Mo. State Rep.: Black Market for Food Stamps 'Out of Control'

Food stamp recipients should not be allowed to purchase luxury food items when many of the hard-working Americans who pay into the entitlement program cannot afford to do so, Missouri Rep. Rick Brattin said Thursday on Newsmax TV's "America's Forum."

"The program was set up to help those in need with good nutritional assistance and it's out of control to where it's not nutritional food items that they're purchasing, it's soda and all the fatty junk foods and it's on the taxpayer dimes," said Brattin, a Republican who has sponsored legislation, dubbed the surf-and-turf law by The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, that would prohibit food-stamp recipients from using their benefits to purchase "cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood, or steak."

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"It's an injustice to those who are paying into the system who aren't able to enjoy the same food items as those who are on the system," Brattin added.

Food stamps should pay for "economical, healthy food choices," but instead an "out of control" black market for the EBT cards has spawned as a result of there being so few limitations on what can be purchased with them.

"By removing some of these more high end and junk food items, the luster of the program will be lost and the black market will be lost because who's going to want to buy into a system where you're not able to purchase anything and everything you want to purchase," he said.

For the same price as a package of cookies, Brattin said "a healthy fruit item" can be purchased. Food stamp recipients should learn to "budget your money just like everyone else has to."

"Twenty pounds of crab legs, lobster and high end prime rib" should not be permissible, but the bill's language needs to be tweaked to make sure that "things like healthy tuna and tilapia cuts" can be purchased.

"This bill does nothing for the amount of money in which you receive," he said. "If you're not spending the money on the 24-pack of pop and all the goodies, you'll have the money to invest in those good nutritional items."

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