,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #acfh ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #bf1 #bjai,ms4 ,adams 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4 ,kaptur1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,mr4 ,larsen of ,washington1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,mc,eachin1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mrs4 ,davis of ,california1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 ,mr4 ,cummings1 ,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,lawson of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,langevin1 ,mr4 ,ruppersberger1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,ms4 ,johnson of ,texas1 ,ms4 ,de,lauro1 ,mr4 ,butterfield1 ,mr4 ,evans1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,ms4 ,de,gette1 ,mr4 ,brown of ,maryland1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,mr4 ,moulton1 ,mr4 ,swalwell of ,california1 ,mr4 ,gomez1 ,mr4 ,aguilar1 ,mr4 ,price of ,north ,carolina1 ,mr4 ,richmond1 ,mr4 ,lewis1 ,mr4 ,garamendi1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,mr4 ,sean ,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,barragn1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,mr4 ,michael ,f4 ,doyle of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,pallone1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mr4 ,gonzalez of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,ms4 ,eshoo1 ,ms4 ,omar1 ,mr4 ,serrano1 ,ms4 ,judy ,chu of ,california1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,de,saulnier1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,meeks1 ,ms4 ,clark of ,massachusetts1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz1 ,mr4 ,lynch1 ,mr4 ,veasey1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 ,mr4 ,heck1 ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,rouda1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,ms4 ,del,bene1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,ms4 ,pressley1 ,ms4 ,garcia of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,ted ,lieu of ,california1 ,mr4 ,levin of ,michigan1 ,mr4 ,nadler1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mrs4 ,hayes1 ,mr4 ,neguse1 ,mr4 ,ryan1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4 ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,castro of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,sarbanes1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,mr4 ,sherman1 ,mr4 ,neal1 ,ms4 ,snchez1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,carbajal1 ,mr4 ,keating1 ,ms4 ,roybal-,allard1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mr4 ,carson of ,indiana1 ,mr4 ,mc,nerney1 ,miss ,rice of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,cox of ,california1 ,ms4 ,brownley of ,california1 and ,mr4 ,crist7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh to require that supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits be calculated with reference to the cost of the low-cost food plan as determined by the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,closing the ,meal ,gap ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,amendments 7a7 ,calculation of program benefits ,the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaa et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #c 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjab7-- 7,a7 by striking subsection 7u71 7,b7 by redesignating subsections 7n7 through 7t7 as subsections 7o7 through 7u71 respectively1 and 7,c7 by inserting after subsection 7m7 the following3 7n7 ,low-cost food plan means the diet required to feed a family of four persons1 consisting of a man and a woman nineteen through fifty1 a child six through eight1 and a child nine through eleven years of age1 determined in accordance with the ,secretary's calculations4 ,the cost of such diet shall be the basis for uniform allotments for all households regardless of their actual composition1 except that the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 make household-size adjustments 7based on the unrounded cost of such diet7 taking into account economies of scale2 7#b7 make cost adjustments in the low-cost food plan for ,hawaii and the urban and rural parts of ,alaska to reflect the cost of food in ,hawaii and urban and rural ,alaska2 7#c7 make cost adjustments in the separate low-cost food plans for ,guam1 and the ,virgin ,islands of the ,united ,states1 to reflect the cost of food in those ,states1 but not to exceed the cost of food in the #ej ,states and the ,district of ,columbia2 and 7#d7 on ,october #a1 #bjai1 and each ,october #a thereafter1 adjust the cost of the diet to reflect the cost of the diet in the immediately preceding ,june1 and round the result to the nearest lower dollar increment for each household size4 1 7#b7 in section #h7;a7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjag7;a77-- 7,a7 by striking thrifty food plan each place it appears1 and inserting low-cost food plan1 and 7,b7 by striking #h percent and inserting #aj percent1 7#c7 in section #af7;c77#a77;,a77ii7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbe7;c77#a77;,a77ii77-- 7,a7 in subclause 7,i7 by striking for fiscal year #bjad1 at an amount not greater than #cg and inserting for fiscal year #bjai1 at an amount not greater than #ej1 and 7,b7 in subclause 7,,ii7-- 7i7 by striking ,june #cj1 #bjac and