Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 95.djvu/389

 PUBLIC LAW 97-35—AUG. 13, 1981

95 STAT. 363

ate jurisdiction, but in no event shall the period of ineligibility be subject to review. "(4) The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as the Secretary Regulations. may deem appropriate to ensure that information concerning any such determination with respect to a specific individual is forwarded to the Office of the Secretary by any appropriate State or Federal entity for the use of the Secreta^ in administering the provisions of this section. No State shall withhold such information from the Secretsury or the Secretary's designee for any reason whatsoever.". WAIVING AND OFFSETTING CLAIMS; IMPROVED RECOVERY OF OVERPAYMENTS

SEC. 113. (a) Section 13 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is amended byCD inserting "(a)" immediately after the section designation; (2) inserting before the period at the end of the first sentence ", including the power to waive claims if the Secretary determines that to do so would serve the purposes of this Act"; (3) adding the following new sentence at the end thereof: "The Secretary shall have the power to reduce amounts otherwise due to a State agency under section 16 of this Act to collect unpaid claims assessed against the State agency if the State agency has declined or exhausted its appeal rights under section 14 of this Act."; and (4) adding the following new subsection at the end thereof: "(b)(1) In the case of any ineligibility determination under section 6(b) of this Act, the household of which such inelmble individual is a member is required to agree to a reduction in the allotment of the household of which such individual is a member, or payment in cash, in accordance with a schedule determined by the Secretary, that will be sufficient to reimburse the Federal Government for the value of any overissuance of coupons resulting from the activity that was the basis of the ineligibility determination. If a household refuses to make an election, or elects to make a payment in cash under the provisions of the preceding sentence and fsSls to do so, the household shall be subject to an allotment reduction. "(2) State agencies shall collect any claim against a household arising from the overissuance of coupons, other than claims the collection of which is provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection and claims arising from an error of the State agency, by reducing the monthly allotments of the household. These collections shall be limited to 10 per centum of the monthly allotment (or $10 per month, whenever that would result in a faster collection rate).". (b) The heading of section 13 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is amended to read COLLECTION AND DISPOSITION OF CLAIMS".

7 USC 2022.

7 USC 2025. 7 USC 2023.

7 USC 2022.

STATES' SHARE OF COLLECTED CLAIMS

SEC. 114. Section 16(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 is amended? use 2025. by(1) striking out in the first sentence "through prosecutions" and all that follows down through the end of the sentence and inserting in lieu thereof "pursuant to section 13(b)(l) of this Act Supra. and 25 per centum of the value of all funds or allotments recovered or collected pursuant to section 13(b)(2) of this Act."; Supra. and

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