Expanding SNAP Options Act of 2021
Bill: S.313 | Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Expanding SNAP Options Act of 2021
This bill revises the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) to make the online redemption of benefits, including the acceptance of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards, more widely available by requiring the implementation of online SNAP purchasing in every state and providing funding for an online redemption portal and a technical assistance center.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must award on a competitive basis one or more contracts to develop an EBT Online Redemption Portal to (1) allow program participants to use online or mobile electronic benefits transactions to purchase program foods from, and make online payments to, authorized program retailers under SNAP; and (2) facilitate food purchase delivery for program participants using such electronic benefits transactions.
The Food and Nutrition Service of USDA must award competitive grants or enter into cooperative agreements with nonprofit entities to establish a SNAP Online Purchasing Technical Assistance Center to provide state agencies, authorized program retailers, and program participants information on and technical assistance with accepting SNAP benefits through online transactions and use of the portal. In providing technical assistance, the center must give priority to entities that are small and limited-resource retailers.
The bill provides funding for both the online redemption portal and the technical assistance center.
USDA must maintain on its website a publicly available listing, organized and searchable by region, locality, and state, of all approved retail food stores accepting benefits from recipients of SNAP, including through online transactions.

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to expand online benefit 
redemption options under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Expanding SNAP Options Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. ONLINE PORTAL FOR SNAP BENEFIT REDEMPTION.

    Section 7(h)(14) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2016(h)(14)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``Subject to 
        subparagraph (B), the'' and inserting ``The''; and
            (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(B) EBT online redemption portal.--
                            ``(i) Purpose.--The purpose of this 
                        subparagraph is to expand options for and 
                        access to food for eligible households by 
                        making the online redemption of program 
                        benefits, including the acceptance of EBT 
                        cards, more widely available to grocery stores, 
                        small retailers, and farmers who face barriers 
                        in implementing their own online payment 
                        portals.
                            ``(ii) Contracts.--Not later than 180 days 
                        after the date of enactment of the Expanding 
                        SNAP Options Act of 2021, the Secretary shall 
                        award on a competitive basis 1 or more 
                        contracts to 1 or more eligible entities 
                        described in clause (iii) to develop an online 
                        portal, to be known as the `EBT Online 
                        Redemption Portal'--
                                    ``(I) to allow program participants 
                                to use online or mobile electronic 
                                benefits transactions, including 
                                through the acceptance of EBT cards, to 
                                purchase program foods from, and make 
                                online payments to, authorized program 
                                retailers under the supplemental 
                                nutrition assistance program; and
                                    ``(II) to facilitate food purchase 
                                delivery for program participants using 
                                the transactions described in subclause 
                                (I).
                            ``(iii) Eligible entity.--An eligible 
                        entity referred to in clause (ii) is any for-
                        profit or nonprofit entity with demonstrable 
                        expertise in the development, operation, or 
                        maintenance of electronic payment systems 
                        (including systems with advanced security 
                        protocols), which may include expertise in 
                        benefits management or administration of State 
                        systems, as determined by the Secretary.
                            ``(iv) Application; portal features.--
                                    ``(I) Application.--An eligible 
                                entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
                                application at such time, in such 
                                manner, and containing such information 
                                as the Secretary may require, 
                                including--
                                            ``(aa) a description of how 
                                        the eligible entity plans to 
                                        implement the requirements 
                                        described in clause (v); and
                                            ``(bb) a beta plan that has 
                                        been user-tested.
                                    ``(II) Portal features.--In 
                                awarding a contract to an eligible 
                                entity under clause (ii), the Secretary 
                                shall give preference to an eligible 
                                entity that demonstrates an ability to 
                                implement the following features of an 
                                EBT Online Redemption Portal:
                                            ``(aa) Client-facing 
                                        technology with a primary 
                                        preference for mobile device or 
                                        smartphone application.
                                            ``(bb) Fail-safe systems to 
                                        maintain privacy and online 
                                        security of data.
                                            ``(cc) Ability to redirect 
                                        a consumer to an existing 
                                        online platform of a vendor, if 
                                        applicable.
                                            ``(dd) Ability to update as 
                                        technologies evolve.
                                            ``(ee) Ease of operation 
                                        for program participants, 
                                        including multilingual 
                                        functionality.
                                            ``(ff) Interoperability 
                                        with delivery technologies and 
                                        interfaces.
                                            ``(gg) Identification of 
                                        participating retailers within 
                                        geographic proximity to the 
                                        user.
                                            ``(hh) Ability to perform 
                                        single transactions using mixed 
                                        tender, including a single 
                                        transaction for eligible food 
                                        items using an EBT card and 
                                        noneligible items using another 
                                        form of payment.
                                            ``(ii) Adherence to a 
                                        comprehensive business 
                                        continuity and disaster 
                                        recovery plan--

                                                    ``(AA) to allow the 
                                                portal to recover from 
                                                any interruption of 
                                                service; and

                                                    ``(BB) that 
                                                includes sufficient 
                                                back-up systems, 
                                                equipment, facilities, 
                                                and trained personnel 
                                                to implement the plan.

