YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyPeople with past drug felonies could get SNAP food aid again — and people leaving prison could qualify before release.
Your Money
Federal law now bars anyone with a felony conviction for having, using or selling drugs from SNAP unless their state opts out. The bill would remove SNAP from that ban and void any state rule tying SNAP to a drug conviction.
Today a family's SNAP is figured as if the person with the conviction were not in the home, but that person's income still counts. With the ban gone, that person would count as a household member again.
People due to be released from jail or prison within 30 days would be treated as their own SNAP household. That lets them qualify for food aid before they leave.
More about this bill
If you have a felony drug conviction, you could get SNAP food aid again. Today, federal law bars people with these convictions from SNAP with no end date. States can choose to drop or shorten that ban, but the federal rule is the default. The bill would end the ban for SNAP everywhere, and states could not set their own drug-conviction limits. Families would gain too. Today their SNAP is figured as if that person were not in the home, while the person's income still counts. The federal ban on cash welfare (TANF) for these convictions would stay. People in jail or prison who are due to be released within 30 days would count as their own SNAP household. That means they could qualify for food aid before they walk out, instead of starting from zero after release.
Congressional Summary
Re-Entry Support Through Opportunities for Resources and Essentials Act of 2025 or the RESTORE Act of 2025 This bill repeals a prohibition barring an individual with certain felony drug convictions from participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Under current law, a state may opt out of enforcing the ban on participation. The bill also allows an individual who is incarcerated to apply for SNAP benefits before their release date. Specifically, the bill amends the definition of household to include incarcerated individuals who are scheduled to be released from an institution within 30 days. Currently, a state agency may apply to the Food and Nutrition Service for an administrative waiver in order to allow individuals to apply for SNAP benefits up to 30 days prior to release.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-09-09
- Date Added
- 2026-09-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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