[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 984 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 984
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to permit video or telephone
certifications under the special supplemental nutrition program for
women, infants, and children, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 27, 2023
Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Marshall) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to permit video or telephone
certifications under the special supplemental nutrition program for
women, infants, and children, 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 ``More Options to Develop and Enhance
Remote Nutrition in WIC Act of 2023'' or the ``MODERN WIC Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. REDEFINING PRESENCE AT CERTIFICATION.
(a) In General.--Section 17(d)(3) of the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)) is amended by striking subparagraph (C) and
inserting the following:
``(C) Presence for certain determinations and
evaluations.--
``(i) In general.--Each individual seeking
certification, recertification, or a
nutritional risk evaluation for participation
in the program authorized under this section
shall be provided an appointment that is, at
the option of the individual, through any of
the following formats:
``(I) In person.
``(II) By telephone.
``(III) Through video technology
that permits 2-way, real-time
interactive communications.
``(IV) Through other formats that
permit 2-way, real-time interactive
communications, as determined by the
Secretary.
``(ii) ADA compliance.--Any format made
available for an appointment under clause (i)
shall be accessible to an individual in
accordance with the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 794).
``(iii) Nutritional risk evaluations for
remote certification.--If an individual
certifies for participation in the program
under clause (i) through a format other than
in-person, the State agency shall--
``(I) plan to collect the
anthropometric data necessary to
evaluate the nutritional risk of that
individual within 30 days of the
appointment; and
``(II) collect such data not later
than 90 days after the appointment.
``(iv) Interim eligibility for nutritional
risk.--
``(I) In general.--A State agency
may--
``(aa) consider an
applicant who meets the income
eligibility standards under
this section to be temporarily
eligible on an interim basis to
participate in the program
authorized under this section;
and
``(bb) temporarily certify
that individual for
participation in the program
immediately, without delaying
temporary certification until a
nutritional risk evaluation is
carried out.
``(II) Timing for nutritional risk
evaluation.--A nutritional risk
evaluation for an individual
temporarily certified pursuant to
subclause (I) shall be completed not
later than 90 days after the date of
temporary certification of the
individual.
``(III) Termination of temporary
certification.--The temporary
certification of an individual
certified pursuant to subclause (I)
shall terminate on the earliest of--
``(aa) 91 days after the
date of temporary certification
if the State agency does not
collect data on the individual
pursuant to clause (iii); and
``(bb) the date of a
determination by the State
agency that the individual does
not meet the nutritional risk
criteria.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 17(d)(3) of the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)) is amended by conforming the margin
of subparagraph (B) to the margin of subparagraph (C).
SEC. 3. REMOTE BENEFIT ISSUANCE.
(a) In General.--Section 17(f)(6)(B) of the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(6)(B)) is amended--
(1) in the third sentence--
(A) by striking ``vouchers by mail'' and inserting
``food instruments by mail, remote issuance, or other
means''; and
(B) by striking ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``(iii) Disapproval of state plan.--The
Secretary'';
(2) in the second sentence--
(A) by striking ``vouchers by mail in its plan''
and inserting ``food instruments by mail, remote
issuance, or other means in the State plan''; and
(B) by striking ``The State'' and inserting the
following:
``(ii) State plan.--The State''; and
(3) by striking ``(B) State agencies'' and all that follows
through ``to obtain vouchers.'' and inserting the following:
``(B) Delivery of food instruments.--
``(i) In general.--State agencies may
provide for the delivery of food instruments,
including electronic benefit transfer cards, to
any participant through means that do not
require the participant to travel to the local
agency to obtain the food instruments, such as
through mailing or remote issuance.''.
(b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section
246.12(r) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, by striking
paragraph (4).
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee
on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives a report on the
use of remote technologies under the special supplemental nutrition
program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) (referred to in this
section as the ``program'').
(b) Content of Report.--The report submitted under subsection (a)
shall include a description of--
(1) the use of remote technologies and other digital tools,
including video, telephone, and online platforms--
(A) to certify eligible individuals for program
services; and
(B) to provide nutrition education and
breastfeeding support to program participants;
(2) the impact of remote technologies, including video,
telephone, and online platforms, on certifications,
appointments, and participant satisfaction under the program;
and
(3) best practices--
(A) to certify program participants for program
services using remote technologies;
(B) to incorporate the use of digital tools into
the program certification process;
(C) to integrate nutrition education and
breastfeeding support services for program participants
into remote technologies and platforms; and
(D) to securely manage program participant data.
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