Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) announced a package of legislation to improve health in West Virginia.
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NewsTranscript
00:00welcome to the class of 2020.
00:27Virginia welcome. To H. H. S.
00:58I want to thank everyone so much for being here. I want to thank all the elected officials. I want to thank our wonderful first lady of the state of West Virginia Denise.
01:14I want to thank the leaders of the maha movement in West Virginia.
01:24We want to thank the principal of the school Maria bird.
01:27Our secretaries of health and human services Dr. Arvind Singh and Alex mayor.
01:44And we also have a special shout out for the key leaders in West Virginia who have made today's event possible. I'm going to go through them real quick and they're going to have a moment to speak in a few minutes.
01:57Chairman Jason Barrett who also represents you right here in this district.
02:07We have chairman Evan Worrell.
02:12Oh there you go. I'm sorry.
02:15By the way I want to note that summer Barrett who is married to Jason. She's a maha mom.
02:26We have chairwoman Laura Chapman. Good friend. Thank you for coming up.
02:34And chairman Adam Burkhammer. Adam's been a big leader here. Thank you.
02:40But most of all we're really grateful for our special guest RFK junior and quite frankly not just for being here but being one of the few voices in the country willing to speak the truth even when it's inconvenient.
02:56Thank you so much for being here.
03:06Now we're here today to talk about some very serious issues impacting West Virginia and our country.
03:14And there's no way around it. West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics.
03:20Heart disease diabetes. Our children are diagnosed with ADHD at rates well above the national average and we have the one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the United States.
03:37That's the bad news.
03:40But we have good news.
03:43We have the power to change it.
03:50Yes we do.
03:53I plan to lead by example.
03:57I plan to travel this journey with you and I'm going to do my best my personal best to make the hard choices to get healthier.
04:07You see I want all West Virginians to have happy long healthy and purposeful lives spending time with friends and family and all the things that really matter.
04:21And I'm not afraid to admit that I've not always made the best food and exercise decisions in my life but I will do my best to get better.
04:32That's why today I'm proud to launch what I'm calling the four pillars of a healthy West Virginia.
04:41First we have to clean up the food.
04:45We really do.
04:47Let's start with no more dyes and dangerous additives in the schools.
04:58We know that studies show that can lead to issues with hormones and hyperactivity and learning challenges for kids and even cancer.
05:08Our kids deserve better and now they're going to get it.
05:13You deserve that.
05:15That's why earlier this week we took the first step to remove those harmful dyes from school nutritional programs and food items throughout the state.
05:26I'm thankful to the legislature for their leadership in passing this bill and making West Virginia a leader the first state in the nation to make sweeping changes to clean up our food.
05:46I'm hopeful that this new law is going to lead to a broader national discussion and FDA action so we can have more consistent policies across the nation.
06:07I'll start with our second pillar find purpose find health throughout all of our 55 counties.
06:15I want all West Virginians to find a purpose that helps them spring out of bed in the morning and helps them lead healthy and purposeful lives as the state with the lowest workforce participation rate in the country.
06:32One of my priorities has been getting West Virginians back to work.
06:36So today I'm announcing my intent to expand work training and educational requirements for SNAP recipients.
06:52You know I think we can all agree work is good work is moral and it helps us to be stronger in the mind and the body and we need more of that right here in West Virginia.
07:05Outside of limited exceptions if you have the ability to work you should.
07:10Pillar three move your body change your life.
07:15I think all of us know the benefits of exercise not only for our physical health but for our mental and spiritual well-being as well.
07:26Now look I stand before you today I'm not here to talk about the benefits of exercise.
07:32I'm here to ask you to realize that exercise is not only good for your physical health but for your mental and spiritual well-being as well.
07:36Now look I stand before you today I'm not pretending to be a fitness guru certainly not the way it may have been 30 40 years ago.
07:47But I have asked Secretary Kennedy to be my personal trainer.
07:52And he hasn't said yes yet, but I think he's sizing me up as a major renovation project.
08:09You know, unfortunately, most of us don't get the exercise we need, myself included.
08:16But in order for us to get healthy and start to move the needle in terms of where we rank
08:23in many of the public health metrics, we all, as a state, must start exercising more now.
08:38That's why today, part of our third pillar, I'm announcing a statewide exercise movement.
08:44We're going to call it the Mountaineer Mile.
08:47I'm challenging every West Virginian to get out and walk at least one mile per day.
08:54As governor, I understand that I need to do this as well and start shedding the pounds.
09:02So in the future, you might start seeing me walking around the Capitol Complex a little
09:06bit longer.
09:08You might see me in many of our amazing state parks, plugged for our state parks, best in
09:13the country, right?
09:19You also might see me doing more walking closer to home in the Eastern Panhandle.
09:30Our fourth pillar, we want to reward healthy food choices.
09:36We need to change the SNAP system so that West Virginians are incentivized to make healthy
09:42choices, like choosing fresh produce, lean meats, and natural foods over a lot of the
09:49ultra-processed crap that barely qualifies as food, right?
09:55So beginning today, we're asking for help to realign SNAP so that good food choices
10:02are easier to make.
10:04If taxpayers are paying for it, let's make sure it fuels health, not disease.
10:13But, and I'm being serious about this, this is not about judging someone's grocery cart.
10:24It really isn't.
10:25I don't want to do that.
10:26I don't think anyone here does.
10:28But it is about asking a fair question.
10:31Is the SNAP program doing what it was supposed to do?
10:36You see, SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
10:44That N is for nutrition.
10:47It's not for nonsense.
10:50If the law says the program is meant to help people get a more nutritious diet, then that
10:58should be the standard.
11:00Why should hard-earned federal and state tax dollars be allowed to ignore nutrition?
11:09Taxpayer dollars should be targeted toward nutritious foods.
11:19That is why today, I'm also intending to request a SNAP waiver from the federal government
11:26to no longer have taxpayer-subsidized soda as an entitlement under SNAP.
11:38We're also going to be incentivizing healthy bundles and other food choices that can help
11:44people access and eat better foods, healthier foods.
11:48That healthy bundle and other programs, that's going to expand access to healthy food choices
11:54in this area and all 55 counties in the state.
11:57Quite frankly, I think we can do it, and we can also even save money, federal money, at
12:02the same time.
12:03I'm eager to work with you and the entire Trump administration on that.
12:11Making America healthy again, and West Virginia healthy again, that's not just a slogan.
12:17That's going to be our mission.
12:19And here in the Mountain State, we are leading the charge.
12:27And that's because in West Virginia, we're not just climbing the mountains, we're moving
12:36them.
12:40Let the rest of the country take note.
12:43We're cleaning up our food.
12:44We're lifting up our families.
12:47We're tax dollars are involved.
12:49We're incentivizing consumption of healthier foods.
12:53We're respecting the dignity of work.
12:55And we're living up to our name, wild and wonderful.
12:59And now a healthier West Virginia.
13:08So it's my honor to be here today.
13:11I thank you all for coming.
13:14God bless you.
13:15And now, I'm going to take a moment and get ready to turn this over to this fine gentleman
13:20next to me.