[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4923 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4923
To require the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the
Director of the Bureau of the Census, to establish an interagency food
security measurement program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 24, 2026
Ms. Blunt Rochester (for herself and Mr. Lujan) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the
Director of the Bureau of the Census, to establish an interagency food
security measurement 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 ``Food Assurance and Security Act''.
SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY FOOD SECURITY MEASUREMENT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary''), in coordination with the Director of the
Bureau of the Census, shall establish an interagency food security
measurement program, under which the Secretary shall coordinate the
annual collection, analysis, and reporting of data on food insecurity
and hunger, including the food security supplement required under
subsection (b).
(b) Food Security Supplement.--
(1) In general.--The Current Population Survey conducted by
the Bureau of the Census shall include a food security
supplement consistent with the Current Population Survey Food
Security Supplement questionnaire issued in 2023 by the Bureau
of the Census for the Economic Research Service that--
(A) includes the questions described in paragraph
(2) for each Current Population Survey conducted during
calendar years 2026 through 2028; and
(B) as of January 1, 2029, may contain those
questions or substantially similar questions, subject
to the condition that any amendments to the questions
are predicated on robust testing, public input, and
clearance from the Office of Management and Budget.
(2) Questions described.--The questions referred to in
paragraph (1)(A) are the following:
(A) Was the answer often, sometimes, or never true
for you in the last 12 months for each of the
following:
(i) We worried whether our food would run
out before we got money to buy more.
(ii) The food that we bought just didn't
last and we didn't have money to get more.
(iii) We couldn't afford to eat balanced
meals.
(B) In the last 12 months, did you or other adults
in the household ever cut the size of your meals or
skip meals because there wasn't enough money for food?
(C) If the answer is yes to the previous question,
how often did this happen--almost every month, some
months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?
(D) In the last 12 months, did you ever eat less
than you felt you should because there wasn't enough
money for food?
(E) In the last 12 months, were you ever hungry,
but didn't eat, because there wasn't enough money for
food?
(F) In the last 12 months, did you lose weight
because there wasn't enough money for food?
(G) In the last 12 months, did you or other adults
in your household ever not eat for a whole day because
there wasn't enough money for food?
(H) If the answer is yes to the previous question,
how often did this happen--almost every month, some
months but not every month, or in only 1 or 2 months?
(I) In the case of a household that includes
children ages 0 to 17, the following additional
questions:
(i) Was the answer often, sometimes, or
never true for you in the last 12 months for
each of the following:
(I) We relied on only a few kinds
of low-cost food to feed our children
because we were running out of money to
buy food.
(II) We couldn't feed our children
a balanced meal, because we couldn't
afford that.
(III) The children were not eating
enough because there wasn't enough
money for food.
(ii) In the last 12 months, did you ever
cut the size of any of the children's meals
because there wasn't enough money for food?
(iii) In the last 12 months, were the
children ever hungry because there wasn't
enough money for food?
(iv) In the last 12 months, did any of the
children ever skip a meal because there wasn't
enough money for food?
(v) If the answer is yes to the previous
question, how often did this happen--almost
every month, some months but not every month,
or in only 1 or 2 months?
(vi) In the last 12 months, did any of the
children ever not eat for a whole day because
there wasn't enough money for food?
(c) Annual Report.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress, and
make publicly available on the website of the Department of
Agriculture, an annual report of the data collected under the program
established under subsection (a), including the findings related to the
food security supplement required under subsection (b).
(d) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as
are necessary to carry out this section.
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