Vitamin-deficient farm bill
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Provision allowing low-income families to use food stamp benefits for dietary supplements such as multivitamins, folic acid, calcium deleted from the farm bill (HR 2646) in conference report filed May 1. Vitamin language, which was introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) in December and passed the Senate in February, received no support from House conferees and was removed during conference. A Harkin staffer noted the senator will not abandon the provision and could introduce similar language in a separate bill, although there are no definite plans to do so. Farm bill marked the first time vitamin language made it through the Senate (1"The Tan Sheet" Dec. 17, 2001, p. 6)...
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Supplement food stamp bill
Dietary supplements would be eligible expenses for Food Stamp recipients under legislation introduced by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) July 28. The "Food Stamp Vitamin & Mineral Improvement Act" (S 1546) states that "the dietary patterns of Americans often do not comply" with the vitamin and mineral intakes recommended by FDA. Hatch noted in a recent address to industry that securing Food Stamp coverage for supplements is one part of his four-part plan to protect Americans' access to health products ("The Tan Sheet" July 25, 2005, p. 14). Harkin introduced similar legislation in 1999. The senator also introduced the provision as an amendment to the 2001 farm bill, but it was deleted in May 2002 before the legislation passed (1"The Tan Sheet" May 6, 2002, In Brief)..
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