Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) proposed a bill on Thursday that would prevent people on welfare from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — a.k.a. Food Stamps — to buy certain types of junk food and soda.
“If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, that’s up to them. But what we’re saying is, don’t ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences,” said Rep. Brecheen on X.
Brecheen said in a statement that his bill is in line with requests made by President Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, former Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
He argued that, while people should be free to buy junk food with their own money, they should not be able to buy candy and soda with taxpayer funds.
Those expenses could give rise to future medical bills incurred through complications of an unhealthy diet, which would likely also be paid for by welfare benefits such as Medicaid.
The bill is modeled after an identical bill proposed in 2023 by then-Sen. Rubio.
Brecheen gave the current text of the bill to Fox News for review.
It prohibits the use of food stamps on “soft drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, pies, cookies, or similar products,” adding to the existing ban on SNAP benefits for tobacco and alcohol.
The bill also empowers the HHS Secretary to determine which items contain enough nutritional value to be considered food for the purposes of SNAP benefits, suggesting that forms of junk food other than candy, dessert, and soft drinks could also fall under the ban.
Brecheen pointed out that over 42 million Americans, or roughly one in eight people, are using SNAP benefits and cited data showing that a staggering 20 percent of all SNAP benefits are spent on junk food.
Sugar-sweetened beverages, like soda and other soft drinks, made up 10 percent of all SNAP expenditures, according to the data.
That data does not differentiate between actual Americans and the unknown number of illegal immigrants participating in the welfare program.
He also pointed out that roughly 75 percent of all U.S. adults and 33 percent of children are overweight or obese and that federal healthcare programs spend $400 billion per year on obesity-related diseases.
Brecheen’s bill received support from seven Republican co-sponsors, but no Democrats signed on to support the effort to make America healthy again.
It’s reported the anywhere between 20 to 40% of coke a cola’s profits come from government assistance. Look it up, I did and was shocked.
Shouln’t this already a stipulation for receiving SNAP benefits? I also wonder how many food stamps are exchanged for cash at a discount. Should a family genuinely need this subsidy I have no problem with that, but I do wonder about the officials who make the determination. It’s not likely these bureaucrats are diligently doing their job and protecting the taxpayers who are paying for the program.
Dirty Dems will call it racist.
They don’t want to upset their voting block
Good! There should be some kind of proper diet short video or course people should have to take before recieving SNAP.
We should go back to govt cheese again. Except make it real cheese this time
I’m surprised no one talks about EBT cash. A portion of the benefit is cash and people can easily use it to buy cigarettes and beer. Which seems to me to be worse than buying junk food
Finally. Does it even make sense to allow taxpayer money to buy snacks? I always thought it was for “necessities”. The system is out of control and ignores common sense.
I might been wrong! But I doubt it!
When they tried this the first time and got shot down it was during the Obamimation years.
Instead of banning sugary drinks and candy the demarcates snuck in sugar tax instead by taxing things that could very well be considered baking goods instead of just taxing junk food.
I blame that on Micheal obamination!
Such items are
Lemon juice I use for baking and I make lemon water with no sugar either, is taxed. And now lemon juice is in the juice isle. Not in the baking isle.
5 pound bag of sugar also needed for baking now a 4 pound bag with a tax.
Other taxed items
Ice cream
Chips
Candy
Probably syrup should be taxed and leave honey alone.
Such items need to be reconsidered and distinguish what’s really baking goods and much healthier for a person. Baked goods don’t have all the cancer causing additives that store bought does.
Regardless of what’s being cooked junk food like a frosted cake. Or then there’s pancakes or batter dipped fish all need flour and some degree of sugar. One is junk food the others are food.
Instead of banning these items they just taxed them.
Who’s getting the tax from these items? The state or are the democrats just quietly pocketing the tax?