The days of buying junk food and soda with benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could soon be over if a bill in the works from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., passes.
What You Need To Know
- The days of buying junk food and soda with benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program could soon be over if a bill in the works from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., passes
- In an op-ed Sunday in The Wall Street Journal, Rubio called for the change while writing, “SNAP is in dire need of reform”
- Citing a 2016 report from the U.S. Agriculture Department, Rubio said more than 20% of all SNAP subsidies are spent on unhealthy food and drinks and that taxpayers are projected to spend $240 billion on junk food over the next decade
- “This subsidization of junk food is fueling American health crises,” Rubio wrote
In an op-ed Sunday in The Wall Street Journal, Rubio called for the change while writing, “SNAP is in dire need of reform.”
Rubio said Congress could update SNAP’s eligibility requirements in the next farm bill, a package of legislation passed every five years that sets agriculture and nutrition policy. His bill would eliminate soda and prepared deserts from SNAP, pushing people to healthier choices.
Citing a 2016 report from the U.S. Agriculture Department, Rubio said more than 20% of all SNAP subsidies are spent on unhealthy food and drinks and that taxpayers are projected to spend $240 billion on junk food over the next decade.
“This subsidization of junk food is fueling American health crises,” Rubio wrote, noting that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 40% of U.S. adults are obese, which can lead to diabetes.
“These diseases can be debilitating,” the senator wrote. “They are also extremely expensive, costing hundreds of billions of dollars in medical costs each year. That SNAP plays a role in their spread is immoral, irresponsible and reprehensible.”
In 2018, the former agriculture secretaries under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama argued to no avail for “diet quality” for SNAP in the farm bill that year. Rubio said he’s hopeful for a better result this time because one of those agriculture secretaries, Tom Vilsack, has returned to the post.
Rubio said he looks forward to working with Vilsack to align SNAP benefit standards with National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.
Spectrum News has reached out to the Agriculture Department for comment.
The senator predicted that if people cannot buy sodas and sweets with their SNAP benefits, it would incentive corner stores in low-income neighborhoods to stock healthier foods, addressing “food deserts.”
“As with everything in Washington, this proposal has opponents,.” Rubio wrote. “But there is nothing compassionate or responsible about spending taxpayer dollars on empty calories that contribute to health crises.”
