Sponsors
The bill aims to limit benefits for people with recent drug arrests or positive drug tests and gives States flexibility to enforce screening and testing, trading program integrity and targeted intervention options against higher risks of benefit loss, administrative costs, uneven application across states, and reduced access for vulnerable low-income households.
Low-income people without recent drug arrests or who pass required screenings/tests can keep or receive TANF, SNAP, and public housing eligibility without added applicant fees or extra statutory barriers, speeding access for those who screen as low-risk.
State and local governments can design the timing and details of screening and testing, allowing programs to integrate with existing treatment, casework, and targeting strategies.
Low-income applicants are protected from out-of-pocket costs because States are prohibited from charging applicants for required drug tests or screenings.
Low-income adults with past drug arrests or who test positive risk losing cash assistance, SNAP benefits, or public housing (including up to 12-month bans), substantially increasing poverty, food insecurity, and housing instability for affected households.
Applicants with arrest records — including arrests without convictions — face penalties and a multi-year (e.g., 5-year) lookback that can create barriers to benefits and impede reentry, effectively punishing people who were not convicted.
States that fail to meet implementation or enforcement rules risk up to 15% cuts to TANF grants or SNAP administrative reimbursements, which could reduce program capacity, outreach, or services and indirectly harm beneficiaries statewide.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Makes TANF, SNAP, and federal housing eligibility for adults 18+ contingent on prior five-year drug-arrest checks and state/local drug screening/testing, with penalties for noncompliant administrators.
Introduced January 13, 2025 by David Rouzer · Last progress January 13, 2025
Conditions eligibility for major means-tested programs on drug-arrest history and state-administered drug screening/testing for adults 18 and older. For TANF, SNAP, and federal housing assistance, the bill requires states and local housing entities to check whether an applicant was arrested for a drug-related offense in the prior five years and then require screening and/or drug tests; positive results suspend or deny benefits until specified conditions (time, treatment completion, or negative test) are met. States and housing agencies that substantially fail to enforce the new rules face a 15% reduction in certain federal grants or reimbursements. Testing and screening costs may not be charged to individuals or households.