As part of an anti-obesity campaign funded by the 2009 stimulus, taxpayer dollars are being used to lobby local governments to create so-called "fat taxes" on sugary foods and sodas, something Republican lawmakers say is patently illegal.
The Daily Caller reports:
Since March 2010, 30 states and Washington, D.C. have received $230 million in obesity prevention grants under the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative (CPPW), a program established in the massive 2009 stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
According to public records, however, money from some of the CPPW grants and also from the Community Transformation Grants (CTGs) — another Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program established to bolster to the CPPW’s efforts — have been and are being used to lobby local governments in support of policies including sugar and soda taxes.