Title: Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act of 2022
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act of 2022
This bill sets out a process to enable Puerto Rico to participate as a state in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under current law, a state receives SNAP funding based on the number of participating households in the state whereas Puerto Rico receives a block grant to fund its nutrition assistance program.
The bill requires Puerto Rico to submit to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) a plan of operation to transition away from the consolidated block grant program to SNAP. USDA must provide appropriate training and technical assistance to enable Puerto Rico to formulate such plan.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8495 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8495

     To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to transition the 
 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the supplemental nutrition assistance 
                    program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2022

    Miss Gonzalez-Colon (for herself, Mrs. Radewagen, Mr. Soto, Ms. 
 Houlahan, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following bill; which was 
                referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to transition the 
 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to 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 ``Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance 
Fairness Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2008.

    (a) Definitions.--Section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 
(7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (r) by inserting ``Puerto Rico,'' after 
        ``Guam,'', and
            (2) in subsection (u)(2) by inserting ``, Puerto Rico,'' 
        after ``Hawaii''.
    (b) Eligible Households.--Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act 
of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b) by inserting ``Puerto Rico,'' after 
        ``Guam,'',
            (2) in subsection (c)(1) by striking ``and Guam'' and 
        inserting ``Guam, and Puerto Rico'', and
            (3) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting ``Puerto 
                Rico,'' after ``Hawaii,'' each place it appears, and
                    (B) in paragraph (6)(B) by inserting ``Puerto 
                Rico,'' after ``Guam,''.

SEC. 3. SUBMISSION OF PLAN OF OPERATION; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; 
              DETERMINATION AND CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY OF 
              AGRICULTURE.

    (a) Submission of Plan of Operation.--On designating an agency of 
the kind described in section 3(s)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(s)(1)), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall have 
60 days to submit to the Secretary of Agriculture (in this Act referred 
to as the ``Secretary'') its plan of operation, including a plan to 
transition to the supplemental nutrition assistance program under 
section 4(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 5(a)) as a request to participate in 
the supplemental nutrition assistance program under of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
    (b) Technical Assistance.--Within the 60-day period specified in 
subsection (a) and upon request from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
the Secretary shall provide appropriate training and technical 
assistance to enable the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to formulate a 
plan of operation described in subsection (a).
    (c) Determination by the Secretary of Agriculture.--Not later than 
180 days after receiving a plan of operation described in subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall approve if such plan satisfies the 
requirements for a supplemental nutrition assistance program State plan 
in accordance with subsections (d) and (e) of section 11 of the Food 
and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020). If the Secretary does not 
approve such plan, the Secretary shall provide, not later than 30 days 
after disapproval, a statement that specifies each of the requirements 
that were not satisfied by such plan.
    (d) Certification by the Secretary of Agriculture.--If the 
Secretary approves the plan submitted by the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress, 
not later than 60 days thereafter, a certification that the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico qualifies to participate in the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program as a State as defined in 
section 3(r) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(r)).

SEC. 4. TRANSITION FROM THE CONSOLIDATED BLOCK GRANT FOR PUERTO RICO.

    (a) Covered Period.--The Secretary may continue to implement the 
then most recent approved consolidated block grant specified in section 
19(b)(1)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2028(b)(1)(A)) for a period ending no later than 5 years after the 
effective date of the amendments made by this Act, or on the date the 
Secretary determines that the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico no longer 
needs to operate the consolidated block grant to complete the 
transition described in section 3(a), whichever occurs first.
    (b) Report.--For each year a plan is continued under subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall submit to the Congress an annual report on the 
operation of such plan. The Secretary shall include in such report 
information related to increases in funding that are required to 
accommodate the transition of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from the 
receipt of block grant payments to the implementation of supplemental 
nutrition assistance program.

SEC. 5. CONSOLIDATED BLOCK GRANT FOR PUERTO RICO AND AMERICAN SAMOA.

    Section 19 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2028) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A) by inserting ``until the 
                Secretary terminates the implementation of the plan 
                under section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition 
                Assistance Fairness Act of 2022,'' after ``(A)'',
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) in clause (i) by striking 
                                ``and'' at the end, and
                                    (II) in clause (ii)--
                                            (aa) by inserting ``, and 
                                        ending on the date he Secretary 
                                        terminates the implementation 
                                        of the plan under section 4(a) 
                                        of the Puerto Rico Nutrition 
                                        Assistance Fairness Act of 
                                        2022'' after ``thereafter'',
                                            (bb) by striking the period 
                                        at the end and inserting ``; 
                                        and'', and
                                            (cc) by adding at the end 
                                        the following:
                            ``(iii) subject to the availability of 
                        appropriations under section 18(a), for each 
                        fiscal year beginning after the Secretary 
                        terminates the implementation of the plan under 
                        section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition 
                        Assistance Fairness Act of 2022, 0.4 percent of 
                        the aggregate amount specified in clause (i) 
                        and adjusted under clause (ii), as further 
                        adjusted by the percentage by which the thrifty 
                        food plan has been adjusted under section 
                        3(u)(4) between June 30 of the penultimate 
                        fiscal year preceding such effective date and 
                        June 30 of the fiscal year for which the 
                        adjustment is made under this clause.'',
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i) by inserting 
                        ``ending on the date the Secretary terminates 
                        the implementation of the plan under section 
                        4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance 
                        Fairness Act of 2022'' after ``thereafter'', 
                        and
                            (iii) in subparagraph (C)--
                                    (I) by striking ``For'' and 
                                inserting the following:
                            `` (i) For.--'',
                                    (II) by inserting ``ending on the 
                                date the Secretary terminates the 
                                implementation of the plan under 
                                section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico 
                                Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act of 
                                2022'' after ``thereafter'', and
                                    (III) by adding at the end, the 
                                following:
                            ``(ii) For each fiscal year beginning after 
                        the Secretary terminates the implementation of 
                        the plan under section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico 
                        Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act of 2022, the 
                        Secretary shall use 100 percent of the funds 
                        made available under subparagraph (A) for 
                        payment to American Samoa to pay 100 percent of 
                        the expenditures by American Samoa for a 
                        nutrition assistance program extended under 
                        section 601(c) of Public Law 96-597 (48 U.S.C. 
                        1469d(c)).'', and
                    (C) in paragraph (3) by striking ``year,'' and 
                inserting ``year ending on the date the Secretary 
                terminates the implementation of the plan under section 
                4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness 
                Act of 2022, and'' after ``year'', and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A) by inserting ``and ending on 
        the date the Secretary terminates the implementation of the 
        plan under section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance 
        Fairness Act of 2022'' after ``year'' the first place it 
        appears.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary until the Secretary terminates the 
implementation of the plan described on section 4(a) of the Puerto Rico 
Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act of 2022.

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act 
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Effective Date of Amendments.--The amendments made by this Act 
shall take effect on October 1 of the 1st fiscal year that begins 1 
year after the Secretary submits to Congress the certification 
described in section 3(d) of this Act.
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