Senior Hunger Prevention Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1036 To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to streamline nutrition access for older adults and adults with disabilities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 29, 2023 Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. KELLY, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to streamline nutrition access for older adults and adults with disabil- ities, 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 ‘‘Senior Hunger Preven- 4 tion Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. IMPROVING EFFICACY OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL NU- 6 TRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 7 (a) CERTIFICATION PERIOD.—Section 3(f) of the 8 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(f)) is 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1036 IS amended in the second sentence by striking ‘‘24’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘36’’. 2 (b) STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DEDUCTION.— 3 Section 5(e)(5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 4 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5)) is amended— 5 (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘EX- 6 CESS MEDICAL’’ and inserting ‘‘MEDICAL’’; 7 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an excess 8 medical’’ and all that follows through the period at 9 the end and inserting ‘‘a standard medical deduction 10 or a medical expense deduction of actual costs for 11 the allowable medical expenses incurred by the elder- 12 ly or disabled member, exclusive of special diets.’’; 13 (3) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ‘‘ex- 14 cess’’; and 15 (4) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(D) STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DE- 17 DUCTION AMOUNT.— 18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 19 vided in clause (ii), the standard medical 20 expense deduction shall be— 21 ‘‘(I) for fiscal year 2024, $155; 22 and 23 ‘‘(II) for each subsequent fiscal 24 year, equal to the applicable amount 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1036 IS for the immediately preceding fiscal 1 year as adjusted to reflect changes for 2 the 12-month period ending the pre- 3 ceding June 30 in the Consumer Price 4 Index for All Urban Consumers: Med- 5 ical Care published by the Bureau of 6 Labor Statistics of the Department of 7 Labor. 8 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—For any fiscal 9 year, a State agency may establish a great- 10 er standard medical expense deduction 11 than described in clause (i) if the greater 12 deduction satisfies cost neutrality stand- 13 ards established by the Secretary for that 14 fiscal year.’’. 15 (c) VALUE OF ALLOTMENT.—Section 8(a) of the 16 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2017(a)) is 17 amended in the proviso clause by striking ‘‘8 percent’’ and 18 inserting ‘‘1⁄3’’. 19 SEC. 3. STREAMLINING NUTRITION ACCESS FOR OLDER 20 ADULTS AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES. 21 (a) DEFINITION OF ELDERLY AND DISABLED.—Sec- 22 tion 3(j)(2)(B) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 23 (7 U.S.C. 2012(j)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(which 24 includes medical assistance provided to an individual de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1036 IS scribed in section 1902(e)(14)(D)(i)(III) of the Social Se- 1 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(e)(14)(D)(i)(III)))’’ after 2 ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.)’’. 3 (b) ELDERLY SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION PRO- 4 GRAM.—The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5 2011 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘SEC. 31. ELDERLY SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION PROGRAM. 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 9 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 10 establish a program, to be known as the ‘elderly simplified 11 application program’ (referred to in this section as 12 ‘ESAP’), under which a State, in carrying out the supple- 13 mental nutrition assistance program, may elect to imple- 14 ment a streamlined application and certification process 15 for households in which all adult members— 16 ‘‘(1) are elderly or disabled members; and 17 ‘‘(2) have no earned income. 18 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION PERIOD.—The certification pe- 19 riod for participants in ESAP shall be 36 months. 20 ‘‘(c) INCOME AND OTHER DATA VERIFICATION.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State agency deter- 22 mining the eligibility for an applicant household 23 under ESAP shall, notwithstanding section 24 11(e)(3)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1036 IS ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable, 1 use data matching for income verification and 2 household size; and 3 ‘‘(B)(i) allow self-declaration by the appli- 4 cant of the information required under section 5 273.2(f) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 6 (or successor regulations); but 7 ‘‘(ii) verify, prior to certification of the 8 household, factors of eligibility provided by the 9 applicant that the State agency determines are 10 questionable. 11 ‘‘(2) ACCOUNTABILITY AND FRAUD PREVEN- 12 TION.—In carrying out paragraph (1), a State agen- 13 cy shall establish accountability and fraud protection 14 measures to deter fraud and ensure the integrity of 15 ESAP and the supplemental nutrition assistance 16 program. 17 ‘‘(d) INTERVIEWS.—Notwithstanding section 18 11(e)(6)(A), for recertification of a household under 19 ESAP, the State agency shall not require an interview un- 20 less requested by the household, which may be conducted 21 virtually. 22 ‘‘(e) GUIDANCE.—Prior to the establishment of 23 ESAP under subsection (a), the Administrator of the 24 Food and Nutrition Service shall develop guidance for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1036 IS States, including by consulting with States, to carry out 1 ESAP, which shall include— 2 ‘‘(1) general implementation guidelines; 3 ‘‘(2) reporting requirements; 4 ‘‘(3) quality control requirements; and 5 ‘‘(4) best practices.’’. 6 (c) COMBINED APPLICATION PROGRAM.—The Food 7 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) (as 8 amended by subsection (b)) is amended by adding at the 9 end the following: 10 ‘‘SEC. 32. COMBINED APPLICATION PROGRAM. 11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 12 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, in 13 coordination with the Commissioner of Social Security, 14 shall establish a program, to be known as the ‘combined 15 application program’ (referred to in this section as ‘CAP’), 16 under which a State, in carrying out the supplemental nu- 17 trition assistance program, may elect to implement a 18 streamlined application process for households in which all 19 adult members are applicants for or recipients of benefits 20 under title II of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 21 et seq.) on the basis of a disability or supplemental secu- 22 rity income under title XVI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 23 et seq.). 