Tribes would gain the right to take over running the federal food distribution program on Indian reservations (FDPIR), which provides USDA commodity foods to low-income households on reservations who don't have easy access to grocery stores or SNAP. Currently that program is run by the Department of Agriculture or its state and local partners; this bill lets any tribe, through a tribal council vote, request a self-determination contract to operate the program directly, similar to contracts tribes already use to run other federal services under existing law. The Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Self-Governance would provide technical assistance to both USDA and tribes navigating the new contracting process. The bill changes who has authority to administer an existing program rather than creating new funding.
Congressional Summary
FDPIR Tribal Food Sovereignty Act of 2026This bill expands and makes permanent a pilot program through which the Department of Agriculture must enter into self-determination contracts with tribal organizations, upon the request of an Indian tribe, to carry out the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). (FDPIR provides, in lieu of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, food commodities to low-income households on Indian reservations and to Native American families residing in Oklahoma or in designated areas near Oklahoma.)
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-06-15
- Date Added
- 2026-07-18
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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