Tribal Access to Nutrition Assistance Act

What it does

If Congress passes it, this bill would increase food security among Tribal communities—who suffer from much higher rates of food insecurity than the general public. Specifically, the bill would:

• Expand nutrition assistance to Tribal families by allowing individuals who are eligible for both Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) to use both programs in the same month;
• Make FDPIR more consistent with other federal food programs, which allow concurrent use of other benefits;
• Eliminate the administrative burden that comes with forcing individuals who qualify for both SNAP and FDPIR to pick between programs each month.

Who supports this bill?

The Tribal Access to Nutrition Assistance Act was introduced by Senators Patty Murray and Catherine Cortez Masto. In the Senate, this bill is referred to as S. 2563, and these Senators are already supporting the bill. This bill has not yet been introduced to the House of Representatives.

This bill is endorsed by the Intertribal Agriculture Council, Native Farm Bill Coalition, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and many other regional tribal groups.

Want to support this bill?

You can call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be connected with your elected officials. An operator will ask for your address and then forward your call to friendly staff who work for the people elected to represent you. As a constituent in their district, your voice matters!

If your Senators and House Representative aren’t already on the list of cosponsors who support the bill:

• Ask your two Senators to “cosponsor the Tribal Access to Nutrition Assistance Act, S. 2563.”
• Ask your House Representative to “support a companion bill to the Tribal Access to Nutrition Assistance Act, S. 2563.”

If your elected officials are already supporting the Tribal Access to Nutrition Assistance Act, you can always contact them to thank them and help spread the word among your networks.

Resources

If you’d like to learn more about the Tribal Access to Nutrition Assistance Act, you can:

• Find detailed instructions for calling or writing your Senators (tip: enter your address)
• Track the bill’s progress on Congress.gov or GovTrack
• Learn why lawmakers support this bill (Senator Patty Murray’s press release and Catherine Cortez Masto’s press release)
• Read the full bill text

See more bills worthy of your support in the 2023 Farm Bill.