Congress removes food-stamp ban for people with drug convictions
H.R. 5223 — RESTORE Act of 2025 · Filed by Steve Cohen (D-TN) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 9, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill removes the federal ban on SNAP (food stamps) benefits for people with drug-related convictions. Currently, federal law allows states to permanently bar such individuals from receiving food assistance; this bill strikes that ban and voids any state law that imposes drug-conviction-based eligibility restrictions. It also expands the SNAP household definition to include people scheduled for release from incarceration within 30 days, allowing them to apply before release.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is restoring food-assistance eligibility to a population excluded by prior drug-conviction bans. It is a targeted reentry and anti-poverty measure, not a broad welfare expansion or fiscal instrument.
What the text implies
- Removes a federal incentive for states to maintain drug-conviction bars; states that have adopted such bars may face pressure to align with federal policy or face administrative friction.
- The 30-day pre-release household inclusion may create administrative burden for correctional facilities and SNAP agencies to coordinate release schedules and benefit applications.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Individuals with drug convictions—disproportionately low-income and formerly incarcerated—gain access to food assistance, reducing food insecurity and supporting reentry. The bill expands a basic safety-net benefit to a population currently excluded, with no offsetting cost to other beneficiaries or the program's fiscal structure.