You're watching...
Rep. Ed Whitfield, (R-Ky.), on how the government is spending taxpayer dollars to fight America’s expanding waistline.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
But you'll federal tax dollars outlook to one -- -- -- million dollars of stimulus money not used to stimulate the economy -- instead.
Spent on lobbying states in favor anti obesity policies like taxing sugar -- soda.
Joining us now from Washington DC is congressman Ed Whitfield Republican of Kentucky.
So I wanna make sure got this rights the federal government spends to -- -- million dollars of fittest stimulus money it spends its.
To -- to encourage states to go for anti obesity campaigns.
How did the government spend that money what was pamphlet sort advertising campaign or something.
We'll -- what the government did was that it issues grants to local organizations.
May -- NGOs charitable groups or even the government itself.
Our departments of health.
And -- to give -- another example.
And Los Angeles the city of Los Angeles receive sixteen million dollars.
And some of that money was used to lobby to prohibit the building a fast food restaurants and certain sections of Los Angeles.
And also prohibit the building of any restaurant that would have a drive through restaurant what are you gonna do about this.
Well aren't we had a hearing with the secretaries to be odious of HHS.
Couple weeks ago.
And that's when it came to lie.
And we questioned her about it and initially she said it was not.
A violation of any law or regulation at at the federal level.
But I know there is a federal law that prohibits -- OMB has its own regulations that prohibit it.
HHS has its own regulations that prohibit it and when we appropriate money there's usually -- clause that says.
Federal tax dollars will not be used for lobbying -- Since well the other side of the fence of course amend the people say if you look we've we've got an obesity problem.
Exit percentage of the population is obese it's costing us hundreds of billions of dollars a year in extra medical costs -- -- centrists.
We -- to be spending money to fight the problem what's your response to last.
Well my response to that is it's against the federal law to do it.
And with the services have lost -- to a -- found.
And there are plenty of other programs that are dealing with obesity and a lot of other things what do you agree with obesity do you agree with the federal government spending any money of any kind anywhere any time.
-- in a campaign against obesity.
Well I don't think that the government should be using tax dollars to.
To advocate for its position on any thing because that's -- prohibition of federal law.
And we have a lot of prevention programs that provides.
Information.
To people so that they know that obesity is not report and -- we gonna get a stop to think.
Well I hope so I've she's been asked more -- more questions about it and we've written a formal letter of inquiry.
And it is our intention to pursue it.
Because it is the wrong thing to do its abolish the federal law comes from Ed Whitfield Republican from a Kentucky is so -- Kentucky so Kansas.
-- rights -- is Kentucky and so out a wanna get that -- -- OK congressman Ed Whitfield thanks for joining us and we do appreciate it thank you very much and thank.
