7 U.S.C. § 2014 - Eligible households

Cite as7 U.S.C. § 2014

(a) Income and other financial resources as substantial limiting factors in obtaining more nutritious diet; recipients under Social Security Act

Participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall be limited to those households whose incomes and other financial resources, held singly or in joint ownership, are determined to be a substantial limiting factor in permitting them to obtain a more nutritious diet. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter except subsections (b), (d)(2), (g), and (r) of section 2015 of this title and section 2012(m)(4) of this title, households in which each member receives benefits under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act [ 42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.], or aid to the aged, blind, or disabled under title I, X, XIV, or XVI of the Social Security Act [ 42 U.S.C. 301 et seq., 1201 et seq., 1351 et seq., or 1381 et seq.], shall be eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Except for sections 2015, 2025(e)(1),and section 2012(m)(4) of this title, households in which each member receives benefits under a State or local general assistance program that complies with standards established by the Secretary for ensuring that the program is based on income criteria comparable to or more restrictive than those under subsection (c)(2), and not limited to one-time emergency payments that cannot be provided for more than one consecutive month, shall be eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Assistance under this program shall be furnished to all eligible households who make application for such participation.

(b) Eligibility standards

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Secretary shall establish uniform national standards of eligibility (other than the income standards for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States established in accordance with subsections (c) and (e) of this section) for participation by households in the supplemental nutrition assistance program in accordance with the provisions of this section. No plan of operation submitted by a State agency shall be approved unless the standards of eligibility meet those established by the Secretary, and no State agency shall impose any other standards of eligibility as a condition for participating in the program.

(c) Gross income standard

The income standards of eligibility shall be adjusted each October 1 and shall provide that a household shall be ineligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program if-

(1) the household's income (after the exclusions and deductions provided for in subsections (d) and (e)) exceeds the poverty line, as defined in section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act ( 42 U.S.C. 9902(2) ), for the forty-eight contiguous States and the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and Guam, respectively; and

(2) in the case of a household that does not include an elderly or disabled member, the household's income (after the exclusions provided for in subsection (d) but before the deductions provided for in subsection (e)) exceeds such poverty line by more than 30 per centum.

In no event shall the standards of eligibility for the Virgin Islands of the United States or Guam exceed those in the forty-eight contiguous States.

(d) Exclusions from income

Household income for purposes of the supplemental nutrition assistance program shall include all income from whatever source excluding only-

(1) any gain or benefit which is not in the form of money payable directly to a household (notwithstanding its conversion in whole or in part to direct payments to households pursuant to any demonstration project carried out or authorized under Federal law including demonstration projects created by the waiver of provisions of Federal law);

(2) any income in the certification period which is received too infrequently or irregularly to be reasonably anticipated, but not in excess of $30 in a quarter, subject to modification by the Secretary in light of subsection (f);

(3) all educational loans on which payment is deferred, grants, scholarships, fellowships, veterans' educational benefits, and the like-

(A) awarded to a household member enrolled at a recognized institution of post-secondary education, at a school for the handicapped, in a vocational education program, or in a program that provides for completion of a secondary school diploma or obtaining the equivalent thereof;

(B) to the extent that they do not exceed the amount used for or made available as an allowance determined by such school, institution, program, or other grantor, for tuition and mandatory fees (including the rental or purchase of any equipment, materials, and supplies related to the pursuit of the course of study involved), books, supplies, transportation, and other miscellaneous personal expenses (other than living expenses), of the student incidental to attending such school, institution, or program; and

(C) to the extent loans include any origination fees and insurance premiums;

(4) all loans other than educational loans on which repayment is deferred;

(5) reimbursements which do not exceed expenses actually incurred and which do not represent a gain or benefit to the household and any allowance a State agency provides no more frequently than annually to families with children on the occasion of those children's entering or returning to school or child care for the purpose of obtaining school clothes (except that no such allowance shall be excluded if the State agency reduces monthly assistance under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) in the month for which the allowance is provided): Provided, That no portion of benefits provided under title IV-A of the Social Security Act [ 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.], to the extent it is attributable to an adjustment for work-related or child care expenses (except for payments or reimbursements for such expenses made under an employment, education, or training program initiated under such title after September 19, 1988), and no portion of any educational loan on which payment is deferred, grant, scholarship, fellowship, veterans' benefits, and the like that are provided for living expenses, shall be considered such reimbursement;

(6) moneys received and used for the care and maintenance of a third-party beneficiary who is not a household member, and child support payments made by a household member to or for an individual who is not a member of the household if the household member is legally obligated to make the payments;

(7) income earned by a child who is a member of the household, who is an elementary or secondary school student, and who is 17 years of age or younger;

(8) moneys received in the form of nonrecurring lump-sum payments, including, but not limited to, income tax refunds, rebates, or credits, cash donations based on need that are received from one or more private nonprofit charitable organizations, but not in excess of $300 in the aggregate in a quarter, retroactive lump-sum social security or railroad retirement pension payments and retroactive lump-sum insurance settlements: Provided, That such payments shall be counted as resources, unless specifically excluded by other laws;

(9) the cost of producing self-employed income, but household income that otherwise is included under this subsection shall be reduced by the extent that the cost of producing self-employment income exceeds the income derived from self-employment as a farmer;

(10) any income that any other Federal law specifically excludes from consideration as income for purposes of determining eligibility for the supplemental nutrition assistance program except as otherwise provided in subsection (k) of this section;

(11)

(A) any payments or allowances made for the purpose of providing energy assistance under any Federal law (other than part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)); or

(B) a 1-time payment or allowance made under a Federal or State law for the costs of weatherization or emergency repair or replacement of an unsafe or inoperative furnace or other heating or cooling device;

(12) through September 30 of any fiscal year, any increase in income attributable to a cost-of-living adjustment made on or after July 1 of such fiscal year under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act [ 42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.], section 3(a)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 ( 45 U.S.C. 231b(a)(1) ), or section 5312 of title 38, if the household was certified as eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program or received an allotment in the month immediately preceding the first month in which the adjustment was effective;

(13) any payment made to the household under section 3507 1 of title 26 (relating to advance payment of earned income credit);

(14) any payment made to the household under section 2015(d)(4)(I) of this title or a pilot project under section 2025(h)(1)(F) of this title for work related expenses or for dependent care;

(15) any amounts necessary for the fulfillment of a plan for achieving self-support of a household member as provided under subparagraph (A)(iii) or (B)(iv) of section 1612(b)(4) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1382a(b)(4) );

(16) at the option of the State agency, any educational loans on which payment is deferred, grants, scholarships, fellowships, veterans' educational benefits, and the like (other than loans, grants, scholarships, fellowships, veterans' educational benefits, and the like excluded under paragraph (3)), to the extent that they are required to be excluded under title XIX of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);

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