Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst criticized Democrat-led states for allowing hundreds of millions in government food aid to be spent at fast-food establishments, calling the practice a waste of tax dollars. “The ‘N’ in SNAP stands for nutrition—not nuggets with a side of fries,” said Ernst. “I wish I was McRibbing you, but $250 million per year at the drive-through is no joke and a serious waste of tax dollars. I hate to be the one to say McSCUSE ME, but something needs to be done because taxpayers are not lovin’ it.”
Ernst highlighted that her review of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program found $524 million in allowed purchases ” almost exclusively” at fast-food restaurants under program regulations approved by Democrats administering the program in nine states. SNAP, funded and partly managed by the federal government through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, allows states to handle administration, applications, and enforcement while federal law permits limited program variations. One such variation is the Restaurant Meals Program, which lets states allow certain SNAP recipients to buy prepared food at approved locations.
Ernst noted that Congress approved a change for the program to ease a restriction on “hot and prepared food to assist certain groups including the homeless to be able to get prepared meals using SNAP funds.” She said the Biden administration “massively expanded” the number of restaurants eligible to accept SNAP payments from anyone getting assistance through the program. California is the biggest player in the SNAP prepared food rundown, with over $475 million in SNAP-covered restaurant meal purchases processed in that state over the last two years, most at fast-food establishments.
The senator proposed to “restore the SNAP program to its original mission of providing nutrition to food insecure Americans” and introduce the “McStopping Chains from Using SNAP EBT to Make Entrees (McSCUSE ME) Act.” She contended government food assistance was never intended as anything but a short-term boost for American citizens to get through a period of hard times. Dr. Michael Savage, host of Newsmax’s “Savage Nation,” said fraudulent use of SNAP is “out of control,” with tens of billions of dollars in food stamp spending being lost every year to abuse and political negligence.
The article focuses on Ernst’s critique of the SNAP program’s implementation and its impact on taxpayer funds, without mentioning any other media outlets or news websites.
