[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7585 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7585

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require the promulgation 
of cybersecurity and digital service regulations relating to the use of 
EBT cards under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2024

   Mr. Kim of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require the promulgation 
of cybersecurity and digital service regulations relating to the use of 
EBT cards under the supplemental nutrition assistance 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 ``Enhanced Cybersecurity for SNAP Act 
of 2024''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCED CYBERSECURITY FOR EBT CARDS.

    Section 7(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2016(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(15) Cybersecurity of ebt cards.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Chip-enabled.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--The term `chip-
                                enabled', with respect to a payment 
                                card, means a payment card that uses 
                                industry standard secure payment 
                                technology, as identified by the 
                                Administrator of the Food and Nutrition 
                                Service in consultation with the 
                                Secretary of the Treasury and the 
                                Director of the National Institute of 
                                Standards and Technology, that--
                                            ``(aa) provides for secure 
                                        card-based payment; and
                                            ``(bb) is resistant to 
                                        cloning.
                                    ``(II) EMV chip.--The Administrator 
                                of the Food and Nutrition Service, in 
                                consultation with the Secretary of the 
                                Treasury and the Director of the 
                                National Institute of Standards and 
                                Technology, shall consider whether the 
                                secure payment technology described in 
                                subclause (I) should meet the standards 
                                published by EMVCo for contact and 
                                contactless payments.
                            ``(ii) Mobile friendly.--The term `mobile 
                        friendly' has the meaning given the term in 
                        section 3559(b) of title 44, United States 
                        Code.
                            ``(iii) NIST pin and password standards.--
                        The term `NIST PIN and password standards' 
                        means the PIN and password standards described 
                        in Special Publication 800-63B entitled 
                        `Digital Identity Guidelines' (or a successor 
                        document) of the National Institute of 
                        Standards and Technology.
                            ``(iv) PIN.--The term `PIN' has the meaning 
                        given the term `personal identification number 
                        (PIN)' in section 271.2 of title 7, Code of 
                        Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
                    ``(B) Regulations.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 2 years 
                        after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 
                        the Secretary shall promulgate, and every 5 
                        years thereafter, the Secretary shall review 
                        and update as necessary, cybersecurity and 
                        digital service regulations relating to EBT 
                        cards and mobile payments under the 
                        supplemental nutrition assistance program, 
                        including, at a minimum, to ensure that 
                        cybersecurity measures for EBT cards and mobile 
                        payments keep pace with security safeguards 
                        used by the private sector and required by 
                        Federal agencies for credit, debit, and other 
                        payment cards and mobile payments.
                            ``(ii) Requirements.--The Secretary shall 
                        ensure that the cybersecurity and digital 
                        service regulations described in clause (i) 
                        require the following:
                                    ``(I)(aa) Each State shall operate 
                                the user interfaces listed on the list 
                                of required user interfaces maintained 
                                by the Secretary under item (dd)(AA), 
                                in accordance with this subclause, 1 or 
                                more user interfaces of which 
                                households in the State may, at the 
                                election of the applicable household, 
                                use to manage the EBT account of the 
                                applicable household.
                                    ``(bb)(AA) A State may operate 
                                other user interfaces under item (aa) 
                                in addition to the required user 
                                interfaces on the list maintained by 
                                the Secretary under item (dd)(AA).
                                    ``(BB) Any web-based online portal 
                                operated by a State as a user interface 
                                shall be mobile friendly.
                                    ``(cc) Each user interface offered 
                                by a State under items (aa) and (bb), 
                                as applicable, shall--
                                            ``(AA) provide information 
                                        in each language in which the 
                                        State agency is required to 
                                        make material available 
                                        pursuant to section 272.4(b) of 
                                        title 7, Code of Federal 
                                        Regulations (or successor 
                                        regulations);
                                            ``(BB) be available to 
                                        households at least 99 percent 
                                        of the time; and
                                            ``(CC) include any other 
                                        features required by the 
                                        Secretary.
                                    ``(dd)(AA) The Secretary shall 
                                maintain a list of required user 
                                interfaces for purposes of item (aa), 
                                which may include a web-based online 
                                portal and a mobile application.
                                    ``(BB) The list under subitem (AA) 
                                shall include an application 
                                programming interface through which at 
                                least 1 user interface offered by a 
                                State under item (aa) allows households 
                                to delegate access to some or all 
                                account features identified by the 
                                Secretary to third-party provided 
                                software. No fee shall be charged to 
                                any party for the use of that 
                                application programming interface.
                                    ``(CC) During the 10-year period 
                                following the date on which the 
                                regulations promulgated pursuant to 
                                clause (i) become final, unless the 
                                Secretary extends that period, the 
                                Secretary shall maintain on the list 
