MODERN WIC Act of 2023

Subjects: Agriculture and Food


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2424 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2424

 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to permit video or telephone 
certifications in the special supplemental nutrition program for women, 
             infants, and children, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 30, 2023

Mr. Fitzpatrick (for himself and Ms. Bonamici) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to permit video or telephone 
certifications in the special supplemental nutrition program for women, 
             infants, and children, 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 ``More Options to Develop and Enhance 
Remote Nutrition in WIC Act of 2023'' or the ``MODERN WIC Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. REDEFINING PRESENCE AT CERTIFICATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 17(d)(3) of the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)) is amended--
            (1) by striking subparagraphs (B) and (C);
            (2) by inserting the following after subparagraph (A):
                    ``(B) Presence for certain determinations and 
                evaluations.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Each individual seeking 
                        certification, recertification, or a 
                        nutritional risk evaluation for participation 
                        in the program authorized under this section 
                        shall be provided an appointment that is, at 
                        the option of the individual--
                                    ``(I) in-person, by telephone, or 
                                through video technology that permits 
                                2-way, real time interactive 
                                communications, as determined by the 
                                Secretary; or
                                    ``(II) through other formats that 
                                permit 2-way, real time interactive 
                                communications, as determined by the 
                                Secretary.
                            ``(ii) ADA compliance.--Any format made 
                        available for an appointment under clause (i) 
                        shall be accessible to an individual in 
                        accordance with the Americans with Disabilities 
                        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and 
                        section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 
                        (29 U.S.C. 794).
                            ``(iii) Nutritional risk evaluations for 
                        remote certification.--If an individual is 
                        certified for participation in the program 
                        under clause (i) through a format other than 
                        in-person, a State agency shall--
                                    ``(I) to the maximum extent 
                                practicable, collect anthropometric 
                                data necessary to evaluate the 
                                nutritional risk of that individual 
                                within 30 days of the appointment; and
                                    ``(II) collect such data not later 
                                than 90 days after the appointment.
                            ``(iv) Interim eligibility for nutritional 
                        risk.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--A State agency 
                                may consider an applicant who meets the 
                                income eligibility standards to be 
                                temporarily eligible on an interim 
                                basis to participate in the program and 
                                may certify any such individual for 
                                participation immediately, without 
                                delaying certification until a 
                                nutritional risk evaluation is made.
                                    ``(II) Nutritional risk 
                                evaluation.--A nutritional risk 
                                evaluation of such individual shall be 
                                completed not later than 90 days after 
                                the individual is certified for 
                                participation pursuant to subclause 
                                (I).
                                    ``(III) Termination.--If a State 
                                agency does not collect data in 
                                accordance with clause (iii)(II) or the 
                                individual is subsequently determined 
                                to not meet nutritional risk criteria, 
                                the certification of that individual 
                                shall terminate on the date described 
                                in such clause (iii)(II) or the date of 
                                such determination, as applicable.''; 
                                and
            (3) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through (F) as 
        subparagraphs (C) through (E), respectively.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 17(d)(3) of the Child Nutrition 
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)) is amended by conforming the margin 
of subparagraph (B) to the margin of subparagraph (C).

SEC. 3. REMOTE BENEFIT ISSUANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 17(f)(6)(B) of the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(6)(B)) is amended--
            (1) in the third sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``vouchers by mail'' and inserting 
                ``food instruments by mail, remote issuance, or other 
                means''; and
                    (B) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(iii) Disapproval of state plan.--The 
                        Secretary'';
            (2) in the second sentence--
                    (A) by striking ``vouchers by mail in its plan'' 
                and inserting ``food instruments by mail, remote 
                issuance, or other means in the State plan''; and
                    (B) by striking ``The State'' and inserting the 
                following:
                            ``(ii) State plan.--The State''; and
            (3) by striking ``(B) State agencies'' and all that follows 
        through ``to obtain vouchers.'' and inserting the following:
            ``(B) Delivery of food instruments.--
                    ``(i) In general.--State agencies may provide for 
                the delivery of food instruments, including electronic 
                benefit transfer cards, to any participant through 
                means that do not require the participant to travel to 
                the local agency to obtain food instruments, such as 
                through mailing or remote issuance.''.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary shall revise section 246.12(r) of 
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, by striking paragraph (4).

SEC. 4. ANNUAL INVESTMENT IN WIC TECHNOLOGIES.

    Section 17(h) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1786(h)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(B)--
                    (A) by striking clause (ii); and
                    (B) by striking the subparagraph designation and 
                all that follows through ``clause (ii) and'' and 
                inserting the following:
                    ``(B) Allocation for nutrition services and 
                administration.--Except as provided in''; and
            (2) in paragraph (10)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``2010 through 
                2015'' and inserting ``2024 through 2029''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking clause (ii) 
                and inserting the following:
                            ``(ii) $60,000,000 shall be used to 
                        establish, develop, improve, replace, or 
                        administer technology platforms, including 
                        management information systems and systems that 
                        allow for secure communication of information 
                        between health care providers and program 
                        clinics in order to facilitate sharing 
                        information necessary for certification, 
                        establishing nutrition risk, or for the 
                        provision of health care services, that enhance 
                        program services, access to the program, or 
                        redemption of benefits, of which up to 
                        $5,000,000 may be used for Federal 
                        administrative cost;''.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives a report on 
the use of remote technologies under the special supplemental nutrition 
program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of 
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) (referred to in this 
section as the ``program'').
    (b) Content of Report.--The report submitted under subsection (a) 
shall include a description of--
            (1) the use of remote technologies and other digital tools, 
        including video, telephone, and online platforms--
                    (A) to certify eligible individuals for program 
                services; and
                    (B) to provide nutrition education and 
                breastfeeding support to program participants;
            (2) the impact of remote technologies, including video, 
        telephone, and online platforms, on certifications, 
        appointments, and participant satisfaction under the program; 
        and
            (3) best practices to--
                    (A) certify program participants for program 
                services using remote technologies;
                    (B) incorporate the use of digital tools into the 
                program certification process;
                    (C) integrate nutrition education and breastfeeding 
                support services for program participants into remote 
                technologies and platforms; and
                    (D) securely manage program participant data.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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