Bill Summary - Timely Review of SNAP Online Retailer Applications Act of 2023

This bill aims to make sure that the Secretary of Agriculture makes timely decisions on applications from retail food stores to accept benefits from recipients of supplemental nutrition assistance through online transactions. It requires the Secretary to make a determination of approval or non-approval within 180 days of receiving the application. If the decision cannot be made on time, the Secretary must provide an explanation to Congress.

Explanation of Bill H.R. 6569

Short Title: "Enabling Farmer, Food worker, Environmental, and Climate Targets through Innovative, Values-aligned, and Equitable Food Procurement Act" or the "EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act"

The purpose of this bill is to improve the purchasing of food by the Department of Agriculture and promote a more just, healthy, and sustainable food system. It aims to achieve this by implementing requirements and programs that support regional and resilient food economies, worker well-being, a safe and healthy environment, equity and inclusion, and fairness for family farms, fishing businesses, and ranches.

The bill establishes definitions for various terms, including "beginning farmer, fisherman, or rancher," "covered authority," "fishing business," "Indian Tribe," "Native Alaskan," "Native Hawaiian," "policy to limit deforestation," "Secretary," "socially disadvantaged farmer, fisherman, or rancher," "tradeoff process," and "veteran farmer, fisherman, or rancher."

The bill introduces requirements for equitable food procurement by the Department of Agriculture. These requirements include purchasing foods that support equity and inclusion, diversified and resilient supply chains, worker well-being, and mitigation of the impacts of climate change. The Secretary of Agriculture is required to submit annual reports to Congress, including information on the percentage of spending on each category of food, greenhouse gas emissions associated with food purchasing, targets for increasing the percentage of spending on specific food categories, and recommendations for enhancing supply chain transparency and increasing food procurement from specified categories.

The bill also establishes a Best Value Procurement Pilot Program, technical assistance for eligible participants in procurement programs, and grants to assist eligible applicants in participating in the procurement programs of the Department of Agriculture.

The authorized appropriation for this bill is $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, to remain available through fiscal year 2030.