Sponsors (73)
The bill expands and secures nutrition assistance for U.S. territories (notably Puerto Rico and American Samoa) and provides implementation support, at the cost of higher and less-certain federal spending, possible reallocation of pooled funds across territories, and transitional administrative burdens and delays.
Low-income residents of Puerto Rico become explicitly eligible for SNAP and keep existing nutrition assistance during the planning/transition period, increasing access to federal food benefits.
American Samoa’s nutrition assistance program will be fully federally funded (100% of pooled funds directed to American Samoa after the statutory period), securing benefits for program participants there.
Improved implementation support and administrative predictability: federal training/technical assistance, faster review timelines, annual reporting, and access to needed funds reduce the risk of service interruptions and help territories and agencies implement the transition.
Taxpayers face increased and potentially open-ended federal costs — expanding SNAP eligibility to Puerto Rico, fully federalizing American Samoa’s program, and leaving funding unspecified creates fiscal exposure and deficit risk.
Puerto Rico residents could experience delays or uncertainty in receiving SNAP benefits because of plan disapprovals, required corrections, Congressional certification steps, and the continued use of the block grant during transition.
Directing 100% of pooled funds to American Samoa after the statutory period could reduce funding available to Puerto Rico and other territories, creating winners and losers among territories.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Adds Puerto Rico to SNAP eligibility and creates a process and temporary block-grant continuation to transition Puerto Rico into SNAP while revising American Samoa’s funding formula.
Official title: To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to transition the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to the supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 8, 2025 by Pablo José Hernández · Last progress September 8, 2025
Expands federal supplemental nutrition assistance rules to allow Puerto Rico to transition from its block grant program to participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), sets deadlines and review requirements for Puerto Rico’s State plan submission and USDA action, and authorizes the USDA Secretary to continue Puerto Rico’s existing block grant for up to five years to allow transition. The bill also revises the allocation rules for American Samoa to increase federal support for that territory’s nutrition program and authorizes unspecified appropriations to carry out the transition. Most substantive amendments become effective 10 years after enactment, while other provisions take effect on enactment.