Feds again block junk food ban for food stamps but LePage to try again

For the second time in less than two years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied a request by Maine Gov. Paul LePage to ban food stamp recipientsfrom using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy.

His spokeswoman, Julie Rabinowitz, said Friday that the administration would “revise our waiver request and resubmit it,” but she did not offer a timeline.

The Republican governor, in his weekly radio address, vented frustration over the USDA decision and framed the conversation not around reducing welfare spending, which he has done often in the past, but around health.

“This is extremely disappointing because Maine, like other states, is experiencing a health epidemic of obesity and other chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease, resulting from the consumption of foods with high sugar content,” LePage said.

Many other states, mostly led by Republican governors, have requested similar waivers but all have been denied.

In a Jan. 16 letter to Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Ricker Hamilton, USDA outlined concerns that a ban would increase administrative costs; impose burdens on small businesses and retailers; choose winners and losers in the food industry; create difficult decisions about the nutritional values of allowable or excluded foods; and “restrict what individuals could eat in their own homes without demonstrating clear evidence of meaningful health outcomes.”

LePage said those concerns are unfounded.

“Implementing the waiver would be much easier than USDA contends, especially since Maine already taxes foods identified as having little or no nutritional value,” he said. “This would make it easier for retailers to identify the banned items.”

Maine’s first request was denied in 2016 by the Obama administration, for largely the same reasons outlined by USDA this week. LePage responded by threatening to end Maine’s participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program altogether but never followed through.

Since taking office in January 2011, LePage has made reforming public assistance programs like food stamps a top priority. Although SNAP is funded almost entirely with federal dollars, states administer the benefits and have some discretion over how to do so.

In December 2010, the month before LePage was inaugurated, there were 125,028 active food stamp cases in Maine serving 243,301 people. By December 2017, the caseload had dropped to 93,602 cases and 178,193 individuals.

In addition to the so-called junk food waiver, LePage has sought unsuccessfully to require that food stamp recipients have a photo on their benefits card. The administration was criticized by the federal government back in 2014 for not making it clear to assistance recipients that a photo ID was voluntary.

The LePage administration also has implemented more strict work requirements that had been waived for many years during the recession, which has resulted in a reduction in SNAP spending in Maine. Additionally, he has increased the number of fraud investigators within DHHS, which has resulted in a sharp increase in both complaints and convictions.

USDA’s rejection letter acknowledged Maine’s “ongoing efforts to be innovative in managing SNAP and ensuring the integrity of Maine’s SNAP program.”

In his radio address, the governor pointed out that Maine’s obesity rate has tripled from about 10 percent in 1990 to 30 percent in 2016.

He also criticized the powerful sugar lobby for opposing such bans and compared the industry to Big Tobacco.

“When we could no longer deny that smoking was causing suffering and early death for millions of people, the government finally stood up to Big Tobacco and did the right thing,” LePage said. “The time has come to stand up to big sugar and ensure our federal dollars are supporting healthy food choices for our neediest people.”

Eric Russell can be contacted at 791-6344 or at:

erussell@pressherald.com

Twitter: PPHEricRussell