MEALS Act of 2025
Summer Food Benefits: Replacing Stolen EBT Funds
The MEALS Act of 2025 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on Education and Workforce for review. The bill is actively moving as it waits for the committee to decide on its next steps.
Legislative Progress
While protecting food benefits is a popular goal, bills from the minority party often face a difficult path to becoming law without broader support.
Key Points
- This bill requires states and Tribal organizations to give back money to families if their Summer EBT benefits are stolen. This often happens when criminals use electronic devices to copy card information, which is known as skimming or cloning.
- The government will create new security rules to help prevent this kind of theft from happening in the first place. These rules will follow the same high standards used by regular credit and debit card companies to keep accounts safe.
- Families who have their benefits stolen would need to sign a statement and file a claim to get their money back. The amount they receive cannot be more than the amount of their most recent monthly payment.
- State agencies and Tribal groups must report how often these thefts happen and where they are taking place. This information will help the government find better ways to protect families and catch people who steal food benefits.
- The bill also asks for a major study to look at how well the Department of Agriculture is protecting these food programs. This study will offer new ideas on how to keep the payment systems safe from hackers and thieves.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
MEALS Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.