May, 18 2023, 02:36pm EDT
RESTORE Act Introduced in Congress to Lift SNAP Felony Drug Ban
Bipartisan and Bicameral Introduction of the RESTORE Act Draws Support from More than 150 Organizations Working to Fight Hunger and Poverty and Improve Reentry for Formerly Incarcerated People
Today, the RESTORE Act–legislation that would immediately repeal the lifetime federal ban on individuals with felony drug convictions from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)–was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and in the House by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) with Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) as a cosponsor. Initial Senate co-sponsors include Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN).
In response, Grant Smith, Deputy Director of the Office of Federal Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, released the following statement:
“Everyone should be able to access basic needs, especially food, regardless of felony drug convictions. As Congress takes up reauthorization of the Farm Bill and the federal food stamp program known as SNAP, it must include the RESTORE Act to repeal the lifetime ban on people with felony drug convictions. This incredibly foolish and cruel law denies people critical assistance getting food for themselves and their families simply because of a past drug conviction.
“This ban continues to be a painful reminder of the extensive harm Congress inflicted on communities–especially Black, Latinx, Indigenous and low-income communities–with the ‘tough on crime policies of the 80s and 90s. They gave no thought to the generations of harm this senseless policy would wreak on families and passed this ban after only two minutes of debate in 1996.
“Many people face poverty and food insecurity following release from incarceration. By denying help with food, the lifetime SNAP ban is counterproductive to successful reentry and efforts to reduce recidivism. It also disproportionately harms women and people of color, who are statistically more likely to be convicted of a felony drug violation. And it perpetuates stigma against people who use drugs, which can deter them from seeking treatment and emergency help for overdoses.
“Congress has worked in recent years on a bipartisan basis to repeal counterproductive lifetime consequences of a conviction, such as this, that undermine successful reentry. We urge Congress to once again take action to repeal the lifetime SNAP drug felony ban by including the RESTORE Act in this year’s Farm Bill.”
Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ):
"Denying individuals food assistance based on past drug convictions serves no public safety purpose and only perpetuates cycles of hunger, poverty, addiction, and recidivism," said Senator Booker. "We know that when people receive SNAP assistance, they are better able to successfully reenter their communities after incarceration and not return to the criminal justice system. I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing the RESTORE Act, which would repeal this harmful SNAP ban and reduce recidivism.”
Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN):
“Thousands of people released from state and federal prisons each year re-enter society and find significant challenges, including lifetime bans on receiving food assistance. The RESTORE Act would repeal the 1996 ban on people with drug felony convictions receiving SNAP, and it would allow them to apply for the program before their release so that they can meet their basic needs on day one, reducing the likelihood of recidivism and increasing the quality of life for people hoping to reintegrate into their communities. I am pleased to be working with Congressman Rutherford and Senators Booker and Warnock on this needed reform.”
Background
The Drug Policy Alliance has been leading federal advocacy efforts to repeal the lifetime federal ban on individuals convicted of a drug felony from receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In 1996, Congress imposed the lifetime SNAP ban as a part of the welfare legislation signed by President Clinton. Although states can opt-out of enforcing this ban, state policymakers must affirmatively do so, and 22 states continue to limit SNAP eligibility for people with felony drug convictions. The RESTORE (Re-Entry Support Through Opportunities for Resources and Essentials) Act fully repeals this federal ban and eliminates the ability of states to continue to deny SNAP eligibility due to a felony drug conviction. The legislation also codifies a USDA administrative waiver to SNAP state agencies that allows individuals to apply for SNAP 30 days prior to their release from incarceration.
This lifetime ban disproportionately harms women who are incarcerated for drug crimes at higher rates than men as well as people of color disproportionately targeted by drug enforcement and incarcerated at much higher rates for drug crimes than whites. Individuals made ineligible by the ban already struggle to find and maintain employment because of a criminal record. Research has shown that newly released individuals are extremely likely to experience food insecurity. Barring access to basic nutritional assistance as individuals return to communities undermines successful transition to the community following involvement in the criminal legal system, especially now during this time of national crisis. Repealing the drug felony ban enables returning individuals to focus on securing employment and housing during this difficult time rather than having to figure out how they will put food on the table for themselves and their family.
The Drug Policy Alliance previously released a report, The Drug War Obstructs Public Benefits—as part of its Uprooting the Drug War initiative—detailing the way drug war policies have restricted access to public benefits.
The Drug Policy Alliance is the nation's leading organization promoting drug policies grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.
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As Millions Starve in Gaza, Israel Terminates Agreement With UNRWA
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Israel's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Sunday formally notified the United Nations that it has terminated a decades-old legal agreement governing the country's relations with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, a move that aid workers and advocacy groups say will spell further disaster for Gaza's besieged and famine-stricken population as winter approaches.
The director-general of the Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry announced the decision to scrap the 1967 agreement in a letter to the president of the U.N. General Assembly, a message sent roughly a week after Israeli lawmakers approved legislation banning the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating or providing services "in the sovereign territory of the state of Israel."
The new letter states that the legislation "will enter into effect following a three-month period."
The Washington Postreported Monday that Juliette Touma, UNRWA's communications director, said that "the agency expected to continue its work coordinating the distribution of aid in Gaza and the West Bank at the operational level."
But aid groups have warned that Israel's UNRWA ban could inflict fatal damage to humanitarian operations in Gaza and the West Bank, given Israeli control over access to the illegally occupied territories. The legislation Israeli lawmakers passed last week bars the government from issuing work permits to foreign UNRWA staff and prevents the military from coordinating with the aid agency.
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The U.N. fired nine UNRWA workers after an investigation determined that they "may have been involved" in the attack. UNRWA has roughly 13,000 staffers in the Gaza Strip, and the agency is the most important aid group operating in the enclave.
Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy, argued that by terminating its agreement with UNRWA, "Israel is also further breaking U.S. law prohibiting the restriction of aid delivery."
"It's a definitive rejection of an explicit demand in the Biden administration's October 13 letter and by law must result in halting U.S. arms and military aid to Israel," Williams added.
The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry's announcement came as Israel's military continued its bombing campaign and ground attacks across Gaza. Reutersreported that at least a dozen Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on Monday, including seven people in an attack on houses in northern Gaza.
"It is absolutely terrifying," Louise Wateridge, an UNRWA spokesperson, told Al Jazeera on Saturday, referring to conditions on the ground in Gaza. "You can hear children crying, people screaming, people running for their lives, and it has been nonstop for 24 hours. There's nowhere to go. People are trapped."
“It is absolutely terrifying.
You can hear children crying, people screaming, people running for their lives, and it has been nonstop for 24 hours. People are trapped." @UNWateridge tells @AJEnglish that people in #Gaza are facing relentless and continuous bombardments with… pic.twitter.com/sUo0YKbhOt
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 2, 2024
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA's commissioner-general, said Monday that Israeli authorities allowed an average of just 30 aid trucks to enter Gaza per day last month.
Prior to October 7, 2023, around 500 aid trucks were entering the enclave daily.
"This cannot meet the needs of over 2 million people, many of whom are starving, sick, and in desperate conditions," Lazzarini said Monday. "Restricting humanitarian access and at the same time dismantling UNRWA will add an additional layer of suffering to already unspeakable suffering."
"Only political will," he added, "can put an end to a politically made situation."
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The Republican nominee also said during the same rally in Pennsylvania that he "shouldn't have left" the White House after losing the 2020 election.
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During a rally on the final Sunday before the presidential election, Republican nominee Donald Trump told an audience gathered in the battleground state of Pennsylvania that he wouldn't mind if a gunman shot through the group of reporters covering the event.
After discussing the protective glass surrounding him, the former president said a would-be assassin "would have to shoot through the fake news" to get to him.
"I don't mind that so much," Trump said, drawing laughter and applause from his supporters. "I don't mind."
Watch:
Trump says he doesn't mind if someone shoots the press.
He repeatedly encourages violence against anyone who challenges his narrative.
That's what a dictator does — and Trump's Supreme Court gave him immunity to do whatever he wants if re-elected.
Votepic.twitter.com/W0dUWro2g9
— Melanie D'Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) November 3, 2024
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"It's not a joke," Sharlet wrote. "It's fascism."
Trump has long reveled in attacking members of the press, vilifying them as "the enemy of the people" and directing the ire of his supporters in their direction. Kash Patel, a Trump confidant who's expected to get a senior national security post if the former president wins Tuesday's election, suggested earlier this year that a second Trump administration would go after "the people in the media" with criminal or civil charges, underscoring the threat the Republican nominee poses to press freedom.
Facing backlash over Trump's latest attack on the press, his campaign issued an absurd statement claiming the former president was "actually looking out for [reporters'] welfare" by "stating that the media was in danger."
The Atlantic's Helen Lewis noted Sunday that "journalists are only some of the many 'enemies from within' whom Trump has name-checked at his rallies and on his favored social network, Truth Social."
Lewis continued:
He has suggested that Mark Zuckerberg should face "life in prison" if Facebook's moderation policies penalize right-wingers. He has suggested using the National Guard or the military against "radical-left lunatics" who disrupt the election. He believes people who criticize the Supreme Court "should be put in jail." A recent post on Truth Social stated that if he wins on Tuesday, Trump would hunt down "lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials" who had engaged in what he called "rampant Cheating and Skullduggery." Just last week, he fantasized in public about his Republican critic Liz Cheney facing gunfire, and he previously promoted a post calling for her to face a "televised military tribunal" for treason. In all, NPRfound more than 100 examples of Trump threatening to prosecute or persecute his opponents. One of his recent targets was this magazine.
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