[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1546 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1546

To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to permit participating households 
    to use food stamp benefits to purchase nutritional supplements 
        providing vitamins or minerals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2005

 Mr. Harkin (for himself and Mr. Hatch) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to permit participating households 
    to use food stamp benefits to purchase nutritional supplements 
        providing vitamins or minerals, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Food Stamp Vitamin and Mineral 
Improvement Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the dietary patterns of Americans often do not comply 
        with the daily intakes of vitamins and minerals the Food and 
        Drug Administration recommends;
            (2) children in low-income families and the elderly often 
        fail to achieve adequate nutrient intakes;
            (3) pregnant women have particularly high nutrient needs, 
        which they often fail to meet;
            (4)(A) scientific studies show that nutritional supplements 
        containing folic acid (a B vitamin) may prevent as many as 60 
        to 80 percent of neural tube birth defects;
            (B) the Public Health Service, in September 1992, 
        recommended that all women of childbearing age who are capable 
        of becoming pregnant consume at least 0.4 milligrams of folic 
        acid per day to reduce the risk of spina bifida and other 
        neural tube birth defects affecting the fetus; and
            (C) the Food and Drug Administration has approved a health 
        claim that folic acid reduces the risk of neural tube birth 
        defects;
            (5) infants who do not receive adequate intakes of iron may 
        suffer from impaired mental and behavioral development; and
            (6) scientific evidence indicates that increased intake of 
        specific nutrients over an extended period of time protects 
        against diseases and conditions such as osteoporosis, 
        cataracts, cancer, and heart disease.

SEC. 3. USE OF FOOD STAMPS TO PURCHASE VITAMINS AND MINERALS.

    Section 3(g)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012(g)(1)) 
is amended by striking ``or food product'' and inserting ``, food 
product, or nutritional supplement providing a vitamin or mineral''.
                                 <all>