WELFARE SIMPLIFICATION AND COORDINATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

SEC. 1778. WELFARE SIMPLIFICATION AND COORDINATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. (a) Appointment and Membership.— (1) Establisment.— There is established an Advisory Committee on Welfare Simplification and Coordination (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Committee”) consisting of not fewer than 7, nor more than 11, members appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Secretary”), after consultation with the Secretary of104 STAT. 3815 Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and with the advice of State and local officials responsible for administering the food stamp program, cash and medical assistance programs for low-income families and individuals under the Social Security Act, and programs providing housing assistance to needy families and individuals, and representatives of recipients and recipient advocacy organizations associated with such programs. (2) Qualifications.— The members of the Committee shall be individuals who are familiar with the rules, goals, and limitations of Federal food stamp, cash, medical, and housing assistance programs for low-income families and individuals, and may include individuals who have demonstrated expertise in evaluating the operations of and interaction among such programs as they affect administrators and recipients, persons who have experience in administering such programs at the Federal, State, or local level, and representatives of administrators and recipients affected by such programs. (b) Purpose.— It shall be the purpose of the Committee, in consultation, where appropriate, with program administrators and representatives of recipients— (1) to identify the significant policies implemented in the food stamp program, cash and medical assistance programs under the Social Security Act, and housing assistance programs (whether resulting from law, regulations, or administrative practice) that, because they differ substantially, make it difficult for those eligible to apply for and obtain benefits from more than one program and restrict the ability of administrators of such programs to provide efficient, timely, and appropriate benefits to those eligible for more than one type of assistance, drawing, where appropriate, on previous efforts to coordinate and simplify such programs and policies; (2) to examine the major reasons for such different programs and policies; (3) to evaluate how and the extent to which such different programs and policies hinder, to a significant degree, the receipt of benefits from more than one program and substantially restrict administrators’ ability to provide efficient, timely, and appropriate benefits; (4) to recommend common or simplified programs and policies (including recommendations for changes in law, regulations, and administrative practice and for policies that do not currently exist in such programs) that would substantially reduce difficulties in applying for and obtaining benefits from more than one program and significantly increase the ability of administrators of such programs to efficiently provide timely and appropriate assistance to those eligible for more than one type of assistance; and (5) to describe the major effects of such common or simplified programs and policies (including how such common or simplified programs and policies would enhance or conflict with the purposes of such programs, how they would ease burdens on administrators and recipients, how they would affect program costs and participation, and the degree to which they would change the relationships between the Federal Government and the States in such programs) and the reasons for recommending such programs and policies (including reasons, if any, that104 STAT. 3816 might be sufficient to override special rules derived from the purposes of individual programs). (c) Administrative Support.— The Secretary shall provide the Committee with such technical and other assistance, including secretarial and clerical assistance, as may be required to carry out its functions. (d) Reimbursement.— Members of the Committee shall serve without compensation but shall receive reimbursement for necessary travel and subsistence expenses incurred by such members in the performance of the duties of the Committee. (e) Reports.— Not later than July 1, 1993, the Committee shall prepare and submit, to the appropriate committees of Congress, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development a final report, including recommendations for common or simplified programs and policies and the effects of and reasons for such programs and policies and may submit interim reports, including reports on common or simplified programs and policies covering less than the complete range of programs and policies under review, to the committees and such Secretaries as deemed appropriate by the Committee.