I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6272 

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand the eligibility 

of students to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 14, 2021 

Mr. LAWSON of Florida (for himself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Ms. TLAIB, 

Ms. LEE of California, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. JACOBS of California, Ms. MENG, Ms. BASS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mrs. DEMINGS, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. TRONE, Mr. BOWMAN, 

Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. TORRES

of New York, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 

CLEAVER, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. 

DESAULNIER, Mr. RUSH, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. DEAN, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. 

KILMER, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CORREA, Mr. EVANS, Mr. 

WELCH, Mr. CRIST, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. JONES, Mr. CUELLAR, and 

Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand 

the eligibility of students to participate in 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘College Student Hun3 ger Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 

5 SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE 

6 PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF HOUSEHOLD.—Section 3(m) of 

8 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(m)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, except 

11 with respect to the individuals described in para12 graph (5)(F),’’ before ‘‘constitute’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(F) Students that are enrolled in and are 

16 residents of an institution of higher education 

17 (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Edu18 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) and are 

19 eligible to participate in the supplemental nutri20 tion assistance program under paragraphs (1) 

21 through (11) of section 6(e).’’. 

22 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF STUDENTS.—Section 6(e) of the 

23 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(e)) is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘20’’ and in26 serting ‘‘10’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (3) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(9) is eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under 

7 section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

8 (20 U.S.C. 1070a); 

9 ‘‘(10) has an expected family contribution equal 

10 to zero, as determined by the procedures established 

11 in part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act 

12 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.); or 

13 ‘‘(11) is independent (as the term is defined 

14 under subparagraph (B), (C), (D), (G), or (H) of 

15 section 480(d)(1) of the Higher Education Act (20 

16 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)(1))).’’. 

17 SEC. 3. COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION ON STUDENT 

18 ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL NU19 TRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) COLLEGE STUDENT.—The term ‘‘college 

22 student’’ means a student enrolled in an institution 

23 of higher education. 

24 (2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

25 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

3 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

4 the supplemental nutrition assistance program es5 tablished under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

6 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 

7 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

9 (b) STRATEGIES REPORT.—180 days after the effec10 tive date of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Con11 gress a report that describes the strategy to be used— 

12 (1) to increase the awareness of State agencies 

13 and institutions of higher education about— 

14 (A) college student hunger; 

15 (B) the eligibility of college students for 

16 the program; and 

17 (C) the procedures and resources available 

18 to college students who are participating in the 

19 program to access benefits under the program; 

20 (2) to identify existing or potential barriers and 

21 mitigation strategies with respect to those barriers; 

22 and 

23 (3) to update the strategic communications plan 

24 under subsection (c). 


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1 (c) UPDATED STATE OUTREACH PLAN GUIDANCE.— 

2 Not later than 90 days after the Secretary submits to Con3 gress a report under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

4 publish an updated State Outreach Plan Guidance that— 

5 (1) describes existing data on college student 

6 hunger; 

7 (2) describes the manner in which college stu8 dents can access the supplemental nutrition assist9 ance program; 

10 (3) recommends outreach activities to address 

11 college student hunger and encourages States to 

12 conduct those and other outreach activities; 

13 (4) provides a template for a State to submit 

14 information to the Secretary describing the outreach 

15 activities being carried out by the State to address 

16 college student hunger; and 

17 (5) contains updated guidance based on the 

18 content of such report. 

19 SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PILOT PROGRAM. 

20 The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

21 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 31. COLLEGE STUDENT HUNGER PILOT PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COLLEGE STUDENT.—The term ‘college 

2 student’ means a student enrolled in an institution 

3 of higher education. 

4 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

5 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 102 of the Higher 

7 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002). 

8 ‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot pro9 gram’ means the pilot program established under 

10 subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary, in collabora12 tion with the Secretary of Education, shall establish a pilot 

13 program under which the Secretary shall carry out dem14 onstration projects in accordance with subsection (c)— 

15 ‘‘(1) to decrease student hunger at institutions 

16 of higher education; and 

17 ‘‘(2) to reduce barriers to college students fully 

18 utilizing supplemental nutrition assistance program 

19 benefits at institutions of higher education. 

