Emergency SNAP Flexibilities Extension Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7794 To extend existing supplemental nutrition assistance program flexibilities for States during the COVID-19 pandemic. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 27, 2020 Ms. FUDGE (for herself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. ADAMS, and Ms. SCHRIER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To extend existing supplemental nutrition assistance program flexibilities for States during the COVID-19 pandemic. 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 ‘‘Emergency SNAP 4 Flexibilities Extension Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF EXISTING SNAP FLEXIBILITIES FOR 6 COVID-19. 7 (a) STATE OPTIONS.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7794.IH H7794 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7794 IH (1) A State agency (as defined in section 3(s) 1 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2 2012(s))) shall have the option— 3 (A) to extend certification periods under 4 section 3(f) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 5 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(f)) for not more than 6 6 months and adjust periodic report requirements 7 under section 6(c)(1)(D)(i) of the Food and 8 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 9 2015(c)(1)(D)(i)) for some or all participating 10 households with certification periods set to ex- 11 pire or periodic reports due on or before June 12 30, 2021, consistent with the extensions and 13 adjustments provided in the Food and Nutrition 14 Service’s April 22, 2020, blanket approval for 15 extending certification and adjusting periodic 16 reports, unless otherwise provided in this para- 17 graph; 18 (B) to allow household reporting require- 19 ments under section 273.12(a)(5)(iii) of title 7 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations to satisfy 21 the recertification requirements under section 22 273.14 of title 7 of the Code of Federal Regula- 23 tions for some or all participating households 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7794.IH H7794 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7794 IH with recertification periods set to expire on or 1 before December 31, 2021; and 2 (C) to adjust the interview requirements 3 under sections 273.2 and 273.14(b) of title 7 of 4 the Code of Federal Regulations for some or all 5 household applications or recertifications 6 through June 30, 2021, consistent with the ad- 7 justments provided in the Food and Nutrition 8 Service’s March 26, 2020, blanket approval for 9 adjusting interview requirements, unless other- 10 wise provided in this paragraph. 11 (2) Not later than 5 days after exercising an 12 option under paragraph (1), a State agency shall no- 13 tify the Secretary of Agriculture in writing of the 14 option exercised, the categories of households af- 15 fected by the option, and the duration of such op- 16 tion. 17 (b) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 18 shall allow a State agency to suspend the requirements 19 under sections 275.11(b)(1) and (2), 275.12, and 275.13 20 of title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations from June 21 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, consistent with the waiv- 22 ers provided in the Food and Nutrition Service’s April 30, 23 2020, blanket approval for waiver of quality control re- 24 views, unless otherwise provided in this subsection. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7794.IH H7794 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7794 IH (c) REPORT.—Section 2302 of the Families First 1 Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116–127; 7 U.S.C. 2 2011 note) is amended by striking subsection (c) and in- 3 serting the following: 4 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2022, the 5 Secretary of Agriculture shall submit, to the Committee 6 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 7 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 8 Senate, a report containing the following information: 9 ‘‘(1) A description of any information or data 10 supporting State agency requests under this section 11 and any additional measures that State agencies re- 12 quested that were not approved by the Secretary of 13 Agriculture. 14 ‘‘(2) An evaluation of the use of all waivers, ad- 15 justments, and other flexibilities in the operation of 16 the supplemental nutrition assistance program (as 17 defined in section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act 18 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012)), in effect under this Act, 19 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 20 et seq.), or any other Act, to respond to the COVID- 21 19 public health emergency. 22 ‘‘(3) A recommendation of any additional waiv- 23 ers or flexibilities needed in the operation of the sup- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7794.IH H7794 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7794 IH plemental nutrition assistance program to respond to 1 public health emergencies with pandemic potential.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Aug 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7794.IH H7794 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS