[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6181 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6181
To prevent the changing of regulations governing the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program, to provide for expanded food security,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 10, 2020
Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Pingree, Mrs. Hayes, Ms.
Lee of California, and Ms. Fudge) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent the changing of regulations governing the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program, to provide for expanded food security,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Emergency Food Security
Act''.
SEC. 2. IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF IMPLEMENTING RULE CHANGES FOR THE
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
No Federal funds (including fees) made available for any fiscal
year may be used to finalize, implement, administer, enforce, carry
out, or otherwise give effect to any proposed rule that would decrease
program benefits or impact program eligibility of the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program.
SEC. 3. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN BENEFITS UNDER THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Maximum Benefit Increase.--
(1) In general.--Beginning the first month that begins not
less than 10 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the
value of benefits determined under section 8(a) of the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 and consolidated block grants for Puerto
Rico and American Samoa determined under section 19(a) of such
Act shall be calculated using 113.6 percent of the June 2019
value of the thrifty food plan as specified under section 3(o)
of such Act.
(2) Termination.--
(A) The authority provided by this subsection shall
terminate after September 30, 2020.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary
of Agriculture may not reduce the value of the maximum
allotments, minimum allotments or consolidated block
grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa below the
level in effect for fiscal year 2020 as a result of
paragraph (1).
(b) Requirements for the Secretary.--In carrying out this section,
the Secretary shall--
(1) consider the benefit increases described in subsection
(a) to be a ``mass change'';
(2) require a simple process for States to notify
households of the increase in benefits;
(3) consider section 16(c)(3)(A) of the Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)(3)(A)) to apply to any errors in
the implementation of this section, without regard to the 120-
day limit described in that section;
(4) disregard the additional amount of benefits that a
household receives as a result of this section in determining
the amount of over issuances under section 13 of the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2022); and
(5) set the tolerance level for excluding small errors for
the purposes of section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) at $50 through September 30, 2020.
(c) Administrative Expenses.--
(1) In general.--For the costs of State administrative
expenses associated with carrying out this section and
administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2011 et seq.), the Secretary shall make available $145,000,000
in fiscal year 2020 and $150,000,000 in fiscal year 2021, of
which $4,500,000 is for necessary expenses of the Food and
Nutrition Service for management and oversight of the program
and for monitoring the integrity and evaluating the effects of
the payments made under this section.
(2) Timing for fiscal year 2020.--Not later than 60 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
make available to States amounts for fiscal year 2020 under
paragraph (1).
(3) Allocation of funds.--Except as provided for management
and oversight, funds described in paragraph (1) shall be made
available as grants to State agencies for each fiscal year as
follows:
(A) Seventy-five percent of the amounts available
for each fiscal year shall be allocated to States based
on the share of each State of households that
participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program as reported to the Department of Agriculture
for the most recent 12-month period for which data are
available, adjusted by the Secretary (as of the date of
enactment) for participation in disaster programs under
section 5(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2014(h)).
(B) Twenty-five percent of the amounts available
for each fiscal year shall be allocated to States based
on the increase in the number of households that
participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program as reported to the Department of Agriculture
over the most recent 12-month period for which data are
available, adjusted by the Secretary (as of the date of
enactment) for participation in disaster programs under
section 5(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2014(h)).
(d) Funding.--There are appropriated to the Secretary out of funds
of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section.
SEC. 4. PROVIDING FOR THE TREATMENT OF JOBLESS WORKERS.
(a) Treatment of Jobless Workers.--
(1) Remainder of fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year
2022.--Beginning with the first month that begins not less than
10 days after the date of enactment of this Act and for each
subsequent month through September 30, 2022, eligibility for
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits shall not be
limited under section 6(o)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008.
(2) Fiscal year 2023 and thereafter.--Beginning on October
1, 2022, for the purposes of section 6(o) of the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)), a State agency shall
disregard any period during which an individual received
benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
prior to October 1, 2021.
SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM ON INDIAN
RESERVATIONS.
(a) Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.--For the
costs relating to facility improvements and equipment upgrades
associated with the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations,
as established under section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2013(b)), the Secretary shall make available $5,000,000:
Provided, That administrative cost-sharing requirements are not
applicable to funds provided in accordance with this provision.
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