20 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—To carry out the 

21 pilot program, the Secretary shall carry out demonstration 

22 projects that test the following new supplemental nutrition 

23 assistance program delivery methods: 

24 ‘‘(1) Allowing a college student receiving sup25 plemental nutrition assistance program benefits to 


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1 use those benefits or the cash value of those bene2 fits— 

3 ‘‘(A) to purchase prepared foods from a 

4 campus dining hall, on-campus store, or other 

5 on-campus merchant or provider that typically 

6 sells prepared meals and is affiliated with the 

7 institution of higher education at which the stu8 dent is enrolled; and 

9 ‘‘(B) to pay the institution of higher edu10 cation the cost of an on-campus college meal 

11 plan, in whole or in part. 

12 ‘‘(2) Allowing a college student to use an EBT 

13 card or a campus-specific card at any of the loca14 tions described in paragraph (1)(A). 

15 ‘‘(d) PROJECT LIMIT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

17 out not more than 10 demonstration projects under 

18 the pilot program simultaneously. 

19 ‘‘(2) INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary shall carry 

20 out not more than 1 demonstration project under 

21 the pilot program at any single institution of higher 

22 education. 

23 ‘‘(e) PROJECT ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary 

24 shall establish criteria and parameters for selecting, operVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:51 Dec 21, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6272.IH H6272

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1 ating, monitoring, and terminating each demonstration 

2 project under the pilot program. 

3 ‘‘(f) PROJECT TERMINATION.—To the maximum ex4 tent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that the termi5 nation of a demonstration project under the pilot program 

6 shall not cause sudden adverse changes or the elimination 

7 of benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance 

8 program for students participating in the demonstration 

9 project. 

10 ‘‘(g) PROGRAM TERMINATION.—The pilot program 

11 shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date 

12 on which the pilot program is established. 

13 ‘‘(h) EVALUATION.—For the duration of the pilot 

14 program, the Secretary shall, in collaboration with the 

15 Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics 

16 and the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences, 

17 conduct an annual evaluation of each demonstration 

18 project carried out under the pilot program during the 

19 year covered by the evaluation, including an analysis of 

20 the extent to which the project is meeting the desired out21 comes. 

22 ‘‘(i) REPORT.—For the duration of the pilot program, 

23 the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Agri24 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Health, Education, 

25 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committees 


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1 on Agriculture and Education and Labor of the House of 

2 Representatives an annual report that includes— 

3 ‘‘(1) a description of each demonstration project 

4 carried out under the pilot program during the year 

5 covered by the report; 

6 ‘‘(2) the evaluation conducted under subsection 

7 (h); and 

8 ‘‘(3) recommendations for legislation to improve 

9 the supplemental nutrition assistance program to 

10 better serve college students. 

11 ‘‘(j) WAIVER AND MODIFICATION AUTHORITY.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

13 the Secretary may, as may be necessary solely to 

14 carry out the pilot program— 

15 ‘‘(A) waive any provision under this Act, 

16 including— 

17 ‘‘(i) the requirement relating to local 

18 sales tax under section 4(a); 

19 ‘‘(ii) requirements relating to the 

20 issuance and use of supplemental nutrition 

21 assistance program benefits under section 

22 7; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) requirements for approval of re24 tail food stores under section 9; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) modify the definitions under this Act 

2 for the purposes of the pilot program, including 

3 the definition of— 

4 ‘‘(i) the term ‘food’ under section 

5 3(k); 

6 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘household’ under sec7 tion 3(m); and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘retail food store’ under 

9 section 3(o). 

10 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not 

11 waive a provision or modify a definition under para12 graph (1) if the waiver or modification will— 

13 ‘‘(A) cause increased difficulty for any 

14 household to apply for or access supplemental 

15 nutrition assistance program benefits; or 

16 ‘‘(B) reduce the value of those benefits for 

17 any household. 

18 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

19 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

20 sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

23 take effect on the first day of the fiscal year that begins 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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