119-hr1538

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1538 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1538

 To amend the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to 
 establish a pilot grant program to award grants to facilitate home 
delivery of commodities under the commodity supplemental food program, 
 and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 24, 2025

 Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Ms. Crockett) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 to 
 establish a pilot grant program to award grants to facilitate home 
delivery of commodities under the commodity supplemental food 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 ``Delivering for Rural Seniors Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM DELIVERY PILOT PROGRAM.

 The Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c 
note) is amended by inserting after 

section 5 the following:

``

SEC. 5A. COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM DELIVERY PILOT PROGRAM.

 ``

    (a) 

=== Purpose ===
-The purposes of this section are--
 ``

    (1) to award grants for the operation of projects that 
 increase the access of low-income elderly persons to 
 commodities through home delivery; and
 ``

    (2) to evaluate such projects.
 ``

    (b) In General.--The Secretary shall award, on a competitive 
basis, grants to State agencies to carry out the activities described 
in subsection

    (e) .
 ``
            (c) Maximum Grant Award.--A grant awarded to a State agency under 
this section may be in an amount not greater than the lesser of--
 ``

    (1) the State's commodity supplemental food program 
 caseload at time of application multiplied by 60; or
 ``

    (2) $4,000,000.
 ``
            (d) Application.--A State agency seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in 
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may 
require.
 ``

    (e) Grant Uses.--A State agency awarded a grant under this 
section shall distribute grant funds to eligible entities to operate 
projects that facilitate home delivery of commodities to participants 
in the commodity supplemental food program, including with respect to 
costs associated with--
 ``

    (1) transportation and distribution of commodities to 
 participants in the commodity supplemental food program, 
 including transportation and distribution services provided by 
 a third party;
 ``

    (2) staffing required to operate home delivery services; 
 and
 ``

    (3) outreach to participants or potential participants in 
 the commodity supplemental food program with respect to home 
 delivery.
 ``

    (f) Priority.--A State agency awarded a grant under this section 
shall prioritize eligible entities that serve participants in the 
commodity supplemental food program who reside in a rural area.
 ``

    (g) Report to the Secretary.--No later than 180 days after the 
end of the fiscal year in which a State agency is awarded a grant under 
this section and has distributed grant funds to eligible entities, and 
in each succeeding fiscal year until grant funds are expended, a State 
agency shall submit a report to the Secretary that includes--
 ``

    (1) a summary of the activities carried out under the 
 project, including the quantity of commodities delivered, 
 number of participants in the commodity supplemental food 
 program served, and total number of deliveries;
 ``

    (2) an assessment of the effectiveness of the project, 
 including--
 ``
        (A) a calculation of the average cost per 
 delivery; and
 ``
        (B) an evaluation of any services provided by a 
 third party; and
 ``

    (3) best practices regarding use of home delivery to 
 improve the effectiveness of the commodity supplemental food 
 program.
 ``

    (h) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:
 ``

    (1) Commodity supplemental food program.--The term 
 `commodity supplemental food program' means the program 
 established under 

section 4.
 ``

    (2) CFR terms.--The terms `local agency', `State agency', 
 and `subdistributing agency' have the meanings given such terms 
 in 

section 247.1 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
 successor regulations).
 ``

    (3) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
 ``
        (A) a local agency; or
 ``
        (B) a subdistributing agency.
 ``

    (4) Rural area.--The term `rural area' has the meaning 
 given such term in 

section 343

    (a) of the Consolidated Farm and 
 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991

    (a) ).
 ``
            (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2028, to remain available until expended.''.
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