Increasing Access to SNAP Delivery During COVID–19 Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6904 To increase access to food delivery under the supplemental nutrition assistance program to address the Coronavirus Disease 2019, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2020 Mrs. HAYES (for herself, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To increase access to food delivery under the supplemental nutrition assistance program to address the Coronavirus Disease 2019, 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 ‘‘Increasing Access to 4 SNAP Delivery During COVID–19 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FOOD DELIVERY UNDER SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRI- 6 TION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6904 IH (1) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ has the 1 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Fair 2 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 3 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 4 the supplemental nutrition assistance program es- 5 tablished under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 6 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 7 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of Agriculture. 9 (b) PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 11 the Secretary shall— 12 (A) notify authorized program retailers of 13 existing opportunities through which retailers 14 can deliver food to program participants, in- 15 cluding by— 16 (i) allowing an EBT card (as defined 17 in section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act 18 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012)) to be swiped on 19 delivery of food to the home (with a mobile 20 device); and 21 (ii) preparing food for pick-up; 22 (B) authorize public-private partnerships 23 between the Department of Agriculture, author- 24 ized program retailers, and community-based 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6904 IH organizations to support food delivery, including 1 through the use of private funds; 2 (C) in the case of an authorized program 3 retailer that is unable to cover the cost of food 4 delivery for program participants, use funds 5 made available under paragraph (3)(B) to sup- 6 port food delivery for program participants who 7 are seniors, immunocompromised individuals, or 8 other individuals who are unable to travel safely 9 to an authorized program retailer, in accord- 10 ance with paragraph (3)(A); and 11 (D) require each State to submit to the 12 Secretary a State plan that describes how the 13 State will— 14 (i) work with authorized program re- 15 tailers and other community-based part- 16 ners to establish a process for food delivery 17 for program participants; 18 (ii) administer the reimbursements de- 19 scribed in paragraph (3)(A)(i), including 20 timing, eligibility, and distribution proc- 21 esses; and 22 (iii) ensure that authorized program 23 retailers that are reimbursed for delivery 24 costs under paragraph (3)(A)(i) adhere to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6904 IH the requirements described in paragraph 1 (3)(A)(ii). 2 (2) STATE PLANS.—Not later than 10 days 3 after the date on which the Secretary receives a 4 State plan under paragraph (1)(D), the Secretary 5 shall— 6 (A) approve or deny the State plan; and 7 (B) make publicly available on the website 8 of the Department of Agriculture— 9 (i) the State plan; 10 (ii) the determination made under 11 subparagraph (A) with respect to that 12 plan; and 13 (iii) any guidance issued to the State 14 with respect to that plan. 15 (3) FOOD DELIVERY.— 16 (A) REIMBURSEMENT OF RETAILERS.— 17 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 18 any other provision of law, a State agency 19 shall reimburse an authorized program re- 20 tailer described in paragraph (1)(C) for the 21 cost of food delivery to program partici- 22 pants described in that paragraph if— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6904 IH (I) the authorized program re- 1 tailer is eligible for reimbursement 2 under clause (ii); and 3 (II) the majority of the food 4 items delivered by the retailer are eli- 5 gible for redemption using benefits 6 under the program. 7 (ii) ELIGIBILITY.—An authorized pro- 8 gram retailer described in paragraph 9 (1)(C) is eligible for reimbursement for the 10 cost of food delivery to program partici- 11 pants described in that paragraph if— 12 (I) that food delivery is per- 13 formed by employees of the retailer or 14 employees of an entity contracted by 15 the retailer to perform deliveries; 16 (II) before any employee de- 17 scribed in subclause (I) begins making 18 that food delivery, that employee re- 19 ceives employer-provided health and 20 safety training that reflects the most 21 recent guidelines of the Centers for 22 Disease Control and Prevention and 23 the Occupational Safety and Health 24 Administration relating to worker 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6904 IH safety and health during the 1 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID– 2 19) pandemic; 3 (III) the retailer remains neutral 4 in any union organizing effort that oc- 5 curs during the period in which deliv- 6 eries described in paragraph (1)(C) 7 are made; and 8 (IV) all employees described in 9 subclause (I) performing deliveries are 10 paid at a rate that is not less than the 11 greater of— 12 (aa) the minimum wage rate 13 established under section 6(a)(1) 14 of the Fair Labor Standards Act 15 of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)); 16 and 17 (bb) the minimum wage rate 18 established by the applicable 19 State or locality in which the em- 20 ployee works. 21 (iii) COVERED COSTS.— 22 (I) IN GENERAL.—Reimbursable 23 costs under clause (i) include costs as- 24 sociated with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6904 IH (aa) purchasing point-of-sale 1 devices or receiving technical as- 2 sistance relating to point-of-sale 3 devices; and 4 (bb) purchasing or reimburs- 5 ing employees for personal pro- 6 tective equipment used during 7 food delivery. 8 (II) PPE COSTS.—An authorized 9 program retailer shall use not more 10 than 10 percent of amounts received 11 under clause (i) to pay for the costs 12 described in subclause (I)(bb). 13 (iv) MAXIMUM REIMBURSEMENT PER 14 DELIVERY.—The maximum amount of re- 15 imbursement under clause (i) for a food 16 delivery fee shall be $10 per delivery. 17 (B) FUNDING.— 18 (i) IN GENERAL.—There is appro- 19 priated to the Secretary, out of funds of 20 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 21 $500,000,000 to cover the cost of food de- 22 livery described in paragraph (1)(C), to be 23 distributed among the States to fund reim- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6904 IH bursements by States under subparagraph 1 (A)(i). 2 (ii) EMERGENCY REQUIREMENT.—The 3 amount made available under clause (i) is 4 designated by the Congress as being for an 5 emergency requirement pursuant to section 6 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget 7 and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 8 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A)(i)). 9 (iii) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- 10 TIONS.—In addition to the amount appro- 11 priated under clause (i), there are author- 12 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary 13 such sums as are necessary to cover the 14 cost of food delivery under paragraph 15 (1)(C). 16 (4) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authority of the 18 Secretary to carry out paragraphs (1) through 19 (3) with respect to each State shall terminate 20 on the later of— 21 (i) the date on which the national 22 emergency declared by the President under 23 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 24 1601 et seq.) with respect to the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6904 IH Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) is 1 terminated; and 2 (ii) the date on which the State emer- 3 gency declared in that State with respect 4 to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID– 5 19) is terminated. 6 (B) RETURN OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 7 shall return to the Treasury any funds appro- 8 priated under paragraph (3)(B)(i) that have not 9 been used or obligated by the date described in 10 subparagraph (A). 11 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 3 months after 12 the date on which the authority of the Secretary is 13 terminated under paragraph (4), the Secretary shall 14 submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 15 and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 16 Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report 17 that describes— 18 (A) the use of that authority to address 19 food security needs of affected populations dur- 20 ing the national emergency described in sub- 21 paragraph (A)(i) of that paragraph; 22 (B) the authorized program retailers that 23 were reimbursed under paragraph (3)(A); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6904 IH (C) any complications or difficulties experi- 1 enced by States in administering reimburse- 2 ments under paragraph (3)(A); and 3 (D) recommendations for changes to the 4 authority of the Secretary under the Food and 5 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) 6 to assist the Secretary, States, and units of 7 local government to prepare plans for food de- 8 livery to program recipients in future health 9 emergencies. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:32 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6904.IH H6904 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS