Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2192 To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require that supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits be calculated using the value of the low-cost food plan, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 23, 2021 Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. PADILLA, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require that supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits be calculated using the value of the low-cost food plan, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Closing the Meal Gap 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2192 IS SEC. 2. CALCULATION OF PROGRAM BENEFITS USING LOW- 1 COST FOOD PLAN. 2 (a) DEFINITION OF LOW-COST FOOD PLAN.—Sec- 3 tion 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 4 2012) is amended— 5 (1) by striking subsection (u); 6 (2) by redesignating subsections (n) through (t) 7 as subsections (o) through (u), respectively; and 8 (3) by inserting after subsection (m) the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(n) LOW-COST FOOD PLAN.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘low-cost food 12 plan’ means the diet, determined in accordance with 13 the calculations of the Secretary, required to feed a 14 4-person family that consists of— 15 ‘‘(A) a man and a woman who are each be- 16 tween 19 and 50 years of age; 17 ‘‘(B) a child who is between 6 and 8 years 18 of age; and 19 ‘‘(C) a child who is between 9 and 11 20 years of age. 21 ‘‘(2) REEVALUATION.—By December 31, 2027, 22 and at 5-year intervals thereafter, the Secretary 23 shall reevaluate and publish the market baskets of 24 the low-cost food plan, based on current food prices, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2192 IS food composition data, consumption patterns, and 1 dietary guidance. 2 ‘‘(3) COST.—For purposes of paragraph (1), 3 the cost of the diet described in that paragraph shall 4 be the basis for uniform allotments for all house- 5 holds regardless of the actual composition of the 6 household, except that the Secretary shall— 7 ‘‘(A) make household-size adjustments 8 (based on the unrounded cost of that diet) tak- 9 ing into account economies of scale; 10 ‘‘(B) make cost adjustments in the low- 11 cost food plan for the State of Hawaii and the 12 urban and rural parts of the State of Alaska to 13 reflect the cost of food in Hawaii and urban 14 and rural Alaska, respectively; 15 ‘‘(C) make cost adjustments in the sepa- 16 rate low-cost food plans for Guam, the Com- 17 monwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, 18 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 19 lands, and the United States Virgin Islands, to 20 reflect the cost of food in those territories, but 21 not to exceed the cost of food in the 50 States 22 and the District of Columbia; and 23 ‘‘(D) on October 1, 2021, and each Octo- 24 ber 1 thereafter, adjust the cost of the diet to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2192 IS reflect the cost of the diet in the immediately 1 preceding June, and round the result to the 2 nearest lower-dollar increment for each house- 3 hold size.’’. 4 (b) VALUE OF ALLOTMENT.—Section 8(a) of the 5 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2017(a)) is 6 amended— 7 (1) by striking ‘‘thrifty food plan’’ each place it 8 appears and inserting ‘‘low-cost food plan’’; and 9 (2) in the proviso, by striking ‘‘8 percent’’ and 10 inserting ‘‘10 percent’’. 11 (c) QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM.—Section 12 16(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 13 U.S.C. 2025(c)(1)(A)(ii)) is amended— 14 (1) in subclause (II)— 15 (A) by striking ‘‘thrifty food plan is ad- 16 justed under section 3(u)(4)’’ and inserting 17 ‘‘low-cost food plan is adjusted under section 18 3(n)(3)(D)’’; and 19 (B) by striking ‘‘2013’’ and inserting 20 ‘‘2022’’; 21 (2) by redesignating subclause (II) as subclause 22 (III); and 23 (3) by striking subclause (I) and inserting the 24 following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2192 IS ‘‘(I) for fiscal year 2021, at an 1 amount not greater than $50; 2 ‘‘(II) for fiscal year 2022, the 3 amount specified in subclause (I) ad- 4 justed by the difference between the 5 thrifty food plan (as defined in section 6 3 (as in effect on the day before the 7 date of enactment of the Closing the 8 Meal Gap Act of 2021)) and the low- 9 cost food plan; and’’. 10 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 11 (1) Section 10 of the Food and Nutrition Act 12 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2019) is amended, in the first 13 sentence, by striking ‘‘3(o)(4)’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘3(p)(4)’’. 