[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2772 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2772
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to conduct a pilot program to
provide coupons to junior enlisted members to purchase food at
commissaries.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 11, 2025
Mr. Warnock (for himself and Mr. Marshall) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Defense to conduct a pilot program to
provide coupons to junior enlisted members to purchase food at
commissaries.
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 ``Commissary Healthy Options and
servicemember Welfare (CHOW) Act''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE COUPONS TO JUNIOR ENLISTED MEMBERS TO
PURCHASE FOOD AT COMMISSARIES.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) members of the Armed Forces and their families deserve
access to affordable and healthy food options, including during
their duty day;
(2) there has been increased awareness about the challenges
members and their families face in accessing affordable and
healthy food options;
(3) those challenges have been especially acute for
unaccompanied junior enlisted members who live in government-
provided quarters on military installations; and
(4) the Department of Defense should explore a variety of
proposals for expanding the accessibility of healthy and
affordable food options to members, especially members who live
in unaccompanied housing on military installations.
(b) Pilot Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense may conduct a
pilot program to assess the efficacy of providing junior
enlisted members of the Armed Forces a monthly coupon for use
in procuring food at commissaries.
(2) Selection of installations.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary may conduct the
pilot program authorized by paragraph (1) at 2 military
installations.
(B) Considerations.--In selecting installations for
the pilot program authorized by paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall consider installations with--
(i) large numbers of enlisted members who
live in unaccompanied housing;
(ii) the largest ratios of enlisted members
to commissioned officers;
(iii) unaccompanied housing that provides
access to functioning kitchens that residents
may use to prepare meals;
(iv) commissaries that are experimenting
with or expanding their selection of nutritious
and minimally processed ready-made and easy-to-
make food options;
(v) low rates of attendance at dining
facilities;
(vi) low customer satisfaction ratings for
dining facilities, including installations with
complaints about dining facilities submitted
through the Interactive Customer Evaluation
system of the Department of Defense; and
(vii) commissaries located within easily
accessible distances from unaccompanied
housing.
(3) Coupons.--
(A) Amount.--The Secretary may determine the amount
of the coupons to be provided under the pilot program
authorized by paragraph (1).
(B) Use.--
(i) In general.--A coupon provided under
the pilot program authorized by paragraph (1)
may be used only to purchase food at
commissaries.
(ii) Exclusions.--A coupon provided under
the pilot program authorized by paragraph (1)
may not be used--
(I) to purchase alcoholic beverages
or tobacco; or
(II) to pay any deposit fee in
excess of the amount of the State fee
reimbursement (if any) required to
purchase any food or food product
contained in a returnable bottle or
can, without regard to whether the fee
is included in the shelf price posted
for the food or food product.
(C) Supplement to other food assistance.--A coupon
provided to a member under the pilot program authorized
by paragraph (1) shall be supplement and not supplant--
(i) the basic allowance for subsistence
under section 402 of title 37, United States
Code; and
(ii) any program to provide meals or
rations in kind for which the member is
eligible.
(4) Duration of pilot program.--The pilot program
authorized by paragraph (1) shall terminate not later than one
year after the pilot program commences.
(5) Report required.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the
termination under paragraph (4) of the pilot program
authorized by paragraph (1), the Secretary of Defense
shall submit to the congressional defense committees a
report detailing the results of the pilot program.
(B) Elements.--The report required by subparagraph
(A) shall include an assessment of the following:
(i) The use of coupons by members who
received coupons under the pilot program.
(ii) The satisfaction of and feedback from
such members relating to the coupons.
(iii) The impact of providing the coupons
on--
(I) the rates at which such members
used commissaries; and
(II) the rates at which such
members used dining facilities on their
installations.
(iv) Historical rates of use of dining
facilities on installations and historical
customer satisfaction metrics for such
facilities, including the number of complaints
with respect to such facilities submitted
through the Interactive Customer Evaluation
system of the Department of Defense.
(v) The efficacy of the pilot program in--
(I) reducing food insecurity rates
among junior enlisted members;
(II) increasing the availability of
nutritious food options for such
members at commissaries; and
(III) increasing the availability
of nutritious food options for such
members generally, including such
members living in unaccompanied
housing.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Congressional defense committees.--The term
``congressional defense committees'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101(a)(16) of title 10, United States Code.
(2) Coupon.--The term ``coupon'' means a voucher or
monetary benefit for a member of the Armed Forces that may be
used only at a commissary for the purchase of food.
(3) Food.--The term ``food'' means any food or food product
intended for home consumption, including a ready-made food
item.
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