I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5719 

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to modify the standards 

to determine eligibility to receive supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2020 

Mr. ARRINGTON (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. YOHO, Mr. 

ADERHOLT, and Mr. SMITH of Nebraska) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to modify 

the standards to determine eligibility to receive supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Closing Loopholes On 

5 SafetyNet Exploitation Act’’ or the ‘‘CLOSE Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 5(a) of 

8 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(a)) 


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1 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘However, 

2 no individual shall be eligible to receive benefits pursuant 

3 to this section if they do not meet the same income and 

4 resource criteria to which other applicants are subjected 

5 under subsections (c) and (g).’’. 

6 (b) FINANCIAL ASSET VERIFICATION.—The Food 

7 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is 

8 amended by inserting after section 11 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 11A. FINANCIAL ASSET VERIFICATION THROUGH AC10 CESS TO INFORMATION HELD BY FINANCIAL 

11 INSTITUTIONS. 

12 ‘‘(a) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provisions of 

14 this section, each State shall implement a financial 

15 asset verification program described in subsection 

16 (b), for purposes of determining or redetermining 

17 the eligibility of an individual to participate in the 

18 supplemental nutrition assistance program. 

19 ‘‘(2) PLAN SUBMITTAL.—In order to meet the 

20 requirement of paragraph (1), each State shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) submit not later than a deadline spec22 ified by the Secretary consistent with paragraph 

23 (3), a State plan amendment that describes how 

24 the State intends to implement the asset 

25 verification program; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) provide for implementation of such 

2 program for eligibility determinations and rede3 terminations made on or after 6 months after 

4 the deadline established for submittal of such 

5 plan amendment. 

6 ‘‘(3) PHASE-IN.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION IN STATES.—The 

8 Secretary shall require States to submit and 

9 implement a financial asset verification pro10 gram under this subsection in such manner as 

11 is designed to result in the application of such 

12 programs, in the aggregate for all such States, 

13 to households of approximately, but not less 

14 than, the following percentage of households, in 

15 the aggregate for all such States, by the end of 

16 the fiscal year involved: 

17 ‘‘(i) 12.5 percent by the end of fiscal 

18 year 2021. 

19 ‘‘(ii) 25 percent by the end of fiscal 

20 year 2022. 

21 ‘‘(iii) 50 percent by the end of fiscal 

22 year 2023. 

23 ‘‘(iv) 75 percent by the end of fiscal 

24 year 2024. 


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1 ‘‘(v) 100 percent by the end of fiscal 

2 year 2025. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—In selecting States 

4 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

5 consult with the States involved and take into 

6 account the feasibility of implementing asset 

7 verification programs in each such State. 

8 ‘‘(C) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub9 paragraph (A) shall be construed as preventing 

10 a State from requesting, and the Secretary 

11 from approving, the implementation of a finan12 cial asset verification program in advance of the 

13 deadline otherwise established under such sub14 paragraph. 

15 ‘‘(4) EXEMPTION OF TERRITORIES.—This sec16 tion shall only apply to the 50 States and the Dis17 trict of Columbia. 

18 ‘‘(b) FINANCIAL ASSET VERIFICATION PROGRAM.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec20 tion, a financial asset verification program means a 

21 program described in paragraph (2) under which a 

22 State— 

23 ‘‘(A) requires each applicant for, or recipi24 ent of, supplemental nutrition assistance pro25 gram benefits to provide authorization by such 


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1 applicant or recipient (and any other person 

2 whose resources are required by law to be dis3 closed to determine the eligibility of the appli4 cant or recipient for such benefits) for the State 

5 to obtain (subject to the cost reimbursement re6 quirements of section 1115(a) of the Right to 

7 Financial Privacy Act but at no cost to the ap8 plicant or recipient) from any financial institu9 tion (within the meaning of section 1101(1) of 

10 such Act) any financial record (within the 

11 meaning of section 1101(2) of such Act) held 

12 by the institution with respect to the applicant 

13 or recipient (and such other person, as applica14 ble), whenever the State determines the record 

15 is needed in connection with a determination 

16 with respect to such eligibility for (or the 

17 amount or extent of) such benefits; and 

18 ‘‘(B) uses the authorization provided under 

19 subparagraph (A) to verify the financial re20 sources of such applicant or recipient (and such 

21 other person, as applicable), in order to deter22 mine or redetermine the eligibility of such appli23 cant or recipient to receive supplemental nutri24 tion assistance program benefits. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—A program de2 scribed in this paragraph is a program for verifying 

3 individual assets in a manner consistent with the ap4 proach used by the Commissioner of Social Security 

5 under section 1631(e)(1)(B)(ii) of the Social Secu6 rity Act. 

7 ‘‘(c) DURATION OF AUTHORIZATION.—Notwith8 standing section 1104(a)(1) of the Right to Financial Pri9 vacy Act, an authorization provided to a State under sub10 section (b)(1) shall remain effective until the earliest of— 

11 ‘‘(1) the rendering of a final adverse decision on 

12 the applicant’s application to participate in the sup13 plemental nutrition assistance program; 

14 ‘‘(2) the cessation of the recipient’s eligibility to 

15 participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance 

16 program; or 

17 ‘‘(3) the express revocation by the applicant or 

18 recipient (or such other person described in sub19 section (b)(1), as applicable) of the authorization, in 

20 a written notification to the State. 

21 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY

22 ACT REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) An authorization obtained by the State 

24 under subsection (b)(1) shall be considered to meet 

25 the requirements of the Right to Financial Privacy 


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1 Act for purposes of section 1103(a) of such Act, and 

2 need not be furnished to the financial institution, 

3 notwithstanding section 1104(a) of such Act. 

4 ‘‘(2) The certification requirements of section 

5 1103(b) of the Right to Financial Privacy Act shall 

6 not apply to requests by the State pursuant to an 

7 authorization provided under subsection (b)(1). 

8 ‘‘(3) A request by the State pursuant to an au9 thorization provided under subsection (b)(1) is 

10 deemed to meet the requirements of section 

11 1104(a)(3) of the Right to Financial Privacy Act 

12 and of section 1102 of such Act, relating to a rea13 sonable description of financial records. 

14 ‘‘(e) REQUIRED DISCLOSURE.—The State shall in15 form any person who provides authorization pursuant to 

16 subsection (b)(1)(A) of the duration and scope of the au17 thorization. 

18 ‘‘(f) REFUSAL OR REVOCATION OF AUTHORIZA19 TION.—If an applicant for, or recipient of, supplemental 

20 nutrition assistance program benefits (or such other per21 son described in subsection (b)(1), as applicable) refuses 

22 to provide, or revokes, any authorization made by the ap23 plicant or recipient (or such other person, as applicable) 

24 under subsection (b)(1)(A) for the State to obtain from 

25 any financial institution any financial record, the State 


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1 may, on that basis, determine that the applicant or recipi2 ent is ineligible to participate in the supplemental nutri3 tion assistance program. 

4 ‘‘(g) USE OF CONTRACTOR.—For purposes of imple5 menting a financial asset verification program under this 

6 section, a State may select and enter into a contract with 

7 a public or private entity meeting such criteria and quali8 fications as the State determines appropriate, consistent 

9 with requirements in regulations relating to general con10 tracting provisions and with section 1903(i)(2) of the So11 cial Security Act. In carrying out activities under such 

12 contract, such an entity shall be subject to the same re13 quirements and limitations on use and disclosure of infor14 mation as would apply if the State were to carry out such 

15 activities directly. 

16 ‘‘(h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

17 provide States with technical assistance to aid in imple18 mentation of a financial asset verification program under 

19 this section. 

20 ‘‘(i) REPORTS.—A State implementing a financial 

21 asset verification program under this section shall furnish 

22 to the Secretary such reports concerning the program, at 

23 such times, in such format, and containing such informa24 tion as the Secretary determines appropriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

3 take effect on October 1, 2020. 

Æ 


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