I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4280 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide that Puerto 
Rico may be treated in the same manner as the several States for 
the purpose of carrying out the supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram under such Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2012 
Mr. PIERLUISI (for himself, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. FARR, Mr. BACA, Mr. RAN-
GEL, 
Mr. 
TOWNS, 
Ms. 
NORTON, 
Mr. 
FALEOMAVAEGA, 
Mrs. 
CHRISTENSEN, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BORDALLO, and Mr. GRI-
JALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide 
that Puerto Rico may be treated in the same manner 
as the several States for the purpose of carrying out 
the supplemental nutrition assistance program under 
such Act. 
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 ‘‘Puerto Rico Supple-
mental Nutrition Assistance Program Restoration Act of 
2012’’. 
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SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT 
OF 2008. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Food and Nutri-
tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (s) by inserting ‘‘Puerto 
Rico,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’, and 
(2) in subsection (u)(3) by inserting ‘‘Puerto 
Rico,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’. 
(b) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS.—Section 5 of the Food 
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b) by inserting ‘‘Puerto 
Rico,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’, 
(2) in subsection (c)(1) by striking ‘‘and 
Guam’’ and inserting ‘‘Guam, and Puerto Rico,’’, 
and 
(3) in subsection (e)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting 
‘‘Puerto Rico,’’ after ‘‘Hawaii,’’ each place it 
appears, and 
(B) in paragraph (6)(B) by inserting 
‘‘Puerto Rico,’’ after ‘‘Guam,’’. 
(c) CONSOLIDATED BLOCK GRANTS.—Section 19 of 
the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2028) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
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(A) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting ‘‘until 
the effective date of the amendments made by 
the Puerto Rico Supplemental Nutrition Assist-
ance Program Restoration Act of 2012,’’ after 
‘‘(A)’’, 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) in clause (i) by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end, and 
(II) in clause (ii)— 
(aa) by inserting ‘‘ending 
before the effective date of the 
amendments made by the Puerto 
Rico Supplemental Nutrition As-
sistance 
Program 
Restoration 
Act of 2012’’ after ‘‘thereafter’’, 
(bb) by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, 
and 
(cc) by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(iii) subject to the availability of ap-
propriations under section 18(a), for each 
fiscal year beginning on or after the effec-
tive date of the amendments made by the 
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Puerto Rico Supplemental Nutrition As-
sistance Program Restoration Act of 2012, 
0.4 percent of the aggregate amount speci-
fied in clause (i) and adjusted under clause 
(ii), as further adjusted by the percentage 
by which the thrifty food plan has been ad-
justed under section 3(u)(4) between June 
30 of the penultimate fiscal year preceding 
such effective date and June 30 of the fis-
cal year for which the adjustment is made 
under this clause.’’, 
(ii) in subparagraph (B)(i) by insert-
ing ‘‘ending before the effective date of the 
amendments made by the Puerto Rico 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro-
gram Restoration Act of 2012’’ after 
‘‘thereafter’’, and 
(iii) in subparagraph (C)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘(i)’’ before 
‘‘For’’, 
(II) by inserting ‘‘ending before 
the effective date of the amendments 
made by the Puerto Rico Supple-
mental Nutrition Assistance Program 
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Restoration 
Act 
of 
2012’’ 
after 
‘‘thereafter’’, and 
(III) by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(ii) For each fiscal year beginning on or 
after the effective date of the amendments 
made by the Puerto Rico Supplemental Nutri-
tion Assistance Program Restoration Act of 
2012, the Secretary shall use 100 percent of 
the funds made available under subparagraph 
(A) for payment to American Samoa to pay 100 
percent of the expenditures by American Samoa 
for a nutrition assistance program extended 
under section 601(c) of Public Law 96–597 (48 
U.S.C. 1469d(c)).’’, and 
(C) in paragraph (3) by inserting ‘‘ending 
before the effective date of the amendments 
made by the Puerto Rico Supplemental Nutri-
tion Assistance Program Restoration Act of 
2012’’ after ‘‘year’’, and 
(2) in subsection (b)(1)(A) by inserting ‘‘ending 
before the effective date of the amendments made by 
the Puerto Rico Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
Program Restoration Act of 2012’’ after ‘‘year’’ the 
first place it appears. 
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SEC. 3. SUBMISSION OF PLAN; APPROVAL OF RETAIL FOOD 
STORES; CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY OF 
AGRICULTURE. 
(a) SUBMISSION OF PLAN BY PUERTO RICO.— 
(1) SUBMISSION AND REVIEW OF PLAN OF OP-
ERATION.—If an agency of the kind described in 
section 3(t)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(t)(1)) is designated by Puerto 
Rico and submits to the Secretary of Agriculture 
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the Sec-
retary) a request to participate in the supplemental 
nutrition program under such Act and a plan of op-
eration of the kind described in section 11 of such 
Act, the Secretary shall determine whether Puerto 
Rico and such agency satisfy the requirements that 
would apply under such Act for approval of such 
plan if Puerto Rico were 1 of the several States. 
(2) DETERMINATION
BY
SECRETARY.—The 
Secretary shall approve such plan if Puerto Rico and 
such agency satisfy such requirements. If the Sec-
retary does not approve such plan, the Secretary 
shall provide a statement that specifies each of such 
requirements that is not satisfied by such plan. 
(b) APPROVAL OF RETAIL FOOD STORES IN PUERTO 
RICO.—If the Secretary approves the plan of operation 
submitted under subsection (a), then the Secretary shall 
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accept from retail food stores located in Puerto Rico appli-
cations of the kind described in section 9 of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2018) for approval to 
participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram proposed in such plan. 
(c) SUBMISSION OF CERTIFICATION TO THE CON-
GRESS.—If the Secretary— 
(1) approves the plan of operation submitted 
under subsection (a), and 
(2) approves under subsection (b) the applica-
tions of a number of retail food stores located in 
Puerto Rico requesting to participate in the supple-
mental nutrition assistance program that would be 
sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Food 
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) 
if Puerto Rico were 1 of the several States request-
ing to participate in the supplemental nutrition as-
sistance program under such Act, 
then the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a certifi-
cation that Puerto Rico qualifies to participate in such 
program as if Puerto Rico were a State as defined in sec-
tion 3(s) of such Act. 
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