05.01.07
The board of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Silver Spring, MD, has voted to express support for two bills introduced in the 110th Congress that would revise current laws to be more inclusive of some classes of dietary supplements. The Food Stamp Vitamin and Mineral Improvement Act (S. 770) would amend the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to permit people who qualify for food stamps to use them to purchase not only conventional foods, but also “nutritional supplement[s] providing a vitamin or mineral, or both.” S. 770 was introduced in the Senate on March 6th by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on behalf of himself and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT). It has been referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, which is chaired by Senator Harkin. The other legislation being backed by AHPA is the Dietary Supplement and Healthy Meal Replacement Tax Parity Act (H.R. 1107). This bill was introduced by Representative Edolphus Towns (D-NY) on February 15, 2007, and has 12 bipartisan cosponsors. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code to qualify dietary supplements and meal replacement products that are authorized to bear FDA-approved health claims as tax-deductible medical expenses.