HR 777 — Closing the College Hunger Gap Act

Summary

This bill requires the Department of Education to send information to college students who submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and have negative or zero expected family contribution. The information must describe potential eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), explain the application process, and provide contact details for the student's state SNAP office. Communications must be sent in both written and electronic formats. The requirement takes effect 120 days after the bill's enactment.

AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.

Sponsor (1)

Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)

35 cosponsors

Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC)
Del. Plaskett, Stacey E. [D-VI-At Large] (D-VI)
Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] (D-NC)
Rep. Amo, Gabe [D-RI-1] (D-RI)
Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44] (D-CA)
Rep. Bell, Wesley [D-MO-1] (D-MO)
Rep. Bishop, Sanford D. [D-GA-2] (D-GA)
Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11] (D-OH)
Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA)
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA)
Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30] (D-TX)
Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7] (D-IL)
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10] (D-CA)
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI)
Rep. Friedman, Laura [D-CA-30] (D-CA)
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL)
Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ)
Rep. Ivey, Glenn [D-MD-4] (D-MD)
Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL)
Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA)
Rep. Keating, William R. [D-MA-9] (D-MA)
Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17] (D-CA)
Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA)
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria [D-NY-14] (D-NY)
Rep. Ramirez, Delia C. [D-IL-3] (D-IL)
Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38] (D-CA)
Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA)
Rep. Scholten, Hillary J. [D-MI-3] (D-MI)
Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM)
Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-39] (D-CA)
Rep. Titus, Dina [D-NV-1] (D-NV)
Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY)
Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ)
Rep. Whitesides, George [D-CA-27] (D-CA)

Money behind the sponsor

Top reported contributors to Jahana Hayes’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.

NULL $71,461
BERKSHIRE PARTNERS LLC $14,814
LOEHMANN BLASIUS $13,200
TEENLIFE MEDIA $9,900
JP MORGAN CHASE $9,900

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Jahana Hayes → · Outside spending →

Actions (2)

Jan 28, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce. · house
Jan 28, 2025 Introduced in House

Similar bills (6)

Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.

Full text

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 28, 2025

Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Titus, Ms. Norton, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Chu, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Bishop, Ms. Brown, Ms. Plaskett, and Mrs. Ramirez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to send to certain students who submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid information regarding potential eligibility for assistance under the supplemental nutrition assistance program under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 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 “Closing the College Hunger Gap Act”.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION ON SNAP ELIGIBILITY.

(a) In General.—Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Information on SNAP Eligibility.—

“(1) In general.—For each year for which a student described in paragraph (2) submits a form described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall send to such student information regarding potential eligibility for assistance under, and application process for, the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) in written and electronic form. Both the written and electronic communication shall include contact information for the State agency responsible for administering the supplemental nutrition assistance program in the State in which the student resides.

“(2) Students.—A student is described in this paragraph if the student has a negative or zero student aid index for the year.”.

(b) Consultation.—The Secretary of Education shall consult with the Secretary of Agriculture, and the head of any other applicable Federal or State agency, in designing the written and electronic communication regarding potential eligibility for assistance under, and application process for, the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) as described in section 483(e) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090(e)).

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act and the amendment made by this Act shall take effect 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act. <all>

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