DES MOINES, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Republican-backed legislation restricting eligibility for federal food assistance programs is headed to the governor’s desk over the objections of Democrats, who said it would worsen food insecurity in the state. The Iowa Senate amended House File 2422 Thursday afternoon and sent it to the House on a 27-16 vote. The House accepted the change and gave the bill its final approval on a 59-24 vote.
Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, said the amendment “makes it clear that illegal aliens are never eligible for public assistance.” He said the changes were needed under the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which in part will penalize states based on their error rate in determining eligibility for food assistance. “We need to follow federal law, or we’re going to put everybody on these programs in danger,” he said.
Among other eligibility changes, the original bill required the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to require 12 months of continuous residency in the state to qualify for public assistance. It requires the department to use the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, program to verify immigration or citizenship status when determining eligibility for public assistance programs.
Those programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), medical assistance programs, the state child care assistance programs and the family investment program. The earned income of all members of a household would also be considered for SNAP applicants, while the House bill would have excluded income of children and young adults under age 22.
The Senate’s change specifies that that the only noncitizens eligible for public assistance are those admitted for permanent residence (green card holders), those granted the status of Cuban or Haitian entrants under the federal Refugee Education Assistance Act, or those granted legal residence under the compact of free association, which affects the Pacific Island nations of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau.
Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said while the federal rules that the bill codifies may change, the bill means Iowa law will deny assistance to numerous classes of noncitizens who are in the country legally. “No matter who is president or who’s in Congress, and what decisions that those leaders who are elected make in the future, Iowa is going to refuse to feed refugees asylees, survivors of domestic violence, humanitarian parolees and victims of human trafficking,” she said.
The Senate also stripped out House-passed language that had bipartisan support. The so-called “work without worry” provision would have allowed Iowans with disabilities to continue working and earning money without losing access to Medicaid services. It would have increased the income limit from 250% of the federal poverty limit to 300% of the federal poverty limit for Iowans to qualify for the Medicaid for Employed People with Disabilities program.
‘It’s a very simple promise that every Iowan who shows up to work hard and plays by the rules should be able to do so safely, with dignity and without fear of losing everything that they’ve gained because of something beyond their control, their disability,” Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Marion, said. “But that promise has been stripped from this bill at a time when families are already trying to balance rising costs, job uncertainty and real risks in the workplace.
