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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.
Summary
This bill expands eligibility for supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits to include certain college and university students. Specifically, it allows students with a student aid index equal to or less than zero and students determined to be independent under Higher Education Act criteria to qualify for SNAP benefits. The bill removes restrictions on educational loans in SNAP eligibility determinations and modifies work requirements to allow students to count attendance at higher education institutions toward these requirements. The bill takes effect 180 days after 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)
20 cosponsors
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC)
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH)
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA)
- Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7] (D-IN)
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA)
- Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28] (D-CA)
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY)
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN)
- Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30] (D-TX)
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA)
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL)
- Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29] (D-TX)
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)
- Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL)
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA)
- Rep. Salinas, Andrea [D-OR-6] (D-OR)
- Rep. Smith, Adam [D-WA-9] (D-WA)
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI)
- Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12] (D-MI)
- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY)
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Nikema Williams’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- RADCO $6,600
- PERENNIAL PROPERTIES $6,600
- GOLDMAN SACHS $6,600
- CORNERSTONE GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS $6,500
- NULL $6,300
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Nikema Williams → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Apr 9, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. · house
- Apr 9, 2026 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
April 9, 2026
Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Norton, Ms. Salinas, Mr. Thanedar, Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Velazquez, 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.
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 “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. <all>
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