I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3847 
To improve nutrition assistance for people experiencing homelessness, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 6, 2023 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. BROWN, and Ms. TLAIB) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture 
A BILL 
To improve nutrition assistance for people experiencing 
homelessness, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This bill may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Unhoused 
Peoples’ Program for Outreach Resources and Transpor-
tation For SNAP Act’’ or the ‘‘SUPPORT For SNAP 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO CONNECT PEOPLE EXPERI-
ENCING 
HOMELESSNESS 
WITH 
SNAP 
RE-
SOURCES. 
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 31. ENROLLMENT AND OUTREACH PILOT PROGRAM 
FOR 
PEOPLE 
EXPERIENCING 
HOMELESS-
NESS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en-
tity’ means— 
‘‘(A) a State or local government agency; 
‘‘(B) an Indian tribe or Tribal organiza-
tion; 
‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization, including a 
public or nonprofit provider of services; 
‘‘(D) a community-based organization; 
‘‘(E) a continuum of care; 
‘‘(F) a community action agency; 
‘‘(G) a public housing agency; or 
‘‘(H) a consortia of 2 or more entities 
under this paragraph. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY.—The term 
‘public housing agency’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Hous-
ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6)). 
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‘‘(3) COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY.—The term 
‘community action agency’ means an eligible entity 
(which meets the requirements of paragraph (1) or 
(2), as appropriate, of section 680(c)) of subtitle B 
of title VI of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act 
of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9901 et seq.) that delivers mul-
tiple programs, projects, and services to a variety of 
low-income individuals and families. 
‘‘(4) CONTINUUM
OF
CARE.—The term ‘con-
tinuum of care’ means a collaborative applicant es-
tablished and operating for a geographic area for 
purposes of the Continuum of Care Program under 
subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.). 
‘‘(5) PILOT
PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot pro-
gram’ means the pilot program established under 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 
after the effective date of this section, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban De-
velopment, shall establish a pilot program, to be known 
as the ‘Enrollment and Outreach Pilot Program for People 
Experience Homelessness’, under which the Secretary 
shall award grants to eligible entities— 
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‘‘(1) to raise awareness among homeless indi-
viduals of the availability, eligibility requirements, 
application procedures, and benefits of the supple-
mental nutrition assistance program, including the 
excess shelter expense deduction and the deduction 
for homeless households referenced in Section 
5(e)(6); 
‘‘(2) to support homeless individuals in enroll-
ing in that program; and 
‘‘(3) to train outreach workers, caseworkers, 
and any other appropriate employees in supporting 
homeless individuals, the requirements of and appli-
cation for the supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram, and other relevant matter as determined ap-
propriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the pilot 
program, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible enti-
ties that— 
‘‘(1) provide services to homeless individuals; 
‘‘(2) are located in jurisdictions that assume 
costs are being incurred and do not require docu-
mentation in the case record in affirming a standard 
homeless shelter deduction is being allowed when im-
plementing the standard homeless household deduc-
tion under section 5(e)(6); 
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‘‘(3) have experience implementing grants 
under the Continuum of Care program under sub-
title C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) or grants 
under the Emergency Solutions Grant program 
under subtitle B of title IV of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
11371 et seq.); 
‘‘(4) have experience implementing programs 
administered by the Food and Nutrition Service; or 
‘‘(5) receive, plan to receive, or demonstrate an 
ability to partner with a program that receives fund-
ing under the Continuum of Care program under 
subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Home-
less Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.), 
grants under the Emergency Solutions Grant pro-
gram under subtitle B of title IV of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), or nutrition programs admin-
istered by the Secretary. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity re-
ceiving a grant under the pilot program shall use the grant 
to carry out 1 or more of the following activities: 
‘‘(1) Application assistance, including— 
‘‘(A) eligibility prescreening; 
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‘‘(B) assistance completing an application 
for the supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram benefits; 
‘‘(C) 
assistance 
obtaining 
application 
verification documents; 
‘‘(D) excess shelter expense deduction and 
the deduction for homeless households deduc-
tion counseling; 
‘‘(E) translation of materials and bilingual 
accommodation; and 
‘‘(F) improving State agency applications 
and screening for the supplemental nutrition 
assistance program to better capture potential 
eligibility of homeless individuals. 
‘‘(2) Tailored information dissemination about 
the supplemental nutrition assistance program, in-
cluding through— 
‘‘(A) community-based outreach workshops 
and events; 
‘‘(B) street outreach activities; 
‘‘(C) a toll-free hotline to provide informa-
tion about Federal, State, and local food re-
sources; 
‘‘(D) informational websites and other so-
cial media sites; and 
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‘‘(E) printed or digital informational con-
tent. 
‘‘(3) Transportation, including— 
‘‘(A) transportation to or from a local of-
fice of the supplemental nutrition assistance 
program; and 
‘‘(B) administration of vouchers or similar 
items for the transportation described in sub-
paragraph (A). 
‘‘(4) Identification, implementation, analysis, 
and dissemination of replicable and scalable models 
for increasing enrollment in the supplemental nutri-
tion assistance program among households with 
homeless individuals. 
‘‘(5) Training for staff on supplemental nutri-
tion assistance program requirements and best prac-
tices for outreach to homeless individuals. 
‘‘(e) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM
AMOUNT.—A grant awarded 
under the pilot program to an eligible entity for a 
fiscal year shall be not less than $50,000, but not 
more than $500,000. 
‘‘(2) DURATION.—An eligible entity may be 
awarded a grant under the pilot program for not 
more than 5 years. 
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‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 
after the effective date of this section, and annually there-
after for the duration of the pilot program, the Secretary 
shall submit a report to the Committee on Agriculture of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate regarding 
the implementation of the pilot program, including— 
‘‘(1) an evaluation of the pilot program; 
‘‘(2) the number of awards made under the pro-
gram; 
‘‘(3) description of projects conducted with 
funding under the pilot program; 
‘‘(4) demographic information of homeless indi-
viduals contacted or served with pilot programs 
funds; and 
‘‘(5) number of homeless individuals served by 
the supplemental nutrition assistance program. 
‘‘(g) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to 
be 
appropriated 
to 
carry 
out 
this 
section 
$12,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 2024 
through 2029. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Of the amounts 
made available under paragraph (1), not more than 
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3 percent may be used by the Secretary for adminis-
trative costs. 
‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development, shall provide technical assist-
ance and publish best practices to carry out this sec-
tion and may use no more than 2 percent of the 
amounts made available under paragraph (1) to do 
so. 
‘‘(4) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—As a con-
dition of receiving funds under this section, an eligi-
ble entity shall use funds received under this section 
only to supplement the level of State or local funds 
that would, in the absence of the receipt of funds 
under this section, be available.’’. 
Æ 
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