,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gece ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #i1 #bjbj,ms4 ,kelly of ,illinois 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,payne1 and ,ms4 ,norton7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh to expand online benefit redemption options under the supplemental nutrition assistance program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,expanding ,,snap ,options ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,online portal for ,,snap benefit redemption ,section #g7;h77#ad7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaf7;h77#ad77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,a71 by striking ,subject to subparagraph 7,b71 the and inserting ,the2 and 7#b7 by striking subparagraph 7,b7 and inserting the following3 7,b7 ,,ebt online redemption portal 7i7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this subparagraph is to expand options for and access to food for eligible households by making the online redemption of program benefits1 including the acceptance of ,,ebt cards1 more widely available to grocery stores1 small retailers1 and farmers who face barriers in implementing their own online payment portals4 7ii7 ,contracts ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of the ,expanding ,,snap ,options ,act of #bjbj1 the ,secretary shall award on a competitive basis #a or more contracts to #a or more eligible entities described in clause 7iii7 to develop an online portal1 to be known as the ,,ebt ,online ,redemption ,portal-- 7,i7 to allow program participants to use online or mobile electronic benefits transactions1 including through the acceptance of ,,ebt cards1 to purchase program foods from1 and make online payments to1 authorized program retailers under the supplemental nutrition assistance program2 and 7,,ii7 to facilitate food purchase delivery for program participants using the transactions described in subclause 7,i74 7iii7 ,eligible entity ,an eligible entity referred to in clause 7ii7 is any for-profit or nonprofit entity with demonstrable expertise in the development1 operation1 or maintenance of electronic payment systems 7including systems with advanced security protocols71 which may include expertise in benefits management or administration of ,state systems1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7iv7 ,application2 portal features 7,i7 ,application ,an eligible entity shall submit to the ,secretary an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including-- 7aa7 a description of how the eligible entity plans to implement the requirements described in clause 7v72 and 7bb7 a beta plan that has been user-tested4 7,,ii7 ,portal features ,in awarding a contract to an eligible entity under clause 7ii71 the ,secretary shall give preference to an eligible entity that demonstrates an ability to implement the following features of an ,,ebt ,online ,redemption ,portal3 7aa7 ,client-facing technology with a primary preference for mobile device or smartphone application4 7bb7 ,fail-safe systems to maintain privacy and online security of data4 7cc7 ,ability to redirect a consumer to an existing online platform of a vendor1 if applicable4 7dd7 ,ability to update as technologies evolve4 7ee7 ,ease of operation for program participants1 including multilingual functionality4 7ff7 ,interoperability with delivery technologies and interfaces4 7gg7 ,identification of participating retailers within geographic proximity to the user4 7hh7 ,ability to perform single transactions using mixed tender1 including a single transaction for eligible food items using an ,,ebt card and noneligible items using another form of payment4 7ii7 ,adherence to a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan-- 7,,aa7 to allow the portal to recover from any interruption of service2 and 7,,bb7 that includes sufficient back-up systems1 equipment1 facilities1 and trained personnel to implement the plan4 7v7 ,requirements 7,i7 ,in general ,the ,online ,,ebt ,redemption ,portal developed by the eligible entity awarded the contract under clause 7ii7 shall-- 7aa7 enable the integrated processing of an online ,,ebt transaction by providing a platform and facilitating the purchasing interaction between the consumer1 retailer1 third-party processors 7for ,,ebt card processing and the secure online entry of a personal identification number71 and delivery vendor1 as applicable2 7bb7 to deter fraud1 have in place for program participants privacy and security protections1 similar to protections provided under existing electronic benefit transfer methods1 including entry of a personal identification number in a manner that complies with the guidelines of leading national consensus standards organizations1 as determined by the ,secretary1 for encrypting personal identification number entry2 7cc7 be secure and operate in a manner that maintains program integrity1 including food item eligibility2 7dd7 be available in an initial or beta