Republicans Eye SNAP Junk Food Restrictions In Government Funding Standoff

WASHINGTON — The next government shutdown fight could also be a food fight.

Republicans could win a crackdown on junk food in the federal government’s flagship nutrition program in legislation Congress needs to pass this week to prevent a partial government shutdown on Friday.

Democrats oppose adding dietary restrictions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but they’re eager to boost funding in a smaller program that helps pregnant women and nursing mothers buy nutritious food, so a deal is at hand.

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) has proposed asking states to test out limiting SNAP benefits to “only nutrient-dense foods and beverages,” meaning no soda or candy. Data suggests that sweetened beverages are a major expenditure for households receiving SNAP benefits.

Harris, a member of the House committee that writes funding bills, has argued restricting SNAP spending on junk food could combat the obesity epidemic and potentially save the government money.

“If SNAP more effectively addressed nutrition, it could help reduce the prevalence of obesity, which in turn would lower healthcare costs in the U.S. and help address the country’s long-term fiscal challenges,” Harris wrote in a joint op-ed with Angela Rachidi, from the conservative American Enterprise Institute, earlier this year. “An important first step is to restrict sweetened beverages from SNAP.”

More than 20 million households receive monthly SNAP benefits, averaging $363, that can be redeemed at grocery stores for almost any food item. It’s one of the federal government’s most responsive and best-known anti-poverty programs.

The Harris proposal calls for pilot projects testing a junk food ban in at least one state, but no more than five.

Democrats are