I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6251 
To amend the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act to clarify 
and expand food donation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 13, 2021 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Ms. PINGREE, and Mrs. 
WALORSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation 
Act to clarify and expand food donation, 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 Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Donation Im-
provement Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. BILL EMERSON GOOD SAMARITAN FOOD DONATION 
ACT. 
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1791) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘or is 
charged a good Samaritan reduced price’’ be-
fore the period at the end; 
(B) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(6) 
through (10) as paragraphs (7) through (11), 
respectively; 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 
following: 
‘‘(6) GOOD SAMARITAN REDUCED PRICE.—The 
term ‘good Samaritan reduced price’ means, with re-
spect to the price of an apparently wholesome food 
or apparently fit grocery product, a price that is an 
amount not greater than the cost of handling, ad-
ministering, and distributing the apparently whole-
some food or apparently fit grocery product.’’; and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(12) QUALIFIED DIRECT DONOR.—The term 
‘qualified direct donor’ means a retail grocer, whole-
saler, agricultural producer, restaurant, caterer, 
school food authority, and institution of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)).’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
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(A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by inserting 
‘‘at zero cost or at a good Samaritan reduced 
price’’ after ‘‘needy individuals’’ each place it 
appears; 
(B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 
paragraph (4); 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following: 
‘‘(3) DIRECT DONATIONS TO NEEDY INDIVID-
UALS.—A qualified direct donor shall not be subject 
to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, 
age, packaging, or condition of apparently whole-
some food or an apparently fit grocery product that 
the qualified direct donor donates in good faith to a 
needy individual.’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), 
by striking ‘‘and (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘through 
(3)’’. 
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue regula-
tions that clarify the quality and labeling standards that 
food products donated under the Bill Emerson Good Sa-
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maritan Food Donation Act (42 U.S.C. 1791) must meet 
to be eligible for liability protection under that Act. 
Æ 
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