Sponsors (2)
The bill makes more low-income people (including immigrants) more likely to qualify for means-tested benefits by excluding certain in-kind and already-deemed sponsor assistance from income, at the cost of short-term administrative work and potential confusion during the transition.
Low-income applicants and benefit recipients (including immigrants and Medicaid beneficiaries) will not have in-kind support — such as food, housing, or other non-cash assistance provided by others — counted as income, making them more likely to qualify for means-tested programs.
Immigrants will not have a sponsor's cash assistance that was already counted under existing deeming rules double-counted as the immigrant's income during the 3-year deeming period, helping preserve their eligibility for benefits.
Narrowing and clarifying what counts as income simplifies income calculations for eligibility determinations and may reduce administrative disputes and appeals.
Some applicants — particularly low-income individuals and immigrants — may experience confusion or temporary eligibility errors if definitions are narrowed inconsistently across programs during the transition.
State and local agencies will face administrative burden and costs to update program rules, IT systems, and staff training to reflect changed statutory cross-references.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Excludes in-kind support and certain sponsor cash already counted under deeming from being treated as SSI income, changing eligibility/benefit calculations.
Official title: To amend title XVI of the Social Security Act to exclude in-kind support and maintenance from income for the purposes of the Supplemental Security Income program, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 15, 2026 by Sharice Davids · Last progress April 15, 2026
Changes to SSI rules exclude in-kind support and certain sponsor cash that was already counted under deeming from being treated as income for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) purposes. The amendments adjust cross-references and punctuation in the Social Security Act to narrow when non-cash assistance and some sponsor-provided cash reduce SSI eligibility or benefit amounts, with the changes taking effect one year after enactment.