110 STAT. 2338 PUBLIC LAW 104-193—AUG. 22, 1996 SEC. 851. RESPONSE TO WAIVERS. Section 17(b)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2026(b)(1)), as amended by section 850, is amended by adding at the end the following: "(D) RESPONSE TO WAIVERS. — "(i) RESPONSE.— Not later than 60 days after the date of receiving a request for a waiver under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall provide a response that— "(I) approves the wsdver request; "(II) denies the waiver request and describes any modification needed for approval of the waiver request; "(III) denies the waiver request and describes the grounds for the denial; or "(IV) requests clarification of the wedver request. "(ii) FAILURE TO RESPOND. —If the Secretary does not provide a response in accordance with clause (i), the waiver shall be considered approved, xinless the approval is specifically prohibited by this Act. "(iii) NOTICE OF DENIAL.— On denial of a waiver request under clause (i)(III), the Secretary shall provide a copy of the waiver request and a description of the reasons for the denial to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.". SEC. 852. EMPLOYMENT miTIATIVES PROGRAM./ Section 17 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2026) is amended by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following: "(d) EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES PROGRAM.— "(1) ELECTION TO PARTICIPATE.— "(A) IN GENERAL. — Subject to the other provisions of this subsection, a State may elect to carry out an employ- ment initiatives program under this subsection. " (B) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall be eligible to carry out an employment initiatives program under this subsection only if not less than 50 percent of the households in the State that received food stamp benefits during the summer of 1993 also received benefits under a State program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) during the summer of 1993. "(2) PROCEDURE.— "(A) IN GENERAL.— A State that has elected to carry out an employment initiatives program under paragraph (1) may use amounts equal to the food stamp allotments that would otherwise be issued to a household under the food stamp progrsmi, but for the operation of this subsection, to provide cash benefits in lieu of the food stamp allotments to the household if the household is eligible under paragraph (3). "(B) PAYMENT. —The Secretary shall pay to each State that has elected to carry out an employment initiatives program under paragraph (1) an amount equal to the value of the allotment that each household participating in the
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