Rep. Lloyd Doggett Compares House Republicans' Latest Tax Break to the Junk Food it Subsidizes

This week, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a subsidy for corporations who donate their unsold junk foods to food banks. The tax break is worth $2 billion over a decade, and it allows companies to claim up to twice the cost of the food they donate.

The kinds of foods subsidized by the bill include expired foods like stale potato chips and Twinkies--there's nothing specifying that the foods have to be nutritious.

Ways and Means Committee Member Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) was a vocal opponent of the subsidy, calling it out for its lack of nutritional standards. As he put it, the bill "would do for our economy what Twinkies do for our nutrition."

He also pointed out Republican hypocrisy in passing a bill that subsidizes junk food while denying money for public education and school lunches. Doggett continued, "It's all about choices. Today, Republicans spend $200 million annually on an overbroad tax subsidy, while telling us we cannot afford more for our schools."

http://www.burntorangereport.com/diary/15292/rep-lloyd-doggett-compares-house-republicans-latest-tax-break-to-the-junk-food-it-subsidizes