Latest news with #Bill379
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sodas, candy to be banned from Texas food stamp purchases
For years, Texas lawmakers have tried to stop food stamp recipients from purchasing snack food. With support from the federal government, Texas' first step to root out unhealthy foods from the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, or SNAP, will become reality after Senate Bill 379 from state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, made it through in the last week of the legislative session. It comes just four months after fellow Texan and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signaled to states that the agency would green light measures that prohibit SNAP recipients from using their subsidies to buy certain foods. The measure is likely to be signed quickly by Gov. Greg Abbott, who has already notified Rollins' office he wants a waiver from federal rules to keep junk food from SNAP purchases. Indiana, Iowa and Nebraska have filed similar legislation and have been granted waivers. But opponents of such measures say keeping unhealthy foods from only SNAP recipients — and not all Americans — ultimately penalizes poverty. 'On its face, it sounds fine, right? … Let's restrict soda. Sodas are bad for everyone,'' said Amber O'Connor, food policy analyst for Every Texan, a left-leaning nonprofit research group. 'Exactly. Sodas are bad for everyone. So, if we want to make Texas healthy again, let's talk about those ingredients.' Middleton's original bill covered a wide range of snacks including sweetened drinks, cookies, chips and candy. But lawmakers from both chambers negotiated it down to only sodas and candy. A banned sweetened drink is defined as "a nonalcoholic beverage made with water that contains five grams or more of added sugar or any amount of artificial sweeteners,' but excludes fruit juices and milk beverages. 'The USDA's stated purpose for the SNAP program is nutritious food essential to health and well being,' Middleton said when he presented the bill before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in March. 'The bottom line is that taxpayer-funded junk food turns into taxpayer-funded health care.' Once signed, the measure can go into effect Sept. 1, but Texas Health and Human Services Commission and retailers are expected to bear the heavy lift to set up the state's Lone Star card system to reject such purchases. According to the latest data available, 3.5 million Texans received $616 million in SNAP benefits in April. The average Lone Star card user was allotted $378 in SNAP benefits. SNAP is fully funded by federal taxpayer dollars. States participating in the USDA program must pay 50% of the cost to administer the program's administrative costs. Last year, Texas taxpayers funded about $215 million of that cost, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. For months, Republicans in Washington have proposed dramatic cuts to SNAP. While nothing has been passed yet, one suggestion is that states pay for a larger portion of the food assistance program. That federal willingness to cut SNAP has unleashed several proposals from states to restrict what is purchased. More cuts to the SNAP program, whether they be restrictions on food stamps or changes in who can qualify, would increase demand on food banks, something many are bracing for right now. Federal food assistance programs have been around since the 1930s. The modern food assistance program most Americans still refer to as the food stamp program was created when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Food Stamp Act of 1964. Since then, it was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, or SNAP, and electronic debit cards replaced the old coupon-like food stamp booklets many Americans recall from the 1970s Historically, people have pushed back against regulating SNAP purchases because they say such policies discriminate against poor people. Eliminating more prepared food items, in particular, fails to take into consideration the limited access poorer Texans have to electricity, a refrigerator, stove and an oven, they say. 'Sometimes, there's a kid at home alone in a house that has no electricity,' O'Connor said. 'They have no experience cooking. Is it more important that they get calories to get through until tomorrow or is it more important that they spend their $6 allotment on a $3 bell pepper?' Most of the opposition to the original version of SB 379 was its vagueness, which could have made it harder on the 21,000 SNAP retailers statewide to police. Retailers who stand to profit off SNAP payments have typically opposed placing restrictions. Walmart, which registered as opposed to the bill, declined to comment to The Texas Tribune on Tuesday. Paring down the list of restricted foods under the bill will also help ease the transition for SNAP recipients, according to food banks, which help Texans sign up for the benefits. 'We're pleased to see that the scope of the bill has been narrowed and now closely aligns with the guidance outlined in Governor Abbott's letter,' said Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks. 'This clarity will ease implementation and reduce confusion for SNAP participants.' Disclosure: Every Texan and Feeding Texas have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
Fox News
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Senator Marshall On Universities' Dangerous Tilt: ‘Faculty Are Teaching Hate & It's Wrong'
Last spring's anti-Israel protests have evolved into anti-Trump demonstrations, particularly at Columbia University in New York City. Students are frustrated with President Donald Trump's proposal to reduce federal funding for the school. Senator Roger Marshall joins the Rundown to preview Thursday's Senate hearing on disruptions related to anti-Israel sentiments on campus. In Texas, their state legislature is taking 'Make America Healthy Again' seriously with their Senate Bill 379, which would kick junk food and sweetened beverages out of the food stamp program, SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). They say they have strong federal partners who support this legislature, namely U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. Texas State Senator Mayes Middleton explains why this bill brings the food stamp program back to its original intent. Plus, commentary from FOX News contributor and founder of Golden Together, Steve Hilton. Photo Credit: AP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas lawmakers consider measure prohibiting SNAP benefits from being used to purchase junk food
A bill making its way through the Texas legislature would bar people from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on junk food, including soda, energy drinks, candy, chips and cookies. Senate Bill 379 would narrow the restrictions on the types of food people can purchase using SNAP funds, formerly known as food stamps. Republican State Sen. Mayes Middleton, who authored the bill, said he filed the legislation to return to SNAP's original intent of focusing on nutritional food essential to health and wellbeing. Similar bills with bipartisan support have been introduced in the Texas House — H.B. 3188, proposed by Democrat Rep. Richard Raymond, and H.B. 4970, introduced by GOP Rep. Briscoe Cain. Make America Healthy Again: Timeline Of The Maha Movement The federal government, which provides all the funding for SNAP, currently allows the program to be used for most food items, excluding alcohol, tobacco and hot prepared meals. A pair of bills were recently introduced in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that would also prohibit the purchase of junk food using SNAP benefits. Read On The Fox News App Snap Recipients May Be Barred From Junk Food Purchases Under New House Gop Bill Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also expressed his desire to restrict ultra-processed foods and additives. Back in Texas, Republican state lawmakers say S.B. 379 seeks to remove food and drinks with little nutritional value from the government assistance program. "The [U.S. Department of Agriculture's] stated purpose for the SNAP program is nutritious food essential to health and wellbeing. Well, junk food certainly doesn't fit that purpose," Middleton said, according to FOX 4. "So having those types of foods and drinks qualified under the program is actually contrary to the entire purpose of the SNAP program, the food stamp program." Another federal program that provides food assistance for families called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) already excludes the purchase of junk food items, instead focusing on providing healthy foods and nutrition education. Meanwhile, critics of the Texas bill argue that people using SNAP should have the freedom to decide what foods are best for their families, including treats for their children or for medical needs such as treating a blood sugar crash, FOX 4 reported. Critics also claim there is a lack of access to grocery stores and say many people on the program rely on convenience stores where there are few healthy food options. The state's full Senate debated the bill on Monday. It needs to pass the Upper Chamber before it can be sent to the article source: Texas lawmakers consider measure prohibiting SNAP benefits from being used to purchase junk food
Fox News
25-03-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Texas lawmakers consider measure prohibiting SNAP benefits from being used to purchase junk food
A bill making its way through the Texas legislature would bar people from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on junk food, including soda, energy drinks, candy, chips and cookies. Senate Bill 379 would narrow the restrictions on the types of food people can purchase using SNAP funds, formerly known as food stamps. Republican State Sen. Mayes Middleton, who authored the bill, said he filed the legislation to return to SNAP's original intent of focusing on nutritional food essential to health and wellbeing. Similar bills with bipartisan support have been introduced in the Texas House — H.B. 3188, proposed by Democrat Rep. Richard Raymond, and H.B. 4970, introduced by GOP Rep. Briscoe Cain. The federal government, which provides all the funding for SNAP, currently allows the program to be used for most food items, excluding alcohol, tobacco and hot prepared meals. A pair of bills were recently introduced in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that would also prohibit the purchase of junk food using SNAP benefits. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also expressed his desire to restrict ultra-processed foods and additives. Back in Texas, Republican state lawmakers say S.B. 379 seeks to remove food and drinks with little nutritional value from the government assistance program. "The [U.S. Department of Agriculture's] stated purpose for the SNAP program is nutritious food essential to health and wellbeing. Well, junk food certainly doesn't fit that purpose," Middleton said, according to FOX 4. "So having those types of foods and drinks qualified under the program is actually contrary to the entire purpose of the SNAP program, the food stamp program." Another federal program that provides food assistance for families called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) already excludes the purchase of junk food items, instead focusing on providing healthy foods and nutrition education. Meanwhile, critics of the Texas bill argue that people using SNAP should have the freedom to decide what foods are best for their families, including treats for their children or for medical needs such as treating a blood sugar crash, FOX 4 reported. Critics also claim there is a lack of access to grocery stores and say many people on the program rely on convenience stores where there are few healthy food options. The state's full Senate debated the bill on Monday. It needs to pass the Upper Chamber before it can be sent to the House.
