Title: Ensuring Emergency Food Security Act
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Ensuring Emergency Food Security Act
This bill expands benefits and eligibility under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) which is administered by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Specifically, the bill

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6181 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6181

   To prevent the changing of regulations governing the Supplemental 
 Nutrition Assistance Program, to provide for expanded food security, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2020

 Ms. DeLauro (for herself, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Pingree, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. 
Lee of California, and Ms. Fudge) introduced the following bill; which 
              was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To prevent the changing of regulations governing the Supplemental 
 Nutrition Assistance Program, to provide for expanded food security, 
                        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 ``Ensuring Emergency Food Security 
Act''.

SEC. 2. IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF IMPLEMENTING RULE CHANGES FOR THE 
              SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    No Federal funds (including fees) made available for any fiscal 
year may be used to finalize, implement, administer, enforce, carry 
out, or otherwise give effect to any proposed rule that would decrease 
program benefits or impact program eligibility of the Supplemental 
Nutrition Assistance Program.

SEC. 3. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN BENEFITS UNDER THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Maximum Benefit Increase.--
            (1) In general.--Beginning the first month that begins not 
        less than 10 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
        value of benefits determined under section 8(a) of the Food and 
        Nutrition Act of 2008 and consolidated block grants for Puerto 
        Rico and American Samoa determined under section 19(a) of such 
        Act shall be calculated using 113.6 percent of the June 2019 
        value of the thrifty food plan as specified under section 3(o) 
        of such Act.
            (2) Termination.--
                    (A) The authority provided by this subsection shall 
                terminate after September 30, 2020.
                    (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
                of Agriculture may not reduce the value of the maximum 
                allotments, minimum allotments or consolidated block 
                grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa below the 
                level in effect for fiscal year 2020 as a result of 
                paragraph (1).
    (b) Requirements for the Secretary.--In carrying out this section, 
the Secretary shall--
            (1) consider the benefit increases described in subsection 
        (a) to be a ``mass change'';
            (2) require a simple process for States to notify 
        households of the increase in benefits;
            (3) consider section 16(c)(3)(A) of the Food and Nutrition 
        Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)(3)(A)) to apply to any errors in 
        the implementation of this section, without regard to the 120-
        day limit described in that section;
            (4) disregard the additional amount of benefits that a 
        household receives as a result of this section in determining 
        the amount of over issuances under section 13 of the Food and 
        Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2022); and
            (5) set the tolerance level for excluding small errors for 
        the purposes of section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
        2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) at $50 through September 30, 2020.
    (c) Administrative Expenses.--
            (1) In general.--For the costs of State administrative 
        expenses associated with carrying out this section and 
        administering the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
        established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
        2011 et seq.), the Secretary shall make available $145,000,000 
        in fiscal year 2020 and $150,000,000 in fiscal year 2021, of 
        which $4,500,000 is for necessary expenses of the Food and 
        Nutrition Service for management and oversight of the program 
        and for monitoring the integrity and evaluating the effects of 
        the payments made under this section.
            (2) Timing for fiscal year 2020.--Not later than 60 days 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
        make available to States amounts for fiscal year 2020 under 
        paragraph (1).
            (3) Allocation of funds.--Except as provided for management 
        and oversight, funds described in paragraph (1) shall be made 
        available as grants to State agencies for each fiscal year as 
        follows:
                    (A) Seventy-five percent of the amounts available 
                for each fiscal year shall be allocated to States based 
                on the share of each State of households that 
                participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
                Program as reported to the Department of Agriculture 
                for the most recent 12-month period for which data are 
                available, adjusted by the Secretary (as of the date of 
                enactment) for participation in disaster programs under 
                section 5(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 
                U.S.C. 2014(h)).
                    (B) Twenty-five percent of the amounts available 
                for each fiscal year shall be allocated to States based 
                on the increase in the number of households that 
                participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 
                Program as reported to the Department of Agriculture 
                over the most recent 12-month period for which data are 
                available, adjusted by the Secretary (as of the date of 
                enactment) for participation in disaster programs under 
                section 5(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 
                U.S.C. 2014(h)).
    (d) Funding.--There are appropriated to the Secretary out of funds 
of the Treasury not otherwise appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this section.

SEC. 4. PROVIDING FOR THE TREATMENT OF JOBLESS WORKERS.

    (a) Treatment of Jobless Workers.--
            (1) Remainder of fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 
        2022.--Beginning with the first month that begins not less than 
        10 days after the date of enactment of this Act and for each 
        subsequent month through September 30, 2022, eligibility for 
        Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits shall not be 
        limited under section 6(o)(2) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
        2008.
            (2) Fiscal year 2023 and thereafter.--Beginning on October 
        1, 2022, for the purposes of section 6(o) of the Food and 
        Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)), a State agency shall 
        disregard any period during which an individual received 
        benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
        prior to October 1, 2021.

SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF THE FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM ON INDIAN 
              RESERVATIONS.

    (a) Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.--For the 
costs relating to facility improvements and equipment upgrades 
associated with the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, 
as established under section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
(7 U.S.C. 2013(b)), the Secretary shall make available $5,000,000: 
Provided, That administrative cost-sharing requirements are not 
applicable to funds provided in accordance with this provision.
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