II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4311 

To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 

Act of 1996 to provide certain benefits to noncitizens, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2022 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. PADILLA, and Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 

Reconciliation Act of 1996 to provide certain benefits 

to noncitizens, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lifting Immigrant 

5 Families Through Benefits Access Restoration Act of 

6 2022’’ or the ‘‘LIFT the BAR Act of 2022’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF BASIC ASSISTANCE TO LAWFULLY 

2 PRESENT NONCITIZENS. 

3 (a) ELIMINATION OF ARBITRARY ELIGIBILITY RE4 STRICTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Sections 402, 403, 411, 412, 

6 421, and 422 of the Personal Responsibility and 

7 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 

8 U.S.C. 1612, 1613, 1621, 1622, 1631, and 1632) 

9 are repealed. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title IV of 

11 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 

12 Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 

13 is amended— 

14 (A) in section 401(b)(5) (8 U.S.C. 

15 1611(b)(5)), by striking ‘‘the program defined 

16 in section 402(a)(3)(A) (relating to the supple17 mental security income program)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘the Supplemental Security Income Program 

19 under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.)’’; 

21 (B) in section 404(a) (8 U.S.C. 1614(a)), 

22 by striking ‘‘, 402, or 403’’; 

23 (C) in section 413 (8 U.S.C. 1625)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) STATE OR LOCAL PUBLIC BENEFIT DE2 FINED.—In this section, except as provided in paragraphs 

3 (2) and (3), the term ‘State or local public benefit’— 

4 ‘‘(1) means— 

5 ‘‘(A) any grant, contract, loan, professional 

6 license, or commercial license provided by an 

7 agency of a State or local government or by ap8 propriated funds of a State or local govern9 ment; and 

10 ‘‘(B) any retirement, welfare, health, dis11 ability, public or assisted housing, postsec12 ondary education, food assistance, unemploy13 ment benefit, or any other similar benefit for 

14 which payments or assistance are provided to 

15 an individual, household, or family eligibility 

16 unit by an agency of a State or local govern17 ment or by appropriated funds of a State or 

18 local government; 

19 ‘‘(2) shall not apply— 

20 ‘‘(A) to any contract, professional license, 

21 or commercial license for a nonimmigrant 

22 whose visa for entry is related to such employ23 ment in the United States, or to a citizen of a 

24 freely associated state, if section 141 of the ap25 plicable compact of free association approved in 


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1 Public Law 99–239 or 99–658 (or a successor 

2 provision) is in effect; 

3 ‘‘(B) with respect to benefits for an alien 

4 who as a work authorized nonimmigrant or as 

5 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi6 dence under the Immigration and Nationality 

7 Act qualified for such benefits and for whom 

8 the United States under reciprocal treaty agree9 ments is required to pay benefits, as determined 

10 by the Secretary of State, after consultation 

11 with the Attorney General; or 

12 ‘‘(C) to the issuance of a professional li13 cense to, or the renewal of a professional license 

14 by, a foreign national not physically present in 

15 the United States; and 

16 ‘‘(3) does not include any Federal public ben17 efit. 

18 ‘‘(b) PROOF OF ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—A 

19 State’’; and 

20 (ii) in subsection (b), as redesignated, 

21 by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 

22 411(c))’’; 

23 (D) in section 432(d) (8 U.S.C. 1642(d)), 

24 by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 411(c))’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘(as defined in section 413(a))’’; 


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1 (E) in section 435 (8 U.S.C. 1645), by 

2 striking ‘‘(as provided under section 403)’’; and 

3 (F) in section 436 (8 U.S.C. 1646)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘the food stamp pro5 gram (as defined in section 402(a)(3)(B))’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘the supplemental nutrition 

7 assistance program established under the 

8 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

9 2011 et seq.)’’; and 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘the supplemental se11 curity income program (as defined in sec12 tion 402(a)(3)(A))’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

13 Supplemental Security Income Program 

14 under title XVI of the Social Security Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.)’’. 

