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H.R. 5915 · 116th Congress

Making Essentials Available and Lawful (MEAL) Act of 2020

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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.

SCD CohenSponsor
13 cosponsors · 13 D

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.

What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Feb 14, 2020

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.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov

About this bill and sources

Official title: Making Essentials Available and Lawful (MEAL) Act of 2020

Latest action (Mar 5, 2020): Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations.

Policy area: Social Welfare · Origin: House · Introduced: Feb 14, 2020

Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)

No recorded floor vote found.