GOP lawmaker: No more food stamps to buy junk food

A GOP amendment to the Senate Democratic budget would prohibit using food stamps to buy junk food.

There are now more than 400 amendments to the Senate’s budget plan and No. 421 by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) would only allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, to buy healthy foods.

“The possibility that SNAP is contributing to some Americans’ health issues is absolutely unacceptable,” Coburn said in a statement, noting a Yale University study that reported that purchasing sugary beverages constituted 58 percent of all beverage purchases with the benefits and $2 billion out of the $75 billion allocated to the program.

The amendment, though non-binding, would require a new regulatory framework that would study the nutritional value of food and determine what SNAP beneficiaries should and should not eat.

Coburn's office called it a “common sense policy modification.”

“A significant portion of low-income Americans struggle with obesity, diabetes, and other health issues that result from an unhealthy diet, yet the principle federal program aimed at providing nutrition to that demographic lacks the necessary controls to ensure a positive outcome. In fact, SNAP may actually be exacerbating the problem,” the doctor-turned-senator said.

The upper chamber is scheduled to resume votes on the budget amendments around 2:30 p.m.

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