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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, During the past four decades, as Americans have |
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increased their consumption of highly processed foods, obesity |
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rates have soared among all age groups and have increased more than |
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fourfold among children ages 6 to 11; today, nearly a third of |
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children and adolescents are overweight or obese, which places them |
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at higher risk for a host of serious illnesses; obese children are |
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being diagnosed with health problems previously considered to be |
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adult illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, asthma, and |
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certain types of cancer; childhood obesity alone costs the United |
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States an estimated $14 billion in health care expenses, and it is |
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estimated that the obesity epidemic overall costs the nation $117 |
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billion per year in direct medical expenses and indirect costs; and |
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WHEREAS, Low-income individuals are particularly at risk for |
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obesity-related diseases; accordingly, the United States |
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Department of Agriculture has initiated an incentives-based |
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program to promote healthier eating among participants in the |
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the |
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food stamp program; and |
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WHEREAS, The 2008 federal Farm Bill authorized $20 million |
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for USDA to test whether incentives to buy fresh produce can |
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increase the purchase of healthy foods; the Healthy Incentives |
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Pilot is being conducted in Hampden County, Massachusetts, where |
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7,500 randomly selected SNAP households will receive a 30-cent |
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bonus for every dollar they spend on fruits and vegetables using |
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their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer cards; and |
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WHEREAS, Processed foods high in fat and sugar are less |
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expensive than fresh produce, and this pilot program represents a |
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significant step toward reducing the financial barriers that |
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prevent low-income residents from adopting healthier eating |
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habits; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of a year, more than one in seven |
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Americans participate in SNAP, half of them being children, and it |
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is vital that this program promote healthy eating as well as food |
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security; in a 2008 report, the U.S. Government Accountability |
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Office found encouraging results from studies examining the |
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effectiveness of financial incentives to increase fruit and |
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vegetable consumption among SNAP households; and |
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WHEREAS, The Healthy Incentives Pilot has the potential to |
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positively influence the diets of low-income individuals, thereby |
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reducing obesity and its attendant health care costs, and with such |
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critical outcomes at stake, the program should not be limited to |
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just one community; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to expand the |
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Healthy Incentives Pilot to communities across the country; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of |
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agriculture, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to |
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Congress with the request that this resolution be entered in the |
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Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United |
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States of America. |