Bill Text: TX HCR35 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging Congress to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to limit the types of food items eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-15 - Referred to State & Federal Power & Responsibility, Select [HCR35 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HCR35-Introduced.html
| 85R945 KSM-F | ||
| By: Metcalf | H.C.R. No. 35 | |
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| WHEREAS, The United States Congress established the | ||
| Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with the expressed goals | ||
| of alleviating hunger and malnutrition and safeguarding the health | ||
| and well-being of members of low-income households; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Food stamp benefits are administered in Texas | ||
| through the Lone Star Card; and | ||
| WHEREAS, During fiscal year 2015, the Texas Health and Human | ||
| Services Commission recorded a monthly average of 3.78 million | ||
| recipients for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Total benefits awarded through the Supplemental | ||
| Nutrition Assistance Program in Texas were worth $5.2 billion | ||
| during fiscal year 2015; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Section 3(k) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, | ||
| which authorized the program and changed the name of the benefits | ||
| from food stamps, defines "food" in broad and expansive terms, and | ||
| as a result, SNAP participants are able to purchase nutritionally | ||
| deficient food items as well as unnecessarily expensive or | ||
| luxurious products; the allowance of these expenditures directly | ||
| contradicts the program's mission; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Each year, public funding goes to cover SNAP | ||
| purchases of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages that the U.S. | ||
| Department of Agriculture has labeled as having "minimal | ||
| nutritional value," and SNAP participants can use their benefits to | ||
| buy candy, cookies, ice cream, chips, and other items that are high | ||
| in fat or sugar but very low in nutrients; such beverages and snacks | ||
| contribute to obesity, cause increased rates of diabetes and other | ||
| chronic diseases, and lead to higher medical costs; with millions | ||
| of SNAP participants also enrolled in Medicaid, these health issues | ||
| further contribute to growing costs for the federal government; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Today, 45.8 million Americans participate in SNAP, | ||
| and the program costs about $70 billion annually; many citizens are | ||
| becoming increasingly concerned that their tax dollars are being | ||
| subjected to inefficient and wasteful spending; and | ||
| WHEREAS, With the large number of families dependent on SNAP, | ||
| it is imperative that the program support good nutrition, rather | ||
| than subsidize the purchase of products that negatively affect | ||
| public health; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to amend | ||
| the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to limit the types of food items | ||
| eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance | ||
| Program; 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 the speaker of the House of | ||
| Representatives of the United States Congress, 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. | ||