inserting ,june #cj1 #bjai1 and 7ii7 by striking thrifty food plan and inserting low-cost food plan1 and 7#d7 in section #ai7;a77#b77;,a7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjbh7;a77#b77;,a77-- 7,a7 in clause 7i7 by striking and at the end1 7,b7 in clause 7ii7-- 7i7 by striking each fiscal year thereafter and inserting each of the fiscal years #bjjd through #bjai1 and 7ii7 by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon1 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7iii7 for fiscal year #bjbj1 #b1fej1jjj1jjj2 and 7iv7 subject to the availability of appropriations under section #ah7;a71 for each fiscal year thereafter1 the amount determined under clause 7iii71 as adjusted by the percentage by which the low-cost food plan has been adjusted under section #c7n77#d7 between ,june #cj1 #bjai1 and ,june #cj of the immediately preceding fiscal year4 4 7b7 ,standard medical expense deduction ,section #e7;e77#e7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;e77#e77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a7 by striking an excess medical and all that follows through the period at the end1 and inserting a standard medical deduction or to a medical expense deduction of actual costs for the allowable medical expenses incurred by the elderly or disabled member1 exclusive of special diets41 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,d7 ,the standard medical expense deduction shall be equal to #adj for fiscal year #bjbj1 and for each subsequent fiscal year shall be equal to the applicable amount for the immediately preceding fiscal year as adjusted to reflect changes for the #ab-month period ending the preceding ,june #cj in the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers3 ,medical ,care published by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics of the ,department of ,labor1 except that for any such fiscal year the ,state agency may establish a greater standard medical expense deduction that satisfies cost neutrality standards established by the ,secretary for such fiscal year4 4 7c7 ,elimination of cap of excess shelter expenses ,section #e7;e77#f7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;e77#f77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking subparagraph 7,b71 and 7#b7 by redesignating subparagraphs 7,c7 and 7,d7 as subparagraphs 7,b7 and 7,c71 respectively4 7d7 ,snap eligibility for full and part-,time students2 students' responsible for care of disabled members of households ,section #f of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjae7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking subsection 7e72 and 7#b7 in subsection 7d77#b77;,c7 by striking 7except that any such person enrolled in an institution of higher education shall be ineligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program unless he or she meets the requirements of subsection 7e7 of this section74 7e7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh ,the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaa et seq47 is amended-- 7,a7 in section #aj 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjai7 by striking #c7o77#d7 and inserting #c7p77#d71 7,b7 in section #aa 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjab7-- 7i7 in subsection 7a77#b7 by striking #c7s77#a7 and inserting #c7t77#a71 and 7ii7 in subsection 7d7-- 7,i7 by striking #c7s77#a7 each place it appears and inserting #c7t77#a71 and 7,,ii7 by striking #c7s77#b7 each place it appears and inserting #c7t77#b71 7,c7 in section #ai7;a77#b77;,a77ii7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 7a77#b77;,a77ii77 by striking #c7u77#d7 and inserting #c7n77#d71 and 7,d7 in section #bg7;a77#b7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcf7;a77#b77-- 7i7 in subparagraph 7,c7 by striking #c7u77#d7 and inserting #c7n77#d71 and 7ii7 in subparagraph 7,e7 by striking #c7u77#d7 and inserting #c7n77#d74 7#b7 ,low-,income ,home ,energy ,assistance ,act of #aiha ,section #bfje7;f77#b77;,a7 of the ,low-,income ,home ,energy ,assistance ,act of #aiha 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #hfbd7;f77#b77;,a77 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking #e7;e77#f77;,c77iv77,i7 and inserting #e7;e77#f77;,b77iv77#a71 and 7,b7 by striking 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;e77#f77;,c77iv77,i77 and inserting 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;e77#f77;,b77iv77,i774 7f7 ,technical corrections ,the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaa et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #e7;a7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjad7;a77 by striking #c7n77#d7 each place it appears and inserting #c7m77#d71 7#b7 in section #h7;f77#a77;,a77i7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjag7;f77#a77;,a77i77 by striking #c7n77#e7 and inserting #c7m77#e71 and 7#c7 in section #ag7;b77#a77;,b77iv77,,iii77aa7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaf7;b77#a77;,b77iv77,,iii77aa77 by striking #c7n7 and inserting #c7m74 #c4 ,effective date2 application of amendments 7a7 ,effective date ,except as provided in subsection 7b71 this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act shall take effect on ,october #a1 #bjai4 7b7 ,application of amendments ,the amendments made by subsections 7b71 7c71 and 7f77#b7 shall not apply with respect to certification periods that begin before ,october #a1 #bjai4