TITLE: Urging the United States Congress to amend the list of allowable foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to eliminate sweetened drinks and snack foods of minimal nutritional value.

SUMMARY: Urging the United States Congress to amend the list of allowable foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to eliminate sweetened drinks and snack foods of minimal nutritional value.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps millions of our nation's families during difficult times, and in the present economy, more than one in seven Americans relies on this aid, historically known as food stamps; and WHEREAS, The primary goal of the program is to ensure that households can obtain supplemental nutritious food; when the food stamp program was introduced in 1939, it met the combined goals of subsidizing nutritious food purchases for victims of the Great Depression while reducing agricultural surplus and allowed food stamp recipients to buy fresh fruits and vegetables as well as eggs, dairy products, and other items produced in abundance by farmers; and WHEREAS, Today, nearly seven percent of food stamp funds are spent on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages defined by the United States Department of Agriculture, which administers the program, as having "minimal nutritious value"; these beverages are the single greatest source of added sugar in the American diet, and the Centers for Disease Control has called for reductions in soft-drink consumption, as have numerous other organizations; it is estimated that the federal government will spend $4 billion on soft drinks through SNAP in 2011; and WHEREAS, Program recipients can also use benefits to pay for candy, doughnuts, potato chips, and other snacks that are high in fat or sugar or both but very low in nutrients; instead of improving health, such products contribute to the growing epidemic of obesity, which has brought about increased rates of diabetes and other chronic diseases; pediatricians report seeing more obese children suffering from diseases that once affected only adults, including hip problems, high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, and gallstones; and WHEREAS, The foundations for good health are established in childhood, a fact recognized by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), likewise administered by the USDA; WIC bans sugary drinks, pastries, snack foods, and other unhealthy items from its list of eligible foods; and WHEREAS, The majority of households receiving funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program include children, yet this program permits the purchase of high-calorie, low-nutrition products that contribute to childhood obesity, and youths struggling with obesity are very likely to become adults facing serious health problems; as a rising number of families become dependent on food stamps, it is imperative that the nation ensure that the program is supporting good nutrition, rather than subsidizing the purchase of products that will, ultimately, lead to ever-higher health care costs; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to amend the list of allowable foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to eliminate sweetened drinks and snack foods of minimal nutritional value; and, be it further RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.