I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4855 
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study 
to evaluate the effects of the post-incarceration ban under section 115 
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
of 1996 on participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program 
by drug felons, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2023 
Mr. CRAWFORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To direct the Comptroller General of the United States to 
conduct a study to evaluate the effects of the post- 
incarceration ban under section 115 of the Personal Re-
sponsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 
1996 on participation in the supplemental nutrition as-
sistance program by drug felons, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘SNAP Ban Study 
Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:38 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4855.IH
H4855
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. STUDY OF SNAP BAN AND WAIVER PROVISIONS AF-
FECTING DRUG FELONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study to evaluate the effects 
of the post-incarceration ban and waiver provisions re-
garding participation in the supplemental nutrition assist-
ance program by drug felons, as in effect under section 
115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 286a). 
(b) ELEMENTS
OF
THE STUDY.—The study con-
ducted under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) identify the full range of options States 
have implemented with respect to the supplemental 
nutrition assistance program ban, including— 
(A) implementing the full ban; 
(B) using their discretionary power pro-
vided in the law to opt out of the ban partially, 
including the various different modifications 
States have made or completely repealing the 
ban; and 
(C) when each of those States has made 
substantive revisions to their laws in this area 
over the past 15 years; 
(2) for each group of those convicted of felony 
use, felony distribution, and felony trafficking of-
fenses, the rates, 5 and 10 years after release from 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:38 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4855.IH
H4855
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
the incarceration that triggered the supplemental 
nutrition assistance program ban, of— 
(A) subsequent arrest for one or more felo-
nies; 
(B) subsequent conviction for one or more 
felonies; and 
(C) return to prison for such offenders; 
(3) measurements of the well-being of released 
drug felons who would be eligible for supplemental 
nutrition assistance program in the absence of the 
ban imposed by section 115 of the Personal Respon-
sibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 
1996 (42 U.S.C. 286a) and substantive differences, 
if any, that might be identified by tracking the full 
range of State implementations of such section from 
a full ban to— 
(A) to various conditions required of drug 
felons to receive supplemental nutrition assist-
ance program benefits short of a full ban, to a 
full waiver, and how otherwise eligible drug fel-
ons in each jurisdiction had, after 3, 5, and 10 
years; 
(B) changes with respect to recidivism, as 
described in paragraph (1); 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:38 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4855.IH
H4855
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(C) family formation, including marriage 
rates; 
(D) average hours worked per week for 
those who are non-disabled and between the 
ages of 18 through 64; 
(E) changes in individual and family in-
come; 
(F) changes in educational attainment; and 
(G) other factors that the Comptroller 
General of the United States considers worthy 
of study; 
(4) how the various impacts of such effects play 
out separately for those convicted of felony use, pos-
session, and trafficking offenses; 
(5) the additional costs expected to be borne by 
the Federal and State governments if such a ban 
was made unlawful or such section was repealed; 
(6) the amount of unpaid restitution, legal 
judgments and costs, and Federal and State taxes 
outstanding by the average post-incarceration drug 
felon; 
(7) the average total economic cost to each sur-
viving child, parent, spouse and sibling of those 
killed by misuse or abuse of a controlled substance 
at 5, 10, and 15 years after that death; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:38 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4855.IH
H4855
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
(8) the utilization rate of supplemental nutri-
tion assistance program by surviving children, par-
ents, spouses, and siblings of those killed by misuse 
or abuse of a controlled substance at baseline, 5, 10, 
and 15 years after that death, compared to the rest 
of the population, both in raw numbers and after ad-
justing for confounding factors; 
(9) the extent to which programs assisting vic-
tims of violent crime could be enhanced if amounts 
identified in (5), above, were instead directed to 
State violent crime assistance programs; 
(10) an assessment of the levels of evidence 
used in research for this report and in the most- 
cited existing research related to supplemental nutri-
tion assistance program eligibility by released drug 
felons and closely related issues; 
(11) an assessment of the ability of social 
science and economic research to determine if any 
apparent material differences in various measures 
are persuasive, or are too prone to noise and con-
founding, as those terms are used in the fields of 
medical and other research, to be the basis for legis-
lative action; and 
(12) any other matters the Comptroller General 
considers to be appropriate for evaluating the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:38 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4855.IH
H4855
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
strengths and shortcomings of the existing supple-
mental nutrition assistance program lifetime ban 
and waiver contained in such section. 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit a report to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Com-
mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry of the 
Senate,, the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
Agriculture of the House of Representatives, that 
contains the results of such study, including the 
findings and conclusions of the study. 
(2) Such report shall also be made available to 
the public on the website of the Government Ac-
countability Office. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:38 Aug 10, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4855.IH
H4855
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS