule for households where some, but not all, members receive benefits from TANF or SSI. In such households, recipients of TANF or SSI benefits are deemed to have passed the SNAP resource test. That is, the assets of household members who receive TANF, SSI, or GA are disregarded from the households total resources when determining whether the household passes the asset test (Section 5(j) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008). 5 Section 6 of P.L. 91-671. 6 The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982 (P.L. 97-253) provided that a household in which all members received Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) cash assistance bypass the Food Stamp asset test (but not the income eligibility test). The Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198) provided that households in which all members received AFDC or SSI would be automatically eligible for Food Stamps, bypassing both the income and asset tests. P.L. 99-198 made this a temporary provision that would sunset at the end of FY1998. P.L. 100-435 eliminated the sunset, making categorical eligibility a permanent feature of Food Stamp law. Categorical eligibility was extended to recipients of state-run GA programs in 1990, enacted as part of P.L. 101-624. 7 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Agriculture, report to accompany H.R. 2100, 99th Cong., 1st sess., September 13, 1985, H.Rept 99-271, Part 1 (Washington: GPO, 1985), p. 142.
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households receiving cash aid from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), SSI, and state-run GA programs. These programs had their own income and resource tests (often more stringent than food stamp tests), so subjecting a household to a separate set of income and resource tests for food stamps was seen as redundant and inefficient.

The 1996 Welfare Law and TANF

The current form of categorical eligibility results from the 1996 welfare reform law (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193). That law ended AFDC, replacing it with TANF. AFDC was a traditional cash assistance program. Within some federal rules, states set AFDC eligibility and benefit amounts, but federal law established it as a cash welfare program. AFDC eligibility rules were generally more restrictive than those for food stamps, and most AFDC families also received a substantial food stamp benefit. TANF, on the other hand, is a broad-purpose block grant that gives states broad flexibility to expend funds. The statutory purpose of TANF is to increase state flexibility to achieve four policy goals:8 1. provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of their relatives; 2. end dependence by needy parents on government benefits through promoting work, job preparation, and marriage; 3. reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and 4. promote the formation and maintenance of two-parent families. States may expend TANF funds and associated state funds (called Maintenance of Effort or MOE funds) in any manner reasonably calculated9 to achieve the TANF purpose, providing broad authority for the types of activities that may be funded. These activities include the traditional cash assistance programswhich convey traditional categorical eligibility.10 However, in FY2011 traditional cash welfare accounted for only 29% of all expenditures from the TANF block grant and MOE funds. TANF funds a wide range of other benefits and services that seek to ameliorate the effects, or address the root causes, of child poverty. TANF benefits and services to achieve the first two goals of TANF (provide assistance, end dependence of needy parents on government benefits) must be for needy families with children. These benefits or services are need-tested, though states determine their own income thresholds. These benefits are often available to families at higher levels of income than is cash assistance, often a multiple of the federal poverty threshold, and without an asset test.

Section 401(a) of the Social Security Act. Section 404(a)(1) of the Social Security Act. 10 In regulations promulgated after the 1996 welfare law, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) divided TANF- and MOE-funded activities into two categories: (1) assistance, and (2) everything else. The regulations defined assistance generally as representing the traditional cash assistance programs (basic assistance) and transportation or child care aid for nonworking persons.
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Moreover, TANF services directed at the third and fourth goals shown above can be for any person in a state; that is, TANF services to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies or promote twoparent families are not restricted to families with children. These benefits and services are potentially available to a states entire population. Federal rules also do not require that they be need-tested benefits and services.

What TANF Means for Categorical Eligibility

The 1996 welfare reform law did not substantively change SNAP law with respect to categorical eligibility. Rather, it simply replaced the reference to AFDC with one to TANF in the section of law that conveys categorical eligibility. As discussed above, TANF gives states much broader authority than they had under AFDC to offer different types of benefits and services. This expansion of authority under TANF had major implications for categorical eligibility, allowing states to convey categorical eligibility based on receipt of a wide range of human services rather than simply cash welfare. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations issued in 2000 provide rules for which noncash or in-kind TANF or MOE-funded benefits or services can be used to convey SNAP categorical eligibility.11 The regulations require that states make categorically eligible for SNAP households in which all members receive or are authorized to receive12 cash assistance funded by TANF or MOE dollars; and households in which all members receive or are authorized to receive noncash aid funded at least 50% by TANF or MOE dollars.

The regulations imposed one restriction on states in conveying categorical eligibility: if the TANF- or MOE-funded benefit or service was aimed at achieving TANF goals three (reducing out-of-wedlock pregnancies) or four (promoting two-parent families), the state would have to choose a program with an income limit of no more than 200% of the federal poverty guideline for conveying categorical eligibility. Additionally, subject to the 200% of poverty restriction discussed above, the regulations give states the option of making categorically eligible for SNAP households in which all members receive or are authorized to receive noncash assistance funded less than 50% by TANF or MOE dollars; and households in which at least one member receives or is authorized to receive noncash aid funded at least partially by TANF or MOE dollars, but the state agency determines whether the whole household benefits from such noncash aid.

The regulations are at 7 C.F.R. 273.2(j). See discussion of the final rule at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Food Stamp Program: Noncitizen Eligibility, and Certification Provisions of P.L. 104-193, as Amended by Public Laws 104-208, 105-33, and 105-185, 65 Federal Register 70159-70161, November 21, 2000. 12 The regulations also provide that a family is categorically eligible if they either receive a TANF- or MOE-funded benefit or if they are authorized to receive such a benefit. Authorized to receive a benefit means that they have been determined eligible and have been informed as such; they do not need to actually be receiving benefits.

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Traditional, Narrow, and Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility

Giving states the option to make households in which at least one member receives TANF noncash aid categorically eligible for SNAP provides them with considerable flexibility. Many TANF-funded human services (e.g., child care, counseling, brochures) may actually be provided only to one or some members of a household. This has led to varied practices by states on what types of TANF noncash assistance are used to convey categorical eligibility beyond that provided through receipt of cash assistance.

Scope and Reach of Categorical Eligibility

The USDA has developed a typology of state practices regarding categorical eligibility, categorizing states into three groups: Traditional categorical eligibility only. In its traditional form, a household where all members receive need-tested cash aid from SSI, GA, or TANF is automatically made eligible for SNAP as well. These households have already met the income and (in general) resource test for cash aid. Note that states set income and asset eligibility rules for TANF and GA (see Table A-2 for maximum earnings possible for entry to TANF cash assistance in July 2010). SSI provides a federal income floor based on federal rules for the needy who are aged, blind, or disabled. However, states may supplement SSI with their own funds, leading to state variation in SSI eligibility as well. Based on the most current information available, only five states currently convey only traditional categorical eligibility. Narrow categorical eligibility. These states have expanded categorical eligibility beyond just traditional categorical eligibility, but in a way to limit the number of households made eligible for SNAP. These states convey categorical eligibility through receipt of cash and certain TANF noncash benefits, such as child care and counseling. Based on the most current information available, only five states have narrow categorical eligibility policies. Broad-based categorical eligibility. These states have expanded categorical eligibility in ways to make most, if not all, households with low incomes in a state categorically eligible for SNAP. Based on the currently available information, 40 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands have broad-based categorical eligibility policies.

Figure 1 displays a map categorizing states and territories by these three categories.

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Figure 1. Scope of SNAP Categorical Eligibility by State

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, May 2012.

State Practices in Providing Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility

Broad-based categorical eligibility is a policy that makes most households with incomes below a certain threshold categorically eligible for SNAP. Typically, households are made categorically eligible through receiving or being authorized to receive a minimal TANF- or MOE-funded benefit or service, such as being given a brochure or being referred to a social services 800 telephone number (see Table 1). The brochure or telephone number must be funded with TANF or MOE dollars and thus must be directed at a TANF purpose. States have increasingly availed themselves of the option to use broad-based categorical eligibility to expand and ease access to SNAP eligibility. The Department of Agriculture reports that as of May 1, 2012 (the latest data available), 43 jurisdictions operated broad-based categorical eligibility to make most or all households in their state with whom the state welfare office comes in contact SNAP eligible.

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Table 1 shows the use of SNAP broad-based categorical eligibility by state as of May 1, 2012. Of the 43 jurisdictions using broad-based categorical eligibility, 42 make all family types eligible (New Hampshire restricted broad-based categorical eligibility to families with children); 38 currently have no asset test (Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, Idaho, and Pennsylvania apply an asset test for all households. Note, though, currently in 11 jurisdictions, households with an elderly and disabled member with incomes in excess of 200% of the federal poverty guidelines have to meet the regular SNAP asset tests of $3,250 for households of that type); and 27 have a gross income limit above 130% of the federal poverty guidelines, though some of the largest states (California, New York, and Illinois) retained the 130% gross income limit.

According to USDA policy and guidance, there is a general way that a state would administer broad-based categorical eligibility for a SNAP applicant. The local SNAP office would collect basic income information on the applicant; if the applicants income is below the limit specified, then the state office would administer the relatively nominal benefit or service. Receipt of this TANF service then constitutes SNAP eligibility through broad-based categorical eligibility. (As discussed above, it is still possible to be categorically eligible but receive no benefit because net income is too high.) In the case of the District of Columbia, as shown in the table, if the applicants gross income is below 200% of poverty, the applicant would then receive a particular brochure for a program that is TANF-funded and would then be eligible for SNAP through the broad-based categorical eligibility pathway.

