Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Tuesday called on Congress to change the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to ban the use of federal benefits to purchase junk food such as soda.
Rubio, in an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal, said data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that 20% of SNAP spending goes towards "sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar."
"More than 40 percent of U.S. adults are obese, and roughly half have diabetes or prediabetes. These diseases can be debilitating. They are also extremely expensive, costing hundreds of billions of dollars in medical costs each year," Rubio wrote. "That SNAP plays a role in their spread is immoral, irresponsible and reprehensible."
He went on to recommend legislation to "explicitly exclude" sodas and sweets, which he called "common-sense reform" that "would promote healthier diets at no additional cost and, in the long run, reduce medical expenses."
Rubio also said that this could help "address food deserts in low-income neighborhoods. If soft drinks and sweets are no longer SNAP-eligible, corner stores and supermarkets will have more incentive to stock healthier foods."
The senator noted that multiple former agriculture secretaries warned about the dangers of ignoring nutrition, and said, "The former secretaries' pleas went unanswered in 2018, but Congress has an opportunity to get it right as we work on the next farm bill."
He added, "As with everything in Washington, this proposal has opponents. But there is nothing compassionate or responsible about spending taxpayer dollars on empty calories that contribute to health crises."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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