Citizenship requirement for Federal welfare programs

(a) In general Section 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611) is amended— (1) in the section heading, by striking aliens who are not qualified aliens and inserting individuals who are not citizens; and (2) Section 401(b) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1611(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (1) and redesignating paragraphs (2) through (5) as paragraphs (1) through (4), respectively. (b) Conforming amendment Section 402 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1612) is amended by striking qualified alien each place it appears in a provision relating to a Federal welfare program (as defined in section 3(1) of this Act) and inserting citizen (as defined in section 3(2) of the Federal Welfare Citizenship Requirement Act of 2026). (c) Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect— (1) the exceptions preserved in section 401(b) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as redesignated by subsection (a), for emergency medical treatment, short-term in-kind disaster relief, immunizations and treatment of communicable disease symptoms, and in-kind community services such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling, and short-term shelter; or (2) eligibility for a program not defined as a Federal welfare program under section 3(1), including the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance programs under title II of the Social Security Act, Medicare under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, and unemployment compensation, which remain governed by existing law.