I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1717 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish a new tax credit 

and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options 

in food deserts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2019 

Mr. RYAN (for himself, Mr. MARSHALL, and Mr. MCEACHIN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish 

a new tax credit and grant program to stimulate investment and healthy nutrition options in food deserts, 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 ‘‘Healthy Food Access 

5 for All Americans Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TAX CREDIT AND GRANT PROGRAM FOR SPECIAL 

2 ACCESS FOOD PROVIDERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

4 (1) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—Subpart D of 

5 part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal 

6 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 45T. SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD PROVIDER CREDIT AND 

9 GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF CREDIT FOR GROCERY

11 STORES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, 

13 the special access food provider credit determined 

14 under this section for any taxable year is an amount 

15 equal to the lesser of— 

16 ‘‘(A) the amount of the allocation received 

17 by the taxpayer under subsection (d)(1)(A), or 

18 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to— 

19 ‘‘(i) in the case of a qualified grocery 

20 store which is placed in service during such 

21 taxable year by a taxpayer which has been 

22 certified as a special access food provider, 

23 15 percent of the basis of such grocery 

24 store, including any property used in the 

25 operation of such grocery store— 


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1 ‘‘(I) which is acquired by the tax2 payer if the original use of such prop3 erty commences with the taxpayer, 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) with respect to which de6 preciation (or amortization in lieu of 

7 depreciation) is allowable, or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a qualified renova9 tion area which is placed in service during 

10 such taxable year, 10 percent of the ren11 ovation expenditures incurred by a tax12 payer which has been certified as a special 

13 access food provider. 

14 ‘‘(2) RENOVATION EXPENDITURES.—For pur15 poses of paragraph (1)(B)(ii), the term ‘renovation 

16 expenditures’ means amounts chargeable to capital 

17 account and incurred for property (or additions or 

18 improvements to property) of a character subject to 

19 the allowance for depreciation in connection with the 

20 renovation or rehabilitation of a grocery store. 

21 ‘‘(b) GRANT PROGRAM FOR FOOD BANKS AND TEM22 PORARY ACCESS MERCHANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coordina24 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall, subject 

25 to the requirements of this section, provide a grant 


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1 to any entity which has been certified as a special 

2 access food provider in an amount equal to the less3 er of— 

4 ‘‘(A) the amount of the allocation received 

5 by the entity under subsection (d)(1)(B), or 

6 ‘‘(B) the amount equal to— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a permanent food 

8 bank which has been placed in service dur9 ing the taxable year by such provider, 15 

10 percent of any qualified construction ex11 penses incurred by such provider, and 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any provider which 

13 qualifies as a temporary access merchant, 

14 10 percent of any annual operational costs 

15 incurred by such provider. 

16 ‘‘(2) TIME FOR PAYMENT OF GRANT.—The Sec17 retary shall make payment of any grant under para18 graph (1) during the 60-day period beginning on the 

19 later of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the date of the application for certifi21 cation as a special access food provider, or 

22 ‘‘(B) the date— 

23 ‘‘(i) in the case of a permanent food 

24 bank, on which the food bank for which 


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1 the grant is being made is placed in serv2 ice, or 

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a temporary access 

4 merchant, the end of the taxable year in 

5 which the operational costs were incurred. 

6 ‘‘(3) GRANT NOT CONSIDERED INCOME FOR

7 PURPOSES OF TAXATION.—A grant under this sub8 section shall not be considered as gross income for 

9 purposes of this chapter. 

10 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION AS A SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD

11 PROVIDER.— 

12 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—Each applicant for certifi13 cation as a special access food provider shall submit, 

14 for each grocery store, food bank, mobile market, or 

15 farmers market, an application with the Secretary, 

16 at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

17 information as the Secretary may reasonably re18 quire. 

19 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—For 

20 purposes of certification as a special access food pro21 vider, the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec22 retary of Agriculture and the applicable regional 

23 community development entity, shall determine 

24 whether— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of an applicant seeking to 

2 construct, renovate, or rehabilitate a grocery 

3 store, whether such store— 

4 ‘‘(i) following completion of such con5 struction, renovation, or rehabilitation, will 

6 qualify as a grocery store (as defined in 

7 subsection (h)(3)), 

8 ‘‘(ii) is located in a food desert on the 

9 date on which construction, renovation, or 

10 rehabilitation begins, 

11 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the eligibility criteria 

12 established for projects under the Healthy 

13 Food Financing Initiative established 

14 under section 243 of the Department of 

15 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

16 U.S.C. 6953), and 

17 ‘‘(iv) satisfies such other criteria as is 

18 determined appropriate by the Secretary, 

19 in consultation with the Secretary of Agri20 culture, or 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of an applicant seeking to 

22 operate a permanent food bank or as a tem23 porary access merchant, whether such appli24 cant— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is an entity for which no part of 

2 the net earnings of such entity inures to 

3 the benefit of any private shareholder or 

4 individual, 

5 ‘‘(ii)(I) in the case of a permanent 

6 food bank, is located in a food desert on 

7 the date on which construction of such 

8 food bank begins, or 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of a temporary ac10 cess merchant— 

11 ‘‘(aa) sells or provides food in 

12 any food desert for an average of— 

13 ‘‘(AA) in the case of a farm14 ers market, not less than 10 

15 hours (during daylight hours) 

16 each week during the calendar 

17 year, or 

18 ‘‘(BB) in the case of a tem19 porary access merchant which is 

20 not a farmers market, not less 

21 than 5 days and 50 hours each 

22 week during the calendar year, or 

23 ‘‘(bb) satisfies such requirements 

24 as are established by the Secretary of 

25 Agriculture to ensure an adequate 


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1 level of food distribution within food 

2 deserts, 

3 ‘‘(iii) satisfies the eligibility criteria 

4 described in subparagraph (A)(iii), and 

5 ‘‘(iv) satisfies such other criteria as is 

6 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(3) NO ADDITIONAL USDA GRANTS FOR FARM8 ERS MARKETS.—A farmers market shall not be eligi9 ble for certification as a special access food provider 

10 during any period in which such farmers market re11 ceives funding pursuant to any other grant program 

12 administered by the Department of Agriculture 

13 (with the exception of grants provided pursuant to 

14 the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive under sec15 tion 4405 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

16 Act of 2008). 

17 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL ACCESS FOOD PRO18 VIDER CREDITS AND GRANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In each calendar year, the 

20 Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Ag21 riculture, shall provide allocations to entities which 

22 have been certified as special access food providers 

23 under subsection (c) to receive— 

24 ‘‘(A) in the case of an entity certified pur25 suant to subparagraph (A) of subsection (c)(2), 


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1 a special access food provider credit for expend2 itures related to a qualified grocery store or 

3 qualified renovation area, and 

4 ‘‘(B) in the case of an entity certified pur5 suant to subparagraph (B) of such subsection, 

6 grants for qualified construction expenses or 

7 operational costs incurred by such entity. 

8 ‘‘(2) DURATION OF GRANTS TO TEMPORARY AC9 CESS MERCHANTS.—In the case of a special access 

10 food provider which qualifies as a temporary access 

11 merchant, the Secretary shall provide the grant to 

12 such provider on an annual basis for a period of not 

13 greater than 10 years. 

14 ‘‘(e) RECAPTURE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

16 the Secretary shall provide for recapturing the ben17 efit of any credit allowable or grant provided under 

18 this section with respect to any qualified grocery 

19 store, qualified renovation area, or permanent food 

20 bank which fails to satisfy the requirements under 

21 subsection (c)(2) during the 5-year period following 

22 the date on which such store, area, or food bank is 

23 placed in service. 

24 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY ACCESS MERCHANT.—Subject 

25 to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall provide for reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:02 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1717.IH H1717

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1 capturing the benefit of any grant provided under 

2 this section with respect to any temporary access 

3 merchant which fails to satisfy the requirements 

4 under subsection (c)(2) for any year during the pe5 riod described in subsection (d)(2). 

6 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—If, during any taxable 

7 year, a special access food provider fails to satisfy 

8 the requirements under subsection (c)(2), the tax 

9 under this chapter for such taxable year shall be in10 creased by an amount equal to the appropriate per11 centage of the credit or grant amount as is deter12 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(f) BASIS REDUCTION.—The basis of any qualified 

14 grocery store, any grocery store which includes a qualified 

15 renovation area, or any food bank, mobile market, or 

16 farmers market shall be reduced by the amount of any 

17 credit or grant determined under this section with respect 

18 to such property. 

19 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in coordination 

20 with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall prescribe such reg21 ulations as may be appropriate to carry out this section, 

22 including regulations which— 

23 ‘‘(1) prevent the abuse of the purposes of this 

24 section, 


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1 ‘‘(2) impose appropriate reporting require2 ments, and 

3 ‘‘(3) ensure that non-metropolitan areas receive 

4 a proportional amount of allocations provided under 

5 subsection (d). 

6 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) FOOD DESERT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘food desert’ 

9 means any population census tract in which— 

10 ‘‘(i) not less than 500 people, or 33 

11 percent of the population of such tract, re12 side— 

13 ‘‘(I) in the case of a tract located 

14 within a metropolitan area, more than 

15 1 mile from a grocery store, or 

16 ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract not lo17 cated within a metropolitan area, 

18 more than 10 miles from a grocery 

19 store, 

20 ‘‘(ii) the poverty rate for such tract is 

21 at least 20 percent, or 

22 ‘‘(iii)(I) in the case of a tract not lo23 cated within a metropolitan area, the me24 dian family income for such tract does not 


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1 exceed 80 percent of statewide median 

2 family income, or 

3 ‘‘(II) in the case of a tract located 

4 within a metropolitan area, the median 

5 family income for such tract does not ex6 ceed 80 percent of the greater of statewide 

7 median family income or the metropolitan 

8 area median family income. 

