GOP Lawmaker Defends Bill To Restrict Food Stamp Use

A Republican bill that tells people on food assistance what they can buy could be headed for a legislative committee vote as early as next week.

During a public hearing at the state Capitol, the proposal was both supported as a way to get people to eat healthier and criticized as micromanaging people’s lives in a way that would be costly to administer.

The bill’s author, Saukville Republican Rep. Rob Brooks, wants state health officials to seek a federal waiver that would require those using FoodShare in Wisconsin to buy two thirds of their grocery items from an approved list. The foods would be the same as those recommended under the Women, Infants and Children supplemental food program or WIC. Brook’s bill would prohibit people from buying certain items like lobster, crab, and other shellfish .

“We did a lot of campaigning, we knocked on a lot doors. We listened to a lot of people. We’ve heard of the abuses,” Brooks said at the hearing Thursday. “You can call them anecdotal, you can talk about rumors or call it hearsay, but they’re not.”

The bill faces opposition from food and retail groups.

Other states have tried unsuccessfully to restrict what can be bought with food stamps. Brooks says his bill has better chance because its less restrictive.