Sponsors (8)
The bill expands SNAP access and smooths reentry for people with drug convictions and those nearing release, improving food security but increasing program costs and removing a state-level tool that some view as a deterrent, while TANF exclusions may still leave some without benefits.
Low-income people with past felony drug convictions will regain eligibility for SNAP, restoring access to food assistance for individuals and families who had been broadly barred.
People who are incarcerated but scheduled for release within 30 days will be included in the SNAP household definition so households can receive or continue benefits at reentry, improving continuity of food assistance during release.
Limits SNAP benefit denials based on convictions to TANF programs only, reducing inconsistent state-level exclusions and simplifying administration for SNAP agencies.
Restoring SNAP eligibility will likely increase program caseloads and federal/state administrative workload, raising costs for taxpayers and state agencies to process higher participation and conduct reentry outreach.
Individuals may still lose TANF benefits because states retain authority to impose TANF-based exclusions under §862a, so restoring SNAP does not eliminate all benefit barriers for affected people.
States that relied on convictions-based SNAP restrictions lose a policy tool they considered a deterrent to drug offenses, which could prompt political pushback and require states to revise enforcement and messaging.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Removes SNAP eligibility bans for certain felony drug convictions, bars states from imposing such SNAP bans, and includes people within 30 days of release in SNAP household counts.
Introduced September 9, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress September 9, 2025
Narrows the federal felony-drug conviction bar so it no longer blocks SNAP (food stamp) eligibility and prevents states from imposing their own SNAP bans based on controlled-substance convictions. It keeps the existing federal ban tied to cash assistance under TANF, and it adds people who are incarcerated but scheduled for release within 30 days to the SNAP household definition so they can be considered for benefits before release.