Title: Making Essentials Available and Lawful (MEAL) Act of 2020
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Making Essentials Available and Lawful (MEAL) Act of 2020
This bill repeals a lifetime ban that prohibits individuals convicted of certain offenses related to the possession, use, or distribution of controlled substances from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or assistance under programs funded by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grants. In addition, individuals who are incarcerated and scheduled to be released within 30 days shall qualify as individual households for purposes of SNAP eligibility. Under current law, unless specifically excepted, individuals residing in institutions do not constitute a household.
Existing state laws that removed or modified the federal ban at the state level shall have no force or effect.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5915 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5915

       To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
  Reconciliation Act of 1996 to repeal a certain disqualification to 
receive benefits under title IV of the Social Security Act and benefits 
  under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008; and to amend the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide that incarcerated individuals who are 
 scheduled to be released from an institution within 30 days shall be 
         considered to be a household for purposes of such Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2020

 Mr. Cohen (for himself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Rush, Mr. Carson of Indiana, 
 Ms. Adams, and Ms. Barragan) introduced the following bill; which was 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
  Reconciliation Act of 1996 to repeal a certain disqualification to 
receive benefits under title IV of the Social Security Act and benefits 
  under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008; and to amend the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide that incarcerated individuals who are 
 scheduled to be released from an institution within 30 days shall be 
         considered to be a household for purposes of such Act.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Making Essentials Available and 
Lawful (MEAL) Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. TANF ASSISTANCE AND SNAP BENEFITS.

    (a) Repeal of Ban on Assistance.--Section 115 of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (21 
U.S.C. 862a) is repealed.
    (b) Effect on State Elections To Opt Out or Limit Period of 
Prohibition.--
            (1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    (A) the term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
                term in section 115(e) of the Personal Responsibility 
                and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (21 
                U.S.C. 862a(e)) (as in effect on the day before the 
                date of enactment of this Act); and
                    (B) the term ``TANF assistance or SNAP benefits'' 
                means assistance or benefits referred to in section 
                115(a) of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
                Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (as in effect on 
                the day before the date of enactment of this Act).
            (2) Effect.--A law enacted by a State under the authority 
        under subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (d)(1) of section 
        115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
        Reconciliation Act of 1996 (21 U.S.C. 862a) (as in effect on 
        the day before the date of enactment of this Act), and any 
        State law or regulation enacted to carry out the requirements 
        of such section (as then in effect), that imposes conditions on 
        eligibility for TANF assistance or SNAP benefits shall have no 
        force or effect.

SEC. 3. MODIFICATION OF DEFINITION OF HOUSEHOLD FOR THE PURPOSE OF 
              DETERMINING SNAP BENEFITS.

    Section 3(m)(5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 
2012(m)(5)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) Incarcerated individuals are who scheduled to 
                be released from an institution within 30 days.''.
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