                            ``(v) Requirements.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The Online EBT 
                                Redemption Portal developed by the 
                                eligible entity awarded the contract 
                                under clause (ii) shall--
                                            ``(aa) enable the 
                                        integrated processing of an 
                                        online EBT transaction by 
                                        providing a platform and 
                                        facilitating the purchasing 
                                        interaction between the 
                                        consumer, retailer, third-party 
                                        processors (for EBT card 
                                        processing and the secure 
                                        online entry of a personal 
                                        identification number), and 
                                        delivery vendor, as applicable;
                                            ``(bb) to deter fraud, have 
                                        in place for program 
                                        participants privacy and 
                                        security protections, similar 
                                        to protections provided under 
                                        existing electronic benefit 
                                        transfer methods, including 
                                        entry of a personal 
                                        identification number in a 
                                        manner that complies with the 
                                        guidelines of leading national 
                                        consensus standards 
                                        organizations, as determined by 
                                        the Secretary, for encrypting 
                                        personal identification number 
                                        entry;
                                            ``(cc) be secure and 
                                        operate in a manner that 
                                        maintains program integrity, 
                                        including food item 
                                        eligibility;
                                            ``(dd) be available in an 
                                        initial or beta version not 
                                        later than 120 days after the 
                                        date on which the eligible 
                                        entity is awarded the contract;
                                            ``(ee) be ready to be fully 
                                        deployed in all States not 
                                        later than 180 days after the 
                                        date described in item (dd);
                                            ``(ff) be available for use 
                                        by any retail food store or 
                                        wholesale food concern 
                                        authorized under section 9 to 
                                        accept and redeem benefits 
                                        under the supplemental 
                                        nutrition assistance program--

                                                    ``(AA) at no charge 
                                                beyond a nominal fee 
                                                that is not more than 
                                                reasonably necessary to 
                                                support maintenance of 
                                                the portal and subject 
                                                to the approval of the 
                                                Secretary; and

                                                    ``(BB) on an 
                                                application-based and 
                                                browser-based platform 
                                                for smartphones and a 
                                                browser-based online 
                                                platform for tablets 
                                                and computers;

                                            ``(gg) adhere to commercial 
                                        standards for service level 
                                        availability to ensure the 
                                        viability of the portal and the 
                                        use of the portal by retail 
                                        food stores and wholesale food 
                                        concerns authorized under 
                                        section 9 to accept and redeem 
                                        benefits under the supplemental 
                                        nutrition assistance program; 
                                        and
                                            ``(hh) perform ongoing 
                                        maintenance services and 
                                        retailer enrollment and 
                                        termination of enrollment 
                                        activities to ensure continuous 
                                        operability of the portal.
                                    ``(II) Evaluation of beta 
                                version.--The Secretary shall conduct a 
                                review of the initial or beta version 
                                of the Online EBT Redemption Portal 
                                under subclause (I)(dd), including by 
                                soliciting feedback from program 
                                participants.
                            ``(vi) Report to congress.--Not later than 
                        240 days after the date of enactment of the 
                        Expanding SNAP Options Act of 2021, the 
                        Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 
                        the status of activities carried out under this 
                        subparagraph.
                            ``(vii) Authorization of appropriations.--
                        There is appropriated to the Secretary, out of 
                        funds of the Treasury not otherwise 
                        appropriated, $25,000,000 to provide under the 
                        contract described in clause (ii).''.

SEC. 3. BROAD ACCEPTANCE OF SNAP BENEFITS THROUGH ONLINE TRANSACTIONS.

    Section 7(k) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2016(k)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``on-line'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``online'';
            (2) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``Subject to paragraph (4), the'' 
                and inserting ``The''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``in any State'' after ``stores''; 
                and
            (3) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(4) Technical assistance.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Covered entity.--The term `covered 
                        entity' means a public or private nonprofit 
                        entity.
                            ``(ii) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible 
                        entity' means a retail food store or wholesale 
                        food concern authorized under section 9 to 
                        accept and redeem benefits under the 
                        supplemental nutrition assistance program.
                    ``(B) Technical assistance center.--The Secretary, 
                acting through the Administrator of the Food and 
                Nutrition Service, shall, on a competitive basis, award 
                1 or more grants to, or enter into 1 or more 
                cooperative agreements with, 1 or more covered entities 
                to establish a technical assistance center, to be known 
                as the `SNAP Online Purchasing Technical Assistance 
                Center', to provide--
                            ``(i) to State agencies, eligible entities, 
                        and program participants information on and 
                        technical assistance with, as applicable--
                                    ``(I) accepting program benefits 
                                through online transactions;
                                    ``(II) using the EBT Online 
                                Redemption Portal described in 
                                subsection (h)(14)(B);
                                    ``(III) in the case of State 
                                agencies, conducting outreach to 
                                eligible entities to ensure that those 
                                eligible entities are informed of the 
                                technical assistance provided by the 
                                center;
                                    ``(IV) research, training, and best 
                                practices relating to redeeming program 
                                benefits through online transactions; 
                                and
                                    ``(V) facilitating communication 
                                between eligible entities, applicable 
                                State agencies, and the Department of 
                                Agriculture; and
                            ``(ii) to eligible entities direct grants 
                        to defray the technological costs of carrying 
                        out the activities described in subclauses (I) 
                        and (II) of clause (i).
                    ``(C) Qualifications.--At least 1 covered entity 
                that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative 
                agreement under subparagraph (B) shall have expertise 
                in providing technical assistance to food retailers 
                operating under a Federal nutrition program.
                    ``(D) Technical assistance priority.--In providing 
                technical assistance to eligible entities, the SNAP 
                Online Purchasing Technical Assistance Center shall 
                give priority to eligible entities that are small and 
                limited-resource retailers.
                    ``(E) Funding.--There is appropriated to the 
                Secretary, out of funds of the Treasury not otherwise 
                appropriated, $75,000,000 to carry out this paragraph, 
                to remain available until expended, of which not more 
                than 3 percent may be used by the Secretary for 
                administrative expenses.
            ``(5) Publication of online vendors.--The Secretary shall 
        maintain on the website of the Department of Agriculture a 
        publicly available listing, organized and searchable by region, 
        locality, and State, of all approved retail food stores 
        accepting benefits from recipients of supplemental nutrition 
        assistance, including through online transactions.''.
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