Posted on

Legislative Update: SNAP Under Attack

This week, the Iowa legislature advanced bills that would severely restrict the food items people could purchase with SNAP benefits and expand strict work reporting requirements for program participants. These bills passed out of subcommittee meetings on party-line votes. We expect they will vote on these bills in full Committee next week to attempt to advance them before the first legislative funnel deadline on Friday, March 7.

Now is a critical time to reach out to lawmakers with your concerns about these harmful bills. You can find more information and action items below.

HSB 216: SNAP Food Restrictions

House Study Bill 216 was introduced last Thursday, February 20, by House Health and Human Services Committee Chair Rep. Carter Nordman. Check out IHC’s blog post for more information about this harmful bill.

A subcommittee meeting for HSB 216 was held on Wednesday, February 26. No one present spoke in favor of the bill as it is currently written, but many speakers expressed their support for the Double Up Food Bucks program and urged lawmakers not to make those funds contingent upon a waiver to restrict food purchases. Ultimately, the bill passed out of subcommittee on a 2-1 party-line vote.

In the News:

We have heard there will be changes made to this bill, but we do not yet know exactly what those proposed changes are. Please reach out to all members of the House Health and Human Services Committee, who will likely be voting on HSB 216 (and the work reporting requirements legislation below) next week.

HSB 216 Talking Points

Medicaid and SNAP Work Reporting Requirements

House Study Bill 248 and Senate File 363 both advanced out of subcommittee meetings on Thursday, February 27, on 2-1 party line votes.

These bills moved extremely quickly, with HSB 248 introduced late on Tuesday the 25th, and the subcommittee announced with less than 24 hours in advance. We also learned about 12 hours prior to the subcommittee meeting for SF 363 that they would be doing a “strike and replace” amendment to insert the language from HSB 248 into SF 363. Needless to say, this is not a good process for making public policy. But it’s a great way to limit debate and objections from the public.

These bills would create strict work reporting requirements for 180,000 Iowans who receive health insurance through the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan (also known as the Medicaid expansion population). It also seeks to align work reporting requirements across all public benefit programs, including SNAP.

As a reminder, work reporting requirements already exist for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) who are participating in SNAP. These ABAWDs (ages 18-54) are already required to work at least 20 hours per week, or are limited to receiving SNAP for only three months every three years (known as the ABAWD time limit).

This bill would seek to expand these strict work reporting requirements to the following SNAP participants:

  • adults ages 55-64
  • caretakers of children ages 6 and up
  • veterans
  • people experiencing homelessness
  • young adults aging out of foster care

Research has shown that these types of work reporting requirements for Medicaid and SNAP do not actually improve employment, they just remove people from benefit programs, leaving them in a worse-off spot than they were before. Most Iowans on public assistance programs who can work already do, and others face significant barriers to holding steady employment.

These efforts would also increase administrative costs to the state, wasting taxpayer money in an effort to punish our most vulnerable Iowans.

In the News:

Please reach out to members of the House Health and Human Services Committee (HSB 248) and members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee (SF 363) and ask them to reject these harmful proposals!

Thank you for your ongoing advocacy!

Posted on

HSB 216: The Food Police Strike Again

On Thursday, February 19, state representative Carter Nordman, Chair of the House Health & Human Services Committee, introduced House Study Bill 216. This bill would direct the state to request a waiver from USDA to enact sweeping food restrictions for Iowans participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

While HSB 216 does include $1 million in funding for the Double Up Food Bucks program, which would help make fresh fruits and vegetables more affordable for SNAP participants, the appropriation is being held hostage by Section 3 of the bill, which states that the Double Up Food Bucks funding is contingent on the state being granted a massive food restriction waiver for SNAP.

Double Up Food Bucks is currently available at less than 1% of SNAP retailers statewide. We should not be pushing food restrictions for Iowans on SNAP, especially when nutrition incentive programs are so limited in their availability.

This is a harmful, unnecessary bill that would increase stigma for the 260,000 Iowans who rely on SNAP to put food on the table.

IHC’s Policy Brief on HSB 216

SNAP is highly effective at reducing food insecurity, and there is no evidence food restrictions would improve nutrition for program participants. A randomized trial found that restricting soda and candy failed to improve SNAP participant nutrition.  Some research even suggests the negative psychological stigma associated with SNAP participation can counteract any positive nutritional and health benefits that would otherwise be gained from the program. 

The number one reason SNAP participants struggle to improve their diets is the high cost of healthy food. Over 60% of SNAP participants report the affordability of healthy foods as a barrier to achieving a healthy diet throughout the month. A recent report from Iowa HHS found that SNAP participants want more fruits and vegetables, but struggle to afford them. This bill ignores the root causes of food insecurity—low wages and lack of access to affordable nutritious food, child care, housing, health care, transportation, and other basic household essentials.

Low-income Iowans should be trusted to make the best food choices for their families. This bill has little regard for religious and medical dietary requirements, food allergies, and cultural preferences. The state should not be policing Iowans’ grocery carts.

SNAP participants have similar consumption patterns as non-SNAP participants. A 2016 USDA study found that household food expenditures were not significantly different when comparing SNAP households and non-SNAP households. SNAP households spent slightly more on soft drinks than non-SNAP households (5 versus 4 percent), and both groups were equally likely to purchase salty snacks, cookies, and other sweets.

This policy would increase administrative costs for the state and retailers alike, who would need to go through their entire inventory to classify banned foods and update their point-of-sale systems to restrict the redemption of those products.

What Could SNAP Benefits Be Used to Purchase?

SNAP benefits could only be used to purchase foods on Iowa’s WIC-approved food list, as well as “real meat,” “real dairy,” “real eggs,” bread, grains, fruits, vegetables, cereal, peanut butter, nuts, pasta, rice, and legumes. These food items could be fresh, frozen, canned, preserved, made intro spreads, or juiced.

So, what food items would be banned from SNAP? Everything else, including:

  • Bottled water, seltzer, coffee, tea, and any other beverage that is not milk or specific varieties of juice and soy milk included on the WIC-approved food list

  • Spices, seasonings, condiments, pasta sauce, and salad dressings

  • Olive oil, vegetable oil, and other cooking oils, including animal-based oils

  • Granola bars, protein bars, fruit and grain bars, and trail mix

  • Infant formulas and baby food varieties not included on the WIC-approved food list

  • Macaroni and cheese, hamburger helper, ramen noodles, and other packaged goods

  • Chips, crackers, and cookies

  • Frozen prepared foods

  • Pumpkin, sunflower, and other seeds, including food-producing plant seeds and starter plants for people to grow their own food

  • And much, much more

What Can I Do?

Please contact members of the HSB 216 subcommittee and urge them to vote no:

You can also contact all Representatives who serve on the House Health & Human Services Committee, and voice your opposition to HSB 216.

Please spread awareness about this harmful bill, and thank you in advance for your advocacy!