[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3240 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3240
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to reform the restaurant
meals program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2025
Ms. Ernst 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 reform the restaurant
meals 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 ``McStopping Chains from Using SNAP
EBT to Make Entrees Act of 2025'' or the ``McSCUSE ME Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. RESTAURANT MEALS PROGRAM.
Section 9(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C.
2018(h)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``determines that the
participation'' and inserting the following:
``determines that--
``(A) the private establishment is a retail food
store that--
``(i) operates a prepared food section, hot
bar, or deli counter;
``(ii) is not primarily engaged in the sale
of quick-service or fast-food items, as
determined by the Secretary; and
``(iii) meets all State and local food
safety and health standards applicable to
grocery stores or supermarkets; and
``(B) the participation'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (6);
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Eligible meals.--Benefits may be redeemed under the
program under this subsection from a private establishment
described in paragraph (2)(A) only for meals from a prepared
food section, hot bar, or deli counter that--
``(A) are intended for immediate consumption; and
``(B) contain at least--
``(i) 1 fruit or vegetable; and
``(ii) 1 protein, as defined by the
Secretary.
``(4) Single authorization.--
``(A) In general.--A retail food store authorized
under section 9 shall not be required to obtain a
separate authorization for participating in the program
under this section.
``(B) EBT systems.--The Secretary shall ensure that
State agencies maintain or update EBT card coding and
retailer coding systems necessary to restrict
redemption of benefits under this subsection to
eligible households.
``(5) Spousal exclusion.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, a spouse of an individual eligible for
benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program
shall not be eligible to participate in the program under this
subsection.''; and
(4) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), by striking
``Senate a report on the effectiveness of a'' and inserting the
following: ``Senate, and make publicly available, a report
describing--
``(A) the number of private establishments
participating in the program under this subsection;
``(B) for each private establishment participating
in the program under this subsection--
``(i) the name and location of the private
establishment; and
``(ii) the amount of benefits redeemed at
the private establishment;
``(C) the number of individuals receiving benefits
under the program under this subsection;
``(D) the costs of the program under this
subsection; and
``(E) the effectiveness of the''.
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