[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3700 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3700
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require
certain State agencies and covered Indian Tribal organizations to
replace summer EBT benefits that are determined to have been stolen,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2025
Ms. Bonamici (for herself and Mr. Goldman of New York) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require
certain State agencies and covered Indian Tribal organizations to
replace summer EBT benefits that are determined to have been stolen,
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 ``Mitigating Electronic Access Losses
for Students Act of 2025'' or the ``MEALS Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. SUMMER EBT FRAUD PREVENTION.
Section 13A of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1762) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (g) the following:
``(h) Summer EBT Fraud Prevention.--
``(1) Guidance; rulemaking.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) issue guidance to State agencies and covered
Indian Tribal organizations, on an ongoing basis, as
informed by the process outlined in subparagraph (D),
that describes security measures that--
``(i) are effective, as determined by the
Secretary, in detecting and preventing theft of
summer EBT benefits, including through card
skimming, card cloning, and other similar
fraudulent methods;
``(ii) are consistent with industry
standards for detecting, identifying, and
preventing debit and credit card skimming, card
cloning, and other similar fraudulent methods;
and
``(iii) consider the feasibility of cost,
availability, and implementation for State
agencies and covered Indian Tribal
organizations;
``(B) promulgate regulations through notice-and-
comment rulemaking to require State agencies and
covered Indian Tribal organizations that elect to
participate in the program under this section to take
the appropriate security measures, as determined by the
Secretary, described in the guidance issued under
subparagraph (A);
``(C) not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this subsection, promulgate regulations
(including an interim final rule) to require State
agencies and covered Indian Tribal organizations that
elect to participate in the program under this section
to implement procedures for the replacement of summer
EBT benefits consistent with paragraph (2);
``(D) coordinate with the Director of the Office of
Family Assistance of the Administration for Children
and Families of the Department of Health and Human
Services, the Attorney General of the United States,
State agencies, covered Indian Tribal organizations,
retailers (including retail food stores described in
subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and vendors
described in subparagraph (B) of such subsection), and
EBT contractors--
``(i) to determine--
``(I) how summer EBT benefits are
being stolen through card skimming,
card cloning, and other similar
fraudulent methods;
``(II) how those stolen benefits
are used; and
``(III) the locations where card
skimming, card cloning, and other
similar fraudulent methods are taking
place;
``(ii) to establish measures, including
equipment enhancements for retail food stores
described in subparagraph (A) of subsection
(b)(1) and vendors described in subparagraph
(B) of such subsection, to prevent summer EBT
benefits from being stolen through card
skimming, card cloning, and other similar
fraudulent methods; and
``(iii) to establish standard reporting
methods for State agencies and covered Indian
Tribal organizations that elect to participate
in the program under this section to collect
and share data with the Secretary on the scope
of summer EBT benefits being stolen through
card skimming, card cloning, and other similar
fraudulent methods; and
``(E) not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, submit to the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate
and the Committee on Education and Workforce of the
House of Representatives a report that includes--
``(i) information on the frequency of theft
of summer EBT benefits and the location of
those thefts, including benefits stolen through
card skimming, card cloning, and other similar
fraudulent methods;
``(ii) a description of the determinations
made under subparagraph (D)(i), the measures
established under subparagraph (D)(ii), and
methods established in subparagraph (D)(iii);
``(iii) a description of the industry
standards described in subparagraph (A)(ii);
``(iv) a comparison of State agency and
covered Indian Tribal organization plans
related to reimbursement, prevention, and other
relevant procedures approved in accordance with
paragraph (2)(A)(i); and
``(v) a description of actions taken by the
Secretary, and actions the Secretary plans to
take, to detect and prevent theft of summer EBT
benefits, including benefits stolen through
card skimming, card cloning, and other similar
fraudulent methods.
