Introduced in House — H.R. 8246

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 8246

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 9, 2026

Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Crockett, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Ms. Salinas, Mr. Thanedar, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Carbajal, and Ms. Tlaib) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To allow certain students, including those who have a student aid index equal to or less than zero, to qualify for supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.

Section 1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Overcoming Higher Education Hunger Through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Act of 2026 or the OHH SNAP Act of 2026.

Sec. 2. SNAP treatment of educational loans

Section 5(k) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(k)) is amended—

(1)

by striking paragraph (3); and

(2)

by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3).

Sec. 3. Eligibility of students to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program

Section 6 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015) is amended—

(1)

in subsection (e)—

(A)

in paragraph (7), by striking or at the end;

(B)

in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(C)

by adding at the end the following:

(9)
has a student aid index that is equal to or less than $0, as determined by the procedures established in part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk–1087vv); or
(10)
is determined to be independent based on one of the criteria specified in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), (G), and (H) of section 480(d)(1) of the Higher Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1087vv).; and

(2)

in subsection (o)(2)(A), by striking work and inserting attending an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002)) or work, in the aggregate,.

Sec. 4. Effective date; application of amendments

(a) Effective date

Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Application of amendments

The amendments made by this Act shall not apply with respect to certification periods that begin before the effective date of this Act.