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II
116TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 1941
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish
a permanent, nationwide summer electronic benefits transfer for children
program.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JUNE 20, 2019
Mrs. MURRAY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act to establish a permanent, nationwide summer elec-
tronic benefits transfer for children program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Child Summer
4
Hunger Act of 2019’’.
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•S 1941 IS
SEC. 2. SUMMER ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANSFER FOR
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CHILDREN PROGRAM.
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Section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell National
3
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)) is amended by add-
4
ing at the end the following:
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‘‘(13) SUMMER ELECTRONIC BENEFITS TRANS-
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FER FOR CHILDREN PROGRAM.—
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‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph:
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‘‘(i)
ELIGIBLE
HOUSEHOLD.—The
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term ‘eligible household’ means a house-
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hold that includes one or more children
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who are eligible to receive free or reduced-
12
price lunches under this Act or free or re-
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duced-price breakfasts under the Child Nu-
14
trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et
15
seq.).
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‘‘(ii) SUMMER EBT CARD.—The term
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‘summer EBT card’ means an electronic
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benefit transfer card that is issued to an
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eligible household under this paragraph
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and limited to food purchases.
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‘‘(B) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall es-
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tablish a program under which the Secretary
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shall provide to eligible households summer
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EBT cards for the purpose of providing access
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to food for children during summer months—
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•S 1941 IS
‘‘(i) to reduce or eliminate the food in-
1
security and hunger of children; and
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‘‘(ii) to improve the nutritional status
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of children.
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‘‘(C) USE.—An eligible household may use
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a summer EBT card only to purchase food
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from retail food stores that have been approved
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for participation in the supplemental nutrition
8
assistance program established under the Food
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and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et
10
seq.), in accordance with section 7(b) of that
11
Act (7 U.S.C. 2016(b)).
12
‘‘(D) AMOUNT.—Each summer EBT card
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issued shall be in an amount of—
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‘‘(i) for calendar year 2020, $150 in
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food assistance per child per summer; and
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‘‘(ii) for each subsequent calendar
17
year, the amount specified in clause (i) as
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adjusted to reflect changes in reimburse-
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ment rates for school meals under this Act
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between calendar year 2020 and the most
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recent calendar year.
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‘‘(E) TIMING.—Summer EBT cards shall
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be issued at the end of the regular school year.
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‘‘(F) FUNDING.—
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•S 1941 IS
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—On October 1,
1
2019, and on each October 1 thereafter,
2
out of any funds in the Treasury not oth-
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erwise appropriated, the Secretary of the
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Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary
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such sums as are necessary to carry out
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this section, to remain available until ex-
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pended.
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‘‘(ii) RECEIPT
AND
ACCEPTANCE.—
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The Secretary shall be entitled to receive,
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shall accept, and shall use to carry out this
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section the funds transferred under clause
12
(i), without further appropriation.
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‘‘(G) REGULATIONS.—
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than Oc-
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tober 1, 2019, the Secretary shall issue
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regulations to carry out this paragraph.
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‘‘(ii)
REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations
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issued under this subparagraph shall re-
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quire that—
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‘‘(I) children shall be eligible to
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participate and shall be enrolled into
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the program under this paragraph for
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a summer without further application
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if the children are enrolled to partici-
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•S 1941 IS
pate in the free or reduced-price lunch
1
program under this Act or the free or
2
reduced-price
breakfast
program
3
under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
4
(42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) during the
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school year immediately preceding the
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summer; and
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‘‘(II) local educational agencies
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shall distribute to the families of all
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children enrolled in schools partici-
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pating in programs authorized under
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this Act and the Child Nutrition Act
12
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) and,
13
to the maximum extent practicable,
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the families of all children enrolled in
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schools of the local educational agency
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information, as provided by the Sec-
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retary—
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‘‘(aa) regarding the program
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authorized under this paragraph,
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including eligibility rules and how
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children in eligible households
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that are not automatically en-
23
rolled under subclause (I) may
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apply for program benefits; and
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•S 1941 IS
‘‘(bb) to assist households
1
receiving summer EBT cards in
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making healthy food choices and
3
maximizing resources.
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‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE TIMING.—
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‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—In issuing
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regulations under this subparagraph,
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the Secretary shall allow alternative
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plans for the timing of issuance of the
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summer electronic benefit cards under
10
subparagraph (D) in any part of a
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State in which the school year does
12
not include a typical summer break,
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on the condition that the Secretary
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determines that no alternative plan in-
15
creases or decreases Federal costs.
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‘‘(II) CONSIDERATIONS.—In de-
17
veloping regulations under subclause
18
(I), the Secretary shall consider the
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ability of a State effectively to issue
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benefits under an alternative sched-
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ule.’’.
22
Æ
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