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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9980 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9980
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to
establish an Office of Kosher and Halal Foods, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 11, 2024
Ms. Meng introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education
and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to
establish an Office of Kosher and Halal Foods, 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. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) There are approximately 7.5 million Jewish Americans
and 3.45 million Muslim Americans.
(2) Thirty-five percent of Jewish Americans and 83 percent
of Muslim Americans follow religiously required dietary
restrictions.
(3) Meaningful percentages of Jewish and Muslim American
communities are food insecure and could benefit from Department
of Agriculture emergency food programs such as the Emergency
Food Assistance Program (commonly known and referred to in this
section as ``TEFAP'').
(4) Studies have shown that people in the United States
that follow religiously required diets will forgo food even if
hungry rather than eat food that is forbidden to them.
(5) Kosher and halal food options in these programs are
therefore essential for individuals adhering to religiously
required dietary restrictions.
(6) Estimates suggest that 50 percent of the food on
grocery store shelves in the United States has at least one
kosher certification.
(7) Despite the fact that kosher and halal products are
readily available in the commercial marketplace, while the
Department of Agriculture has expanded kosher and halal options
available through TEFAP, Department of Agriculture feeding
programs currently do not provide sufficient options to fully
meet the needs of people in the United States with religiously
required dietary restrictions. For example, TEFAP currently
only requires 8 certified kosher products and 1 halal certified
product.
(8) Congress has in the past, recognized the need to
increase access to emergency kosher and halal food in the
Nation's food programs.
(9) Through TEFAP, Congress previously sought to expand
access to kosher and halal food through Department of
Agriculture programs by mandating that the Secretary ``shall
finalize and implement a plan to increase the purchase of
Kosher and Halal food''.
(10) Nevertheless, the lack of current kosher and halal
food options prevent those with religiously required diets from
fully participating in the Nation's food programs and are
fundamentally unfair and inequitable.
(11) As part of the United States National Strategy to
Counter Antisemitism, the Department of Agriculture is
committed to work ``to ensure equal access to all USDA feeding
programs for USDA customers with religious dietary needs. This
will include increasing commercially available kosher and halal
foods that are priorities for Jewish and Muslim program
participants; expanding the number of kosher or halal certified
foods in USDA's food procurement; training schools on how to
meet students' religious dietary needs for the National School
Lunch and School Breakfast programs; and expanding outreach and
technical assistance for kosher and halal meat processors.''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF KOSHER AND HALAL FOODS.
The Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6901 note et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 310. OFFICE OF KOSHER AND HALAL FOODS.
``(a) Establishment.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish in the
Department an Office of Kosher and Halal Foods (referred to in this
section as the `Office').
``(b) Director.--The Secretary shall appoint a Director of the
Office who shall--
``(1) be an individual with expertise in feeding programs
carried out by the Secretary, national supply logistics, and
religiously required diets; and
``(2) be responsible for carrying out the mission and
responsibilities of the Office as specified in this section.
``(c) Mission.--The mission of the Office shall be to provide
guidance and expertise to the Secretary necessary to ensure that people
in the United States with religiously required diets have full, fair,
and equal access to all food programs administered by the Secretary.
``(d) Responsibilities.--The Office shall be responsible for
engaging in activities to carry out the mission described in subsection
(c), including--
``(1) advising on the cost-effective procurement of kosher
and halal food for distribution through programs administered
by the Secretary;
``(2) assisting local and regional food banks and pantries
with the cost-effective procurement of kosher and halal food;
``(3) advising the Secretary on the establishment of a
national kosher and halal emergency food bank and distribution
network;
``(4) working with industry stakeholders to support the
Department in securing kosher and halal food across food
groups, to allow pantries to provide balanced pantry bags
aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans established
under section 301 of the National Nutrition Monitoring and
Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341);
``(5) advising the Secretary on the needs of students with
religiously required dietary restrictions in the covered
nutrition programs;
``(6) advocating for, and supporting funding initiatives
for, increased access to kosher and halal food options in
feeding programs administered by the Secretary;
``(7) providing educational resources to producers, food
banks, schools, food pantries, and other emergency food
providers who contract with the Secretary to distribute food on
kosher and halal requirements to assist such producers, food
banks, schools, food pantries, and other emergency food
providers in ensuring equal access to their programs for
individuals who present with religious required diets;
``(8) conducting research and collecting data, in
partnership with the Economic Research Service, on kosher and
halal food in the United States and food insecurity in the
Jewish and Muslim American communities; and
``(9) administering any pilot, grant, or other programs
administered by the Department that are designed to increase
access to kosher and halal food under the emergency food
assistance program established under the Emergency Food
Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.).
``(e) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Office
shall submit to Congress a report on the activities to be carried out
by the Office and any relevant data relating to such activities and
goals for the Office for the following year.
``(f) Covered Nutrition Program Defined.--In this section, the term
`covered nutrition program' means--
``(1) the school lunch program established under the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et
seq.);
``(2) the school breakfast program established under
section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773);
and
``(3) the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program established
under section 18(g) of the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)).
``(g) Funding.--
``(1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity
Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this
section $1,600,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029,
to remain available until expended.
``(2) Discretionary funding.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $1,600,000 for each of
fiscal years 2025 through 2029, to remain available until
expended.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture, and Horticulture.
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