Rep. Panetta Leads Bipartisan and Cross-Committee Coalition in the House to Address Military Family Hunger

Monterey, CA – Today,U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) led a bipartisan cross-committee coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives in introducing two pieces of legislation to help military families facing hunger to purchase nutritious meals by expanding eligibility for federal support.

Rep. Panetta and Representatives Blake Moore (UT-01), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Don Bacon (NE-02), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Mike Levin (CA-49), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) introduced the Military Food Security Actof 2023. This legislation would expand eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) by excluding Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from income calculations that determine eligibility for the BNA. The BNA is a program designed to support low-income servicemembers. Concurrently, Rep. Panetta and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair McMorris Rodgers reintroduced the Military Family Nutrition Access Act. That bill would remove unintended barriers which prevent military families from accessing safety-net nutrition assistance programs.

A February 2023 report from the Office of the Secretary of Defense in partnership with the RAND Corporation found that 25.8% of personnel in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard were food insecure. Of that, nearly 70% were mid-career enlisted personnel. Relatedly, in February, the Department of Defense released its 2021 Survey of Active-Duty Spouses that found that 31% of junior enlisted spouses were food insecure.

"It's unconscionable to think that there are those who serve our nation who go hungry. Moreover, it's absolutely unacceptable that they and their families are unable to access government food programs just because of a bureaucratic calculation," said Rep. Panetta. "My Military Family Nutrition Act and the Military Food Security Act can fix that issue by removing certain barriers for that computation that would allow them easier access to assistance programs, like the Basic Needs Allowance and SNAP. It's these types of commonsense bipartisan bills in Congress that need to get passed and signed into law to insure the health and wellbeing of our service members and their families who contribute so much to the security of our nation."

The members plan to push for the bills in the upcoming FY24 National Defense Authorization Act and 2023 Farm Bill respectively.

Military Food Security Act

Reps. Panetta, Moore, Strickland, Bacon Jacobs, Levin, and McMorris Rodgers introduced the Military Food Security Act to expand eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA). The legislation would remove Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from income computation that is calculated to determine servicemember's eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA).

For the past three years, Congress has advocated for new and increased measures to assist our personnel facing food insecurity in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). While Congress established the Basic Needs Allowance in the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA, BNA was narrowly implemented and left many impacted servicemembers still facing hunger. Servicemembers facing food and housing insecurity should not have their benefits counted against them. The removal of housing benefits from income computation to determine BNA eligibility would better target personnel facing the highest rates of hunger.

"Last year, I joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the fight against food insecurity among our military families," said Rep. Moore. "This Congress, I am proud to continue this effort and partner with my colleague Congressman Panetta to advocate for military families and grow this coalition. My experiences engaging with servicemembers at Hill Air Force Base have shown me that an integral part of the base's mission is caring for military families, and therefore I am looking forward to advancing the Military Food Security Act through the legislative process."

"Caring for servicemembers and their families is foundational to military readiness. It is unacceptable that the men and women who serve our country must worry about putting food on the table," said Rep. Strickland. "I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Military Food Security Act to take care of military families at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and across the nation. We must uphold our end of the promise to our servicemembers and put an end to military hunger."

"It angers me knowing that those who give so much of their lives to protect our country, would have to struggle with feeding their families—who are also sacrificing for us," said Rep. Bacon. "This bill is a great step forward in ensuring that our service members and their families are taken care of as they should be."

"In San Diego, the Basic Allowance for Housing is a drop in the bucket that barely covers the cost of rent. And yet, it's counted as income – making it look like service members and their families, who are struggling to put food on the table, earn too much money to qualify for SNAP or CalFresh benefits," said Rep. Jacobs. "It's shameful that we're failing to provide the very basics to those who have served and sacrificed so much for us. Our legislation will take a powerful step forward to right this wrong and help ensure that more service members and military families are food secure."

"Military families living in high-cost communities, including many neighborhoods in my district, are negatively impacted by the inclusion of their housing stipend in assessing their eligibility for the basic needs allowance," said Rep. Levin. "The housing allowance is incorrectly considered income, which reduces or eliminates support, leaving military families hungry and unable to make ends meet. Our bill rectifies this issue by removing the housing stipend from consideration as income and opening the doors for families to qualify for the assistance they need. I am proud to join Rep. Panetta in introducing this bill and look forward to it being considered in the legislative process."

Recent reports indicate that implementation of the BNA does not match Congressional intent. Only about 2,400 servicemembers will be helped by the basic needs allowance in its current form, or 0.08% of those facing hunger.

Military Family Nutrition Access Act

Rep. Panetta and Chair McMorris Rodgers announced the reintroduction of the Military Family Nutrition Access Act, a bill designed to provide essential support to military families in accessing healthy and affordable food options. This legislation would exclude the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), a subset of military compensation intended to cover the costs of off-base housing, from income calculations used to determine Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility. Companion legislation has been reintroduced by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

In 2019, SNAP households included 22,000 active-duty service members, 213,000 members of the National Guard or reservists, and 1.1 million veterans. Amending income calculations to exclude the BAH would allow tens of thousands more service members to qualify for the food assistance programs and become food secure.

"Inflation continues to send the cost of basic goods through the roof, and it's making it difficult for civilian and military families alike to make ends meet," said Chair Rodgers. "Those who put on the uniform sacrifice enough. They should never have to worry about providing for their family, which is why these bipartisan bills are so important. While they're not a silver bullet, they are an important first step towards rethinking the way we provide a safety net and temporary assistance to our servicemembers in their time of need."

The Military Family Nutrition Act will provide a range of support measures to help military families access healthy and affordable food options. These measures include:

• Expanding the eligibility criteria for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to include military families who meet certain income requirements.
• Providing grants to military installations to support the development of farmers markets and healthy food options on base.
• Establishing a pilot program to provide healthy meal kits to military families.

The Military Food Security Act and Military Family Nutrition Act are endorsed by MAZON and the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).

"Military hunger represents a threat to readiness, retention, and recruitment for our Armed Forces, and it is long past time for Congress to take action" said Abby J. Leibman, President & CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. "It is completely unacceptable that 24% of military families are struggling with food insecurity. In fact, it would be unacceptable for even one military family to face hunger — yet we know that food pantries operate on or near every military base in the country because this shameful problem is so pervasive. We at MAZON are proud to support policy solutions like the Military Food Security Act of 2023, because active-duty service members and their families should not have to overcome policy barriers, unnecessary red-tape, and bureaucratic systems simply to put food on the table. We urge all members of Congress to prioritize policy solutions to address this crisis, and for Congress and the Administration to join MAZON as we prioritize ending military hunger in the next Farm Bill."

"More must be done to ensure food security among our servicemembers and their families. The Basic Needs Allowance must be structured in a way that ensures those who are truly most in need are eligible for support," said MOAA president and CEO Lt Gen Brian T. Kelly, USAF (Ret). "We applaud Reps. Panetta, Moore, Bacon, Jacobs, Strickland, Levin, and McMorris Rodgers for their continued leadership and work to improve this vital program."

###