``(2) Replacement of benefits.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall use funds
appropriated pursuant to this section to require State
agencies and covered Indian Tribal organizations that
elect to participate in the program under this section
to replace summer EBT benefits that are determined by
the State agency or covered Indian Tribal organization
to have been stolen through card skimming, card
cloning, or similar fraudulent methods, subject to the
conditions that--
``(i) the State agency or covered Indian
Tribal organization shall include as part of
each plan for operations and management of the
State agency or covered Indian Tribal
organization required under section 292.8 of
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or a
successor regulation), and submitted after the
date of enactment of this Act a plan for the
replacement of stolen summer EBT benefits
that--
``(I) includes appropriate
procedures, as determined by the
Secretary, for the timely submission of
claims to, timely validation of claims
by, and replacement issuance by the
State agency or covered Indian Tribal
organization that includes--
``(aa) a signed statement
by the affected eligible
household on the benefit theft,
consistent with the signature
requirements and options,
including electronic
signatures, provided by section
11(e)(2)(C) of the Food and
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2020(e)(2)(C));
``(bb) criteria to
determine if a submitted claim
is valid;
``(cc) procedures for the
documentation of replacement
issuances, including the
submitted claims and findings
from the validation;
``(dd) the submission of
data reports on benefit theft
and replacement activity to the
Secretary;
``(ee) procedures to inform
eligible households of their
right to appeal an adverse
decision regarding a submitted
claim; and
``(ff) the State agency's
or covered Indian Tribal
organization's use and planned
use of benefit theft prevention
measures, including any
additional guidance that may be
issued under subsection (h)(1);
``(II) includes appropriate
procedures, as determined by the
Secretary, for reporting the scope and
frequency of card skimming affecting
eligible households to the Secretary;
and
``(III) includes appropriate
procedures, as determined by the
Secretary, in the case of theft
involving a card or other account that
stores summer EBT benefits and other
benefits (including supplemental
nutrition assistance program benefits),
for determining, to the extent
possible, the total portion of stolen
benefits that is attributable to summer
EBT benefits; and
``(ii) the replacement of stolen summer EBT
benefits for an eligible household shall not
exceed the lesser of--
``(I) the amount of summer EBT
benefits stolen from the eligible
household--
``(aa) during the calendar
year that the claim reporting
such theft was submitted; and
``(bb) that have not been
replaced or otherwise
supplemented by a prior
approved claim; or
``(II) the amount equal to the
summer EBT benefit allotment of the
eligible household issued to the
eligible household immediately prior to
the date on which the benefits were
stolen.
``(B) Plan deadline for current participants.--In
the case of a State agency or covered Indian Tribal
organization participating in the program under this
section on the date of enactment of this subsection,
such State Agency or covered Indian Tribal organization
shall be required to--
``(i) submit an initial version of the plan
for the replacement of stolen summer EBT
benefits described in subparagraph (A)(i) to
the Secretary for approval not later than 60
days after the date of enactment of this
subsection; and
``(ii) implement such initial plan upon
approval by the Secretary.
``(3) Comptroller general.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Comptroller
General of the United States shall submit to the
Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that
examines risks related to summer EBT benefit payment
system security, including the risk of stolen benefits
through card skimming, card cloning, and other similar
methods.
``(B) Contents.--The report under subparagraph (A)
shall include an assessment of--
``(i) the extent to which the Department of
Agriculture manages summer EBT benefit payment
system security, including risks related to
stolen benefits, compared to leading industry
practices;
``(ii) the manner in which State agencies,
covered Indian Tribal organizations, retailers,
and other relevant entities manage risks
related to stolen summer EBT benefits;
``(iii) the oversight of and guidance
provided by the Secretary to State agencies and
covered Indian Tribal organizations regarding
stolen summer EBT benefits; and
``(iv) recommendations and policy options
for--
``(I) improving how the Department
of Agriculture and other relevant
entities manage summer EBT benefit
payment system security risks,
including those related to stolen
benefits; and
``(II) how the Department of
Agriculture may best share those
improvements with State agencies,
covered Indian Tribal organizations,
retailers, and other relevant
entities.''.
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