85R945 KSM-F
By: Metcalf H.C.R. No. 35
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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.