Title: Gus Schumacher Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2018
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Gus Schumacher Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2018
This bill reauthorizes and modifies the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program. The program supports projects to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables among low-income consumers participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) by providing incentives at the point of purchase.
The bill renames the program the Gus Schumacher Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program and modifies requirements regarding the nonfederal share, application criteria, and the priorities for awarding grants.
The bill also requires USDA to establish a Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program Training, Evaluation, and Information Center to assist grant recipients.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5563 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5563

 To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to revise the 
                  food insecurity nutrition incentive.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2018

  Mr. Kildee (for himself, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Adams, Ms. 
 Fudge, Mr. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Lee, and 
Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                    to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to revise the 
                  food insecurity nutrition incentive.

    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 ``Gus Schumacher Food Insecurity 
Nutrition Incentive Reauthorization Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. FOOD INSECURITY NUTRITION INCENTIVE.

    Section 4405 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 
U.S.C. 7517) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 4405. GUS SCHUMACHER FOOD INSECURITY NUTRITION INCENTIVE.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) a nonprofit organization (including an 
                emergency feeding organization);
                    ``(B) an agricultural cooperative;
                    ``(C) a producer network or association;
                    ``(D) a community health organization;
                    ``(E) a public benefit corporation;
                    ``(F) an economic development corporation;
                    ``(G) a farmers' market;
                    ``(H) a community-supported agriculture program;
                    ``(I) a buying club;
                    ``(J) a retail food store participating in the 
                supplemental nutrition assistance program;
                    ``(K) a State, local, or Tribal agency; and
                    ``(L) any other entity the Secretary designates.
            ``(2) Emergency feeding organization.--The term `emergency 
        feeding organization' has the meaning given the term in section 
        201A of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 
        7501).
            ``(3) Supplemental nutrition assistance program.--The terms 
        `supplemental nutrition assistance program' and `SNAP' refer to 
        the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under 
        the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
    ``(b) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Grants.--
            ``(1) Authorization.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Each fiscal year, the Secretary 
                shall make grants to eligible entities in accordance 
                with paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost 
                of carrying out an activity under this subsection shall 
                not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the 
                activity.
                    ``(C) Non-federal share.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The non-Federal share of 
                        the cost of an activity under this subsection 
                        may--
                                    ``(I) be provided by a State, 
                                local, or tribal agency, other eligible 
                                entity, or any other entity, including 
                                a for-profit entity; and
                                    ``(II) consist of in cash or in-
                                kind contributions acceptable to the 
                                Secretary, including facilities, 
                                equipment, or services.
                            ``(ii) Limitation.--If any part of the non-
                        Federal share described in clause (i) is 
                        provided by a for-profit entity, employee 
                        services, including salaries paid or expenses 
                        covered by the for-profit entity, may not be 
                        counted toward satisfying the non-Federal 
                        share.
            ``(2) Criteria.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To apply for a grant under this 
                section, a non-profit organization, State, local, or 
                Tribal agency, or grocer shall submit an application 
                that meets such application criteria as the Secretary 
                may require and specifically satisfies the following 
                requirements:
                            ``(i) The application proposes a project 
                        that has the support of the State agency that 
                        administers SNAP in the State in which the 
                        project is proposed to be carried out.
                            ``(ii) The proposed project, at a minimum, 
                        would increase the purchase of fruits and 
                        vegetables by low-income consumers 
                        participating in SNAP by providing monetary 
                        incentives at the point of purchase.
                            ``(iii) The non-profit organization, State, 
                        local, or Tribal agency, or grocer will ensure 
                        that the same terms and conditions apply to 
                        purchases made by individuals with incentives 
                        provided for in this subsection as apply to 
                        purchases made by individuals who are not 
                        members of households receiving SNAP benefits, 
                        such as provided for in section 278.2(b) of 
                        title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 
                        successor regulation).
                            ``(iv) The non-profit organization, State, 
                        local, or Tribal agency, or grocer has adequate 
                        plans to collect data for reporting and agrees 
                        to participate in a program evaluation 
                        conducted pursuant to paragraph (4).
                    ``(B) Priority.--In awarding grants under this 
                section, the Secretary shall give priority to projects 
                that--
                            ``(i) maximize the share of funds used for 
                        direct incentives to participants;
                            ``(ii) use direct-to-consumer sales 
                        marketing;
                            ``(iii) demonstrate a track record of 
                        designing successful nutrition incentive 
                        programs that connect low-income consumers with 
                        agricultural producers;
                            ``(iv) provide locally or regionally 
                        produced fruits and vegetables;
