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H.R. 1368: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019

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H.R. 1368: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-02-26 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2019-02-26 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019

Plain 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.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] · 136 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

James P. McGovern (D-MA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), Mark Takano (D-CA), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Judy Chu (D-CA), Scott H. Peters (D-CA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Katherine M. Clark (D-MA) and 76 more.

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] reported raising $483,375 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong116-hr1368 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116