24 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of CAP are— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1036 IS ‘‘(1) to reduce the need for households de- 1 scribed in subsection (a) to have in-person interviews 2 with State offices administering the supplemental 3 nutrition assistance program; and 4 ‘‘(2) to increase participation in the supple- 5 mental nutrition assistance program by simplifying 6 the application process for that program through in- 7 creased automation and simplified calculation of 8 benefits. 9 ‘‘(c) CAP MODELS.—The Secretary, in coordination 10 with the Commissioner of the Social Security Administra- 11 tion, shall offer, at a minimum, each of the following mod- 12 els for States to implement CAP: 13 ‘‘(1) STANDARD MODEL.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Under the standard 15 model, the Commissioner of the Social Security 16 Administration and the State agency admin- 17 istering the supplemental nutrition assistance 18 program shall coordinate— 19 ‘‘(i) to develop a simplified joint appli- 20 cation process for the supplemental nutri- 21 tion assistance program that uses stand- 22 ardized benefit amounts or standardized 23 shelter expenses, in accordance with this 24 paragraph; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1036 IS ‘‘(ii) to conduct outreach to adult 1 members receiving supplemental security 2 income under title XVI of the Social Secu- 3 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) that are 4 not receiving benefits under the supple- 5 mental nutrition assistance program. 6 ‘‘(B) STANDARDIZED BENEFIT 7 AMOUNTS.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under the stand- 9 ardized model described in subparagraph 10 (A), applicants shall receive a standardized 11 or automated benefit level under the sup- 12 plemental nutrition assistance program 13 based on their shelter expenses and other 14 income. 15 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM STANDARDIZED BEN- 16 EFIT LEVELS.—At a minimum, there shall 17 be 2 standardized benefit levels under 18 clause (i), including, as determined by the 19 State— 20 ‘‘(I) a level for participants with 21 low shelter expenses; and 22 ‘‘(II) a level for participants with 23 high shelter expenses. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1036 IS ‘‘(iii) COMPARABLE AMOUNT.—A 1 State shall ensure that the amount pro- 2 vided under a standardized benefit level 3 under clause (i) is comparable to an 4 amount that a participant would otherwise 5 receive under the supplemental nutrition 6 assistance program. 7 ‘‘(iv) REFERRAL.—A State shall refer 8 a household described in subsection (a) to 9 the supplemental nutrition assistance pro- 10 gram instead of enrolling that household in 11 CAP if the standardized amount that the 12 household would receive under CAP would 13 be significantly less than the amount of 14 benefits that the household would receive 15 under the supplemental nutrition assist- 16 ance program. 17 ‘‘(C) STANDARDIZED SHELTER EX- 18 PENSES.—In computing an excess shelter ex- 19 pense deduction under section 5(e)(6), a State 20 agency may use a standard utility allowance in 21 accordance with regulations promulgated by the 22 Secretary. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1036 IS ‘‘(2) MODIFIED MODEL.—Under the modified 1 model, a State agency administering the supple- 2 mental nutrition assistance program shall— 3 ‘‘(A) conduct outreach to prospective par- 4 ticipants in the supplemental nutrition assist- 5 ance program using information from the Social 6 Security Administration to identify households 7 described in subsection (a) that are not partici- 8 pants in the supplemental nutrition assistance 9 program; and 10 ‘‘(B) send to those households simplified 11 application forms for the supplemental nutrition 12 assistance program.’’. 13 SEC. 4. ENROLLMENT AND OUTREACH PILOT PROGRAM 14 FOR OLDER ADULTS, KINSHIP FAMILIES, AND 15 ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES. 16 The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 17 et seq.) (as amended by section 3(c)) is amended by add- 18 ing at the end the following: 19 ‘‘SEC. 33. ENROLLMENT AND OUTREACH PILOT PROGRAM 20 FOR OLDER ADULTS, KINSHIP FAMILIES, AND 21 ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES. 22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 ‘‘(1) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 24 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1036 IS cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 1 12102). 2 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en- 3 tity’ means— 4 ‘‘(A) a State or local government agency; 5 ‘‘(B) an Indian tribe or tribal organization; 6 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit organization, including a 7 public or nonprofit provider of services; 8 ‘‘(D) a community-based organization; and 9 ‘‘(E) an educational provider. 10 ‘‘(3) KINSHIP FAMILY.—The term ‘kinship fam- 11 ily’ means a family in which a child resides with and 12 is being raised by a grandparent, another extended 13 family member, or an adult with whom the child has 14 a close family-like relationship, such as a godparent 15 or a close family friend. 16 ‘‘(4) OLDER ADULT.—The term ‘older adult’ 17 has the meaning given the term ‘older individual’ in 18 section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 19 U.S.C. 3002). 20 ‘‘(5) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot pro- 21 gram’ means the pilot program established under 22 subsection (b). 23 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 24 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1036 IS shall establish a pilot program, to be known as the ‘Enroll- 1 ment and Outreach Pilot Program for Older Adults, Kin- 2 ship Families, and Adults with Disabilities’, under which 3 the Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities— 4 ‘‘(1) to raise awareness among older adults, 5 kinship families, and adults with disabilities of the 6 availability, eligibility requirements, application pro- 7 cedures, and benefits of the supplemental nutrition 8 assistance program; and 9 ‘‘(2) to support older adults, kinship families, 10 and adults with disabilities in enrolling in that pro- 11 gram. 12 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under the pilot 13 program, the Secretary shall give priority to— 14 ‘‘(1) eligible entities that— 15 ‘‘(A) provide services to older adults or 16 adults with disabilities; 17 ‘‘(B) provide services to kinship families, 18 including kinship navigator programs; 19 ‘‘(C) have experience implementing pro- 20 grams that receive funding under the Older 21 Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et 22 seq.); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Apr 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1036.IS S1036 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PR [Text truncated for display. 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