version not later than #abj days after the date on which the eligible entity is awarded the contract2 7ee7 be ready to be fully deployed in all ,states not later than #ahj days after the date described in item 7dd72 7ff7 be available for use by any retail food store or wholesale food concern authorized under section #i to accept and redeem benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program-- 7,,aa7 at no charge beyond a nominal fee that is not more than reasonably necessary to support maintenance of the portal and subject to the approval of the ,secretary2 and 7,,bb7 on an application-based and browser-based platform for smartphones and a browser-based online platform for tablets and computers2 7gg7 adhere to commercial standards for service level availability to ensure the viability of the portal and the use of the portal by retail food stores and wholesale food concerns authorized under section #i to accept and redeem benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program2 and 7hh7 perform ongoing maintenance services and retailer enrollment and termination of enrollment activities to ensure continuous operability of the portal4 7,,ii7 ,evaluation of beta version ,the ,secretary shall conduct a review of the initial or beta version of the ,online ,,ebt ,redemption ,portal under subclause 7,i77dd71 including by soliciting feedback from program participants4 7vi7 ,report to congress ,not later than #bdj days after the date of enactment of the ,expanding ,,snap ,options ,act of #bjbj1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on the status of activities carried out under this subparagraph4 7vii7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is appropriated to the ,secretary1 out of funds of the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated1 #be1jjj1jjj to provide under the contract described in clause 7ii74 4 #c4 ,broad acceptance of ,,snap benefits through online transactions ,section #g7k7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjaf7k77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking on-line each place it appears and inserting online2 7#b7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 by striking ,subject to paragraph 7#d71 the and inserting ,the2 and 7,b7 by inserting in any ,state after stores2 and 7#c7 by striking paragraph 7#d7 and inserting the following3 7#d7 ,technical assistance 7,a7 ,definitions ,in this paragraph3 7i7 ,covered entity ,the term covered entity means a public or private nonprofit entity4 7ii7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means a retail food store or wholesale food concern authorized under section #i to accept and redeem benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program4 7,b7 ,technical assistance center ,the ,secretary1 acting through the ,administrator of the ,food and ,nutrition ,service1 shall1 on a competitive basis1 award #a or more grants to1 or enter into #a or more cooperative agreements with1 #a or more covered entities to establish a technical assistance center1 to be known as the ,,snap ,online ,purchasing ,technical ,assistance ,center1 to provide to ,state agencies1 eligible entities1 and program participants information on and technical assistance with1 as applicable-- 7i7 accepting program benefits through online transactions2 7ii7 using the ,,ebt ,online ,redemption ,portal described in subsection 7h77#ad77;,b72 7iii7 in the case of ,state agencies1 conducting outreach to eligible entities to ensure that those eligible entities are informed of the technical assistance provided by the center2 7iv7 research1 training1 and best practices relating to redeeming program benefits through online transactions2 and 7v7 facilitating communication between eligible entities1 applicable ,state agencies1 and the ,department of ,agriculture4 7,c7 ,qualifications ,at least #a covered entity that receives a grant or enters into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph 7,b7 shall have expertise in providing technical assistance to food retailers operating under a ,federal nutrition program4 7,d7 ,technical assistance priority ,in providing technical assistance to eligible entities1 the ,,snap ,online ,purchasing ,technical ,assistance ,center shall give priority to eligible entities that are small and limited-resource retailers4 7,e7 ,funding ,there is appropriated to the ,secretary1 out of funds of the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated1 #ge1jjj1jjj to carry out this paragraph1 to remain available until expended1 of which not more than #c percent may be used by the ,secretary for administrative expenses4 7#e7 ,publication of online vendors ,the ,secretary shall maintain on the website of the ,department of ,agriculture a publicly available listing1 organized and searchable by region1 locality1 and ,state1 of all approved retail food stores accepting benefits from recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance1 including through online transactions4 4