[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1488 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1488
To amend title 37, United States Code, to establish a basic needs
allowance for low-income regular members of the Armed Forces.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 29, 2021
Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Blumenthal,
Ms. Cortez Masto, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Rosen, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Baldwin,
Mr. Warner, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lujan, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Cramer, and
Ms. Hirono) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 37, United States Code, to establish a basic needs
allowance for low-income regular members of the Armed Forces.
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 ``Military Hunger Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. BASIC NEEDS ALLOWANCE FOR LOW-INCOME REGULAR MEMBERS OF THE
ARMED FORCES.
(a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 37, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 402a the following new section:
``Sec. 402b. Basic needs allowance for low-income regular members of
the armed forces
``(a) Allowance Required.--(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the
Secretary of Defense shall pay to each covered member a basic needs
allowance in the amount determined for such member under subsection
(b).
``(2) In the event a household contains two or more covered members
entitled to receive the allowance under this section in a given year,
only one allowance may be paid for that year to a covered member among
such covered members whom such covered members shall jointly elect.
``(b) Amount of Allowance for a Covered Member.--(1) The amount of
the monthly allowance payable to a covered member under subsection (a)
for a year shall be the aggregate amount equal to--
``(A) the aggregate amount equal to--
``(i) 130 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines
of the Department of Health and Human Services for the
location and number of persons in the household of the
covered member for such year; minus
``(ii) the gross household income of the covered
member during the preceding year; and
``(B) divided by 12.
``(2) The monthly allowance payable to a covered member for a year
shall be payable for each of the 12 months following--
``(A) in the case of an individual whom the Director of the
Defense Finance and Accounting Service first notifies in a
given year under subsection (c)(3)(A), March of such year; or
``(B) in the case of an individual whom the Director of the
Defense Finance and Accounting Service first notifies in a
given year under subsection (c)(3)(B), September of such year.
``(c) Notice of Eligibility.--(1)(A) Not later than June 30 and
December 31 each year, the Director of the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service shall notify, in writing, each individual whom the
Director determines will be a covered member during the following year,
regarding the potential entitlement of that individual to the allowance
described in subsection (a) for that following year.
``(B) The preliminary notice under subparagraph (A) shall include
information regarding financial management and assistance programs
administered by the Secretary of Defense for which a covered member is
eligible.
``(2) Not later than January 31 each year, each individual who
seeks to receive the allowance for such year (whether or not subject to
a notice for such year under paragraph (1)) shall submit to the
Director such information as the Director shall require for purposes of
this section in order to determine whether or not such individual is a
covered member for such year.
``(3) The Director shall notify, in writing, each individual the
Director determines will be a covered member in the following year not
later than--
``(A) February 28 of each year; and
``(B) August 31 of each year.
``(d) Election Not To Receive Allowance.--(1) A covered member
otherwise entitled to receive the allowance under subsection (a) for a
year may elect, in writing, not to receive the allowance for such year.
Any election under this subsection shall be effective only for the year
for which made. Any election for a year under this subsection is
irrevocable.
``(2) A covered member who does not submit information described in
subsection (c)(2) for a year as otherwise required by that subsection
shall be deemed to have elected not to receive the allowance for such
year.
``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) The term `covered member' means a regular member of
the armed forces--
``(A) who has completed initial entry training;
``(B) whose gross household income during the most
recent year did not exceed an amount equal to 130
percent of the Federal poverty guidelines of the
Department of Health and Human Services for the
location and number of persons in the household of the
covered member for such year; and
``(C) who does not elect under subsection (d) not
to receive the allowance for such year.
``(2) The term `gross household income' of a covered member
for a year for purposes of paragraph (1)(B) does not include
any basic allowance for housing received by the covered member
(and any dependents of the covered member in the household of
the covered member) during such year under section 403 of this
title.
``(f) Regulations.--The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe
regulations for the administration of this section. Subject to
subsection (e)(2), such regulations shall specify the income to be
included in, and excluded from, the gross household income of
individuals for purposes of this section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
chapter 7 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 402a the following new item:
``402b. Basic needs allowance for low-income regular members of the
armed forces.''.
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