administrative expenses in supervising and giving technical assistance to the local school districts in their conducting of programs under this Act and under sections 11 and 13 of the National School Lunch Act. Such funds shall be advanced only in amounts and to the extent determined necessary by the Secretary to assist such State agencies in the administration of additional activities undertaken by them under sections 11 and 13 of the National School Lunch Act, as amended, and sections 4 and 5 of this Act. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the purposes of this section. (42 U.S.C. 1776).

UTILIZATION OF FOODS

SEC. 8. Each school participating under section 4 of this Act shall, insofar as practicable, utilize in its program foods designated from time to time by the Secretary as being in abundance, either nationally or in the school area, or foods donated by the Secretary. Foods available under section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 1058), as amended, or purchased under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (49 Stat. 774), as amended, or section 709 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 1212), may be donated by the Secretary to schools, in accordance with the needs as determined by local school authorities, for utilization in their feeding programs under this Act. (42 U.S.C. 1777.)

NONPROFIT PROGRAMS

SEC. 9. The food and milk service programs in schools and nonprofit institutions receiving assistance under this Act shall be conducted on a nonprofit basis. (42 U.S.C. 1778.)

REGULATIONS

SEC. 10. The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as he may deem necessary to carry out this Act. (42 U.S.C. 1779.)

PROHIBITIONS

SEC. 11. (a) In carrying out the provisions of sections 3 through 5 of this Act, neither the Secretary nor the State shall impose any requirements with respect to teaching personnel, curriculum, instruction, methods of instruction, and materials of instruction. (42 U.S.C. 1780(a).)

(b) The value of assistance to children under this Act shall not be considered to be income or resources for any purpose under any Federal or State laws including, but not limited to, laws relating to taxation, welfare, and public assistance programs. Expenditures of funds from State and local sources for the maintenance of food programs for children shall not be diminished as a result of funds received under this Act. (42 U.S.C. 1780 (b).)

PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS

SEC. 12. The Secretary may extend the benefits of all school feeding programs conducted and supervised by the Department of Agriculture

to include preschool programs operated as part of the school system. (42 U.S.C. 1781.)

CENTRALIZATION OF ADMINISTRATION

SEC. 13. Authority for the conduct and supervision of Federal programs to assist schools in providing food service programs for children is assigned to the Department of Agriculture. To the extent practicable, other Federal agencies administering programs under which funds are to be provided to schools for such assistance shall transfer such funds to the Department of Agriculture for distribution through the administrative channels and in accordance with the standards established under this Act and the National School Lunch Act. (42 U.S.C. 1782.)

SEC. 14. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to the Secretary for his administrative expense under this Act. (42 U.S.C. 1783.)

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

SEC. 15. For the purpose of this Act

(a) "State" means any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, or American Samoa.

(b) "State educational agency" means, as the State legislature may determine, (1) the chief State school officer (such as the State superintendent of public instruction, commissioner of education, or similar officer), or (2) a board of education controlling the State department of education.

(c) "Nonprofit private school" means any private school exempt from income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

(d) "School" means any public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under, including kindergarten and preschool programs operated by such school and, with respect to Puerto Rico, shall also include nonprofit child-care centers certified as such by the Governor of Puerto Rico.

(e) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture. (42 U.S.C. 1784.)

ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS

SEC. 16. States, State educational agencies, schools, and nonprofit institutions participating in programs under this Act shall keep such accounts and records as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to determine whether there has been compliance with this Act and the regulations hereunder. Such accounts and records shall at all times be available for inspection and audit by representatives of the Secretary and shall be preserved for such period of time, not in excess of three years, as the Secretary determines is necessary. (42 U.S.C. 1785.)

FOOD STAMP ACT OF 1964 1

AN ACT

To strengthen the agricultural economy; to help to achieve a fuller and more effective use of food abundances; to provide for improved levels of nutrition among low-income households through a cooperative Federal-State program of food assistance to be operated through normal channels of trade; and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as "The Food Stamp Act of 1964".

DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 2. It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress, in order to promote the general welfare, that the Nation's abundance of food should be utilized cooperatively by the States, the Federal Government, and local governmental units to the maximum extent practicable to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's population and raise levels of nutrition among low-income households. The Congress hereby finds that increased uitlization of foods in establishing and maintaining adequate national levels of nutrition will tend to cause the distribution in a beneficial manner of our agricultural abundances and will strengthen our agricultural economy, as well as result in more orderly marketing and distribution of food. To effectuate the policy of Congress and the purposes of this Act, a food stamp program, which will permit those households with low incomes to receive a greater share of the Nation's food abundance, is herein authorized. (7 U.S.C. 2011.)

DEFINITIONS

SEC. 3. As used in this Act

(a) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture. (b) The term "food" means any food or food product for human consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, those foods which are identified on the package as being imported, and meat and meat products which are imported.

