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Chairmen Scott and Smith Lead Letter to Offer Recommendations for Addressing Food Insecurity in the U.S. Military

Washington, March 30, 2022

WASHINGTON – This week, House Agriculture Committee Chairman David Scott (D-Georgia); Representative Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations; Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Chair of the House Armed Services Committee; and Representative Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel; led 27 of their colleagues across the House in signing a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III outlining recommendations for the basic needs allowance (BNA) implementation to effectively combat food and financial insecurity for low-income servicemembers:

“As Members of the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Armed Services,” the Members wrote to Secretary Austin, “we share your desire to address food insecurity for servicemembers and look forward to working together on this issue.” 

The Members recommend that the Department of Defense consider the following actions to make the BNA “as effective as possible in combatting food and financial insecurity for low-income servicemembers”:  

  • Ensure the basic needs allowance is an “opt-out” benefit, automatically enrolling all who are eligible based on the Department’s screening.  

  • Utilize Basic Housing Allowance exclusion authority to the greatest extent possible in order to determine BNA eligibility for servicemembers located in areas with a high cost of living.  

  • Certify eligibility for the allowance annually to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens for both the Department and servicemembers.  

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) included a basic needs allowance (BNA) for low-income servicemembers in the U.S. military.

“No servicemember should struggle with getting enough to eat while serving our great nation. I am thankful to the Biden Administration for their focus on this issue and their support for the inclusion of a basic needs allowance in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to address this problem,” said Chairman David Scott. 

“Dealing with the difficult, longstanding issue of military hunger will require a strong implementation of the basic needs allowance by the Department of Defense, and we believe that these recommendations will help to best address the needs of those who are working every day to defend our country,” Chairman David Scott added.  

The full text of the letter can be found here.
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