S.Amdt. 6475

SA 6475. Mr. REED (for Mr. Warner) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 5499 proposed by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title V, add the following:

SEC. 564. FOOD INSECURITY AMONG MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES TRANSITIONING OUT OF ACTIVE DUTY SERVICE.

(a) Study; Education and Outreach Efforts.--

(1) Study.--The Secretary of Defense shall, in conjunction with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, conduct a study to identify the means by which members of the Armed Forces are provided information about the availability of Federal nutrition assistance programs as they transition out of active duty service.

(2) Education and outreach efforts.--The Secretary of Defense, working with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall increase education and outreach efforts to members of the Armed Forces who are transitioning out of active duty service, particularly those members identified as being at-risk for food insecurity, to increase awareness of the availability of Federal nutrition assistance programs and eligibility for those programs.

(3) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall--

(A) submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the results of the study conducted under paragraph (1); and

(B) publish such report on the website of the Department of Defense.

(b) Report on Coordination Among Departments.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to each congressional committee with jurisdiction over the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Agriculture a report on the coordination, data sharing, and evaluation efforts on food insecurity across those departments.

(2) Elements.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall include the following:

(A) An accounting of the funding each department referred to in paragraph (1) has obligated toward research relating to food insecurity among members of the Armed Forces or veterans.

(B) An outline of methods of comparing programs and sharing best practices for addressing food insecurity by each such department.

(C) An outline of--

(i) the plan each such department has to achieve greater government efficiency and cross-agency coordination, data sharing, and evaluation in addressing food insecurity among members of the Armed Forces; and

(ii) efforts that the departments can undertake to improve coordination to better address food insecurity as it impacts members before, during, and after their active duty service.

(D) Any other information the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be appropriate.

(c) Government Accountability Office Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study to evaluate the feasibility and advisability of expanding eligibility for the basic needs allowance under section 402b of title 37, United States Code, to individuals during the period following the transition of the individuals out of active duty service, up to three months.