June 24, 2026
Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Adams, Mr. Amo, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Balint, Ms. Barragán, Mr. Bell, Mr. Beyer, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Mr. Casar, Mr. Casten, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Chu, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Correa, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Crow, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Ms. DeGette, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Dexter, Mr. Doggett, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Espaillat, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Mr. Frost, Mr. García of Illinois, Mr. Garcia of California, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Gomez, Mrs. Grijalva, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Ms. Leger Fernandez, Mr. Lieu, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Matsui, Ms. McClellan, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Mejia, Mr. Menefee, Ms. Meng, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Moulton, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Norton, Ms. Omar, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Quigley, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Ross, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Sánchez, Ms. Scanlon, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Simon, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Tonko, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr. Torres of New York, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Walkinshaw, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Williams of Georgia, and Ms. Wilson of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was 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
To amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 and an Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 (Public Law 119–21) to provide certain benefits to noncitizens, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration Act
or the LIFT the BAR Act
.
Sec. 2. Availability of basic assistance to lawfully present noncitizens
(a) Elimination of arbitrary eligibility restrictions
(1) PRWORA repeals
Sections 402, 403, 411, 412, 421, and 422 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612, 1613, 1621, 1622, 1631, and 1632) are repealed.
(2) Public Law 119–21 repeals
(A) SNAP eligibility
Section 10108 of an Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 (Public Law 119–21) is repealed and the provision of law amended by such section is restored as if such section had never been enacted.
(B) Medicaid and chip eligibility
Section 71109 of an Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 (Public Law 119–21) is repealed, the provisions of law amended by such section are restored as if such section had never been enacted, and the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by section are rescinded.
(C) Limiting medicare eligibility coverage of certain individuals
Section 71201 of an Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 (Public Law 119–21) and section 1899C of title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395mmm), as added by such section 71201, are repealed.
(b) Notification and information reporting
Section 404 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1614) is amended by striking , 402, or 403
.
(c) Qualified noncitizens
Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended—
(1)
in the header, by striking Aliens
and inserting Noncitizens
;
(2)
by striking alien
each place that it appears and inserting noncitizen
;
(3)
by striking aliens
each place that it appears and inserting noncitizens
;
(4)
by striking alien’s
each place that it appears and inserting noncitizen’s
;
(5)
by striking an alien
each place that it appears and inserting a noncitizen
;
(6)
by striking qualified alien
each place that it appears and inserting qualified noncitizen
;
(7)
by striking qualified aliens
each place that it appears and inserting qualified noncitizens
;
(8)
by striking qualified alien’s
each place that it appears and inserting qualified noncitizen’s
;
(9)
in section 402—
(A)
in the header, by striking Qualified Aliens
and inserting Qualified Noncitizens
; and
(B)
in subsection (a)(2)(L), by striking qualified aliens
and inserting qualified noncitizens
;
(10)
in section 403, in the header, by striking Qualified Aliens
and inserting Qualified Noncitizens
;
(11)
in section 411, in the header, by striking Qualified Aliens
and inserting Qualified Noncitizens
; and
(12)
in section 412, in the header, by striking Qualified Aliens
and inserting Qualified Noncitizens
.
(d) Access to basic services for lawfully residing noncitizens
Section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in the header, by striking qualified alien
and inserting qualified noncitizen
;
(B)
by striking alien
and inserting noncitizen
;
(C)
by striking an alien
and inserting a noncitizen
; and
(D)
by striking benefit
and all that follows through the period at the end of the subsection and inserting benefit, is lawfully present in the United States.
;
(2)
in subsection (c)—
(A)
in the header, by striking qualified aliens
and inserting qualified noncitizens
;
(B)
by striking ; or
at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting ;
;
(C)
by striking the period at the end of paragraph (4) and inserting ; or
; and
(D)
by inserting after paragraph (4):
(5)
a noncitizen—
(A)
in a category that was treated as lawfully present for purposes of section 1101 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (42 U.S.C. 18001) on or before January 1, 2025;
(B)
who met the requirements of section 402(a)(2)(D) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(D)) on or before January 1, 2025;
(C)
who is granted special immigrant juvenile status as described by section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(27)(J));
(D)
who has a pending, bona fide application for nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(U) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C 1101(1)(15)(U));
(E)
who was granted relief under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program; or
(F)
any other person who is not a citizen of the United States but who resides in a State or territory of the United States and is federally authorized to be present in the United States.; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(d) Noncitizen
For the purposes of this title, the term noncitizen means any individual who is not a citizen of the United States.
(e) Child nutrition programs
Section 742 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1615) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in the header by striking School lunch and breakfast programs
and inserting Child nutrition programs
;
(B)
by striking the school lunch program
and inserting any program
; and
(C)
by striking the school breakfast program under section 4 of the
and inserting any program under
; and
(2)
in subsection (b)(1)—
(A)
by striking Nothing in this Act shall prohibit or require a State to provide to an individual who is not a citizen or a qualified alien, as defined in section 431(b),
and inserting A State shall not deny
; and
(B)
by striking paragraph (2)
and inserting paragraph (2) on the basis of an individual’s citizenship or immigration status
.
(f) Exclusion of medical assistance expenditures for citizens of freely associated States
Section 1108(h) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1308(h)) is amended—
(1)
by striking Expenditures
and inserting:
(1)
Expenditures; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
(2)
With respect to eligibility for benefits for the designated Federal program defined in paragraph (3)(C) (relating to the Medicaid program), paragraph (1) shall not apply to any individual who lawfully resides in 1 of the 50 States or the District of Columbia in accordance with the Compacts of Free Association between the Government of the United States and the Governments of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau and shall not apply, at the option of the Governor of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa as communicated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services in writing, to any individual who lawfully resides in the respective territory in accordance with such Compacts.
(g) Child health insurance program
Section 2107(e)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397gg(e)(1)) is amended—
(1)
by striking subparagraph (O); and
(2)
by redesignating subparagraphs (P), (Q), (R), (S), (T), and (U) as subparagraphs (O), (P), (Q), (R), (S), and (T).
(h) Conforming amendments
(1) Supplemental food assistance program
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended—
(A)
in section 5—
(i)
by striking subsection (i); and
(ii)
by redesignating subsections (j) through (n) as subsections (i) through (m), respectively;
(B)
in section 6—
(i)
in subsection (f), by striking an alien lawfully admitted for permanent
and all that follows through the end of the subsection and inserting a noncitizen lawfully present in the United States.
; and
(ii)
in subsection (s)(2), by striking (m), and (n)
and inserting and (m)
; and
(C)
in section 11(e)(2)(B)(v)(II) by striking aliens
each place it appears and inserting noncitizens
.
(2) Medicaid
Section 1903(v) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(v)) is amended—
(A)
in paragraph (1), by striking admitted for
and all that follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting present in the United States.
; and
(B)
striking paragraph (4).
(3) Housing assistance
Section 214(a) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a(a)) is amended by—
(A)
redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and
(B)
inserting after paragraph (5):
(6)
a qualified noncitizen as defined in section 431 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1641);
(4) General rule on noncitizens’ eligibility
Section 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611) is amended—
(A)
in the header—
(i)
by striking Qualified Aliens
and inserting Qualified Noncitizens
; and
(ii)
by striking Aliens
and inserting Noncitizens
; and
(B)
by striking alien
each place it appears and inserting noncitizen
.
(5) Assistance not treated as debt absent fraud
Section 213A(b)(1)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by striking benefit,
and inserting benefit by fraud,
.
(i) Preserving State funding for medicaid
Section 71110 of an Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14 (Public Law 119–21) is repealed, the provision of law amended by such section is restored as if such section had never been enacted, and the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by section are rescinded.
(j) Premium tax credit
(1) Restoration of allowance of premium tax credit for certain individuals
(A) In general
Section 71301 of Public Law 119–21 is repealed, and each provision of law amended by such section is amended to read as such provision would read if such section had never been enacted.
(B) Effective date
Each amendment made by this paragraph shall take effect as if included in the provision of Public Law 119–21 to which such amendment relates.
(2) Restoration of allowance of premium tax credit during periods of medicaid ineligibility due to alien status
(A) In general
Section 36B(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 71302 of Public Law 119–21, is amended by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraph:
(B) Special rule for certain individuals lawfully present in the United States
If—
(i)
a taxpayer has a household income which is not greater than 100 percent of an amount equal to the poverty line for a family of the size involved,
(ii)
the taxpayer is a non-citizen lawfully present in the United States,
(iii)
the taxpayer is ineligible for minimum essential coverage under section 5000A(f)(1)(A)(ii), and
(iv)
under the Medicaid eligibility criteria for non-citizens in effect on December 26, 2020, the taxpayer would be ineligible for such minimum essential coverage by reason of the taxpayer’s immigration status,
the taxpayer shall, for purposes of the credit under this section, be treated as an applicable taxpayer with a household income which is equal to 100 percent of the poverty line for a family of the size involved.
(B) Effective date
The amendment made by this paragraph shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025.
(k) Federal agency guidance
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each Federal agency, as applicable, shall issue guidance with respect to implementing the amendments made by this Act.
(l) Effective date
The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply to services furnished on or after the date that is 180 days after the date on which any guidance is issued pursuant to subsection (k).