,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cbdj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #bj1 
#bjbe,ms4 ,ernst introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on          
,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry 
,a ,,bill  ,to amend the ,food and      
,nutrition ,act of #bjjh to reform the  
restaurant meals program1 and for other 
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,mc,stopping ,chains
 from ,using ,,snap ,,ebt to ,make      
,entrees ,act of #bjbe or the           
,mc,s,c,u,s,e ,,me ,act of #bjbe4  #b4  
,restaurant meals program ,section      
#i7;h7 of the ,food and ,nutrition ,act 
of #bjjh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #bjah7;h77 is    
amended-- 7#a7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 
by striking determines that the         
participation and inserting the         
following3 determines that-- 7,a7 the   
private establishment is a retail food  
store that-- 7i7 operates a prepared    
food section1 hot bar1 or deli counter2 

7ii7 is not primarily engaged in the    
sale of quick-service or fast-food      
items1 as determined by the ,secretary2 
and  7iii7 meets all ,state and local   
food safety and health standards        
applicable to grocery stores or         
supermarkets2 and  7,b7 the             
participation  2  7#b7 by redesignating 
paragraph 7#c7 as paragraph 7#f72  7#c7 
by inserting after paragraph 7#b7 the   
following3  7#c7 ,eligible meals        
,benefits may be redeemed under the     
program under this subsection from a    
private establishment described in      
paragraph 7#b77;,a7 only for meals from 
a prepared food section1 hot bar1 or    
deli counter that-- 7,a7 are intended   
for immediate consumption2 and  7,b7    
contain at least-- 7i7 #a fruit or      
vegetable2 and  7ii7 #a protein1 as     
defined by the ,secretary4  7#d7 ,single
 authorization  7,a7 ,in general ,a     
retail food store authorized under      
section #i shall not be required to     
obtain a separate authorization for     

participating in the program under this 
section4  7,b7 ,,ebt systems ,the       
,secretary shall ensure that ,state     
agencies maintain or update ,,ebt card  
coding and retailer coding systems      
necessary to restrict redemption of     
benefits under this subsection to       
eligible households4  7#e7 ,spousal     
exclusion ,notwithstanding any other    
provision of this ,act1 a spouse of an  
individual eligible for benefits under  
the supplemental nutrition assistance   
program shall not be eligible to        
participate in the program under this   
subsection4  2 and  7#d7 in paragraph   
7#f7 7as so redesignated71 by striking  
,senate a report on the effectiveness of
 a and inserting the following3 ,senate1
 and make publicly available1 a report  
describing-- 7,a7 the number of private 
establishments participating in the     
program under this subsection2  7,b7 for
 each private establishment             
participating in the program under this 
subsection-- 7i7 the name and location  

of the private establishment2 and  7ii7 
the amount of benefits redeemed at the  
private establishment2  7,c7 the number 
of individuals receiving benefits under 
the program under this subsection2  7,d7
 the costs of the program under this    
subsection2 and  7,e7 the effectiveness 
of the  4