H.R. 8246

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8246 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8246

To allow certain students, including those who have a student aid index 
equal to or less than zero, to qualify for supplemental nutrition 
assistance program benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 9, 2026

Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen, 
Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. 
Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Ms. Salinas, 
Mr. Thanedar, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Carbajal, and Ms. Tlaib) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To allow certain students, including those who have a student aid index 
equal to or less than zero, to qualify for supplemental nutrition 
assistance program benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

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 ``Overcoming Higher Education Hunger 
Through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Act of 2026'' or 
the ``OHH SNAP Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. SNAP TREATMENT OF EDUCATIONAL LOANS.

Section 5(k) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2014(k)) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (3); and
(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY OF STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL 
NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is 
amended--
(1) in subsection (e)--
(A) in paragraph (7), by striking ``or'' at the 
end;
(B) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(9) has a student aid index that is equal to or less than 
$0, as determined by the procedures established in part F of 
title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk-
1087vv); or
``(10) is determined to be `independent' based on one of 
the criteria specified in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (G), and 
(H) of section 480(d)(1) of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
1087vv).''; and
(2) in subsection (o)(2)(A), by striking ``work'' and 
inserting ``attending an institution of higher education (as 
defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1002)) or work, in the aggregate,''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF AMENDMENTS.

(a) Effective Date.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this 
Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Application of Amendments.--The amendments made by this Act 
shall not apply with respect to certification periods that begin before 
the effective date of this Act.
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