In an unconventional case of bipartisan consensus, Congress is moving towards ending a particular prohibition over SNAP Benefits, which says that criminals with drug-related convictions receive food stamps, a 28-year-old policy that has been analyzed by ex-offenders and their advocates as an obstacle to being able to reintegrate into society.
The repeal is part of a large farm bill accepted by the Republican-controlled House Agriculture Committee on May 24. The Democratic-controlled Senate is also expected to end the ban in its version of the bill, which Congress updates every five years.
New Eligibility for SNAP Benefits: Ban Lifted for Felons
The state of Arizona allows ex-offenders with drug-related convictions to receive food stamps, but requires random drug testing and extensive rehabilitation programs .The House bill would be prohibiting states from imposing these requirements.
Lifting these restrictions is elementary, according to Roychelle Hicks, a former drug offender, who was incarcerated and is currently an advocate for prison reform, “By removing this prohibition, I know that everywhere I go to get help they will not use my background against me,” Hicks said.
The Department of Agriculture reported that the federal government spent $119.5 billion in 2022 on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, about 11% of Arizona residents (825,700 people) were benefited by SNAP in 2022, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income Americans, nationwide, 21.6 million households were given food stamps in 2022.
“If you have a parent coming out of prison and they have kids, that’s not just one person, that’s four or five people now … You want to give those kids a chance to have a good life and SNAP, while not generous, is at least part of the safety net that that family would need to be successful,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association.
SNAP Benefits Now Welcoming People With Criminal Records
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits) is the largest anti-hunger safety net program in the United States. They are still typically referred to as “food stamps,” due to the paper vouchers that were initially used, but states have moved to giving out the monthly benefit in the form of debit cards.
The prohibition against people who committed a crime originated in 1996, when Congress made it illegal for those who committed serious drug-related crimes to receive food stamps as part of a bipartisan welfare reform package signed into law by President Bill Clinton, who had promised to “end welfare as we know it”, prison reform advocates immediately warned about unintended consequences, such as recidivism,, that can be presented by the difficulties faced by ex-convicts to get a job and be able to cover food expenses and other necessities.
“It’s just a huge burden for an individual who already has a lot of burdens trying to put his life back together”” Ashley St. commented. Thomas, director of public policy for the Arizona Food Bank Network. SNAP benefits can make a big difference for anyone struggling to feed themselves and their family, advocates for low-income Arizonans say.
