Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HCR87 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R10299 BPG-D
2	2	By: Veasey, Naishtat H.C.R. No. 87
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5	5	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, During the past four decades, as Americans have
7	7	increased their consumption of highly processed foods, obesity
8	8	rates have soared among all age groups and have increased more than
9	9	fourfold among children ages 6 to 11; today, nearly a third of
10	10	children and adolescents are overweight or obese, which places them
11	11	at higher risk for a host of serious illnesses; obese children are
12	12	being diagnosed with health problems previously considered to be
13	13	adult illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, asthma, and
14	14	certain types of cancer; childhood obesity alone costs the United
15	15	States an estimated $14 billion in health care expenses, and it is
16	16	estimated that the obesity epidemic overall costs the nation $117
17	17	billion per year in direct medical expenses and indirect costs; and
18	18	WHEREAS, Low-income individuals are particularly at risk for
19	19	obesity-related diseases; accordingly, the United States
20	20	Department of Agriculture has initiated an incentives-based
21	21	program to promote healthier eating among participants in the
22	22	Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the
23	23	food stamp program; and
24	24	WHEREAS, The 2008 federal Farm Bill authorized $20 million
25	25	for USDA to test whether incentives to buy fresh produce can
26	26	increase the purchase of healthy foods; the Healthy Incentives
27	27	Pilot is being conducted in Hampden County, Massachusetts, where
28	28	7,500 randomly selected SNAP households will receive a 30-cent
29	29	bonus for every dollar they spend on fruits and vegetables using
30	30	their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer cards; and
31	31	WHEREAS, Processed foods high in fat and sugar are less
32	32	expensive than fresh produce, and this pilot program represents a
33	33	significant step toward reducing the financial barriers that
34	34	prevent low-income residents from adopting healthier eating
35	35	habits; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Over the course of a year, more than one in seven
37	37	Americans participate in SNAP, half of them being children, and it
38	38	is vital that this program promote healthy eating as well as food
39	39	security; in a 2008 report, the U.S. Government Accountability
40	40	Office found encouraging results from studies examining the
41	41	effectiveness of financial incentives to increase fruit and
42	42	vegetable consumption among SNAP households; and
43	43	WHEREAS, The Healthy Incentives Pilot has the potential to
44	44	positively influence the diets of low-income individuals, thereby
45	45	reducing obesity and its attendant health care costs, and with such
46	46	critical outcomes at stake, the program should not be limited to
47	47	just one community; now, therefore, be it
48	48	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
49	49	hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to expand the
50	50	Healthy Incentives Pilot to communities across the country; and, be
51	51	it further
52	52	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
53	53	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
54	54	the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of
55	55	Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of
56	56	agriculture, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to
57	57	Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the
58	58	Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United
59	59	States of America.