                                under subitem (AA) the following user 
                                interfaces: text message, voice 
                                telephone service, and a nondigital 
                                user interface that does not require 
                                the use of a phone or computer by the 
                                household.
                                    ``(II)(aa) Each State shall provide 
                                households on an opt-in basis--
                                            ``(AA) through each digital 
                                        user interface offered under 
                                        subclause (I), timely 
                                        electronic notice of 
                                        transactions using the EBT 
                                        account of the household; and
                                            ``(BB) through each user 
                                        interface offered under 
                                        subclause (I), access to, 
                                        including the ability to 
                                        search, historical transactions 
                                        for not less than the preceding 
                                        12 months.
                                    ``(bb) Transaction information 
                                under subitems (AA) and (BB) of item 
                                (aa) shall include the amount of the 
                                transaction, the merchant for the 
                                transaction, the city and State of the 
                                merchant for an in-person transaction, 
                                and the delivery address or collection 
                                address for an online transaction.
                                    ``(cc) Each State shall offer 
                                households the ability, through each 
                                user interface offered under subclause 
                                (I), to report a fraudulent transaction 
                                to the State.
                                    ``(dd) A State shall not require a 
                                household to respond to or acknowledge 
                                a notice of transaction delivered 
                                pursuant to item (aa)(AA).
                                    ``(ee) A State shall notify a 
                                household that has received 
                                reimbursement for EBT card fraud 
                                pursuant to section 501(b)(2) of 
                                division HH of the Consolidated 
                                Appropriations Act, 2023 (7 U.S.C. 
                                2016a(b)(2)), of the ability of the 
                                household to opt in to restricting the 
                                use of the EBT card as described in 
                                subclause (III) and of the remaining 
                                funds that may be reimbursed if the 
                                household experiences fraud again.
                                    ``(III) Each State shall provide 
                                households issued an EBT card the 
                                ability, through each user interface 
                                offered under subclause (I)--
                                            ``(aa) to make the use of 
                                        that EBT card for online 
                                        transactions workable only 
                                        through virtual card numbers or 
                                        other tokenization technology, 
                                        such as through a mobile 
                                        payment service, which shall 
                                        require a different virtual 
                                        card number for each individual 
                                        online merchant;
                                            ``(bb) to freeze and 
                                        unfreeze the EBT account of the 
                                        household for transactions in 
                                        which the card number printed 
                                        on the EBT card is manually 
                                        entered, either for an in-
                                        person transaction or an online 
                                        transaction; and
                                            ``(cc) to check the 
                                        enrollment status of the 
                                        household, including the date 
                                        on which the household is 
                                        required to apply for 
                                        recertification.
                                    ``(IV) The requirements described 
                                in items (aa) and (bb) of subclause 
                                (III) shall terminate 5 years after the 
                                date on which the regulation 
                                promulgated pursuant to that subclause 
                                becomes final, unless the Secretary 
                                extends that period.
                                    ``(V) A State may opt to make 
                                ineffective the use of the card number 
                                printed on the EBT card to complete an 
                                online transaction, and require online 
                                transactions to occur only in 
                                accordance with subclause (III)(aa).
                                    ``(VI) Not later than 2 years after 
                                the date on which the regulations 
                                promulgated pursuant to clause (i) 
                                become final, States shall begin 
                                issuing chip-enabled EBT cards.
                                    ``(VII) Not later than 4 years 
                                after the date on which the regulations 
                                promulgated pursuant to clause (i) 
                                become final, States may not issue new 
                                EBT cards with magnetic stripes.
                                    ``(VIII) Not later than 5 years 
                                after the date on which the regulations 
                                promulgated pursuant to clause (i) 
                                become final, States shall be required 
                                to reissue any existing valid EBT cards 
                                with magnetic stripes as chip-enabled 
                                EBT cards without magnetic stripes.
                                    ``(IX) In the case of a chip-
                                enabled EBT card reissued pursuant to 
                                any of subclauses (VI) through (VIII), 
                                absent suspicion of fraud, as 
                                applicable, a State shall--
                                            ``(aa) reissue a new chip-
                                        enabled EBT card; and
                                            ``(bb) deactivate the 
                                        current chip-enabled EBT card 
                                        on the date that is the earlier 
                                        of--

                                                    ``(AA) the date on 
                                                which the new chip-
                                                enabled EBT card is 
                                                activated; and

                                                    ``(BB) 30 days 
                                                after the date on which 
                                                the new chip-enabled 
                                                EBT card is sent to the 
                                                household.

