Maine Gov. LePage threatens to halt food stamp program amid sugar crackdown
(FOX)- Maine Gov. Paul LePage is making a seemingly unprecedented move to rein in food stamps in his state — warning the Obama administration he’ll try to ban recipients from buying products like Mars bars and Mountain Dew, or halt the program entirely.
The warning comes after the Obama administration shot down his request for a waiver to institute the ban on candy and sugary drinks.
The firebrand Republican wrote to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack objecting vociferously to the agency’s decision. In the June 17 letter, LePage called the ban “a commonsense proposition.”
Citing Maine’s rising obesity and diabetes rates, LePage said he will look “to implement reform unilaterally or cease Maine’s administration of the food stamp program altogether.”
“It’s time for the federal government to wake up and smell the energy drinks,” wrote LePage, who went on to accuse the Obama administration of a double standard in the way it polices school cafeterias, but not how taxpayer money is used on the food stamp program.
“The Obama administration goes to great lengths to police the menus of K-12 cafeterias but looks the other way as billions of taxpayer dollars finance a steady diet of Mars bars and Mountain Dew,” LePage said. “I can think of only one reason why the federal government would refuse to eliminate junk food from the EBT menu: special interests.”