text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Senior Nutrition Act of 2002''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress finds that--
              (1) senior citizens in the United States have significant 
          out-of-pocket costs for medical expenses, especially for 
          prescription drugs;
              (2) 3 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries do not have dependable, 
          affordable, prescription drug coverage;
              (3) as medical costs continue to rise, many senior citizens 
          are forced to make the difficult choice between purchasing 
          prescription drugs and purchasing food;
              (4) the commodity supplemental food program provides 
          supplemental nutritious foods to senior citizens in a number of 
          States and localities;
              (5) under the commodity supplemental food program--
                      (A) women, infants, and children with household 
                  incomes up to 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Income 
                  Guidelines published annually by the Department of 
                  Health and Human Services may be eligible for 
                  supplemental foods; but
                      (B) senior citizens are ineligible for supplemental 
                  foods if their household incomes are greater than 130 
                  percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines;
              (6) during fiscal year 2000--
                      (A) an average of more than 388,000 people each 
                  month participated in the commodity supplemental food 
                  program; and
                      (B) the majority of those participants, 293,000, 
                  were senior citizens; and
              (7) in order to serve the neediest senior citizens, taking 
          into account their high out-of-pocket medical (including 
          prescription drug) expenses, the eligibility requirements for 
          the commodity supplemental food program should be modified to 
          make more senior citizens eligible for the supplemental foods 
          provided under the program.
  
  SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF ELDERLY PERSONS UNDER THE COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL 
                FOOD PROGRAM.
  
      (a) In General.--Section 5 of the Agriculture and Consumer 
  Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93-86) is 
  amended--
              (1) in the first sentence of subsection (d)(2)--
                      (A) by striking ``provide not less'' and inserting 
                  ``provide, to the Secretary of Agriculture, not less'';
                      (B) by inserting ``, or such greater quantities of 
                  cheese and nonfat dry milk as the Secretary determines 
                  are necessary,'' after ``nonfat dry milk''; and
                      (C) by striking ``in each of the fiscal years 1991 
                  through 2002 to the Secretary of Agriculture'' and 
                  inserting ``in each fiscal year'';
              (2) in subsection (i)--
                      (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) 
                  as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and 
                  indenting appropriately; and
                      (B) by striking ``(i) Each'' and inserting the 
                  following:
      ``(i) Programs Serving Elderly Persons.--
              ``(1) Eligibility.--An elderly person shall be eligible to 
          participate in a commodity supplemental food program serving 
          elderly persons if the elderly person is at least 60 years of 
          age and--
                      ``(A) is eligible for food stamp benefits under the 
                  Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); or
                      ``(B) has a household income that is less than or 
                  equal to 185 percent of the most recent Federal Poverty 
                  Income Guidelines published by the Department of Health 
                  and Human Services.
              ``(2) Provision of information.--Each''; and
              (3) by adding at the end the following:
      ``(m) Authorization of Appropriations.--
              ``(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
          to carry out the commodity supplemental food program--
                      ``(A) $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;
                      ``(B) $140,000,000 for fiscal year 2004;
                      ``(C) $160,000,000 for fiscal year 2005;
                      ``(D) $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2006;
                      ``(E) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and
                      ``(F) such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 
                  2008 and each fiscal year thereafter.
              ``(2) Limitation on use of funds.--None of the funds made 
          available under paragraph (1) shall be available to reimburse 
          the Commodity Credit Corporation for commodities donated to the 
          commodity supplemental food program.''.
      (b) Conforming Amendments.--
              (1) Section 5(a) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection 
          Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93-86) is amended 
          by striking ``Secretary (1) may'' and all that follows through 
          ``(2) shall'' and inserting ``Secretary shall''.
              (2) Section 5(g) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection 
          Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93-86) is amended 
          by striking ``(as defined by the Secretary)'' and inserting 
          ``described in subsection (i)(1)''.
target: Senior Nutrition Act of 2002 - Amends the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to make a person who is at least 60 years old eligible for the commodity supplemental food program (program) if such person: (1) is eligible for the food stamp program; or (2) has a household income that is not more than 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines.Authorizes permanent program appropriations.
feat_title: To amend the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to assist the neediest of senior citizens by modifying the eligibility criteria for supplemental foods provided under the commodity supplemental food program to take into account the extraordinarily high out-of-pocket medical expenses that senior citizens pay, and for other purposes.