                            ``(iii) Sunset for requirement to use chip 
                        technology.--Under the cybersecurity 
                        regulations described in clause (i), all EBT 
                        cards issued during the 5-year period following 
                        the deadline for carrying out clause (ii)(VIII) 
                        shall be chip-enabled, unless the Secretary 
                        extends that period.
                    ``(C) Reimbursements.--Each State upgrading EBT 
                cards to comply with the regulations promulgated under 
                subparagraph (B)(i) shall receive reimbursement from 
                the Secretary in an amount determined by the Secretary 
                to cover all reasonable costs incurred by the State, 
                including--
                            ``(i) the 1-time up-front costs paid by the 
                        State to card vendors;
                            ``(ii) the additional annual fees 
                        associated with chip-enabled cards paid by 
                        States to card vendors; and
                            ``(iii) postage or other delivery-related 
                        costs.
                    ``(D) Prohibition on password and pin requirements 
                inconsistent with federal cybersecurity standards.--
                Beginning 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
                paragraph, a State agency may not require, with respect 
                to a PIN for use of an EBT card or a password for 
                access to an online account or mobile application 
                managing the EBT card--
                            ``(i) that the PIN or password be 
                        periodically changed in circumstances that are 
                        prohibited by the NIST PIN and password 
                        standards; or
                            ``(ii) that the password meet complexity 
                        requirements that are prohibited by the NIST 
                        PIN and password standards.
                    ``(E) Grant program for chip-enabled ebt cards.--
                            ``(i) Definitions.--In this subparagraph:
                                    ``(I) Administering entity.--The 
                                term `administering entity' means an 
                                entity awarded a grant under clause 
                                (ii) to provide subgrants to eligible 
                                entities.
                                    ``(II) Eligible entity.--The term 
                                `eligible entity' means--
                                            ``(aa) an entity described 
                                        in paragraph (1) or (3) of 
                                        section 3(o) that--

                                                    ``(AA) is 
                                                authorized to 
                                                participate in the 
                                                supplemental nutrition 
                                                assistance program 
                                                under section 9;

                                                    ``(BB) does not 
                                                have payment terminals 
                                                that accept chip-
                                                enabled EBT cards; and

                                                    ``(CC) is located 
                                                in an area with limited 
                                                grocery access, as 
                                                determined by the 
                                                Secretary; and

                                            ``(bb) an entity described 
                                        in paragraph (2), (4), or (5) 
                                        of section 3(o) that meets the 
                                        requirements described in 
                                        subitems (AA) and (BB) of item 
                                        (aa).
                            ``(ii) Grants.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish a grant program to award a grant to 
                        an administering entity to provide subgrants to 
                        eligible entities to upgrade to chip-compatible 
                        payment terminals that support contact and 
                        contactless payment card technology.
                    ``(F) Data collection.--The Secretary shall--
                            ``(i) collect, and publish on the website 
                        of the Department of Agriculture, data on--
                                    ``(I) the length of time each user 
                                interface offered by each State 
                                pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii)(I) was 
                                unavailable for use, including due to 
                                technical problems or maintenance 
                                needs; and
                                    ``(II) cybersecurity measures 
                                adopted for EBT cards in each State; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) maintain and annually update the 
                        data collected under clause (i) to support 
                        States in implementing any regulations 
                        promulgated pursuant to subparagraph (B)(i).
                    ``(G) Public report.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year 
                        after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 
                        and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary 
                        shall submit to the Committees on 
                        Appropriations and Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                        Forestry of the Senate and the Committees on 
                        Appropriations and Agriculture of the House of 
                        Representatives, and make publicly available on 
                        the website of the Department of Agriculture, a 
                        report that--
                                    ``(I) identifies trends relating to 
                                the theft of benefits, including the 
                                frequency of theft of benefits and the 
                                location of those thefts;
                                    ``(II) evaluates the effectiveness 
                                of existing cybersecurity regulations 
                                for the supplemental nutrition 
                                assistance program, including 
                                identifying ineffective measures and 
                                the compliance burden borne by 
                                individual benefit recipients;
                                    ``(III) describes the efforts of 
                                States--
                                            ``(aa) to update 
                                        cybersecurity measures for EBT 
                                        cards; and
                                            ``(bb) to reimburse stolen 
                                        benefits; and
                                    ``(IV) examines usability issues of 
                                EBT cards, including issues that 
                                present barriers to households using 
                                benefits or affect fraud prevention 
                                goals.
                            ``(ii) Restricted annex.--The report under 
                        clause (i) may include a nonpublicly available 
                        annex containing classified or law enforcement-
                        sensitive information.''.

