H.R. 6657

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6657 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6657

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to reform the restaurant 
meals program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

December 11, 2025

Mr. Messmer introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to reform the restaurant 
meals program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Restaurant Meals Program Reform Act 
of 2025''.

SEC. 2. RESTAURANT MEALS PROGRAM.

Section 9(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2018(h)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) by striking ``determines that the 
participation'' and inserting the following: 
``determines that--
``(A) the private establishment is a retail food 
store that--
``(i) operates a prepared food section, hot 
bar, or deli counter;
``(ii) is not primarily engaged in the sale 
of quick-service or fast-food items, as 
determined by the Secretary; and
``(iii) meets all State and local food 
safety and health standards applicable to 
grocery stores or supermarkets; and
``(B) the participation'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (6);
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
``(3) Eligible meals.--Benefits may be redeemed under the 
program under this subsection from a private establishment 
described in paragraph (2)(A) only for meals from a prepared 
food section, hot bar, or deli counter that--
``(A) are intended for immediate consumption; and
``(B) contain at least--
``(i) 1 fruit or vegetable; and
``(ii) 1 protein, as defined by the 
Secretary.
``(4) Single authorization.--
``(A) In general.--A retail food store authorized 
under section 9 shall not be required to obtain a 
separate authorization for participating in the program 
under this section.
``(B) 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 households.
``(5) Spousal exclusion.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this Act, 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 
subsection.''; and
(4) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), by striking 
``Senate a report on the effectiveness of a'' and inserting the 
following: ``Senate, and make publicly available, a report 
describing--
``(A) the number of private establishments 
participating in the program under this subsection;
``(B) for each private establishment participating 
in the program under this subsection--
``(i) the name and location of the private 
establishment; and
``(ii) the amount of benefits redeemed at 
the private establishment;
``(C) the number of individuals receiving benefits 
under the program under this subsection;
``(D) the costs of the program under this 
subsection; and
``(E) the effectiveness of the''.
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