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CONGRESS WOULD ALLOW FOOD
STAMP RECIPIENTS TO SPEND
THEIR BENEFITS ON VITAMINS.
OUR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT
JESSI TURNURE REPORTS ON HOW
SOME BELIEVE THEY SHOULD SAVE
THEIR MONEY.
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U.S. Rep. Mike
Rogers/R-Alabama 17:42"It's
just a choice. I want to give
people a choice."ACCORDING TO
THE US DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE NEARLY 40,000
HOUSEHOLDS IN ALABAMA
CONGRESSMAN MIKE ROGERS'
DISTRICT RECEIVE FOOD STAMP
BENEFITS.THEY--- ALONG WITH
THE MILLIONS OF OTHERS ACROSS
THE COUNTRY--- CAN SPEND THE
MONEY ON FOOD AND DRINKS...
BUT NOT ON VITAMINS AND
SUPPLEMENTS.U.S. Rep. Mike
Rogers/R-Alabama 16:52"A lot
of these families are very
poor and they don't get a good
nutritious diet. They lack the
vitamins and minerals they
need."SO ROGERS INTRODUCED
LEGISLATION TO CHANGE THE
RULES.U.S. Rep. Mike
Rogers/R-Alabama 17:38"I just
find it amazing that you can
use your food stamps or SNAP
benefits to buy Cheetos, but
you can't buy a multivitamin."
BRIDGE:OPPONENTS FEAR THE
LEGISLATION WILL LEAVE SOME
FAMILIES HUNGRY AS THEY
REPLACE REAL FOOD WITH
SUPPLEMENTS.INSTEAD... GROUPS
LIKE THE CENTER ON BUDGET AND
POLICY PRIORITIES WANT
CONGRESS TO BOOST SNAP
BENEFITS TO HELP THEM PAY FOR
HEALTHIER OPTIONS.... SAYING A
STATEMENT " Increasing
participants' purchasing power
would improve both food
security and diet quality."
THAT'S ONE OF THE ARGUMENTS
ROGERS HEARD WHEN HE FIRST
TRIED TO RUN THE PROPOSAL
DURING LAST YEAR'S FARM BILL
DEBATE. U.S. Rep. Mike
Rogers/R-Alabama 17:10"It ran
into opposition from the food
organizations who wanted to
make sure none of their money
was cut into and I'm sure
we'll have that fight this
time."ROGERS ADDS HIS
LEGISLATION WON'T COST
TAXPAYERS ANY MORE MONEY.HIS
NEXT STEP IS TO SELL IT TO THE
AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE. IN
WASHINGTON I'M JESSI TURNURE.
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A BILL HAS BEEN SIGNED TO
STOP EMPLOYERS FROM PAYING
WORKERS DIFFERENT SALARIES
