Proposed Agency Interpretation of “Federal Means-Tested Public Benefit[s]” Under Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

The interpretation of the phrase “federal means-tested public benefit[s]” in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 proffered by the Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development—that it applies only to mandatory (and not discretionary) spending programs—constitutes a permissible and legally binding construction of the statute.