Assembly Bill Blocks SNAP Payments for Candy, Soda, Energy Drinks
It's about health, GOP backers say. It punishes people for being poor, opponents say.
Grocery store aisle. Photo by Sophie Bolich.
With the government reopened and uncertainty about federal food assistance payments fading, Republicans in Wisconsin are holding a vote this week on a bill restricting what recipients can buy with that money.
Under the proposal up for a vote in the Wisconsin Assembly Wednesday, soft drinks, candy and energy drinks would no longer be allowed to be purchased using money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Republicans behind it say it’s about improving low-income residents’ health and argue taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for junk food. Critics call it an effort to punish people living in poverty.
Under the legislation, “candy, soft drinks, or energy drinks” would be off limits for anyone using federal food assistance, which in Wisconsin is known as FoodShare. In order to enforce the new restrictions, the bill requires the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to apply for a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A USDA website about the waivers states President Donald Trump’s administration “is leading bold reform to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value” within SNAP and encourages states to apply. So far, 12 states, including Florida, Colorado, Texas and Indiana, have applied and expect to have various restrictions on soda and candy in place next year.
In late March, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was promoting the waivers. The Wisconsin bill was introduced in on April 15 by state Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie, and state Sen. Chris Kapenga, R-Delafield.
In an interview with WPR, Moses said the goal is to return the SNAP program to providing nutrition “and not fill our kids, our adults and our elderly with bad foods, poor caloric intake, high sugar foods, processed foods, that type of stuff.”
“And then the other big concern is, obviously, it’s a double edged sword,” Moses said. “Because not only are the taxpayers paying for this food that’s feeding illness and disease, but then also the taxpayers are paying for a lot of these people that are also on Medicaid benefits, so then we’re paying for their health care.”
Wisconsin Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, voted against the proposal in committee. He told WPR it’s “fairly ridiculous” because the bill doesn’t consider low-income residents living in “food deserts” where grocery stores aren’t nearby.
Clancy claims Republicans seem interested in “punishing people for their poverty.”
“I’m not going to be the one just before the holidays to tell families they can’t buy candy for their stockings,” he said. “That’s just not the way that we should be using government.”
Moses said said he’s optimistic the bill, and an amendment redefining “soft drink,” will pass the Assembly Wednesday. Moses said the amendment will ensure that “we are protecting our milk and our dairy industry” in the new definition.
The bill is opposed by Feeding Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Hunger Task Force along with associations representing grocery stores and gas stations. It’s supported by the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Naturopathic Doctors Association, the Wisconsin Property Taxpayers Inc. and conservative free-market advocacy groups.
A fiscal estimate from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services claims the department would incur around $6 million in costs in order to create a database of soft candy and soft drink products. The DHS said the state has 3.5 positions dedicated to investigating suspected SNAP fraud, and it’s unknown whether they’d need more to enforce the ban.
Assembly to vote on bill blocking SNAP recipients from buying candy, soft drinks and energy drinks was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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