NAPREC · Legislative tracker
Puerto Rico NAP-to-SNAP Legislative Tracker
Track the proposals, committee referrals and federal research behind a possible transition from Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP/PAN) to SNAP.
119th Congress · Official bill records verified October 10, 2026. Neither bill below has become law. Recheck Congress.gov for later actions.
Official bill record
Two proposals in the 119th Congress
The progress label is a snapshot of Congress.gov on the verification date. “Introduced” means a proposal has been filed; it does not change the program by itself.
H.R. 5168 · Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act
Sponsor: Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández. Introduced: September 8, 2025. Referral: House Agriculture; referred to Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture on January 13, 2026, the latest action shown when checked. Cosponsors: 89 on October 10, 2026; count may change.
Status and actions ↗ · Original bill text ↗ · Current cosponsors ↗
S. 3958 · Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act
Sponsor: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Introduced: March 2, 2026. Referral: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry on March 2, 2026, the latest action shown when checked. Cosponsors: 20 on October 10, 2026; count may change.
Status and actions ↗ · Original bill text ↗ · Current cosponsors ↗
The Congress.gov records show no CBO cost estimate attached to either bill at verification. Check each bill’s Committees and Actions tabs for later hearings, markups or reports; a general hearing on food policy is not automatically a hearing on these bills.
Program 101
NAP and SNAP are structured differently
Puerto Rico’s NAP / PAN · current program
Puerto Rico operates a federally funded nutrition assistance block grant administered locally under federal law and USDA oversight. The federal allotment is capped, and Puerto Rico sets program rules within applicable federal requirements. A capped grant cannot automatically expand in the same way as SNAP when participation or benefit costs rise.
SNAP · proposed transition
SNAP is a federal entitlement administered by states under national eligibility and benefit rules, with federal funding for eligible benefits and shared administrative costs. A Puerto Rico transition would require statutory authority, detailed rules, funding, systems, retailer capacity, staffing, integrity controls and phased implementation.
What a transition must settle
Congress would need to address eligibility, benefit calculation, geographic food costs, cash versus noncash benefit rules, federal and local administrative financing, EBT and retailer systems, quality control, workforce training, language access and safeguards against benefit interruption. USDA’s implementation studies assess these choices; a bill introduction alone does not set an operational start date.
Research and fiscal context
Read the federal studies before citing a cost
USDA feasibility update
The 2022 update and implementation plan examine eligibility, administration, integrity, systems and a phased transition. USDA estimates $341–426 million during implementation, then annual benefits of about $4.5 billion and administration of $249–414 million in 2031 dollars. These are modeled projections, not current spending or a CBO score for either bill.
USDA study and plan ↗2010 USDA feasibility study
Congress directed USDA to examine whether and how Puerto Rico could move from a capped block grant to SNAP. The 2010 report provides the baseline for the later 2022 update; the web page was updated in 2025, which is not the study’s original publication date.
Study and methodology ↗GAO comparison
GAO’s 2014 statehood analysis modeled different program and tax scenarios using 2011 data. Its range cannot be treated as a present-day cost estimate for these bills.
GAO-14-31 ↗Historical legislative path
The change from the former Food Stamp Program to a block grant was examined by GAO in 1982 and again in 1992. Later transition proposals included H.R. 5220 (117th Congress, introduced September 10, 2021) and H.R. 253 (118th Congress, introduced January 10, 2023). Both ended at the introduced stage. The Farm Bill is a major vehicle for food assistance authorization, while annual appropriations and USDA administration are separate parts of implementation.
NAPREC supports equitable food assistance. This tracker distinguishes our advocacy from current law, official bill activity and agency projections. Verify the record before sharing a changing status or number.