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Table 1. SNAP Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility by State

Information as of May 1, 2012
Gross Income Limit for Households Without an Elderly or Disabled Member (% of federal poverty guidelines)b 130%

State Alabama All

Households Eligible

Type of TANF Benefit or Servicea Brochure

Asset Rules No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit No limit No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit No limit

Arizona California Colorado

All All All

Referral on application Pamphlet Notice on application

200% 130% 130%

Connecticut Delaware

All All

Help for People in Need brochure Application refers to a pregnancy prevention hotline Brochure Notice TANF Community Outreach Services brochure

185% 200%

District of Columbia Florida Georgia

All All All

No limit No limit No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit No limit $5,000

200% 200% 130%

Guam Hawaii Idaho

All All All

Brochure Brochure Flyer about referral service

165% 200% 130%

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State Illinois All

Households Eligible

Type of TANF Benefit or Servicea Guide to services

Asset Rules No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. $5,000. First vehicle is excluded; other vehicles with fair market value over $15,000 are counted. No limit No limit No limit $25,000 for liquid assets No limit

Gross Income Limit for Households Without an Elderly or Disabled Member (% of federal poverty guidelines)b 130%

Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts

All All All All All All

Notice of eligibility Resource guide Information handout Resource guide Referral to services on application Brochure

160% 130% 130% 185% 200% 200%. Households without children (aged 18 or younger) or an elderly or disabled member have a gross income limit of 130%. 200%

Michigan

All

Notice on application

Minnesota Mississippi Montana Nebraska Nevada

All All All All All

Domestic violence brochure Language on notice Brochure Pamphlet Pregnancy prevention information on application Brochure

165% 130% 200% 200% 200%

New Hampshire

Households with at least one dependent child All All

No limit

185%

New Mexico New Jersey

Brochure Brochure

No limit No limit

165% 185%

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State New York All

Households Eligible

Type of TANF Benefit or Servicea Brochure mailed yearly

Asset Rules No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit No limit

Gross Income Limit for Households Without an Elderly or Disabled Member (% of federal poverty guidelines)b 130%

North Carolina North Dakota

All All

Not specified Statement on application/recertification forms and pamphlet Ohio Benefit Bank information on approval notice

200% 200%

Ohio

All

No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit

130%

Oklahoma

All

Certification notice has website and 800 number about marriage classes Pamphlet Pamphlet

130%

Oregon Pennsylvania

All All

No limit $5,500. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $9,000 asset limit. No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit.

185% 160%

Rhode Island

All

Publication

185%

South Carolina

All

Pamphlet

130%

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State Texas All

Households Eligible

Type of TANF Benefit or Servicea Information about various services provided on the application

Asset Rules Asset limit of $5,000 (excludes one vehicle and includes excess vehicle value). No limit

Gross Income Limit for Households Without an Elderly or Disabled Member (% of federal poverty guidelines)b 165%

Vermont

All

Bookmark with telephone number and website for services Brochure

185%

Virgin Islands

All

No limit. Households with an elderly or disabled member with incomes over 200% of poverty face a $3,250 asset limit. No limit

130%

Washington

Households eligible for TANF services. All

Information and referral services provided on approval letter. Information and referral services program brochure Job net services language on approval and change notices

200%

West Virginia

No limit

130%

Wisconsin

All

No limit

200%

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). a. Type of TANF benefit or service is information collected by the USDA, and this column utilizes USDAs terms. References to a notice or notice on application generally refers to an agency communication on otherwise that an applicant may be eligible for TANF or related benefit. Households with an elderly or disabled member do not have a gross income limit in SNAP.

b.

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Incomes of SNAP Households

Broad-based categorical eligibility has not resulted in large numbers of households with gross incomes exceeding 130% of poverty (the regular federal SNAP gross income limit) receiving SNAP. Table 2 shows that in FY2010, a monthly average of 2.8% of all households without an elderly or disabled member had incomes above 130% of poverty. (As mentioned above, households with an elderly or disabled member are not subject to the 130% of poverty gross income limit under regular federal eligibility rules.) Table 2. Gross Incomes of SNAP Households Compared with Poverty: FY2010
By Household Type
Households without an Elderly or Disabled Member Below poverty 100% to 130% of poverty 131% of poverty and higher Total 87.2% 10.0 2.8 100.0 Households with an Elderly or Disabled Member 80.2% 14.9 4.9 100.0 All SNAP Households 84.7% 11.7 3.5 100.0

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS) tabulations of the FY2010 SNAP Quality Control Data File. Notes: Detail may not add to totals because of rounding.

