HR 1368
116th Congress
House
Agriculture and Food
Alaska
American Samoa
Caribbean area
Food assistance and relief
Guam
Hawaii
Higher education
Nutrition and diet
Poverty and welfare assistance
Puerto Rico
U.S. territories and protectorates
Virgin Islands
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019
Everywhere this bill has been
3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 15, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.
Feb 26, 2019
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Feb 26, 2019
Introduced in House
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Plain-English summary
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019
This bill revises the requirements for calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits.
Specifically, the bill
- increases the minimum SNAP benefit and requires that benefits be calculated using a low-cost food plan (i.e., the diet required to feed a family of four);
- directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan;
- requires USDA to make adjustments to the plan to account for household size, changes in the cost of the diet, and the costs of food in specified areas;
- revises the amounts authorized for nutrition assistance block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa and requires that the amounts be modified based on adjustments to the low-cost food plan;
- modifies the requirements for calculating household income to determine SNAP eligibility by authorizing a standard medical expense deduction for households containing an elderly or disabled member and eliminating the cap on the deduction for excess shelter expenses; and
- revises eligibility requirements under SNAP for certain students enrolled in institutions of higher education.
What's happening now
Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.
Bill text
1 version
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Committees of jurisdiction
2
Cosponsors
95
D
Panetta, Jimmy
D
Meng, Grace
D
Boyle, Brendan F.
D
Correa, J. Luis
D
Dean, Madeleine
D
Huffman, Jared
D
Krishnamoorthi, Raja
D
Matsui, Doris O.
D
Morelle, Joseph D.
O'Halleran, Tom
D
Sewell, Terri A.
Sires, Albio
D
Vargas, Juan
D
Beatty, Joyce
CLAY, WM.
D
Thompson, Mike
D
Trahan, Lori
D
Waters, Maxine
D
Cleaver, Emanuel
D
Luján, Ben Ray
D
Schrier, Kim
D
Smith, Adam
D
Scanlon, Mary Gay
D
Soto, Darren
D
Torres, Norma J.
D
Aguilar, Pete
D
Barragán, Nanette Diaz
D
Bishop, Sanford D.
D
Brownley, Julia
D
Carbajal, Salud O.
D
Carson, André
D
Castro, Joaquin
D
Chu, Judy
D
Clark, Katherine M.
D
Clarke, Yvette D.
D
Cohen, Steve
CUMMINGS, ELIJAH
DAVIS, SUSAN
D
DeGette, Diana
D
DeLauro, Rosa L.
D
DelBene, Suzan K.
D
DeSaulnier, Mark
D
Espaillat, Adriano
D
Evans, Dwight
D
Gallego, Ruben
D
Garamendi, John
D
Garcia, Sylvia R.
D
García, Jesús G. "Chuy"
D
Gomez, Jimmy
D
Gonzalez, Vicente
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Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 1368: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-1368/
"H.R. 1368: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-1368/.
H.R. 1368, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-1368/.
[H.R. 1368: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-1368/)