Legislation the House passed to reauthorize federal farm subsidy programs does not add multivitamins and other dietary supplements to food stamp coverage, but the Council for Responsible Nutrition expects progress this year in building congressional support for making the change.

Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., says the "Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007," H.R. 2419, strengthens and enhances the food stamp program by improving coverage of food costs and expanding access by adding $800 million in funding for the Department of Agriculture program.

However, the USDA says President Bush will veto the bill the committee approved July 20 and the House passed July 27, in part because of its provision to pay for a $4 billion increase in the food stamp program over the five-year reauthorization through what the White House says is a tax increase.

H.R. 2419 also expands USDA funding to help after-school programs provide healthy snacks to students and continues the Defense Department's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, which provides fresh produce to schools, Peterson says in a July 20 release.

H.R. 2419 changes the name of the food stamp program to the "Secure Supplement Nutrition Assistance Program."

The chairman of the Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Subcommittee, Dennis Cardoza, D-Calif., notes H.R. 2419 "contains $1.6 billion for programs that are priorities to specialty farmers, conservationists, and nutrition advocates."

In a July 19 release, Cardoza says programs eligible for this funding include resources for research and pest detection, block grants, organic farming, farmer's market promotion, the Environmental Quality Improvement Program and the National School Lunch Program.

No Language For Change Yet

However, like the bill Congress passed in 2002 to reauthorize farm subsidy programs, the 2007 House bill does not include language adding supplements as products covered in the food stamp program.

USDA says federal spending for the food stamp program in fiscal 2006 was $32.8 billion, with $30.2 billion going to benefits for the 26.7 million people eligible.

Additionally, USDA says 65 percent of all eligible persons participated in the program in 2006, up from 54 percent in 2001.

CRN and other trade groups early this year identified extending food stamp coverage to include supplements as a legislative priority (¹ Also see "A Democratic Congress, IP Reform, Amending DSHEA? – Leaders Look To 2007" - Pink Sheet, 5 March, 2007., p. 10).

Mike Greene, CRN's senior director of government relations, said the absence from the House bill of language calling for the change does not cool the trade group's confidence of increased support from lawmakers.

"It's important to remember this is the beginning of the process," Greene told "The Tan Sheet" July 24.

Industry Looks To Harkin, Hatch

"The House bill didn't have the provision in it [in 2002] and the Senate bill did. We'll be looking to the Senate and one of the champions of this issue, Tom Harkin," Greene added.

Agriculture Committee Chairman Harkin, D-Iowa, was ranking member when he introduced an amendment to the 2002 reauthorization to add supplements to food stamp coverage, which was eventually removed from the legislation (² Also see "Harkin Pushes For Supplement Food Stamp Coverage, Increased ODS Funding" - Pink Sheet, 25 July, 2005., p. 14).

"It did not pass, but it got further than it ever had gotten before. This really is public policy and sometimes public policy does not change overnight," Greene said.

A Senate bill to reauthorize farm programs has not been introduced, but Harkin and another supplement industry proponent, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, in March introduced the "Food Stamp Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act of 2007," S. 770 (³ 'The Tan Sheet' March 19, 2007, In Brief).

The bill would amend food stamp regulations to permit participating households to purchase nutritional supplements with their support.

S. 770, which was referred to the Agriculture Committee when it was introduced in March, would prevent using food stamps for products developed for purposes such as weight loss or sexual performance enhancement while allowing coverage for nutritional supplements providing a vitamin or mineral, or both.

S. 770 is needed as a stand-alone bill or as part of the farm bill reauthorization to help give more people access to nutritional supplements, Greene said.

"Food stamp policy should facilitate and not stand in the way of low-income Americans from obtaining the proper health and nutritional benefits they could get from a vitamin and mineral supplement," he said.

Along with Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Or., Harkin also has introduced legislation to encourage businesses to implement workplace wellness programs through tax credits for efforts such as classes on nutrition, stress management or smoking cessation.

The "Healthy Workforce Act of 2007," S. 1753, was referred to the Finance Committee after it was introduced July 9.

The Natural Product Association also looks to Harkin for leadership in extending food stamp coverage to include nutritional supplements.

In addition to Harkin and Hatch's Food Stamp Improvement Act, NPA is tracking the "Dietary Supplement and Healthy Meal Replacement Tax Parity Act," H.R. 1107, introduced by Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y.

H.R. 1107, which was referred to the Ways and Means Committee after it was introduced in February, would qualify dietary supplements and meal replacement products that are authorized by FDA to make certain health claims as tax deductible medical expenses.

A version of the bill introduced in the previous session by Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, "picked up quite a few co-sponsors," said NPA President David Seckman.

"We're hoping this momentum continues in the current session," he said, adding NPA members have recruited co-sponsors for the legislation during the group's twice-yearly Capitol Hill lobbying days.

- Malcolm Spicer (m.spicer@elsevier.com)

Industry Cultivates Support In Congress To Add Supplements To Food Stamps

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