H.R. 6252 — Food Assurance and Security Act

This section establishes an interagency food security measurement program, led by the Secretary of Agriculture in coordination with the Census Bureau Director, to coordinate annual data collection, analysis, and reporting on food insecurity and hunger. (As background, the Current Population Survey—conducted monthly by the Census Bureau to measure U.S. labor force statistics—has periodically included a food security supplement using a validated questionnaire to gauge the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity.) The section requires the survey to include such a supplement, consistent with the 2023 questionnaire and using specified questions on adult and child food insecurity experiences (e.g., worrying about food running out, cutting/skipping meals, hunger), for FY2026 through FY2028 and thereafter with substantially similar questions subject to testing, review, public input, and OMB clearance; directs the Secretary to publish findings in an annual report on the department website and submit it to Congress; and appropriates such sums as necessary to USDA, with transfers to the Census Bureau for supplement costs.