(c) The term "coupon" means any coupon, stamp, or type of certificate issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act.

(d) The term "coupon allotment" means the total value of coupons to be issued to a household during each month or other time period. (e) The term "household" shall mean a group of related or nonrelated individuals, who are not residents of an institution or boarding house, but are living as one economic unit sharing common cooking

1 Pub. L. 88-525, 78 Stat. 703, approved August 31, 1964.

facilities and for whom food is customarily purchased in common. The term "household" shall also mean a single individual living alone who has cooking facilities and who purchases and prepares food for home consumption.

(f) The term "retail food store" means an establishment, including a recognized department thereof, or a house-to-house trade route which sells food to households for home consumption.

(g) The term "wholesale food concern" means an establishment which sells food to retail food stores for resale to households.

(h) The term "State agency" means the agency of the State government which has responsibility for the administration of the federally aided public assistance programs.

(i) The term "bank" means member or nonmember banks of the Federal Reserve System.

(j) The term "State" means the fifty States and the District of Columbia.

(k) The term "food stamp program" means any program promulgated pursuant to the provisions of this Act. (7 U.S.C. 2012.)

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM

SEC. 4. (a) The Secretary is authorized to formulate and administer a food stamp program under which, at the request of an appropriate State agency, eligible households within the State shall be provided with an opportunity more nearly to obtain a nutritionally adequate diet through the issuance to them of a coupon allotment which shall have a greater monetary value than their normal expenditures for food. The coupons so received by such households shall be used only to purchase food from retail food stores which have been approved for participation in the food stamp program. Coupons issued and used as provided in this Act shall be redeemable at face value by the Secretary through the facilities of the Treasury of the United States.

(b) In areas where a food stamp program is in effect, there shall be no distribution of federally owned foods to households under the authority of any other law except during emergency situations caused by a national or other disaster as determined by the Secretary.

(c) The Secretary shall issue such regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, as he deems necessary or appropriate for the effective and efficient administration of the food stamp program. (7 U.S.C. 2013.)

ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS

SEC. 5. (a) Participation in the food stamp program shall be limited to those households whose income is determined to be a substantial limiting factor in the attainment of a nutritionally adequate diet.

(b) In complying with the limitation on participation set forth in subsection (a) above, each State agency shall establish standards to determine the eligibility of applicant households. Such standards shall include maximum income limitations consistent with the income standards used by the State agency in administration of its federally aided public assistance programs. Such standards also shall

place a limitation on the resources to be allowed eligible households. The standards of eligibility to be used by each State for the food stamp program shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary. (7 U.S.C. 2014.)

ISSUANCE AND USE OF COUPONS

SEC. 6. (a) Coupons shall be printed in such denominations as may be determined to be necessary, and shall be issued only to households which have been duly certified as eligible to participate in the food stamp program.

(b) Coupons issued to eligible households shall be used by them only to purchase food in retail food stores which have been approved for participation in the food stamp program at prices prevailing in such stores: Provided, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the Secretary to specify the prices at which food may be sold by wholesale food concerns or retail food stores.

(c) Coupons issued to eligible households shall be simple in design and shall include only such words or illustrations as are required to explain their purpose and define their denomination. The name of any public official shall not appear on such coupons. (7 U.S.C. 2015.)

VALUE OF THE COUPON ALLOTMENT AND CHARGES TO BE MADE

SEC. 7. (a) The face value of the coupon allotment which State agencies shall be authorized to issue to households certified as eligible to participate in the food stamp program shall be in such amount as will provide such households with an opportunity more nearly to obtain a low-cost nutritionally adequate diet.

(b) Households shall be charged such portion of the face value of the coupon allotment issued to them as is determined to be equivalent to their normal expenditures for food.

(c) The value of the coupon allotment provided to any eligible household which is in excess of the amount charged such households for such allotment shall not be considered to be income or resources for any purpose under any Federal or State laws including, but not limited to, laws relating to taxation, welfare, and public assistance

programs.

(d) Funds derived from the charges made for the coupon allotment shall be promptly deposited in a manner prescribed in the regulations issued pursuant to this Act, in a separate account maintained in the Treasury of the United States for such purposes. Such deposits shall be available, without limitation to fiscal years, for the redemption of coupons. (7 U.S.C. 2016.)

APPROVAL OF RETAIL FOOD STORES AND WHOLESALE FOOD CONCERNS

SEC. 8. (a) Regulations issued pursuant to this Act shall provide for the submission of applications for approval by retail food stores and wholesale food concerns which desire to be authorized to accept and redeem coupons under the food stamp program and for the approval of those applicants whose participation will effectuate the purposes of the food stamp program. In determining the qualifications of applicants there shall be considered among such other factors as