I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2645 To amend section 2202 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to extend for 1 year the availability of certain flexible benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 17, 2023 Ms. CARAVEO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend section 2202 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to extend for 1 year the availability of certain flexible benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). 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 ‘‘Keeping Families Fed 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2645.IH H2645 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2645 IH (1) After February 2023 the emergency nutri- 1 tion assistance benefits provided under the supple- 2 mental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) au- 3 thorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 4 ended, resulting in a benefit cut for every SNAP re- 5 cipient household in the 32 States then providing 6 the emergency benefits. 7 (2) According to the Center on Budget and Pol- 8 icy Priorities, every recipient household in those 9 States now receives at least $95 reduction in SNAP 10 benefits a month, and some households see reduc- 11 tions of $250 a month or more. The average house- 12 hold receives $90 a month less in emergency SNAP 13 benefits. 14 (3) The ending of emergency allotments after 15 February 2023 was required by an Act enacted in 16 December 2022 that provided only 2 months for 17 State agencies that administer SNAP and for SNAP 18 recipients to prepare for a stark reduction in bene- 19 fits. More resources and guidance for the end of the 20 emergency SNAP benefits would have allowed the 21 State agencies and SNAP recipients to better pre- 22 pare for a benefit reduction and better prevent the 23 hunger cliff caused by benefit reductions. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2645.IH H2645 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2645 IH SEC. 3. AMENDMENT. 1 Section 2302(d) of the Families First Coronavirus 2 Response Act (7 U.S.C. 2011 note; Public Law 116–127) 3 is amended by inserting before the period at the end the 4 following: 5 ‘‘, but such authority shall be in effect during the 1-year 6 period that begins on the date of the enactment of the 7 Keeping Families Fed Act of 2023’’. 8 SEC. 4. STRATEGY PLAN. 9 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact- 10 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall de- 11 velop, and submit to the Congress, a strategy plan for 12 State agencies that administer the supplemental nutrition 13 assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 14 2008 to provided resources and guidance for public aware- 15 ness, and preparation for the end, of the extended emer- 16 gency program benefits authorized by the amendment 17 made by section 3. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:16 Apr 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2645.IH H2645 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB