375 
‘‘(ii) that any such fee cannot be paid 
with benefits provided under this Act; 
‘‘(D) ensure the security of on-line trans-
actions by using the most effective technology 
available that the Secretary considers appro-
priate and cost-effective and that is comparable 
to the security of transactions at retail food 
stores; and 
‘‘(E) meet other criteria as established by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(3) STATE
AGENCY
ACTION.—Each State 
agency shall ensure that recipients of supplemental 
nutrition assistance can use benefits on-line as de-
scribed in this subsection as appropriate. 
‘‘(4) DEMONSTRATION
PROJECT
ON
ACCEPT-
ANCE
OF
BENEFITS
THROUGH
ON-LINE
TRANS-
ACTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before the Secretary 
authorizes implementation of paragraph (1) in 
all States, the Secretary shall carry out a num-
ber of demonstration projects as determined by 
the Secretary to test the feasibility of allowing 
retail food stores to accept benefits through on- 
line transactions. 
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376 
‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—To be 
eligible to participate in a demonstration project 
under subparagraph (A), a retail food store 
shall submit to the Secretary for approval a 
plan that includes— 
‘‘(i) a method of ensuring that bene-
fits may be used to purchase only eligible 
items under this Act; 
‘‘(ii) a description of the method of 
educating participant households about the 
availability and operation of on-line pur-
chasing; 
‘‘(iii) adequate testing of the on-line 
purchasing option prior to implementation; 
‘‘(iv) the provision of data as re-
quested by the Secretary for purposes of 
analyzing the impact of the project on par-
ticipant access, ease of use, and program 
integrity; 
‘‘(v) reports on progress, challenges, 
and results, as determined by the Sec-
retary; and 
‘‘(vi) such other criteria, including se-
curity criteria, as established by the Sec-
retary. 
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377 
‘‘(C) DATE OF COMPLETION.—The dem-
onstration projects under this paragraph shall 
be completed and final reports submitted to the 
Secretary by not later than July 1, 2015. 
‘‘(5) REPORT
TO
CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(A) by not later than January 1, 2016, 
authorize implementation of paragraph (1) in 
all States, unless the Secretary makes a find-
ing, based on the data provided under para-
graph (4), that implementation in all States is 
not in the best interest of the supplemental nu-
trition assistance program; and 
‘‘(B) if the determination made in sub-
paragraph (A) is not to implement in all States, 
submit a report to the Committee on Agri-
culture of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For-
estry of the Senate that includes the basis of 
the finding.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 7(b) of the Food and Nutrition 
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016(b)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘purchase food in retail food stores’’ 
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