16 (b) QUALIFIED NONCITIZENS.—Title IV of the Per17 sonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 

18 Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended— 

19 (1) in the title header, by striking ‘‘ALIENS’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘NONCITIZENS’’; 

21 (2) in the header of section 401— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘ALIENS’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘NONCITIZENS’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘QUALIFIED ALIENS’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘QUALIFIED NONCITIZENS’’; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘qualified alien’’ each place such 

2 term appears and inserting ‘‘qualified noncitizen’’; 

3 (4) by striking ‘‘qualified aliens’’ each place 

4 such term appears and inserting ‘‘qualified nonciti5 zens’’; 

6 (5) by striking ‘‘qualified alien’s’’ each place 

7 such term appears and inserting ‘‘qualified nonciti8 zen’s’’; 

9 (6) by striking ‘‘an alien’’ each place such term 

10 appears and inserting ‘‘a noncitizen’’; 

11 (7) by striking ‘‘alien’’ each place such term ap12 pears and inserting ‘‘noncitizen’’; 

13 (8) by striking ‘‘aliens’’ each place such term 

14 appears and inserting ‘‘noncitizens’’; and 

15 (9) by striking ‘‘alien’s’’ each place such term 

16 appears and inserting ‘‘noncitizen’s’’. 

17 (c) ACCESS TO BASIC SERVICES FOR LAWFULLY RE18 SIDING NONCITIZENS.—Section 431 of the Personal Re19 sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 

20 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘QUALIFIED

23 ALIEN’’ and inserting ‘‘QUALIFIED NONCIT24 IZEN’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘qualified alien’’ and in2 serting ‘‘qualified noncitizen’’; 

3 (C) by striking ‘‘alien’’ and inserting ‘‘non4 citizen’’; 

5 (D) by striking ‘‘an alien’’ and inserting ‘‘a 

6 noncitizen’’; and 

7 (E) by striking ‘‘benefit’’ and all that fol8 lows through the period at the end of the sub9 section and inserting ‘‘benefit, is lawfully 

10 present in the United States.’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in the header, by striking ‘‘QUALIFIED

13 ALIENS’’ and inserting ‘‘QUALIFIED NONCITI14 ZENS’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

16 after the semicolon; 

17 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking the pe18 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(5) a noncitizen— 

22 ‘‘(A) in a category that was treated as law23 fully present for purposes of section 1101 of the 

24 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 

25 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18001); 


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1 ‘‘(B) who met the requirements of section 

2 402(a)(2)(D) of the Personal Responsibility and 

3 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 

4 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(D)) on or before January 

5 1, 2021; 

6 ‘‘(C) who is granted special immigrant ju7 venile status as described by section 

8 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J)); 

10 ‘‘(D) who has a pending, bona fide applica11 tion for nonimmigrant status under section 

12 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nation13 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(1)(15)(U)); 

14 ‘‘(E) who was granted relief under the De15 ferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(F) any other person who is not a citizen 

18 of the United States but who resides in a State 

19 or territory of the United States and is feder20 ally authorized to be present in the United 

21 States.’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(d) NONCITIZEN.—In this title, the term ‘noncit24 izen’ means any individual who is not a citizen of the 

25 United States.’’. 


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1 (d) CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS.—Section 742 of 

2 the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec3 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1615) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) in the header by striking ‘‘SCHOOL

6 LUNCH AND BREAKFAST PROGRAMS’’ and in7 serting ‘‘CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS’’; 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘the school lunch pro9 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘any program’’; and 

10 (C) by striking ‘‘the school breakfast pro11 gram under section 4 of the’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘any program under’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘Nothing in this Act shall 

15 prohibit or require a State to provide to an in16 dividual who is not a citizen or a qualified alien, 

17 as defined in section 431(b),’’ and inserting ‘‘A 

18 State shall not deny’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and in20 serting ‘‘paragraph (2) on the basis of an indi21 vidual’s citizenship or immigration status’’. 

