$500 Million in Food Stamps Spent at Fast Food Restaurants
- Nearly $250 million a year in SNAP benefits is spent on fast food across nine states, primarily blue states, as reported by Senator Joni Ernst .
- California accounted for over $475 million of SNAP funds spent at fast-food restaurants from June 2023 to May 2025, according to Ernst's office.
- The McSCUSE ME Act, introduced by Ernst, aims to restrict SNAP funds from fast-food purchases while maintaining benefits for vulnerable populations like the homeless, elderly, and disabled.
- Ernst highlighted a 1977 loophole in SNAP that allowed states to opt into the Restaurant Meals Program, which has led to significant taxpayer spending on fast food.
13 Articles
13 Articles
$500 million in SNAP funds is reportedly spent on fast food because of state program
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is getting renewed scrutiny after Democrats tried to use the program as a cudgel to beat down Republicans during the government shutdown.Some Republicans are calling for new restrictions on SNAP to decrease program spending and cut down on waste, fraud, and abuse.'I hate to be the one to say McSCUSE ME, but something needs to be done because taxpayers are not lovin' it.'According to Republican U.S. S…
An environmental amendment to the draft budget 2026 proposed introducing a double tax on fast-food establishments that had been franchised and doubled in the vicinity of schools, but the text was rejected by Members.
Oh SN How tax dollars heavily subsidize fast-food dining in California
In the last two years, taxpayers spent $524 million in food stamp payments mostly for fast-food restaurants, according to data from the office of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa. Of that, about 90%—or $475.2 million—was spent at fast-food restaurants in California from June 2023 through May 2025, according to Ernst’s office. Ernst, who regularly calls out...
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