No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3236 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3236
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure Tribal
consultation and representation under the food distribution program on
Indian reservations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 20, 2025
Mrs. Fischer (for herself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Hoeven, Ms.
Cortez Masto, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to ensure Tribal
consultation and representation under the food distribution program on
Indian reservations, 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 ``Increasing Tribal Input on Nutrition
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. TRIBAL CONSULTATION AND REPRESENTATION; SUPPLY CHAIN
DISRUPTIONS.
(a) Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.--Section 4(b)
of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``tribal organization'' each place it
appears and inserting ``Tribal organization'';
(2) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (9); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) Tribal inclusion in contracting process.--Prior to
conducting evaluation of contracts under the food distribution
program on Indian reservations under this subsection, the
Secretary shall--
``(A) consult with Indian Tribes and Tribal
organizations and ensure their feedback is integrated
into the evaluation; and
``(B) consider feedback from Indian Tribes and
Tribal organizations throughout the evaluation process.
``(8) Supply chain disruptions.--
``(A) Definition of supply chain disruption.--
``(i) In general.--In this paragraph, the
term `supply chain disruption' means a shortage
of foods that impedes the distribution of
commodities, as determined by the Secretary.
``(ii) Inclusion.--The term `supply chain
disruption' includes a supplemental food
shortage due to a multifood warehouse issue
that affects contracting, production,
manufacture, sourcing, procurement,
transportation, or storage of food and impedes
the function of the food distribution program
on Indian reservations under this subsection,
as determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Emergency assistance.--If the Secretary
determines that there is a supply chain disruption, the
Secretary--
``(i) shall, not later than 45 days after
the date on which the Secretary makes that
determination, designate an emergency warehouse
contractor to provide the required food
capacity in a timely manner; and
``(ii) may provide direct payments or
reimbursements to an Indian Tribe or Tribal
organization administering the food
distribution program on Indian reservations
under this subsection to purchase food in
accordance with subparagraph (D).
``(C) Payments.--The total amount of payments
provided under subparagraph (B)(ii) to an Indian Tribe
or Tribal organization shall not exceed the amount of
funding that the Secretary would otherwise expend for
that Indian Tribe or Tribal organization during the
same time period under the food distribution program on
Indian reservations under this subsection.
``(D) Procurement of agricultural commodities.--
``(i) In general.--Any agricultural
commodities purchased by an Indian Tribe or
Tribal organization using payments under
subparagraph (B)(ii) shall satisfy the
conditions described in clause (ii), unless
waived by the Secretary.
``(ii) Conditions described.--The
conditions referred to in clause (i) for
agricultural commodities are the following:
``(I) The agricultural commodities
are domestically produced.
``(II) The agricultural commodities
supplant, not supplement, the type of
agricultural commodities in existing
food packages for that Indian Tribe or
Tribal organization.
``(III) The agricultural
commodities are of similar or higher
nutritional value as the type of
agricultural commodities that would be
supplanted in the existing food package
for that Indian Tribe or Tribal
organization.
``(IV) The agricultural commodities
meet any other criteria determined by
the Secretary.
``(E) Notification; publication.--If the Secretary
designates an emergency warehouse contractor under
subparagraph (B)(i), the Secretary shall--
``(i) notify each affected Tribal
organization or State agency of the
designation, including an explanation of the
determination of the Secretary of a supply
chain disruption; and
``(ii) make that designation, and
explanation of the determination, publicly
available on the website of the Department of
Agriculture.''.
(b) Commodity Supplemental Food Program.--Section 5 of the
Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note;
Public Law 93-86) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(n) Consultation With Indian Tribes.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall implement the
commodity supplemental food program in a manner that is
responsive to the needs of the members of Indian Tribes and
Tribal organizations by conducting annual consultations with
Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations.
``(2) Amendments to state plans.--
``(A) In general.--With respect to submitting any
amendment to a State plan pursuant to section 247.6 of
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor
regulation), a State agency is encouraged--
``(i) prior to that submission, to consult
in good faith with applicable Indian Tribes or
Tribal organizations on the content of the
amendment; and
``(ii) to include in the submission
documentation evidencing that consultation.
``(B) Technical assistance.--The Secretary shall
provide technical assistance to State agencies,
including by entering into cooperative agreements, on
how to properly conduct consultations pursuant to
subparagraph (A), including relating to--
``(i) providing proper notice as to when a
consultation will take place;
``(ii) ensuring consultations are with
Tribal officials; and
``(iii) releasing a collaborative agenda in
advance of the consultation.
``(o) Supply Chain Disruptions.--
``(1) Definition of supply chain disruption.--
``(A) In general.--In this paragraph, the term
`supply chain disruption' means a shortage of foods
that impedes the distribution of commodities, as
determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Inclusion.--The term `supply chain
disruption' includes a supplemental food shortage due
to a multifood warehouse issue that affects
contracting, production, manufacture, sourcing,
procurement, transportation, or storage of food and
impedes the function of the commodity supplemental food
program, as determined by the Secretary.
``(2) Emergency warehouse contractor.--If the Secretary
determines that there is a supply chain disruption, the
Secretary shall, not later than 45 days after the date on which
the Secretary makes that determination, designate an emergency
warehouse contractor to provide the required food capacity in a
timely manner.
``(3) Notification; publication.--If the Secretary
designates an emergency warehouse contractor under paragraph
(2), the Secretary shall--
``(A) notify each affected Tribal organization or
State agency of the designation, including an
explanation of the determination of the Secretary of a
supply chain disruption; and
``(B) make that designation, and explanation of the
determination, publicly available on the website of the
Department of Agriculture.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line