§1060a. Special supplemental food program

(a) Authority.-The Secretary of Defense may carry out a program to provide special supplemental food benefits to members of the armed forces on duty at stations outside the United States (and its territories and possessions) and to eligible civilians serving with, employed by, or accompanying the armed forces outside the United States (and its territories and possessions).

(b) Federal Payments and Commodities.-For the purpose of obtaining Federal payments and commodities in order to carry out the program referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall make available to the Secretary of Defense from funds appropriated for such purpose, the same payments and commodities as are made for the special supplemental food program in the United States under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786).

(c) Program Administration.-(1)(A) The Secretary of Defense shall administer the program referred to in subsection (a) and, except as provided in subparagraph (B), shall determine eligibility for program benefits under the criterion published by the Secretary of Agriculture under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786).

(B) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations governing computation of income eligibility standards for families of individuals participating in the program under this section.

(2) The program benefits provided under the program shall be similar to benefits provided by State and local agencies in the United States.

(d) Departure From Standards.-The Secretary of Defense may authorize departures from standards prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture regarding the supplemental foods to be made available in the program when local conditions preclude strict compliance or when such compliance is highly impracticable.

(e) Regulations.-The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations to administer the program authorized by this section.

(f) Definitions.-In this section:

(1) The term "eligible civilian" means-

(A) a dependent of a member of the armed forces residing with the member outside the United States;

(B) an employee of a military department who is a national of the United States and is residing outside the United States in connection with such individual's employment or a dependent of such individual residing with the employee outside the United States; or

(C) an employee of a Department of Defense contractor who is a national of the United States and is residing outside the United States in connection with such individual's employment or a dependent of such individual residing with the employee outside the United States.

(2) The term "national of the United States" means-

(A) a citizen of the United States; or

(B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States (as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22))).

(3) The term "dependent" has the meaning given such term in subparagraphs (A), (D), (E), and (I) of section 1072(2) of this title.

(Added Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title VI, §653(a), Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2794 .)