H. R. 2617—1533 
infants, and children under section 17 of the Child Nutri-
tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786). 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Summer EBT benefits issued pursuant to 
subsection (a)— 
‘‘(A) shall be— 
‘‘(i) for calendar year 2024, in an amount equal 
to $40, which may be proportionately higher consistent 
with the adjustments established under section 12(f) 
for each eligible child in the eligible household per 
month during the summer operational period; and 
‘‘(ii) for calendar year 2025 and each year there-
after, in an amount equal to the unrounded benefit 
amount from the prior year, adjusted to the nearest 
lower dollar increment to reflect changes to the cost 
of the diet described in section 3(u) of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(u)) for the 12- 
month period ending on November 30 of the preceding 
calendar year and rounded to the nearest lower dollar 
increment; and 
‘‘(B) may be issued— 
‘‘(i) in the form of an EBT card; 
‘‘(ii) through other electronic methods, as deter-
mined by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(iii) in the case of a State that does not issue 
nutrition assistance program benefits electronically, 
using the same methods by which that State issues 
benefits under the nutrition assistance program of that 
State. 
‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT.—Summer EBT benefits issued pursu-
ant to subsection (a) shall— 
‘‘(A) be subject to sections 12, 14, and 15 of the Food 
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2021, 2023, 2024) 
and subsections (n), (o), and (p) of section 17 of the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), as applicable; and 
‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable, incorporate 
technology tools consistent with industry standards that 
track or prevent theft of benefits, cloning, or other fraudu-
lent activities. 
‘‘(4) TIMING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), summer EBT benefits issued pursuant to subsection 
(a) may only be issued for the purpose of purchasing food 
during the summer months, with appropriate issuance and 
expungement timelines as determined by the Secretary 
(but with an expungement timeline not to exceed 4 months). 
‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS SCHOOL CALENDAR.—In the case of 
children who are under a continuous school calendar, the 
Secretary shall establish alternative plans for the period 
during which summer EBT benefits may be issued pursu-
ant to subsection (a) and used. 
‘‘(c) ENROLLMENT IN PROGRAM.— 
‘‘(1) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—States that elect to participate 
in the program under this section shall— 
‘‘(A) with respect to summer, automatically enroll each 
eligible child who is directly certified, is an identified stu-
dent (as defined in section 11(a)(1)(F)(i)), or is otherwise 
determined by a school food authority to be eligible to
H. R. 2617—1534 
receive free or reduced price meals in the instructional 
year immediately preceding the summer or during the 
summer operational period in the program under this sec-
tion, without further application from households; 
‘‘(B) make an application available for children who 
do not meet the criteria described in subparagraph (A) 
and make eligibility determinations using the eligibility 
criteria for free or reduced price lunches under this Act; 
‘‘(C) establish procedures to carry out the enrollment 
described in subparagraph (A); 
‘‘(D) establish procedures for expunging summer EBT 
benefits from the account of a household, consistent with 
the requirements under subsection (b)(4); and 
‘‘(E) allow eligible households to opt out of participation 
in the program under this section and establish procedures 
for opting out of such participation. 
‘‘(2) COVERED
INDIAN
TRIBAL
ORGANIZATION
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Covered Indian Tribal organizations participating in 
the program under this section shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable, meet the requirements under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Secretary shall pay to 
each State agency and covered Indian Tribal organization an 
amount equal to 50 percent of the administrative expenses incurred 
by the State agency or covered Indian Tribal organization in oper-
ating the program under this section, including the administrative 
expenses of local educational agencies and other agencies in each 
State or covered Indian Tribal organization relating to the operation 
of the program under this section. 
‘‘(e) SUMMER EBT AUTHORITY.—Beginning in summer 2024, 
the Secretary shall not allow States to use the authority in section 
749(g) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 
(Public Law 111–80; 123 Stat. 2132), to provide access to food 
through electronic benefit transfer benefits to children during the 
summer months when schools are not in regular session. 
‘‘(f) ISSUANCE OF INTERIM FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 
1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 
shall promulgate regulations (which shall include interim final regu-
lations) to carry out this section, including provisions that— 
‘‘(1) incorporate best practices and lessons learned from 
demonstration projects under— 
‘‘(A) section 749(g) of the Agriculture, Rural Develop-
ment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2010 (Public Law 111–80; 123 Stat. 
2132); and 
‘‘(B) the pandemic EBT program under section 1101 
of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (7 U.S.C. 
2011 note; Public Law 116–127); 
‘‘(2) ensure timely and fair service to applicants for and 
recipients of benefits under this section; 
‘‘(3) establish quality assurance and program integrity 
procedures to ensure that States and local educational agencies 
have adequate processes— 
‘‘(A) to correctly determine the eligibility of children 
for benefits under this section; and 
‘‘(B) to reliably enroll and issue benefits to eligible 
children; and
H. R. 2617—1535 
‘‘(4) allow States and covered Indian Tribal organizations 
to streamline program administration, including by— 
‘‘(A) automatically enrolling each eligible child who 
is able to be directly certified; and 
‘‘(B) establishing a single summer operational period. 
‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATIVE AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Beginning in 
2024, each State desiring to participate in the program under 
this section shall comply with the requirements under section 13(n). 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COVERED INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘cov-
ered Indian Tribal organization’ means an Indian Tribal 
organization that participates in the special supplemental nutri-
tion program for women, infants, and children established 
under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1786). 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE CHILD.—The term ‘eligible child’ means, with 
respect to a summer, a child who— 
‘‘(A) was, at the end of the instructional year imme-
diately preceding such summer or during the summer oper-
ational period— 
‘‘(i) certified to receive free or reduced price lunch 
under the school lunch program under this Act; 
‘‘(ii) certified to receive free or reduced price break-
fast under the school breakfast program under section 
4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); 
or 
‘‘(iii) able to be directly certified; 
‘‘(B) was, at the end of the instructional year imme-
diately preceding such summer— 
‘‘(i) enrolled in a school described in subparagraph 
(B), (C), (D), (E), or (F) of section 11(a)(1); and 
‘‘(ii)(I) an identified student (as defined in section 
11(a)(1)(F)(i)); or 
‘‘(II) a child who otherwise met the requirements 
to receive free or reduced price meals, as determined 
through an application process using the eligibility 
criteria for free or reduced price meals under this 
Act; or 
‘‘(C) has been determined to be eligible for the program 
under this section in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(B). 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘eligible household’ 
means a household that includes at least 1 eligible child. 
‘‘(4) 
SUPPLEMENTAL
FOODS.—The 
term 
‘supplemental 
foods’— 
‘‘(A) means foods— 
‘‘(i) containing nutrients determined by nutritional 
research to be lacking in the diets of children; and 
‘‘(ii) that promote the health of the population 
served by the program under this section, as indicated 
by relevant nutrition science, public health concerns, 
and cultural eating patterns, as determined by the 
Secretary; and 
‘‘(B) includes foods not described in subparagraph (A) 
substituted by State agencies, with the approval of the 
Secretary, that— 
‘‘(i) provide the nutritional equivalent of foods 
described in such subparagraph; and
H. R. 2617—1536 
‘‘(ii) allow for different cultural eating patterns 
than foods described in such subparagraph.’’. 
(d) AMENDMENTS TO P-EBT FOR SUMMER 2023.—Section 1101(i) 
of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (7 U.S.C. 2011 
note; Public Law 116–127) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 
(2) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by inserting 
‘‘approve or’’ after ‘‘may’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A State shall not provide benefits during 
a covered summer period pursuant to paragraph (1) to children 
who, at the end of the school year immediately preceding the 
covered summer period, attended a school that did not partici-
pate in the school lunch program or school breakfast program 
described in that paragraph. 
‘‘(3) OTHER ASSISTANCE NOT REQUIRED.—A State shall not 
be required to provide assistance under subsection (a) or (h) 
in order to provide assistance under this subsection.’’. 
(e) NO DUPLICATION OF SUMMER BENEFITS.—A State may not 
provide to a household summer EBT benefits (as described in section 
13A(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act) under 
that section and benefits under section 1101(i) of the Families 
First Coronavirus Response Act (7 U.S.C. 2011 note; Public Law 
116–127) for the same period. 
SEC. 503. OFFSETS. 
(a) SUMMER
2023.—Section 1101(i) of the Families First 
Coronavirus Response Act (7 U.S.C. 2011 note; Public Law 116– 
127) (as amended by section 502(d)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(4) SUMMER
2023.—Any benefits issued to households 
during a covered summer period pursuant to paragraph (1) 
in summer 2023 shall not exceed $120 per child for the covered 
summer period, except that benefits may be proportionately 
higher consistent with any adjustments established under sec-
tion 12(f) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(f)).’’. 
(b) 
ALLOTMENTS.—Section 
2302 
of 
the 
Families 
First 
Coronavirus Response Act (7 U.S.C. 2011 note; Public Law 116– 
127) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) SUNSET.—The authority under subsection (a)(1) shall expire 
after the issuance of February 2023 benefits under that subsection.’’. 
TITLE V—OTHER MATTERS 
SEC. 601. SUPPORT FOR COTTON MERCHANDISERS. 
(a) COTTON MERCHANDISER PANDEMIC ASSISTANCE.— 
(1) PANDEMIC ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS TO COTTON MERCHAN-
DISERS.—The Secretary shall make pandemic assistance pay-
ments, under terms and conditions as determined by the Sec-
retary, to cotton merchandisers that purchased cotton from 
a United States cotton producer or marketed cotton on behalf 
of a United States cotton producer during the period that 
begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on the date of enactment 
of this Act.