15 (2) Section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act 16 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2020) is amended— 17 (A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking 18 ‘‘3(s)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(t)(1)’’; 19 (B) in subsection (d)— 20 (i) by striking ‘‘3(s)(1)’’ each place it 21 appears and inserting ‘‘3(t)(1)’’; 22 (ii) by striking ‘‘3(s)(2)’’ each place it 23 appears and inserting ‘‘3(t)(2)’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2192 IS (iii) by striking ‘‘Act (25 U.S.C. 1 450)’’ and inserting ‘‘and Education As- 2 sistance Act (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)’’; 3 and 4 (C) in subsection (e)(17), by striking 5 ‘‘3(s)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(t)(1)’’. 6 (3) Section 19(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Food and Nu- 7 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2028(a)(2)(A)(ii)) is 8 amended by striking ‘‘thrifty food plan has been ad- 9 justed under section 3(u)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘low- 10 cost food plan has been adjusted under section 11 3(n)(3)(D)’’. 12 (4) Section 27(a)(2) of the Food and Nutrition 13 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2036(a)(2)) is amended— 14 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 15 (i) by striking ‘‘through 2023’’ and 16 inserting ‘‘through 2020’’; and 17 (ii) by inserting ‘‘(as in effect on the 18 day before the date of enactment of the 19 Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2021)’’ after 20 ‘‘section 3(u)(4)’’; 21 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 22 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 23 by striking ‘‘through 2023’’ and inserting 24 ‘‘through 2020’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2192 IS (ii) in clause (v), by adding ‘‘and’’ 1 after the semicolon; and 2 (iii) by striking clauses (vii) through 3 (ix); 4 (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘sub- 5 paragraph (D)(ix) adjusted by the percentage 6 by which the thrifty food plan has been ad- 7 justed under section 3(u)(4)’’ and inserting 8 ‘‘subparagraph (F) adjusted by the percentage 9 by which the low-cost food plan has been ad- 10 justed under section 3(n)(3)(D)’’; 11 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 12 subparagraph (G); and 13 (E) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 14 the following: 15 ‘‘(E) for fiscal year 2021, the sum ob- 16 tained by adding— 17 ‘‘(i) the dollar amount of commodities 18 specified in subparagraph (B) adjusted by 19 the difference between the thrifty food plan 20 (as defined in section 3 (as in effect on the 21 day before the date of enactment of the 22 Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2021)) and 23 the low-cost food plan; and 24 ‘‘(ii) $35,000,000; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2192 IS ‘‘(F) for each of fiscal years 2022 and 1 2023, the sum obtained by adding— 2 ‘‘(i) the dollar amount of commodities 3 specified in subparagraph (B) adjusted by 4 the percentage by which the low-cost food 5 plan has been adjusted under section 6 3(u)(4) between June 30, 2021, and June 7 30 of the immediately preceding fiscal 8 year; and 9 ‘‘(ii) $35,000,000; and’’. 10 (5) Section 408(a)(12)(B)(i) of the Social Secu- 11 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)(12)(B)(i)) is amended by 12 striking ‘‘(r)’’ each place it appears. 13 SEC. 3. DEDUCTIONS FROM INCOME. 14 (a) STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DEDUCTION.— 15 Section 5(e)(5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 16 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5)) is amended— 17 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘EX- 18 CESS MEDICAL’’ and inserting ‘‘MEDICAL’’; 19 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an excess 20 medical’’ and all that follows through the period at 21 the end and inserting ‘‘a standard medical deduction 22 or a medical expense deduction of actual costs for 23 the allowable medical expenses incurred by the elder- 24 ly or disabled member, exclusive of special diets.’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2192 IS (3) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ‘‘ex- 1 cess’’; and 2 (4) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(D) STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DE- 4 DUCTION AMOUNT.— 5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 6 vided in clause (ii), the standard medical 7 expense deduction shall be— 8 ‘‘(I) for fiscal year 2021, $140; 9 and 10 ‘‘(II) for each subsequent fiscal 11 year, equal to the applicable amount 12 for the immediately preceding fiscal 13 year as adjusted to reflect changes for 14 the 12-month period ending the pre- 15 ceding June 30 in the Consumer Price 16 Index for All Urban Consumers: Med- 17 ical Care published by the Bureau of 18 Labor Statistics of the Department of 19 Labor. 