22 (e) EXCLUSION OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE EXPENDI23 TURES FOR CITIZENS OF FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.— 

24 Section 1108(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

25 1308(h)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Expenditures’’ and inserting: 

2 ‘‘(1) Expenditures’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(2) With respect to eligibility for benefits for 

5 the designated Federal program defined in para6 graph (3)(C) (relating to the Medicaid program), 

7 paragraph (1) shall not apply to any individual who 

8 lawfully resides in 1 of the 50 States or the District 

9 of Columbia in accordance with the Compacts of 

10 Free Association between the Government of the 

11 United States and the Governments of the Fed12 erated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the 

13 Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau and 

14 shall not apply, at the option of the Governor of 

15 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the North16 ern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa as commu17 nicated to the Secretary of Health and Human Serv18 ices in writing, to any individual who lawfully resides 

19 in the respective territory in accordance with such 

20 Compacts.’’. 

21 (f) CHILD HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM.—Section 

22 2107(e)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

23 1397gg(e)(1)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking subparagraph (O); and 


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1 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (P), (Q), 

2 (R), (S), (T), and (U) as subparagraphs (O), (P), 

3 (Q), (R), (S), and (T). 

4 (g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD ASSISTANCE PRO6 GRAM.—The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (A) in section 5 (7 U.S.C. 2014)— 

9 (i) by striking subsection (i); and 

10 (ii) by redesignating subsections (j) 

11 through (n) as subsections (i) through (m), 

12 respectively; 

13 (B) in section 6 (7 U.S.C. 2015)— 

14 (i) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘an 

15 alien lawfully admitted for permanent’’ and 

16 all that follows through the end of the sub17 section and inserting ‘‘a noncitizen lawfully 

18 present in the United States.’’; and 

19 (ii) in subsection (s)(2), by striking 

20 ‘‘(m), and (n)’’ and inserting ‘‘and (m)’’; 

21 and 

22 (C) in section 11(e)(2)(B)(v)(II) by strik23 ing ‘‘aliens’’ each place it appears and inserting 

24 ‘‘noncitizens’’. 


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1 (2) MEDICAID.—Section 1903(v) of the Social 

2 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)) is amended— 

3 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘admit4 ted for’’ and all that follows through the end of 

5 the paragraph and inserting ‘‘present in the 

6 United States.’’; and 

7 (B) striking paragraph (4). 

8 (3) HOUSING ASSISTANCE.—Section 214(a) of 

9 the Housing and Community Development Act of 

10 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)) is amended by— 

11 (A) redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) 

12 as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and 

13 (B) inserting after paragraph (5): 

14 ‘‘(6) a qualified noncitizen as defined in section 

15 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor16 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641);’’. 

17 (4) ASSISTANCE NOT TREATED AS DEBT AB18 SENT FRAUD.—Section 213A of the Immigration 

19 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1183a) is amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)(3)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘(as provided under section 403 of the 

23 Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor24 tunity Reconciliation Act of 1996)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), in the un2 designated matter following clause (ii), by 

3 striking ‘‘(as provided under section 403 of 

4 the Personal Responsibility and Work Op5 portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996)’’; 

6 and 

7 (B) in subsection (b)(1)(A) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘benefit,’’ and inserting ‘‘benefit by 

9 fraud,’’. 

10 (h) PRESERVING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE.—Sec11 tion 36B(c)(1)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

12 is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN INDI14 VIDUALS LAWFULLY PRESENT IN THE UNITED

15 STATES.—If— 

16 ‘‘(i) a taxpayer has a household in17 come which is not greater than 100 per18 cent of an amount equal to the poverty line 

19 for a family of the size involved, 

20 ‘‘(ii) the taxpayer is a noncitizen law21 fully present in the United States, 

22 ‘‘(iii) the taxpayer is ineligible for 

23 minimum essential coverage under section 

24 5000A(f)(1)(A)(ii), and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) under the Medicaid eligibility 

2 criteria for noncitizens in effect on Decem3 ber 26, 2020, the taxpayer would be ineli4 gible for such minimum essential coverage 

5 by reason of the taxpayer’s immigration 

6 status, 

7 the taxpayer shall, for purposes of the credit 

8 under this section, be treated as an applicable 

9 taxpayer with a household income which is 

10 equal to 100 percent of the poverty line for a 

11 family of the size involved.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. FEDERAL AGENCY GUIDANCE. 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, each Federal agency affected by any of 

15 the amendments made by this Act shall issue guidance 

16 with respect to the implementation of such amendments. 

17 SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 The amendments made by this Act— 

19 (1) shall take effect on the date of the enact20 ment of this Act; and 

21 (2) shall apply to services furnished on or after 

22 the date that is 180 days after the date on which 

23 any guidance is issued pursuant to section 3. 

Æ 


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