II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1707 

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide for a standard 

medical expense deduction under the supplemental nutrition assistance 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 2, 2017 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND 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 provide 

for a standard medical expense deduction under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, 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 ‘‘SNAP Standard Med5 ical Expense Deduction Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DEDUCTION. 

7 Section 5(e)(5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

8 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘EX2 CESS MEDICAL’’ and inserting ‘‘MEDICAL’’; 

3 (2) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) STANDARD MEDICAL DEDUCTION.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

7 (ii), a household containing an elderly or 

8 disabled member shall be entitled, with re9 spect to expenses other than expenses paid 

10 on behalf of the household by a third 

11 party— 

12 ‘‘(I) if the amount of actual costs 

13 of allowable medical expenses incurred 

14 by the elderly or disabled member for 

15 a month, exclusive of special diets, is 

16 equal to or greater than $35, to a 

17 standard medical deduction for each 

18 month of an amount equal to— 

19 ‘‘(aa) for fiscal year 2018, 

20 $140; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) for fiscal year 2019 

22 and each subsequent fiscal year, 

23 the applicable amount during the 

24 preceding fiscal year, as adjusted 

25 to reflect changes for the 12- 


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1 month period ending the pre2 ceding June 30 in the Consumer 

3 Price Index for All Urban Con4 sumers: Medical Care published 

5 by the Bureau of Labor Statis6 tics of the Department of Labor; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(II) if the amount of actual 

9 costs of allowable medical expenses in10 curred by the elderly or disabled mem11 ber for a month, exclusive of special 

12 diets, is greater than the sum of the 

13 amount of that standard medical de14 duction and $35, to a deduction equal 

15 to the amount of those actual costs. 

16 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT ON STATE AUTHORITY

17 TO ADJUST STANDARD MEDICAL DEDUC18 TION.—Nothing in this subparagraph pre19 cludes— 

20 ‘‘(I) a State that has an ap21 proved standard medical deduction as 

22 of the date of enactment of the SNAP 

23 Standard Medical Expense Deduction 

24 Act of 2017 in an amount that is 

25 greater than the amount of the standVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:02 Aug 16, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1707.IS S1707

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1 ard medical deduction described in 

2 item (aa) or (bb) of clause (i)(I), as 

3 applicable, from continuing in effect 

4 that standard medical deduction; or 

5 ‘‘(II) the Secretary from approv6 ing a standard medical deduction in 

7 an amount that is greater than the 

8 amount of the standard medical de9 duction described in item (aa) or (bb) 

10 of clause (i)(I), as applicable.’’; and 

11 (3) in subparagraph (B)— 

12 (A) in the subparagraph heading, by in13 serting ‘‘ACTUAL COSTS’’ before ‘‘DEDUCTION’’; 

14 and 

15 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘excess med16 ical expense deduction’’ and inserting ‘‘actual 

17 costs deduction described in clause (i)(II) of 

18 that subparagraph’’. 

19 SEC. 3. REPORTS AND STUDIES. 

20 (a) STATE PERFORMANCE ON ENROLLING ELIGIBLE

21 SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN LOW22 INCOME HEALTH AND NUTRITION BENEFITS.—Section 

23 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026) 

24 is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(m) STATE PERFORMANCE ON ENROLLING ELIGI2 BLE SENIORS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN

3 LOW-INCOME HEALTH AND NUTRITION BENEFITS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘cov6 ered program’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) the supplemental nutrition assist8 ance program; 

9 ‘‘(ii) the Medicare part D low-income 

10 subsidy under section 1860D–14 of the So11 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395w–114); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Medicare Savings Program, 

14 as defined in section 1144(c)(7) of the So15 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b– 

16 14(c)(7)). 

17 ‘‘(B) DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

18 ‘disabled individual’ means a member of a 

19 household described in any of paragraphs (2) 

20 through (7) of section 3(j). 

21 ‘‘(C) ELDERLY INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

22 ‘elderly individual’ means a member of a house23 hold who is not less than 60 years old. 

24 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 

2 30, 2018, and June 30 of each year thereafter, 

3 the Secretary, in collaboration with the Sec4 retary of Health and Human Services and the 

5 Commissioner of Social Security, shall submit 

6 to the committees described in subparagraph 

7 (B) a report that assesses the effectiveness of 

8 each State in enrolling eligible elderly individ9 uals and disabled individuals in each covered 

10 program. 

11 ‘‘(B) COMMITTEES DESCRIBED.—The com12 mittees referred to in subparagraph (A) are— 

13 ‘‘(i) of the House of Representa14 tives— 

15 ‘‘(I) the Committee on Agri16 culture; 

17 ‘‘(II) the Committee on Ways 

18 and Means; and 

19 ‘‘(III) the Committee on Energy 

20 and Commerce; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) of the Senate— 

22 ‘‘(I) the Committee on Agri23 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the Committee on Finance. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SPECIFIC MEASURES.—The report sub2 mitted under paragraph (2)(A) shall include, with 

3 respect to the previous fiscal year— 

4 ‘‘(A) an estimate of the number of elderly 

5 individuals and the number of disabled individ6 uals, by State, who were eligible for each cov7 ered program; 

8 ‘‘(B) an estimate of the number of elderly 

9 individuals and the number of disabled individ10 uals, by State, who participated in each covered 

11 program; 

12 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the number of elderly 

13 individuals and the number of disabled individ14 uals who were eligible for all 3 covered pro15 grams; 

16 ‘‘(D) an estimate of the number of elderly 

17 individuals and the number of disabled individ18 uals who participated in all 3 of the covered 

19 programs; and 

20 ‘‘(E) an estimate of— 

21 ‘‘(i) the number of individuals whose 

22 eligibility for each covered program was 

23 initiated through an application with the 

24 Social Security Administration; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the number of individuals de2 scribed in clause (i) who qualified for each 

3 covered program; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the number of individuals de5 scribed in clause (i) who participated in 

6 each covered program. 

7 ‘‘(4) PERFORMANCE INNOVATIONS.—The report 

8 submitted under paragraph (2)(A) shall include a 

9 description of best practices of one or more States 

10 with the best performances for that fiscal year, or 

11 the most improved performances from the previous 

12 fiscal year, under each of the measures described in 

13 paragraph (3).’’. 

14 (b) STUDIES ON DISABILITY AND FOOD INSECU15 RITY.—Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

16 (7 U.S.C. 2026) (as amended by subsection (a)) is amend17 ed by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(n) STUDIES ON DISABILITY AND FOOD INSECU19 RITY.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF DISABLED INDIVIDUAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this subsection, the 

22 term ‘disabled individual’ means a member of a 

23 household described in any of paragraphs (2) 

24 through (7) of section 3(j). 


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1 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—In this subsection, the 

2 term ‘disabled individual’ includes a member of 

3 a household who, as determined by the Sec4 retary— 

5 ‘‘(i) is not considered disabled under 

6 subparagraph (A); but 

7 ‘‘(ii) has a physical, mental, or sen8 sory condition that limits the daily activi9 ties of the individual. 

10 ‘‘(2) STUDIES.—The Secretary— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall carry out a study— 

12 ‘‘(i) on the relationship between dis13 ability and food insecurity for disabled in14 dividuals; 

15 ‘‘(ii) on the effectiveness of Federal 

16 food assistance programs in responding to 

17 the causes of food insecurity in households 

18 with disabled individuals; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) making recommendations for 

20 how Federal food assistance programs 

21 could be improved to better meet the needs 

22 of households with disabled individuals; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) in collaboration with the Civil Rights 

25 Division of the Department of Justice, shall 


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1 carry out a study on the best practices of 

2 States in complying with— 

3 ‘‘(i) section 504 of the Rehabilitation 

4 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) and the 

5 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

6 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) regarding prac7 tices to avoid discrimination on the basis 

8 of disability, such as through provision of 

9 reasonable accommodations, in carrying 

10 out Federal food assistance programs; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) section 508 of the Rehabilitation 

12 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) regarding 

13 the comprehensive use of adaptive tech14 nologies for disabled individuals in access15 ing Federal food assistance programs. 

16 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date on which the studies are completed under para18 graph (2), the Secretary shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa20 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

21 and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the 

22 results of the studies, including such recommenda23 tions as the Secretary considers appropriate.’’. 

24 (c) REPORT ON STANDARD MEDICAL DEDUCTION.— 

25 Section 17 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 


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1 U.S.C. 2026) (as amended by subsection (b)) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(o) REPORT ON STANDARD MEDICAL DEDUC4 TION.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

5 of the SNAP Standard Medical Expense Deduction Act 

6 of 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

7 Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Com8 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen9 ate a report that— 

10 ‘‘(1) identifies which States were most effective 

11 at increasing the use by individuals in the State of 

12 the standard medical deduction authorized under 

13 section 5(e)(5)(A) during the period covered by the 

14 report; and 

15 ‘‘(2) provides an assessment of which factors 

16 were important in increasing the use of the standard 

17 medical deduction by individuals in the States identi18 fied under paragraph (1).’’. 

Æ 


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