The Tennessee House Health Committee voted Tuesday to remove soft drinks and candy from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, following the lead of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.
House Bill 1236 does not change any eligibility requirements for the program, commonly known as SNAP, but restricts the purchase of soft drinks and candy using program funds.
The bill would require the state to follow the federal definitions of "candy" and "soft drinks" but there is not one, the bill's sponsor said.
Kennedy said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published before his appointment to the Trump administration that he wanted to remove the items.
