# 119-hr-9667: Securing Healthcare and Income Entitlements for Lawfully Domiciled Citizens (SHIELD Citizens) Act

119-hr-9667, Securing Healthcare and Income Entitlements for Lawfully Domiciled Citizens (SHIELD Citizens) Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Fuller, Clay [R-GA-14] (R-GA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-24).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9667
- As of: 2026-07-24
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9667
- Congress: 119
- Title: Securing Healthcare and Income Entitlements for Lawfully Domiciled Citizens (SHIELD Citizens) Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-14
- Sponsor: Rep. Fuller, Clay [R-GA-14] (R-GA)
- Cosponsors: 6
- Policy area: Social Welfare
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-24

## Summary

**This bill would restrict eligibility for many federal welfare programs to United States citizens.** It would change who counts as a qualifying person and apply that standard across major safety-net programs. - Families with U.S. citizen members would face a citizen-only eligibility test for a long list of programs named in the bill, including TANF, SNAP, SSI, Medicaid, federal housing assistance, WIC, and LIHEAP. The definition covers those programs and any successor programs. - Noncitizen residents who previously qualified as "qualified aliens" could lose access to those federal welfare programs. The bill defines "citizen" to mean a U.S. citizen or national as in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a). - Federal agencies could designate other federally funded cash, food, housing, medical, or energy assistance as a "Federal welfare program" and must apply the new citizen standard. The bill preserves limited exemptions for emergency medical treatment, short-term in-kind disaster relief, immunizations and communicable disease treatment, and short-term community services like soup kitchens and shelter. *Would take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year beginning at least 180 days after enactment, and current qualified noncitizen recipients could remain eligible for up to 180 days to allow redetermination or an orderly transition.*

## Cosponsors (6)

- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McCormick, Richard [R-GA-7] (R-GA), 2026-07-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bergman, Jack [R-MI-1] (R-MI), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Allen, Rick W. [R-GA-12] (R-GA), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fry, Russell [R-SC-7] (R-SC), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Loudermilk, Barry [R-GA-11] (R-GA), 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Preserve emergency and noncovered help: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would say it does not change narrow exceptions that let noncitizens get emergency medical treatment, short-term in-kind disaster relief, immunizations and treatment for communicable disease symptoms, or in-kind community services like soup kitchens, crisis counseling, and short…
- Limit federal welfare to citizens: cost, high. If enacted, the bill would change law so only U.S. citizens and nationals (the INA section 101(a) definition) could get listed Federal welfare programs. It would replace references to "qualified alien" with the new "citizen" definition for these programs. The bill lists TANF, SNAP, SSI, Medicaid, f…
- Timing and 180‑day transition rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year that begins at least 180 days after enactment. People who, the day before that effective date, were "qualified aliens" lawfully receiving Federal welfare would be able to keep benefits for up to 180 days after the effe…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2025
- 119-hr-516: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the railroad track maintenance credit.
- 119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act
- 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hconres-12: Supporting the Local Radio Freedom Act.
- 119-hr-722: Life at Conception Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9667 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9667)

## Related
- [119-hr-7: No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7)
- [119-hr-516: To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the railroad track mainten…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-516)
- [119-hr-4382: America’s Olympic and Paralympic Games Commemorative Coins Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4382)
- [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502)
- [119-hconres-12: Supporting the Local Radio Freedom Act.](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hconres-12)
- [119-hr-722: Life at Conception Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-722)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9667 (as of 2026-07-24).