                            ``(v) are located in underserved 
                        communities;
                            ``(vi) include coordination with multiple 
                        stakeholders, such as farm organizations, 
                        nutrition education programs, cooperative 
                        extension, public health departments, health 
                        providers, private and public health insurance 
                        agencies, cooperative grocers, grocery 
                        associations, community-based and 
                        nongovernmental organizations;
                            ``(vii) offer supplemental services in 
                        high-need communities, including online 
                        ordering, transportation between home and 
                        store, and delivery services;
                            ``(viii) will provide high quality data and 
                        analysis demonstrating effectiveness of food 
                        insecurity nutrition incentive grants;
                            ``(ix) maximize access to fruits and 
                        vegetable by low-income consumers participating 
                        in SNAP by providing year-round access to 
                        fruits and vegetables with maximum hours of 
                        operation during each day of the week; or
                            ``(x) address other criteria as established 
                        by the Secretary.
            ``(3) Applicability.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The value of any benefit 
                provided to a participant in any activity funded under 
                this subsection shall be treated as supplemental 
                nutrition assistance benefits under section 8(b) of the 
                Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2017(b)).
                    ``(B) Prohibition on collection of sales taxes.--
                Each State shall ensure that no State or local tax is 
                collected on a purchase of food under this subsection.
                    ``(C) No limitation on benefits.--A grant made 
                available under this subsection shall not be used to 
                carry out any project that limits the use of benefits 
                under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 
                et seq.) or any other Federal nutrition law.
                    ``(D) Household allotment.--Assistance provided 
                under this subsection to households receiving benefits 
                under the supplemental nutrition assistance program 
                shall not--
                            ``(i) be considered part of the 
                        supplemental nutrition assistance program 
                        benefits of the household; or
                            ``(ii) be used in the collection or 
                        disposition of claims under section 13 of the 
                        Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2022).
            ``(4) Training, evaluation, and information center.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a 
                Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program Training, 
                Evaluation, and Information Center capable of providing 
                services to grant recipients under this section, 
                including the following services:
                            ``(i) Providing incentive program training 
                        and technical assistance to grant applicants 
                        and recipients.
                            ``(ii) Collecting, evaluating, and 
                        delivering information on best practices on 
                        common incentive activities.
                            ``(iii) Assisting with collaboration 
                        between grant projects, State agencies, and 
                        SNAP Education programs.
                            ``(iv) Facilitating communication between 
                        grantees and national and regional offices of 
                        the Department of Agriculture.
                            ``(v) Compiling program data from grant 
                        recipients and generating an annual report to 
                        Congress on grant outcomes beginning with 
                        fiscal year 2020.
                            ``(vi) Supporting efforts for SNAP 
                        incentive transactions at the point of sale.
                    ``(B) Cooperative agreement.--To carry out 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary may enter into a 
                cooperative agreement with one or more organizations 
                with expertise in supplemental nutrition assistance 
                program incentive programs, including--
                            ``(i) nongovernmental organizations;
                            ``(ii) State or regional Cooperative 
                        Extension Services;
                            ``(iii) regional food system centers;
                            ``(iv) Federal and State agencies;
                            ``(v) public, private, and land-grant 
                        colleges and universities; and
                            ``(vi) other appropriate partners as 
                        determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(C) Priority.--The Secretary shall give priority 
                to cooperative agreement applicants that--
                            ``(i) demonstrate the capacity to 
                        effectively implement outreach, training, and 
                        coordination functions;
                            ``(ii) can produce instructional materials 
                        that can easily be replicated and distributed 
                        to grantees through multiple formats;
                            ``(iii) have working partnerships with non-
                        profit and private sectors organizations and 
                        local, State, and tribal governments;
                            ``(iv) have the ability to work in 
                        underserved or rural communities; and
                            ``(v) have an organizational mission 
                        aligned with needs of the program under this 
                        section.
                    ``(D) Funding limitations.--Of the funds made 
                available under subsection (c), the Secretary may use--
                            ``(i) $2,000,000 in each of fiscal years 
                        2019 and 2020 to establish the Food Insecurity 
                        Nutrition Incentive Program Training, 
                        Evaluation, and Information Center; and
                            ``(ii) $1,000,000 each fiscal year 
                        thereafter to support the operations of the 
                        Center.
    ``(c) Funding.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out subsection (b), $5,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
            ``(2) Mandatory funding.--Subject to paragraph (3), of the 
        funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall 
        use to carry out subsection (b)--
                    ``(A) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2019;
                    ``(B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2020;
                    ``(C) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2021;
                    ``(D) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; and
                    ``(E) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each 
                fiscal year thereafter.''.
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