LIFT the BAR Act
Key claim: The LIFT the BAR Act (HR9432) would restore lawfully present immigrants’ access to federal means-tested public benefits by lifting PRWORA-era eligibility bars, spanning health, nutrition, and related programs.
Abstract
(HR9432 · 119th Congress) Latest action (2026-06-24): Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, Education and Workforce, Energy and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Financial Services, 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.
Why this matters
Immigrant eligibility rules set by PRWORA in 1996 shape access to core USDA nutrition programs (SNAP, and indirectly WIC and school meals) for millions of lawfully present residents, and are a recurring flashpoint in farm-bill and appropriations debates. LIFT the BAR would meaningfully expand the SNAP-eligible population, with downstream implications for FNS caseloads, state administrative costs, and — modestly — food-retail demand. Tracking this bill alongside restrictive counterparts gives a neutral view of the active policy spectrum on noncitizen access to means-tested benefits.