S. 3719: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2020
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S. 3719: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2020
116th Congress · introduced 2020-05-13 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2020-05-13 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2020
Plain summary
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2020 This bill revises the requirements for calculating Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits. The bill increases the minimum SNAP benefit and requires benefits to be calculated using the value of a low-cost food plan. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must determine the requirements for the low-cost food plan, which is the diet required to feed a family of four, consisting of a man and a woman 19-50 years of age, a child 6-8 years of age, and a child 9-11 years of age. USDA must 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, including U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and American Samoa. The bill modifies the requirements for calculating household income to determine SNAP eligibility by (1) authorizing a standard medical expense deduction for households containing an elderly or disabled member, and (2) eliminating the cap on the deduction for excess shelter expenses. The bill eliminates certain work requirements for SNAP. The requirements apply to able-bodied adults who are ages 18-49 and have no dependent children. Under current law, the requirements are partially suspended due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). The bill allows Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands to participate in SNAP after submitting a plan of operation that is approved by USDA. Under current law, the three territories receive block grants instead of participating in SNAP.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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A “Nay” vote
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2020
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA] · 3 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Bernard Sanders (I-VT)
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 (1)
- 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
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s3719.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>
Record fed-us-cong116-s3719 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116