WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Hispanic Leadership Fund released an issue brief diving into the unintended consequences of limiting food choices under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and how proposed legislation and pilot programs would harm households facing economic hardship.
The Rules Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives will vote today on an amendment to the House Appropriations Bill to restrict SNAP purchases, teeing up a potential floor vote. Republican Representative Andy Harris (MD) has guided this anti-choice SNAP movement – growing the size and scope of government while reducing choice for Americans who are struggling financially. Other notable legislators, including Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), have thrown support behind similar initiatives that would restrict families from purchasing foods that are not judged to be sufficiently “nutrient dense.”
HLF president Mario H. Lopez stated, “empowering government bureaucrats to regulate food choices under SNAP based on vague and overly broad perceptions about nutritional content is bad policy rife with unintended consequences like added administrative costs, burden shifting to the states, more tangled bureaucratic processes. Also hugely important to note is that proponents cannot show any health benefits for recipients.”
A full copy of the issue brief can be viewed here.
