Contractor and Cooperator Reports No. (CCR-40) 96 pp
Impact of 2002-03 Farm Bill Restorations on Food Stamp Use by Legal Immigrants
This study used 1999-2004 Current Population Survey data in conjunction with the Urban Institute’s Transfer Income Model (TRIM3) to quantify the impact of the 2002 Farm Bill’s eligibility restorations. About half the estimated impact came from increases in newly eligible families, while the rest came from increases in eligible family members within already-eligible families (usually within families with citizen children). By 2004, the restorations had extended eligibility to roughly 1 million legal immigrants and 148,000 additional families. The extension in eligibility reached around two-thirds of those made ineligible by the 1996 welfare reform law rules and not covered by the 1998 restorations. The estimated participation gain over the period was 780,000 individuals and 139,000 legal immigrant families. The restorations took place in an era of large increases in food stamp caseloads overall; even so, the share of families containing legal immigrants increased substantially.
This study was conducted by the Urban Institute under a cooperative research contract with USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) Foodand Nutrition Assistance Research Program (FANRP): contract number 43-3AEM-3-80115 (ERS project representative: Constance Newman). This isthe third and final report submitted under this agreement. The authors take full responsibility for the accuracy of material presented herein. The data underlying the report are derived in part from the Transfer Income Model, Version 3 (TRIM3) and associated databases. TRIM3 requires users to input assumptions and/or interpretations about economic behavior and the rules governing Federal programs. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Urban Institute, its trustees, ERS, or USDA.
Keywords: Farm bill, Food Stamp Program, immigrants, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, FANRP
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