PARTIAL RESTORATION OF BENEFITS TO LEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

SEC. 4401. PARTIAL RESTORATION OF BENEFITS TO LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. (a) Restoration of Benefits to Disabled Aliens.—Section 402(a)(2)(F) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(F)) is amended by striking “(i) was” and all that follows through “(II) in the case” and inserting the following: “(i) in the case of the specified Federal program described in paragraph (3)(A)— “(I) was lawfully residing in the United States on August 22, 1996; and “(II) is blind or disabled (as defined in paragraph (2) or (3) of section 1614(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1382c(a))); and “(ii) in the case”. (b) Restoration of Benefits to All Qualified Alien Children.— (1) In general.—Section 402(a)(2)(J) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(J)) is amended by striking “who” and all that follows through “is under” and inserting “who is under”. (2) Conforming amendments.— (A) Section 403(c)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1613(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(L) Assistance or benefits provided to individuals under the age of 18 under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).”. (B) Section 421(d) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1631(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(3) This section shall not apply to assistance or benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) to the extent that a qualified alien is eligible under section 402(a)(2)(J).” (C) Section 5(i)(2)(E) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2014(i)(2)(E)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, or to any alien who is under 18 years of age”. (3) Effective date.—The amendments made by this subsection take effect on October 1, 2003. (c) Food Stamp Exception for Certain Qualified Aliens.— (1) In general.—Section 402(a)(2) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:116 STAT. 334 “(L) Food stamp exception for certain qualified aliens.—With respect to eligibility for benefits for the specified Federal program described in paragraph (3)(B), paragraph (1) shall not apply to any qualified alien who has resided in the United States with a status within the meaning of the term ‘qualified alien’ for a period of 5 years or more beginning on the date of the alien's entry into the United States.”. (2) Effective date.—The amendment made by paragraph (1)takes effect on April 1, 2003.