85R945 KSM-F     By: Metcalf H.C.R. No. 35       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, The United States Congress established the   Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program with the expressed goals   of alleviating hunger and malnutrition and safeguarding the health   and well-being of members of low-income households; and          WHEREAS, Food stamp benefits are administered in Texas   through the Lone Star Card; and          WHEREAS, During fiscal year 2015, the Texas Health and Human   Services Commission recorded a monthly average of 3.78 million   recipients for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; and          WHEREAS, Total benefits awarded through the Supplemental   Nutrition Assistance Program in Texas were worth $5.2 billion   during fiscal year 2015; and          WHEREAS, Section 3(k) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008,   which authorized the program and changed the name of the benefits   from food stamps, defines "food" in broad and expansive terms, and   as a result, SNAP participants are able to purchase nutritionally   deficient food items as well as unnecessarily expensive or   luxurious products; the allowance of these expenditures directly   contradicts the program's mission; and          WHEREAS, Each year, public funding goes to cover SNAP   purchases of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages that the U.S.   Department of Agriculture has labeled as having "minimal   nutritional value," and SNAP participants can use their benefits to   buy candy, cookies, ice cream, chips, and other items that are high   in fat or sugar but very low in nutrients; such beverages and snacks   contribute to obesity, cause increased rates of diabetes and other   chronic diseases, and lead to higher medical costs; with millions   of SNAP participants also enrolled in Medicaid, these health issues   further contribute to growing costs for the federal government; and          WHEREAS, Today, 45.8 million Americans participate in SNAP,   and the program costs about $70 billion annually; many citizens are   becoming increasingly concerned that their tax dollars are being   subjected to inefficient and wasteful spending; and          WHEREAS, With the large number of families dependent on SNAP,   it is imperative that the program support good nutrition, rather   than subsidize the purchase of products that negatively affect   public health; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to amend   the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to limit the types of food items   eligible for purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance   Program; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.