good evening. a kind of gauntlet was thrown down today about taxpayer money and american health. tonight, 43 million americans are receiving food stamps. a record number increasing every month, because of the newly poor. it means 1 out of every 8 of us is getting government help with food. so, today, one of the most powerful players on the national stage challenged national policy on food stamps. in essence, saying, what if all this taxpayer money was used to reinforce national health? and ron claiborne tells us what this is all about. reporter: diane, at issue is whether that taxpayer money in the form of federal food sfam ps should be used to pay for people to indulge in food and drinks that are bad for their health. food stamps off and on for ten years. a single mother of six, she gets $627 a month. roughly the average per person nationally. of that, she admits she spends some of it on soft drinks for her children. i buy powerade, sometimes i buy soda, kool-aid and bot