20 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—For any fiscal 21 year, a State agency may establish a great- 22 er standard medical expense deduction 23 than described in clause (i) if the greater 24 deduction satisfies cost neutrality stand- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2192 IS ards established by the Secretary for that 1 fiscal year.’’. 2 (b) ELIMINATION OF CAP OF EXCESS SHELTER EX- 3 PENSES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 5(e)(6) of the Food 5 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(6)) is 6 amended— 7 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); and 8 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 9 and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec- 10 tively. 11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 12 2605(f)(2)(A) of the Low-Income Home Energy As- 13 sistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624(f)(2)(A)) is 14 amended by striking ‘‘5(e)(6)(C)(iv)(I) of that Act 15 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(6)(C)(iv)(I))’’ and inserting 16 ‘‘5(e)(6)(B)(iv)(I) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 17 2014(e)(6)(B)(iv)(I))’’. 18 SEC. 4. ELIMINATION OF TIME LIMIT. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Food and Nutri- 20 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended— 21 (1) by striking subsection (o); and 22 (2) by redesignating subsections (p) through (s) 23 as subsections (o) through (r), respectively. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2192 IS (b) ADDITIONAL ALLOCATIONS FOR STATES THAT 1 ENSURE AVAILABILITY OF WORK OPPORTUNITIES.—Sec- 2 tion 16(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 3 U.S.C. 2025(h)) is amended— 4 (1) in paragraph (1)— 5 (A) in subparagraph (C)(iv)(I)— 6 (i) by striking ‘‘(F)(viii)’’ each place it 7 appears and inserting ‘‘(E)(viii)’’; 8 (ii) by striking ‘‘(F)(vii)(I)’’ each 9 place it appears and inserting 10 ‘‘(E)(vii)(I)’’; 11 (iii) in item (bb)(BB), by striking 12 ‘‘(F)(vii)(II)’’ and inserting ‘‘(E)(vii)(II)’’; 13 and 14 (iv) in item (cc), by striking ‘‘(F)(vii)’’ 15 and inserting ‘‘(E)(vii)’’; 16 (B) by striking subparagraph (E); and 17 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 18 subparagraph (E); 19 (2) in paragraphs (3) and (4), by striking 20 ‘‘(1)(F)’’ each place it appears and inserting 21 ‘‘(1)(E)’’; and 22 (3) in paragraph (5)(C)— 23 (A) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 24 end; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2192 IS (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 1 inserting a period; and 2 (C) by striking clause (iv). 3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 4 (1) Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 5 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 6 (A) in subsection (a), in the second sen- 7 tence, by striking ‘‘(r)’’ and inserting ‘‘(q)’’; 8 and 9 (B) in subsection (g)(3), in the first sen- 10 tence, by striking ‘‘16(h)(1)(F)’’ and inserting 11 ‘‘16(h)(1)(E)’’. 12 (2) Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and Nutrition 13 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)) is amended— 14 (A) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I)(bb)(DD), 15 by striking ‘‘or subsection (o)’’; and 16 (B) in subparagraph (N), by striking ‘‘or 17 subsection (o)’’ each place it appears. 18 (3) Section 7(i)(1) of the Food and Nutrition 19 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016(i)(1)) is amended by 20 striking ‘‘section 6(o)(2) of this Act or’’. 21 (4) Section 16(h)(1) of the Food and Nutrition 22 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)) is amended— 23 (A) in subparagraph (B), in the matter 24 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘that—’’ and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:54 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2192.IS S2192 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2192 IS all that follows through the period at the end 1 of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘that is determined 2 and adjusted by the Secretary.’’; and 3 (B) in clause (ii)(III)(ee)(AA) of subpara- 4 graph (E) (as redesignated by subsection 5 (b)(1)(C)), by striking ‘‘, individuals subject to 6 the requirements under section 6(o),’’. 7 (5) Section 51(d)(8)(A)(ii) of the Internal Rev- 8 enue Code of 1986 is amended— 9 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, or’’ at 10 the end and inserting a period; 11 (B) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 12 by striking ‘‘family—’’ and all that follows 13 through ‘‘receiving’’ in subclause (I) and insert- 14 ing ‘‘family receiving’’; and 15 (C) by striking subclause (II). 16 (6) Section 103(a)(2) of the Workforce Innova- 17 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3113) is 18 amended— 19 (A) by striking subparagraph (D); and 20 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs [Text truncated for display. 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