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T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
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T u e s d ay, a p r i l 8, 2025
State aims to ban soda for SNAP recipients
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Officials brace for loss of up to $86M La. Health Department funding part of DOGE cuts
BY EMILY WOODRUFF
Staff writer
The Louisiana Department of Health, which runs the stateās Medicaid program and scores of initiatives aimed at improving public health, may lose tens of millions of dollars in funding due to federal program cuts initiated by the Trump administration through its Department of Government Efļ¬ciency. According to DOGEās public āwall of receipts,ā which billionaire Elon Musk, who is leading the cost-cutting endeavor, has posted in an effort to show how he is reshaping federal spending, Louisiana is expected to lose at least $128.5 million in federal funding overall through the efforts of DOGE, with the largest share attributed to the Health Department. DOGEās savings estimates have not always proven reliable, however, and Health Department spokesperson Emma Herrock said internal projections suggest the losses will not exceed $86 million. āThe total funding amount canceled should not exceed $86 million, but we will not have a ļ¬nal total until we receive and process all ļ¬nal invoices from contractors,ā Herrock said in an email, adding that the department expects the total amount to be āmuch lessā and more accurate projections
Ƥ See HEALTH, page 3A
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
Proposed legislation in Louisiana would ban soft drink purchases from the federal food assistance program for lowincome residents.
Nutrition legislation also targets school food, seed oils
BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer
Louisiana is preparing to join a national effort bubbling up to ban soft drink purchases under SNAP, the federal food assistance program for low-income residents, as part of a larger push to reshape food policy led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Gov. Jeff Landry announced on social media last week that the state will request a federal waiver to prohibit the use of SNAP beneļ¬ts for soft drinks. āLouisiana will lead the way in the MAHA movement,ā Landry posted, referring to Kennedyās Make America Healthy Again initiative, the growing movement championed by Kennedy, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that focuses on personal choice and nutrition-based health reform
āWeāre constantly surrounded by poison. Itās why weāre by far and away the most unhealthy nation in the world and the most unhealthy state within that nation.ā
cians to complete continuing education on nutrition and metabolic health, and mandate that restaurants clearly disclose if they cook with seed oils such as canola, soybean or corn oil. āWeāre constantly surrounded by poison,ā McMath said in an inSTATE SEN. PATRICK McMATH, terview. āItās why weāre by far and R-Covington away the most unhealthy nation in the world and the most unhealthy state within that nation.ā Roughly 850,000 Louisiana resiover public health care programs. The soda ban is part of a sweep- dents ā about 20% of the stateās ing nutrition bill ļ¬led by state Sen. population ā receive SupplemenPatrick McMath, R-Covington, who tal Nutrition Assistance Program also introduced separate legislation beneļ¬ts. Nearly 390,000 of them are this session to remove ļ¬uoride from children. Louisianaās drinking water. The program launched as food Senate Bill 14 would also ban ul- stamps in the 1930s and was formaltraprocessed ingredients in public ized in the 1960s to reduce hunger schools, such as those in shelf-stable and support farmers. Today, lowbreads, Little Debbie snacks and income residents get a pre-loaded sports drinks that contain certain Ƥ See SODA, page 3A dyes. It would also require physi-
Group challenges La. social media restrictions Lawmakers say measure designed to protect teens
BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer
A looming state law could mean Louisiana teenagers will soon be forced to prove their age and get their parentsā permission before they can log onto popular social media apps like Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. But a legal battle is underway to block the restrictions, which were slated to take effect this summer. State lawmakers enacted the Secure Online Child Interaction and Age Limitation Act in 2023.
Ƥ See SOCIAL, page 3A
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