Legislation from state Representative Brad Paquette would prevent food assistance programs in Michigan from paying for the purchase of soda, or pop.
Paquette introduced House Bill 4305 last month. It would require the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to request a federal waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture prohibiting the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to purchase soda products.
Paquette tells us soda is one of the most nutritionally detrimental food options available, while the N in SNAP is supposed to stand for nutrition. He doesn’t think a public program should pay for someone to drink pop.
Paquette says his bill is getting some pushback.
“The pop lobby has already come out in full force against the legislation because apparently it’s about 40% of their bottom line are individuals using that benefit to purchase pop,” Paquette said. “So the pop lobby is very opposed. They’ve already brought a bunch of my colleagues out to the Coca-Cola centers and things like that. The chair of our health policy, stuff like that, have been out there, and they’re lobbying full force against this bill.”
House Bill 4305 provides that if the Department of Agriculture denies the MDHHS’s legislatively directed request for a waiver, the department will be required to request the waiver annually until it is granted.
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Health Policy.
