[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1628 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1628
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to repeal the particular
work requirement that disqualifies able-bodied adults for eligibility
to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 6, 2025
Mr. Welch (for himself, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Padilla,
Mr. Merkley, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Wyden)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to repeal the particular
work requirement that disqualifies able-bodied adults for eligibility
to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, 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 ``Improving Access to Nutrition Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) 35,000,000 people, including over 10,000,000 children,
suffered from hunger even before the COVID-19 pandemic began;
(2) analyses show that 50,000,000 people, including
17,000,000 children, could go hungry due to the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic;
(3) as of December 2020, food insecurity among White
households with children was 24.2 percent, while 38.6 percent
of Latinx households and 40.6 percent of African-American
households with children suffered from food insecurity;
(4) Black and Hispanic children were twice as likely as
White children to live in households without enough to eat,
entering the COVID-19 pandemic at a disproportionate risk of
going hungry;
(5) adults who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native,
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, or multiracial were twice as
likely as White adults to report that their household did not
get enough to eat;
(6) while official national data for Native American
households is lacking, previous research in the State of
Washington showed food insecurity among Native households was
2.5 times higher than in White households;
(7) the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened longstanding racial
disparities and food insecurity;
(8) the supplemental nutrition assistance program
established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2011 et seq.) (referred to in this section as the
``supplemental nutrition assistance program'') is the first
line of defense against hunger and especially vital for
vulnerable populations;
(9) more than 85 percent of all benefits under the
supplemental nutrition assistance program go to households with
children, seniors, and persons with disabilities;
(10) the supplemental nutrition assistance program helps
restore access to healthy food, improves overall health, and
reduces poverty;
(11) participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance
program is associated with educational advancement of children
in poverty and improvements in math and reading scores;
(12) the supplemental nutrition assistance program has a
proven record of effectiveness in promoting food security and
health and in providing economic stimulus;
(13) each dollar of supplemental nutrition assistance
program benefits during a downturn generates between $1.50 and
$1.80 in economic activity;
(14) studies have demonstrated that work requirements do
not reduce poverty;
(15) about 6,100,000 individuals are subject to work
requirements under the supplemental nutrition assistance
program and are at risk of losing critical food assistance if
they cannot comply with those work requirements;
(16) for individuals described in paragraph (15) who live
in households with school-aged children, supplemental nutrition
assistance program benefit reductions or terminations could
jeopardize the health, development, and future success of those
children;
(17) children in poverty often depend on pooled resources
(including supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits)
from extended family members who do not claim them as
dependents;
(18) studies show that health impediments are a primary
cause of many recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance
program benefits being unable to meet a work requirement;
(19) work requirements cause an increase in the
administrative bureaucracy of the supplemental nutrition
assistance program, which some studies have shown cause a
significant reduction in participation in the supplemental
nutrition assistance program;
(20) studies show that--
(A) Black people are particularly vulnerable to
barriers to accessing the supplemental nutrition
assistance program and most likely to face recent
unemployment; and
(B) work requirements would disproportionately
prevent Black people from having access to benefits
under that program;
(21) families experiencing homelessness are most likely to
leave programs such as the supplemental nutrition assistance
program when there is a work requirement, thereby increasing
their vulnerability; and
(22) the COVID-19 pandemic has made people more vulnerable,
and a work requirement under the supplemental nutrition
assistance program would serve to only further burden people
most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF WORK REQUIREMENT UNDER SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION
ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2015) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (o); and
(2) by redesignating subsections (p) through (s) as
subsections (o) through (r), respectively.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 5(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2014(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, by striking
``(r)'' and inserting ``(q)''.
(2) Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I)(bb)(DD), by striking
``or subsection (o)''; and
(B) in subparagraph (N), by striking ``or
subsection (o)'' each place it appears.
(3) Section 7(i)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
(7 U.S.C. 2016(i)(1)) is amended by striking ``section 6(o)(2)
of this Act or''.
(4) Section 16(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2025(h)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B), in the matter
preceding clause (i), by striking ``that--''
and all that follows through the period at the
end of clause (ii) and inserting ``that is
determined and adjusted by the Secretary.'';
(ii) by striking subparagraph (E);
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as
subparagraph (E); and
(iv) in clause (ii)(III)(ee)(AA) of
subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated), by
striking ``, individuals subject to the
requirements under section 6(o),''; and
(B) in paragraph (5)(C)--
(i) in clause (ii), by adding ``and'' at
the end;
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ``; and''
and inserting a period; and
(iii) by striking clause (iv).
(5) Section 51(d)(8)(A)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended--
(A) in subclause (I), by striking ``, or'' at the
end and inserting a period;
(B) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by
striking ``family--'' and all that follows through
``receiving'' in subclause (I) and inserting ``family
receiving''; and
(C) by striking subclause (II).
(6) Section 103(a)(2) of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3113) is amended--
(A) by striking subparagraph (D); and
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) through (K)
as subparagraphs (D) through (J), respectively.
(7) Section 121(b)(2)(B) of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3151) is amended--
(A) by striking clause (iv); and
(B) by redesignating clauses (v) through (vii) as
clauses (iv) through (vi), respectively.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
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