I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3378 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish 
a permanent, nationwide summer electronic benefits transfer for children 
program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 20, 2019 
Mrs. DAVIS of California introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act to establish a permanent, nationwide summer elec-
tronic benefits transfer for children program. 
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 Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Child Summer 
Hunger Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. SUMMER ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER FOR 
CHILDREN PROGRAM. 
Section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(13) SUMMER ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANS-
FER FOR CHILDREN PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) 
ELIGIBLE
HOUSEHOLD.—The 
term ‘eligible household’ means a house-
hold that includes 1 or more children who 
are eligible to receive free or reduced-price 
lunches under this Act or free or reduced- 
price breakfasts under the Child Nutrition 
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.). 
‘‘(ii) SUMMER EBT CARD.—The term 
‘summer EBT card’ means an electronic 
benefit transfer card that is issued to an 
eligible household under this paragraph 
and limited to food purchases. 
‘‘(B) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a program under which the Secretary 
shall provide to eligible households summer 
EBT cards for the purpose of providing access 
to food for children during summer months— 
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‘‘(i) to reduce or eliminate the food in-
security and hunger of children; and 
‘‘(ii) to improve the nutritional status 
of children. 
‘‘(C) USE.—An eligible household may use 
a summer EBT card only to purchase food 
from retail food stores that have been approved 
for participation in the supplemental nutrition 
assistance program established under the Food 
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 
seq.), in accordance with section 7(b) of that 
Act (7 U.S.C. 2016(b)). 
‘‘(D) AMOUNT.—Each summer EBT card 
issued shall be in an amount of— 
‘‘(i) for calendar year 2020, $150 in 
food assistance per child per summer; and 
‘‘(ii) for each subsequent calendar 
year, the amount specified in clause (i) as 
adjusted to reflect changes in reimburse-
ment rates for school meals under this Act 
between calendar year 2020 and the most 
recent calendar year. 
‘‘(E) TIMING.—Summer EBT cards shall 
be issued at the end of the regular school year. 
‘‘(F) FUNDING.— 
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pate in the free or reduced-price lunch 
program under this Act or the free or 
reduced-price 
breakfast 
program 
under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
(42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) during the 
school year immediately preceding the 
summer; and 
‘‘(II) local educational agencies 
shall distribute to the families of all 
children enrolled in schools partici-
pating in programs authorized under 
this Act and the Child Nutrition Act 
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) and, 
to the maximum extent practicable, 
the families of all children enrolled in 
schools of the local educational agency 
information, as provided by the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(aa) regarding the program 
authorized under this paragraph, 
including eligibility rules and how 
children in eligible households 
that are not automatically en-
rolled under subclause (I) may 
apply for program benefits; and 
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‘‘(bb) to assist households 
receiving summer EBT cards in 
making healthy food choices and 
maximizing resources. 
‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE TIMING.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—In issuing 
regulations under this subparagraph, 
the Secretary shall allow alternative 
plans for the timing of issuance of the 
summer electronic benefit cards under 
subparagraph (D) in any part of a 
State in which the school year does 
not include a typical summer break, 
on the condition that the Secretary 
determines that no alternative plan in-
creases or decreases Federal costs. 
‘‘(II) CONSIDERATIONS.—In de-
veloping regulations under subclause 
(I), the Secretary shall consider the 
ability of a State effectively to issue 
benefits under an alternative sched-
ule.’’. 
Æ 
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