As discussed above, broad-based categorical eligibility also eliminates the SNAP asset test in many states. Since states that do not administer an asset test generally do not collect data on the assets of SNAP households, it is not possible to determine the extent to which broad-based categorical eligibility has resulted in households with assets above the usual SNAP limit receiving benefits.

Estimated Number of People Affected by BroadBased Categorical Eligibility

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that an annual average of 1.8 million people would lose benefits over the next 10 years (2013-2022) if categorical eligibility were restricted to families receiving only cash assistance from TANF, SSI, or GA.13 CBO also estimates that 280,000 children would also not be automatically eligible for free school meals (children in SNAP households are automatically eligible for school lunch).

See Congressional Budget Office, Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 2012, CBO Cost Estimate, April 23, 2012, http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/HouseAgricultureReconciliation.pdf. The provision to restrict categorical eligibility to families receiving cash assistance is estimated by CBO to save $11.5 billion over the FY2013 to FY2022 period.

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Proposals to Restrict Categorical Eligibility

The omnibus farm bill (H.R. 6083) ordered to be reported by the House Agriculture Committee on July 11, 2012, would restrict TANF-based categorical eligibility in SNAP to households receiving TANF-funded cash assistance. That is, it would end broad-based as well as narrow categorical eligibility. Families that do not receive TANF cash, SSI, or state-funded General Assistance programs could be eligible for SNAP only if they met the regular federal income and asset rules. The farm bill that passed the Senate (S. 3240) does not address SNAP categorical eligibility. The provision restricting categorical eligibility to TANF-funded cash was also previously approved by the full House in H.R. 5652, the Sequestration Replacement Reconciliation Act.

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Appendix.
Table A-1. Federal SNAP Monthly Income Eligibility Limits for FY2012
Household Size 48 States Alaska Hawaii Gross Monthly Income Limits (130% of the federal poverty guidelines) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Each Additional Member $1,180 1,594 2,008 2,422 2,836 3,249 3,663 4,077 414 $1,474 1,992 2,509 3,027 3,545 4,063 4,581 5,099 518 $1,359 1,835 2,310 2,786 3,261 3,737 4,212 4,688 476

Net Monthly Income Limits (100% of the federal poverty guidelines) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Each Additional Member 908 1,226 1,545 1,863 2,181 2,500 2,818 3,136 319 1,134 1,532 1,930 2,329 2,727 3,125 3,524 3,922 399 $1,045 1,411 1,777 2,143 2,509 2,875 3,240 3,606 366

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).

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Table A-2. Maximum Monthly Earnings a TANF Cash Assistance Applicant Can Receive and Still Meet Initial Eligibility for Benefits for a Family of Three: July 2010
Maximum Monthly Earnings an Applicant can Receive and Still Be Eligible for Assistance $269 $1,554 $585 $279 $1,203 $511 $858 $428 $588 $393 $514 $1,740 2 $648 $763 $378 $1,061 $519 $908 $360 $1,023 $718 703 $815 $1,224 $458 $557 $811 $886 $1,430 $844 $636 $1,017 3 $843 $681 As a Percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2010 17.6% 101.8 38.3 18.3 78.8 33.5 56.2 28.1 38.5 25.8 33.7 114.0 42.5 50.0 24.8 69.5 34.0 59.5 23.6 67.0 47.1 46.1 53.4 80.2 30.0 36.5 53.2 58.1 93.7 55.3 41.7 66.7 55.2 44.6

State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina

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State North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsina Wyoming

Maximum Monthly Earnings an Applicant can Receive and Still Be Eligible for Assistance $1,306 $763 $824 $616 $493 $1,277 $1,411 $782 $1,315 $401 $668 $1,053 539 $1,122 $565 NA $760

As a Percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for 2010 85.6 50.0 54.0 40.4 32.3 83.7 92.5 51.3 86.2 26.3 43.8 69.0 35.3 73.5 37.0 NA 49.8

Source: Urban Institutes Welfare Rules Database. a. In Wisconsin, families with earnings are ineligible for cash assistance.

Author Contact Information

Gene Falk Specialist in Social Policy [email protected], 7-7344 Randy Alison Aussenberg Analyst in Nutrition Assistance Policy [email protected], 7-8641

Area of Expertise by Author

Area of Expertise TANF Program SNAP Name Gene Falk Randy Alison Aussenberg Phone 7-7344 7-8641 E-mail [email protected] [email protected]

Congressional Research Service

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