H.R. 9359

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9359 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9359

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide for the 
reissuance to households of supplemental nutrition assistance program 
benefits to replace benefits stolen by identity theft or typical 
skimming practices, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 18, 2026

Ms. Meng (for herself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide for the 
reissuance to households of supplemental nutrition assistance program 
benefits to replace benefits stolen by identity theft or typical 
skimming practices, 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 ``Ending Stolen SNAP Benefits Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS.

Section 7 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016) is 
amended--
(1) in subsection (e) by inserting ``or from the reissuance 
of benefits stolen by identity theft or typical skimming 
practices'' after ``mail''; and
(2) in subsection (h)(7)--
(A) by striking ``Regulations'' and inserting the 
following:
``(A) Reissuance of benefits.--Regulations''; and
(B) by adding at end the following:
``(B) Reissuance of stolen benefits.--
``(i) Issuance of regulations.--The 
Secretary shall issue regulations, consistent 
with the procedures determined by the Secretary 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 
501(b)(1) of division HH of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328; 7 
U.S.C. 2016a(b)(1)), without regard to the 
limitations in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 
section 501(b)(2) of such Act--
``(I) to establish criteria and 
best practices for State agencies to 
identify supplemental nutrition 
assistance program benefits stolen by 
identity theft or typical skimming 
practices in a way that minimizes the 
burden of victim households to 
establish the theft;
``(II) to provide for the 
reissuance to households of benefits 
stolen by identity theft, or typical 
skimming practices, that meet such 
criteria; and
``(III) to permit State agencies to 
reissue stolen benefits to the same 
household, provided the Secretary has 
approved a State agency's transition 
plan in accordance with section 
16(l)(2).
``(ii) Status report.--Not later than 240 
days after the Secretary issues regulations 
under clause (i), the Secretary shall submit to 
the Congress a report on the status of benefits 
reissued under such regulations that includes--
``(I) a detailed description of the 
prevalence of stolen benefits for which 
benefits are reissued under such 
regulations;
``(II) an examination of current 
barriers, feasibility, and impact on 
participant access and ease of use in 
developing an electronic benefit 
transfer card that contains 
technologies such as an embedded 
microchip in common use in the 
financial services industry along with 
the traditional magnetic stripe; and
``(III) such other information as 
by the Secretary considers to be 
appropriate.
``(iii) Stolen benefit reissuance report.--
Not later than 120 days after end of each 
fiscal year that begins after the Secretary 
issues regulations under clause (i), the 
Secretary shall submit to the Congress, and 
make available to the public, a report for such 
fiscal year with respect to each State that 
includes the aggregate value of supplemental 
nutrition assistance program benefits reissued 
under such regulations and the number of 
households to which such benefits were 
reissued.
``(iv) Evaluation.--To maximize the 
accessibility and security of electronic 
benefit transfer cards, the Secretary shall 
periodically review and modify such regulations 
to take into account evolving technology and 
the threat landscape to better protect against 
benefit theft.''.

SEC. 3. COST SHARING FOR TRANSITIONING TO CHIP-ENABLED EBT CARDS.

Section 16 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is 
amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsection (k),'' and 
inserting ``subsection (k), except as provided in subsection 
(l),''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Administrative Cost-Sharing for Transitioning to Chip-Enabled 
EBT Cards.--
``(1) In general.--On approval of a plan submitted by a 
State agency under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pay to 
such State agency an amount equal to 90 percent of all 
administrative costs incurred by the State agency in carrying 
out a transition from magnetic-stripe EBT cards to EBT cards 
with chip technology that complies with the American National 
Standards Institute X9.58-2024 EBT standard, or its succeeding 
standard, including costs associated with--
``(A) card issuance strategies;
``(B) one-time up-front costs paid by the State to 
card vendors;
``(C) business and functional design requirements;
``(D) implementation planning;
``(E) system testing;
``(F) education and outreach in language accessible 
by all households, including informational activities 
under subsection (a)(4); and
``(G) any other administrative fees reasonably 
necessary for the successful implementation of chip 
cards.
``(2) Approval of transition plans.--
``(A) Submission.--A State agency shall submit to 
the Secretary for approval a plan that carries out 
paragraph (1), including system testing, retailer and 
household education, and outreach efforts. State plans 
must include steps to ensure that recipients will 
retain access to their benefits without interruption 
during the transition.
``(B) Secretarial action.--Not later than 90 days 
after the date on which the Secretary receives a 
complete plan under subparagraph (A), the Secretary 
shall--
``(i) approve the plan;
``(ii) approve the plan with conditions; or
``(iii) disapprove the plan and provide the 
State agency with a written explanation of the 
reasons for such disapproval.
``(C) Deemed approval.--If the Secretary fails to 
take action within the 90-day period described in 
subparagraph (B), the plan shall be deemed approved.
``(3) Sunset.--This subsection shall sunset on September 
30, 2031.''.
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