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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps |
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millions of our nation's families during difficult times, and in |
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the present economy, more than one in seven Americans relies on this |
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aid, historically known as food stamps; and |
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WHEREAS, The primary goal of the program is to ensure that |
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households can obtain supplemental nutritious food; when the food |
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stamp program was introduced in 1939, it met the combined goals of |
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subsidizing nutritious food purchases for victims of the Great |
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Depression while reducing agricultural surplus and allowed food |
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stamp recipients to buy fresh fruits and vegetables as well as eggs, |
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dairy products, and other items produced in abundance by farmers; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Today, nearly seven percent of food stamp funds are |
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spent on soft drinks and other sweetened beverages defined by the |
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United States Department of Agriculture, which administers the |
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program, as having "minimal nutritious value"; these beverages are |
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the single greatest source of added sugar in the American diet, and |
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the Centers for Disease Control has called for reductions in |
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soft-drink consumption, as have numerous other organizations; it is |
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estimated that the federal government will spend $4 billion on soft |
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drinks through SNAP in 2011; and |
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WHEREAS, Program recipients can also use benefits to pay for |
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candy, doughnuts, potato chips, and other snacks that are high in |
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fat or sugar or both but very low in nutrients; instead of improving |
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health, such products contribute to the growing epidemic of |
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obesity, which has brought about increased rates of diabetes and |
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other chronic diseases; pediatricians report seeing more obese |
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children suffering from diseases that once affected only adults, |
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including hip problems, high blood pressure, hardening of the |
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arteries, and gallstones; and |
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WHEREAS, The foundations for good health are established in |
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childhood, a fact recognized by the Special Supplemental Nutrition |
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Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), likewise |
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administered by the USDA; WIC bans sugary drinks, pastries, snack |
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foods, and other unhealthy items from its list of eligible foods; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The majority of households receiving funds from the |
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program include children, yet |
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this program permits the purchase of high-calorie, low-nutrition |
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products that contribute to childhood obesity, and youths |
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struggling with obesity are very likely to become adults facing |
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serious health problems; as a rising number of families become |
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dependent on food stamps, it is imperative that the nation ensure |
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that the program is supporting good nutrition, rather than |
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subsidizing the purchase of products that will, ultimately, lead to |
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ever-higher health care costs; 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 amend the |
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list of allowable foods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance |
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Program to eliminate sweetened drinks and snack foods of minimal |
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nutritional value; and, be 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 speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, to the secretary of |
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the United States Department of Agriculture, and to all the members |
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of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this |
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resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to |
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the Congress of the United States of America. |