Title: Pandemic EBT Act of 2020
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Pandemic EBT Act of 2020
This bill expands authority in FY2020 for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) during a public health emergency based on COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the bill authorizes USDA to approve state agency plans to provide SNAP benefits to households that include at least one eligible child and may or may not be participating in SNAP. An eligible child is a child who would be receiving free or reduced-price school meals if the child's school had not been closed for at least five consecutive days due to the public health emergency based on COVID-19.
SNAP benefits provided must be no less than the value of school meals at the federal free rate over the course of five school days for each eligible child in the household.
A state agency may provide SNAP benefits in accordance with the bill through the electronic benefits transfer card system.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6200 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6200

   To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide certain food 
assistance for eligible children during periods when their schools are 
    closed due to a public health emergency; and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2020

   Ms. Fudge (for herself and Mr. Scott of Virginia) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and 
in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide certain food 
assistance for eligible children during periods when their schools are 
    closed due to a public health emergency; 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 ``Pandemic EBT Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ASSISTANCE DURING PUBLIC HEALTH 
              EMERGENCY.

    (a) Pandemic Emergency.--During fiscal year 2020, in any case in 
which a school is closed for at least 5 consecutive days during a 
public health emergency designation during which the school would 
otherwise be in session, each household containing at least 1 member 
who is an eligible child attending the school shall be eligible to 
receive assistance pursuant to a State agency plan approved under 
subsection (b)
    (b) Assistance.--To carry out this section, the Secretary of 
Agriculture may approve State agency plans for temporary emergency 
standards of eligibility and levels of benefits under the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) for households with 
eligible children. Plans approved by the Secretary may provide for 
supplemental allotments to households receiving benefits under such 
Act, and issuances to households not already receiving benefits. Such 
level of benefits shall be determined by the Secretary in an amount not 
less than the value of meals at the free rate over the course of 5 
school days for each eligible child in the household.
    (c) Minimum Closure Requirement.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall not provide assistance under this section in the case of a school 
that is closed for less than 5 consecutive days.
    (d) Use of Ebt System.--A State agency may provide assistance under 
this section through the EBT card system established under section 7 of 
the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016).
    (e) Release of Information.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the Secretary of Agriculture may authorize State educational 
agencies and school food authorities administering a school lunch 
program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) to release to appropriate officials administering 
the supplemental nutrition assistance program such information as may 
be necessary to carry out this section.
    (f) Waivers.--To facilitate implementation of this section, the 
Secretary of Agriculture may approve waivers of the limits on 
certification periods otherwise applicable under section 3(f) of the 
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(f)), reporting 
requirements otherwise applicable under section 6(c) of such Act (7 
U.S.C. 2015(c)), and other administrative requirements otherwise 
applicable to State agencies under such Act.
    (g) Funding.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall use funds made 
available under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 
seq.) to fund, with the exception of the commodities described in 
subsection (h), benefits provided under this section.
    (h) Availability of Commodities.--During fiscal year 2020, the 
Secretary of Agriculture may utilize funds appropriated under section 
32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), to purchase 
commodities for emergency distribution in any area of the United States 
during a public health emergency designation.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``eligible child'' means a child (as defined 
        in section 12(d), or served under section 11(a)(1), of the 
        Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1760(d), 1759(a)(1)) who, if not for the closure of the school 
        attended by the child during a public health emergency 
        designation and due to concerns about a novel coronavirus 
        outbreak, would receive free or reduced price school meals 
        under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
        U.S.C. 175l et seq.) at the school.
            (2) The term ``public health emergency designation'' means 
        the declaration--
                    (A) of a public health emergency, based on an 
                outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 
                319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d); 
                or
                    (B) of a domestic emergency, based on an outbreak 
                of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security.
            (3) The term ``school'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 12(d) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
        Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(d)).
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