A House Bill Would Drug Test Some Food Stamp Recipients

A familiar claim is making the rounds again on Facebook. Viral posts say the Trump administration is "considering" drug testing food stamp recipients. The story is real, but it isn't current, and the actual status of the idea is very different from what the posts suggest.

The report dates to April 2018, during President Trump's first term. That spring, the Associated Press obtained USDA emails showing the administration weighed letting states drug test some SNAP applicants. The proposal was limited in scope. It would have covered able-bodied adults without dependents who were applying for certain jobs, a group that accounts for roughly 5% of recipients. The plan was discussed inside the department, but it was never finalized.

The main barrier is federal law. Section 5(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act bars states from adding their own eligibility standards to SNAP. That language is why USDA does not allow drug testing as a condition of receiving food stamps. States have tested that limit before. Georgia and Wisconsin both tried to require drug testing for food assistance, and both were blocked.

Because the law itself stands in the way, any broad change would have to come from Congress. The proposal that is actually live right now is H.R. 372, the "Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients Act." Rep. David Rouzer, a Republican from North Carolina, introduced it on January 13, 2025.

The bill is narrower than the viral posts imply. It would not test every recipient. Instead, applicants arrested for a drug offense in the past 5 years would need a negative test to receive TANF, SNAP or public housing benefits. That covers three separate programs, cash assistance, food assistance and housing, under one standard.

So far, the bill hasn't advanced. On February 20, 2025, it was referred to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture. There has been no further action since that referral. No hearing, no markup and no floor vote have followed.

Meanwhile, the official who runs SNAP has pursued a different set of changes. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins oversees the program, and she has signed waivers letting states ban soda and candy purchases with SNAP benefits. Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Idaho and Utah are among the states that received them, with the restrictions taking effect in 2026.

The difference between the two approaches comes down to who can act. Purchase restrictions can move through USDA waivers, one state at a time, because they deal with what benefits can buy. Drug testing deals with who qualifies, and under Section 5(b), eligibility rules aren't something states can add on their own.

That's why the 2018 idea never took effect, and why H.R. 372 would need to pass both chambers of Congress before testing could begin anywhere. Until that happens, the posts claiming a new drug testing policy are describing an old report, not a change in the rules.

For now, SNAP recipients in the six waiver states will see changes at the checkout counter in 2026. Nothing has changed about drug testing.

Should Congress move H.R. 372 forward and require drug tests for SNAP applicants with a recent drug arrest? YES OR NO?