Thrifty Food Plan rule (2021)
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The Thrifty Food Plan rule was guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) effective October 1, 2021, that aimed to revise the USDA Thrifty Food Plan pursuant to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. The changes also amended the benefit allotments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
The USDA issued the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan as guidance, however, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled on July 28, 2022, that it qualified as a rule subject to review under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).[1][2]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- July 28, 2022: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled that the guidance meets the definition of a rule and is subject to the provisions of the Congressional Review Act (CRA).[2]
- October 1, 2021: The 2021 Thrifty Food Plan took effect.[1]
- August 16, 2021: USDA published guidance entitled "Thrifty Food Plan, 2021."[1]
Background
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 included provisions directing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reevaluate the Thrifty Food Plan every five years. The Thrifty Food Plan is responsible for outlining what the department refers to as "nutrient-dense foods and beverages, their amounts, and associated costs that can be purchased on a limited budget to support a healthy diet through nutritious meals and snacks at home." The costs established by the plan are subsequently used to establish Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit allotments.[3]
The department reevaluated the Thrifty Food Plan in 2021, under the Agriculture Improvement Act, and amended the plan to reflect changes to food prices, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance. The changes were used to adjust SNAP benefit allotments beginning on October 1, 2021. Benefits were increased by an average of 27%, according to The Foundation for Government Accountability.[4][5]
Reviewed by Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled on July 28, 2022, that the USDA's 2021 Thrifty Food Plan guidance qualified as a rule subject to review under the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The GAO argued that the plan met the definition of a rule as outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and therefore must be subject to the CRA.
The CRA requires agencies to submit a report on new rules to Congress for review and establishes a process for Congress to disapprove rules. GAO argued that the Thrifty Food Plan "is designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy as it implements the new market baskets as required by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and the 2018 Farm Bill." Pursuant to the GAO's decision and the CRA, the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan was subject to congressional approval.[2]
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the guidance from the USDA:[4]
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Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan:[1]
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The Thrifty Food Plan, 2021 marks a significant first: instead of imposing a requirement that the Thrifty Food Plan update be cost neutral, USDA, following the 2018 Farm Bill, based its reevaluation entirely on data and evidence on the cost for which resource-constrained households can purchase a healthy, practical diet. This is consistent with the requirements of the 2018 Farm Bill, which in new language amending and going beyond prior legislation specifically called for the reevaluation to be based on current dietary guidance, consumption patterns, food composition data, and current food prices. Incorporating all four factors, as directed by Congress, is irreconcilable with a policy that the Thrifty Food Plan must be cost-neutral. Thus, for the first time in more than 45 years, maintaining cost neutrality did not drive the process. Instead, the Thrifty Food Plan reevaluation process started first with assessing the foods and beverages that make up a healthy, practical diet, then determining a cost at which they could be purchased by resource-constrained households. Lifting the cost-neutrality constraint led to impactful differences in the reevaluation process as it allowed for the use of data and process decisions that yielded results that are more realistic of a family’s needs and representative of the U.S. population than previous editions. In addition, while previous updates to the Thrifty Food Plan described the Plan as “minimal cost,” USDA believes such a descriptor is no longer appropriate under the 2018 Farm Bill because 'minimal cost' is strongly associated with the cost-neutral constraint.
This change comes at a time when the Nation is experiencing the consequences of the established connection between food insecurity—more specifically, nutrition insecurity—and poor health. Nutrition security means having consistent access, availability, and affordability of foods and beverages that promote well being and prevent (and if needed, treat) disease, particularly among our nation’s most socially disadvantaged populations. Long-standing systemic health and social inequities in the United States mean that certain demographic groups, specifically racial and ethnic minority groups, are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, experience higher rates of some diet-related chronic diseases, and have higher rates of death and serious health effects due to living with these diseases. Therefore, one of the goals for the reevaluation was ensuring that there are a range of choices for a broad spectrum of individual circumstances.[6] |
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Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.
Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. Executive Order 14094, issued by President Joe Biden (D) on April 6, 2023, made changes to Executive Order 12866, including referring to economically significant rules as section 3(f)(1) significant rules and raising the monetary threshold for economic significance to $200 million or more.
The Thrifty Food Plan was issued as guidance by the USDA, however, the GAO ruled on July 28, 2022, that the action qualified as a rule. The GAO noted in their decision that the Thrifty Food Plan demonstrated substantial impacts on the public:[2]
| “ | [T]he 2021 TFP substantially impacts the rights of non-agency parties because it has an effect on qualifying families by granting increased benefit allotments designed for them to obtain a more nutritious diet.[6] | ” |
Text of the rule
The full text of the guidance is available below:[1]
Responses
The following section provides a selection of responses to the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan issued by the USDA which aimed to revise the plan and change the benefit allotments for SNAP.
The U.S. House of Representatives Budget Committee issued a statement in October 2023 noting that it had been two years since the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan had been expanded and arguing that the plan circumvented Congress:[7]
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The Foundation of Government Accountability (FGA) published an article arguing that the Thrifty Food Plan was an example of executive overreach and calling on Congress to repeal the plan:[5]
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The Center for American Progress published an article arguing that the changes to the Thrifty Food Plan should be accounted for in the 2023 reauthorization of the Agriculture Improvement Act:[8]
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Urban Institute published a policy brief arguing that the changes made to the Thrifty Food Plan will continue to reduce poverty and will offer aid after emergency allotments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic end:[9]
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Noteworthy events
Thrifty Food Plan Accountability Act of 2023 introduced in House (2023)
Congressman Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) on July 27, 2023, introduced the Thrifty Food Plan Accountability Act of 2023 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill aimed to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to establish requirements for budget-neutral adjustments to the Thrifty Food Plan. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture and had not been voted on as of December 8, 2023.[10]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Thrifty Food Plan, 2021," August 16, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 U.S. Government Accountability Office, "United States Department of Agriculture—Applicability of the Congressional Review Act to the 2021 Updates to the Thrifty Food Plan," July 28, 2022
- ↑ U.S. Department of Agriculture, "USDA Food Plans," November 3, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Thrifty Food Plan, 2021," September 14, 2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 FGA, "Feeding Inflation: How President Biden's Unlawful Food Stamp Expansion is Costing Taxpayers and Consumers Billions," August 24, 2023
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Budget Committee, "Two-Year Anniversary of $300B Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) Expansion, Biden Continues to Circumvent Congress," October 4, 2023
- ↑ CAP20, "To Support Food Security, the Thrifty Food Plan Increase Should Be Protected in the 2023 Farm Bill," August 23, 2023
- ↑ Urban Institute, "Effect of the Reevaluated Thrifty Food Plan and Emergency Allotments on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits and Poverty," August 2022
- ↑ Congress.gov, "H.R. 4964 - Thrifty Food Plan Accountability Act of 2023," accessed December 8, 2023