SEC. 3. ENSURING NO LOSS OF ACCESS TO BENEFITS DUE TO EBT CARD DAMAGE, 
              LOSS, OR FRAUD.

    Section 7(h)(7) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2016(h)(7)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Regulations'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Regulations''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Ensuring no loss of access to benefits due to 
                ebt card damage, loss, or fraud.--Not later than 180 
                days after the date of enactment of the Enhanced 
                Cybersecurity for SNAP Act of 2024, the Secretary shall 
                promulgate regulations requiring the following:
                            ``(i) If an EBT card is damaged, no longer 
                        functions properly, is stolen, or is frozen due 
                        to fraud, the applicable State shall take the 
                        necessary steps to ensure that the household 
                        receives a replacement card, either by mail or 
                        in person, as selected by the household, not 
                        later than 3 business days after the household 
                        submits to the State a request for a 
                        replacement EBT card.
                            ``(ii) A State shall not require, but shall 
                        offer as an option, in-person collection of a 
                        new or replacement EBT card.''.

SEC. 4. NO REPLACEMENT FEES FOR CERTAIN EBT CARDS.

    Section 7(h)(8)(A) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2016(h)(8)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``A State agency'' and inserting the 
        following:
                            ``(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), a State agency''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(ii) Exceptions.--Beginning 60 days after 
                        the date of enactment of the Enhanced 
                        Cybersecurity for SNAP Act of 2024, a State 
                        agency may not collect a charge under clause 
                        (i) if the replacement of the EBT card is due 
                        to--
                                    ``(I) the EBT card malfunctioning;
                                    ``(II) suspected or reported fraud 
                                relating to that EBT card by an 
                                individual outside of the household to 
                                which the EBT card belongs;
                                    ``(III) the expiration of the EBT 
                                card; or
                                    ``(IV) required replacement of the 
                                EBT card in compliance with regulations 
                                promulgated pursuant to paragraph 
                                (15)(B).''.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR RETAILER USE OF CHIP-ENABLED PAYMENT TERMINALS 
              AS A CONDITION OF SNAP PARTICIPATION.

    Section 9(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2018(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``(2) The Secretary'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(2) Regulations.--The Secretary''; and
                    (B) by indenting the margins of subparagraphs (A) 
                and (B) appropriately;
            (2) by indenting the margin of paragraph (3) appropriately; 
        and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Chip-enabled payment terminals.--Beginning not later 
        than 180 days after the date on which the regulations 
        promulgated pursuant to section 7(h)(15)(B)(i) become final, 
        the Secretary shall require retail food stores and wholesale 
        food concerns seeking authorization or reauthorization to 
        accept and redeem benefits under the supplemental nutrition 
        assistance program to have a chip-enabled (as defined in 
        section 7(h)(15)(A)) payment terminal at each retail location 
        of the retail food store or wholesale food concern.''.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the 
Committees on Appropriations and Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Agriculture of 
the House of Representatives, and make publicly available on the 
website of the Department of Agriculture, a report on the security of 
EBT cards (as defined in section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012)) issued in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
including--
            (1) the resistance of those EBT cards to cloning; and
            (2) if appropriate, recommendations for improving the 
        security of the electronic benefit transfer system against EBT 
        card cloning-based fraud.
    (b) Restricted Annex.--The report under subsection (a) may include 
a nonpublicly available annex containing classified or law enforcement-
sensitive information.

SEC. 7. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

    Section 501 of division HH of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
2023 (7 U.S.C. 2016a), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as 
                paragraphs (1) through (3), respectively; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' 
                        at the end;
                            (ii) by striking subparagraph (C); and
                            (iii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
                        subparagraph (C); and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(vi), by striking 
                        ``measures'' and all that follows through 
                        ``(a)(1)'' and inserting ``measures'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding ``and'' 
                        at the end;
                            (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end; and
                            (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); and
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``subsection 
                (a)(3)'' and inserting ``subsection (a)(1)''.
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