Official Summaries

This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide a notice and comment period prior to making certain substantive changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) quality control system, with exceptions.

As background, the SNAP quality control system measures how accurately SNAP state agencies determine a household’s eligibility and benefit amount and determines overpayments of benefits and underpayments. State agencies must conduct quality control reviews of their SNAP caseloads and report these findings to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

The bill requires USDA to provide a notice and public comment period of at least 60 days prior to finalizing any new or updated guidance that proposes substantive changes for conducting quality control reviews. This applies to any proposed guidance reasonably expected to require state agencies to make changes to systems, procedures, or staffing pertaining to quality control reviews or that impact verification requirements for SNAP recipients.

In the case of an urgent and immediate need, USDA may issue interim final guidance simultaneously with the notice and comment requirements.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 734 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 734

    To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 with respect to the 
    issuance of quality control guidance issued by the Secretary of 
                              Agriculture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2025

Mr. Moore of Alabama introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                    to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 with respect to the 
    issuance of quality control guidance issued by the Secretary of 
                              Agriculture.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. PUBLIC COMMENT ON QUALITY CONTROL GUIDANCE.

    Section 16(c) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2025(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(10) Public comment on quality control guidance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall provide 
                notice and make available for public comment for a 
                period of not fewer than 60 days any new or updated 
                guidance proposing substantive changes for conducting 
                quality control reviews prior to any such guidance 
                being finalized.
                    ``(B) Scope.--The requirement in (A) shall be 
                applicable to any proposed guidance reasonably expected 
                to require state agencies to make changes to systems, 
                procedures, or staffing pertaining to quality control 
                reviews or that impact verification requirements for 
                supplemental nutrition assistance program recipients.
                    ``(C) Exception.--In the case of an urgent and 
                immediate need, the Secretary may issue interim final 
                guidance simultaneous with the notice and comment 
                requirements required in (A).''.
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