9 ‘‘(B) AREAS NOT WITHIN CENSUS

10 TRACTS.—In the case of an area which is not 

11 tracted for population census tracts, the equiva12 lent county divisions (as defined by the Bureau 

13 of the Census) shall be used for purposes of de14 terminations of food deserts under this para15 graph. 

16 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FOOD

17 DESERTS.—For purposes of determining wheth18 er a population census tract qualifies as a food 

19 desert for purposes of this section, the Sec20 retary shall make such determinations in co21 ordination with the Secretary of Agriculture in 

22 such manner as is determined appropriate, in23 cluding use of the Food Access Research Atlas 

24 established by the Department of Agriculture. 


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1 ‘‘(2) GROCERIES.—The term ‘groceries’ 

2 means— 

3 ‘‘(A) fresh and frozen produce, 

4 ‘‘(B) fresh and frozen meat and seafood, 

5 ‘‘(C) dairy products, and 

6 ‘‘(D) deli products, including sliced meats, 

7 cheeses, and salads. 

8 ‘‘(3) GROCERY STORE.—The term ‘grocery 

9 store’ means a retail store for which forecasted sales 

10 of groceries account for not less than 35 percent of 

11 its total annual sales. 

12 ‘‘(4) METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term ‘metro13 politan area’ has the same meaning given the term 

14 ‘metropolitan statistical area’ under section 

15 143(k)(2)(B). 

16 ‘‘(5) QUALIFIED CONSTRUCTION EXPENSES.— 

17 The term ‘qualified construction expenses’ means 

18 any costs incurred by the special access food pro19 vider before the date on which a permanent food 

20 bank is placed in service relating to the planning, 

21 design, and construction of such food bank. 

22 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED GROCERY STORE.—The term 

23 ‘qualified grocery store’ means a grocery store 

24 which, on the date on which construction of such 

25 store begins, is located in a food desert. 


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1 ‘‘(7) QUALIFIED RENOVATION AREA.—The term 

2 ‘qualified renovation area’ means any area of a gro3 cery store in which groceries are sold, provided that 

4 such grocery store, on the date on which renovation 

5 of such area begins, is located in a food desert. 

6 ‘‘(8) REGIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EN7 TITY.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘regional 

9 community development entity’ means any do10 mestic corporation or partnership if— 

11 ‘‘(i) the primary mission of the entity 

12 is serving, or providing investment capital 

13 for, low-income communities or low-income 

14 persons, 

15 ‘‘(ii) the entity maintains account16 ability to residents of low-income commu17 nities through their representation on any 

18 governing board of the entity or on any ad19 visory board to the entity, and 

20 ‘‘(iii) the entity is certified by the Sec21 retary for purposes of this section as being 

22 a regional community development entity. 

23 ‘‘(B) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—In the case of 

24 a grocery store for which there is no entity de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) within a 50-mile 


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1 radius, the chief executive officer (or the equiv2 alent) of the local jurisdiction in which the gro3 cery store will be located may serve as the re4 gional community development entity for pur5 poses of subsection (c)(2). 

6 ‘‘(9) SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.—The term 

7 ‘Secretary of Agriculture’ means the Secretary of 

8 Agriculture or the Secretary’s delegate. 

9 ‘‘(10) TEMPORARY ACCESS MERCHANT.—The 

10 term ‘temporary access merchant’ means a mobile 

11 market, a farmers market, or a temporary or mobile 

12 food bank (as such terms are defined by the Sec13 retary, in coordination with the Secretary of Agri14 culture)— 

15 ‘‘(A) which is operated by a special access 

16 food provider, and 

17 ‘‘(B) for which the primary purpose is food 

18 distribution within food deserts.’’. 

19 (b) CREDIT PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.— 

20 Section 38(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), 

22 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (36) and 

23 inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the end the following 

24 new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(37) the special access food provider credit de2 termined under section 45T(a).’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by add6 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45T. Special access food provider credit and grant program.’’. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

9 necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. 

10 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 3. UPDATES TO FOOD ACCESS RESEARCH ATLAS. 

14 Section 243 of the Department of Agriculture Reor15 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6953) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub17 section (e); and 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(d) FOOD ACCESS RESEARCH ATLAS.—Not less fre21 quently than once each year, the Secretary shall update 

22 the Food Access Research Atlas of the Secretary to ac23 count for food retailers that are placed in service during 

24 that year.’’. 

Æ 


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