# 119-hr-5129: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025

119-hr-5129, Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] (D-NC); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5129
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-5129
- Congress: 119
- Title: Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-09-04
- Sponsor: Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12] (D-NC)
- Cosponsors: 4
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Use a new “low‑cost food plan” to set SNAP benefit levels.** The bill would replace the current thrifty food plan with a low‑cost food plan and change how allotments, deductions, and eligibility mechanics are calculated and updated. - Families and households: Would tie monthly allotments to a 4‑person low‑cost food plan and scale per household size. The market basket must be reevaluated by December 31, 2029 and every five years, with annual cost updates using the prior June’s prices. - People with high medical or housing costs: Would create a standard medical deduction of $140 for 2023 and index it to the medical CPI going forward. It would also remove the cap on excess shelter expenses so more housing costs can reduce countable income. - Program operations and payments: Would raise a proviso funding cap from 8% to 10% and set quality‑control adjustments tied to the new plan, including a 2023 adjustment not greater than $50. The bill also inserts a specific $35,000,000 commodity figure for 2023 and updates many cross‑references across the statute.

## Cosponsors (4)

- Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7] (D-NY), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2025-09-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2026-02-04T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Bigger SNAP deductions for households: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would add a standard medical deduction option for elderly or disabled SNAP members. The standard would be $140 for fiscal year 2023 and then change each year by the 12-month change in the CPI-U: Medical Care ending the prior June 30. A State could set a larger standard for a ye…
- SNAP time-limit repeal for adults: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would repeal the SNAP statutory time limit that limits benefits for certain able-bodied adults without dependents. The repeal would strike the time-limit subsection, renumber related subsections, and update multiple cross-references across other laws. People who lost eligibilit…
- New SNAP allotment and funding rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would replace the "thrifty food plan" with a new "low-cost food plan" as the basis for SNAP allotments. The low-cost plan would be defined using a 4-person reference family and republished by December 31, 2029 and every 5 years after. Each October 1, allotments would update usi…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-4275: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025
- 119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act
- 119-hr-2045: Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-5129 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5129)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-4275: Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4275)
- [119-hr-3069: Medicare for All Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3069)
- [119-hr-2045: Medicare Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2045)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5129 (as of 2026-09-21).