An Act to amend the pilot project workfare provisions of the Food Stamp Act of 1977.
Public Law 95-400 · S. 3271 · 95th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Sep 30, 1978 · Agriculture and Food
Sponsor: Sen. Herman Talmadge (D-GA)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votes
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateMethod not stated
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 with respect to the two workfare pilot projects involving the performance of work in return for food stamp benefits in each of the seven administrative regions of the Food and Nutrition Service of the Department of Agriculture. Sets the deadline for an interim report on such projects at no later than October 1, 1979, and for a final report at no later than October 1, 1980.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 11 actions.
- Sep 30, 1978Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-400.
- Sep 21, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Sep 20, 1978PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Sep 19, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed House, in lieu of H.R. 13149.
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in House.
- Aug 3, 1978FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended.
- Jul 31, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- Jul 10, 1978CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.