Removing Barriers to Basic Needs Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7916 To temporarily waive section 115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 as applied to the TANF and SNAP programs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 31, 2020 Ms. MOORE (for herself, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. BASS, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. RUSH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. FOSTER, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. TRONE, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi- nois, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. PASCRELL, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. NADLER, Ms. OMAR, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. TAKANO, and Mr. JOHNSON of Geor- gia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 temporarily waive section 115 of the Personal Responsi- bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 as applied to the TANF and SNAP programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7916.IH H7916 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7916 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Removing Barriers to 2 Basic Needs Act of 2020’’. 3 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY EXTENSION OF SNAP AND TANF BENE- 4 FITS. 5 (a) APPLICABILITY OF BAN ON SNAP AND TANF 6 BENEFITS.—Section 115 of the Personal Responsibility 7 and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (21 8 U.S.C. 862a) shall not apply to any individual applying 9 for benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance 10 program and temporary assistance for needy families pro- 11 gram. 12 (b) EFFECT ON STATE POLICIES.—Any law enacted 13 by a State under the authority under subparagraph (A) 14 or (B) of subsection (d)(1) of section 115 of the Personal 15 Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 16 of 1996 (21 U.S.C. 862a), and any State law, policy, or 17 regulation that imposes conditions on eligibility for the 18 supplemental nutrition assistance program and temporary 19 assistance for needy families program based on an individ- 20 ual’s conviction of an offense related to a controlled sub- 21 stance, shall have no force or effect until the date specified 22 in subsection (c). 23 (c) SUNSET.—The authority under this section shall 24 be in effect beginning on the date of enactment of this 25 Act and until December 31, 2022. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7916.IH H7916 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7916 IH (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 (1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 2 ing given such term in section 3(r) of the Food and 3 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(r)). 4 (2) SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE 5 PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘supplemental nutrition as- 6 sistance program’’ has the meaning given such term 7 in section 3(t) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 8 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(t)). 9 (3) TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMI- 10 LIES PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘temporary assistance 11 for needy families program’’ has the meaning given 12 such term in section 401 of Personal Responsibility 13 and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 14 (42 U.S.C. 601(a)). 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 Aug 19, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7916.IH H7916 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS