By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Saying they have no nutritional value, a Lake Havasu Republican is leading the charge to take sodas -- with or without sugar -- off the list of what Arizonans can purchase with food stamps.
But candy would remain on the list of acceptable items as Rep. Leo Biasiucci found he could not get the support he needs for his original plan which also would restrict the purchase of candy. Colleagues raised questions about how to define that and whether there's a real nutritional difference between a Snickers and a granola bar.
And nothing in the bill would prevent those in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for food stamps, from high-sugar cereals like Fruit Loops which has 12 grams of added sugar for each 39-gram serving.
Approval of HB 2165 this week by the House Committee on Health and Human Services came over the objections of Mike Gardner, lobbyist for the Arizona Beverage Association. He told lawmakers that his industry has done more to provide sugar-free alternatives than other food manufacturers.
"Good luck finding zero-calorie mayonnaise,'' he said.
But the bill, which now goes to the full House, also was panned by every Democrat on the committee.
Even if it gets legislative approval -- and even if it is signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs -- that still won't curtail the list of what food stamp recipients can buy. Instead, it simply instructs the state Department of Economic Security to get a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency that actually funds the program, to prohibit Arizona recipients from buying sodas with their benefits.
To date, no such waiver has been granted.
All that, however, could change.
Brooke Rollins, the newly confirmed head of the U.S. Department Agriculture, said last week wants to reform what items can be bought with SNAP. And she told reporters she wants to work with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now head of the Department of Health and Human Services, to revamp the list.
"I look forward to working with Bobby Kennedy as we figure out, do we have the healthiest choices?'' she told reporters outside the White House. "So when a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?''
Biasiucci told Capitol Media Services the program is in need of reform.
"I look back and realize SNAP was originally designed to provide people in need with an opportunity to put food on the table in a tie when they are struggling,'' he said.
"But it has turned into this free-for-all where, outside of alcohol and tobacco, you can buy whatever you want,'' Biasiucci continued. "I don't think that was ever the intent of the program.''
As originally crafted, his HB 2165 also included a ban on the use of food stamps for candy.
That was defined as "a preparation of sugar, honey or other natural or artificial sweetener in combination with chocolate, fruit, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings that form bars, drops or pieces.'' That bothered Rep. Ralph Heap who called the language "vague.''
"What's a Twix bar and what's in a granola bar?'' asked the Mesa Republican.
Consider, he said a "power bar.''
"You ever look what's in that stuff?'' Heap said. "It looks like the healthiest things are really not.''
In fact, it was Heap's opposition that killed Biasiucci's original version of HB 2165 a week ago, forcing him to recraft it -- this time focused solely on soda, calling it "a step in the right direction.''
But the narrowed version annoyed Gardner on behalf of his client.
"It's unclear what this bill is ultimately trying to accomplish,'' he said. "I'm not sure of the big policy objective we hope to achieve by passing this bill -- other than trying to put a scarlet letter on the soda industry.''
Gardner said if lawmakers want to look at the issues of nutrition and food stamps they should have "an intellectual conversation about making sure that Arizonans are making healthy food choices.''
"But, at the same time, let's don't shame people for being downtrodden for this little segment of their life,'' he said.
The most recent data from the state Department of Economic Security shows that nearly 463,000 families with a total of 925,000 individuals were getting SNAP benefits The average issuance was $180 a month per individual.
M.J. Simpson, a lobbyist with the William E. Morris Institute for Justice, told lawmakers that a third of recipients are children, and that a third of all who get food stamps are working families.
"SNAP recipients are taxpayers,'' she said. "SNAP are federal dollars.''
And then there's that question of whether they are making bad choices.
"SNAP recipients do not have a greater rate of obesity than the general public,'' Simpson said.
Biasiucci told colleagues he's not buying claims that there's nothing unhealthy about sodas.
"You can easily say there is no nutritional value, zero, of drinking Coke or Sprite or 7-Up,'' he said. "I'm kind of blown away that it's being stated that there's no data to show that drinking sugary drinks has no impact on your health.''
So why, then, also seek to keep SNAP recipients from getting sugar-free sodas?
"The word 'nutrition' is literally in the title,'' Biasiucci said. "We need to get back to these dollars going to foods that actually provide nutritional value.''
Rep. Alma Hernandez said she appreciates thast what Biasiucci wants to do "in ensuring that we can create a healthier society.''
But the Tucson Democrat said there are so many other issues that contribute to things like diabetes. More to the point, Hernandez said that the government, having decided that food stamps are necessary, should not tell recipients what they can and cannot buy.
"That's a personal decision these individuals should be able to make,'' she said.
And Rep. Sarah Liguori, D-Phoenix, said the conversation about what SNAP recipients ought to be able to buy "was centered around privilege and control.''
"Those in positions of privilege are trying to control one variable in a sea of a dozen, if not many dozen, variables in people's lives,'' she said, with the attitude being, ``You have money, it's our money even though it's your money as well, and we get to dictate where and how you spend it.''
Liguori said if lawmakers want to deal with nutrition they should deal with the underlying cause. She said that can be addressed by increasing SNAP benefits and providing more access to healthy foods, what with the price of food being at an all-time high. She also said more needs to be done to decrease "food deserts,'' neighborhoods with only limited access to affordable, healthy food.
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