This Act is P.L. 88-525 (August 31, 1964)which provided permanent legislative authority to the Food Stamp Program, which had been administratively implemented on a pilot basis in 1962. It was later replaced and completely rewritten and revised by the food stamp provisions of the Food and Agricultural Act of 1977 (Title XIII), which eliminated the purchase requirement and simplified eligibility requirements. Amendments were made to this Act in 1981-82, 1984-85, 1988, 1990, and 1994. Most recently, the 1996 omnibus welfare reform law (the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, PRWORA) incorporated the most extensive changes to the food stamp program since the 1977 rewrite of the law. This was followed by more changes including the 1997 Balanced Budget Act (P.L. 105-33) and the 1998 agricultural, research, extension, and education reform law (P.L. 105-185). The current Food Stamp Act includes authority through FY2002 for the regular food stamp program, for nutrition assistance grants to Puerto Rico and American Samoa (in lieu of food stamps), and for commodity purchases for the emergency food assistance program.