Trump's Speech This Morning on Nutrition Assistance Programs
The push to ban sugary drinks, candy and other foods from the U.S. welfare program that helps low-income families get nutritious food has been tried before, but it may soon be stepped up by new Trump administration officials.
New Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and new Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins have indicated they favor eliminating such foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Kennedy has been the most vocal, calling on the government to stop allowing SNAP, which spends nearly $113 billion, to help an estimated 42 million Americans use their benefits to pay for "soda or processed foods."
"I think one thing we really need to change is the policy of SNAP and food stamps and school lunches," Kennedy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week.
"In those programs, the federal government in many cases is footing the bill. And we should not be helping people eat poison," he added.
SNAP is run by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), not the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is run by individual states. SNAP is authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which states that SNAP benefits can be used to purchase “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” except alcohol, tobacco, and hot food, including those prepared for immediate consumption.
Source: VOA
