NEWS RELEASE

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
Chairman Dick Lugar, U.S. Senator for Indiana

Date: 6-6-97

Advisory

The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee will meet on Tuesday, June 10, 1997 at 9:30 a.m. in SR-328A to mark-up the Committee's Budget Reconciliation Instructions.

The committee will decide how to spend the $1.5 billion dedicated in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement for food stamps.

The agreement requires a creation of additional work slots for individuals subject to time limits under last year's welfare reform bill. In addition, existing food stamp employment and training funds will be redirected to fund work slots. Funding for these will be approximately $1 billion over five years.

The agreement also allows states to exempt up to 15 percent of the individuals who would lose benefits because of the time limits (beyond the current waiver policy) at a cost of $500 million over five years. These policies are priority items in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement.