A Matter of Fact: This is Not the Hunger Games
Press Release
In case you missed it, last week, Committee Republicans voted to lay the groundwork to turn school meals into a frozen block grant and to turn back the clock on the evidence-based school nutrition standards. The Majority's bill -- H.R. 5003, the so-called "Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016" -- contains many harmful provisions that would make it more difficult for low-income schools to feed their students. Despite the innocuous title, H.R. 5003 threatens to eliminate and weaken the nutrition safety net for our nation's most vulnerable students and families, ignoring the evidence that has shown that healthier schools meals have a positive impact on students' academic performance, behavioral outcomes, and long-term health.
Republicans Voted to Limit Options for Schools that Serve Kids Free Meals without Unnecessary Burden or Stigma .
"The current rules for the CEP are perverse, as they incentivize giving out meals to all students..." -- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Chairman Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN)
"In the bill, we are increasing the amount of kids in poverty that you need in your school district before we reimburse lunch for everybody from 40% to 60%. That's saving about $300 million a year." -- Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI)
.While Democrats Reaffirmed Their Commitment to Programs that Serve Kids and Help Schools.
"Rather than enact a misguided measure that simply reduces children's access to nutritious meals, Members of Congress should seek to protect and strengthen the CEP." -- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Ranking Member Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
"Talk to the people, who see the faces of those children every single day, who are going to drop out ... those few cents really mean little when there are so many thousands of children we are talking about." -- Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
Republicans Ignored all the Latest Scientific Research
"[In the bill] we also stop several school lunch "standards' championed by First Lady Obama " -- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Chairman Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN)
While Democrats Insisted that Science Should Determine Nutrition Standards.
"[The review in the bill] would require the Secretary to certify that the current standards comport to the latest scientific research. However, on the same page, the Secretary must also certify that the standards would not increase the cost of the program, not even by a penny. Therefore, by including this review, we are signaling that science is important, but only if it is cheap." -- Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA)
Republicans Refused to Take Steps to Prevent another Flint-level Disaster in Schools
"I understand and appreciate the sentiment, but I do believe that this is a state issue. Coming from the state of Michigan, and being in the front row of what's going on in Michigan and seeing the suffering of so many families and children, I can completely understand where this amendment comes from, but this is a state issue and should be considered a state issue. In my opinion, if we're going to get to the bottom of this and if we truly want to solve this problem, we have to stop coming up with this "nanny state' policy of a federal template every time a problem comes up and trying to jam it down to the states." -- Rep. Mike D. Bishop (R-MI)
While Democrats Maintained that the Health and Safety of Kids is Paramount.
"When Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, among its many virtues was a requirement that the water served to our students during school meal times is safe the public health crisis in Flint was a game-changer, leading many experts to question whether Flint is symptomatic of a larger problem that touches every state in the nation. Knowing what we know now, how can anyone reasonably argue against an amendment to help states test the safety of water being served in our schools?" -- Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)
Republicans Sought to Create a Federal Limit of Two Attempts at Legitimate Outreach to Families with Children Eligible for Free or Reduced Price Meals
"[The bill] doesn't prevent a family from asking to get in the program -- It just makes sure they are not being badgered, I think would be the word." -- Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman Rep. John Kline (R-MN)
While Democrats Assert that Local Districts Should Determine the Appropriate Level of Contact in their Communities.
"I've heard very clearly my colleagues say that they want to be sure that only the most vulnerable children are assisted in this program. And yet, this [bill] seems to put up a barrier in order to do that...it seems to me that children whose parents may be hard to reach thanks to irregular work hours or needing to move frequently, language barriers or any other factor are likely to be those most in need, and those are the children, of course, that we want to reach schools can make these decisions, I think, about how many times they need to reach out to parents, and I think we need to let them do that." -- Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA)
Republicans Took Steps to Erode School Nutrition Programs in their Entirety by Pursuing Harmful Block Grants
"These reforms are modest but necessary, I think, in removing the detailed federal standards that place the government between parents and their children." -- Rep. David Brat (R-VA)
"This whole program oozes of contempt for people at the state and local level." -- Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI)
While Democrats Saw Through the Proposal As Just Another Attempt to Erode the Program.
"Every step of progress made in the Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act regarding food quality, nutrition, even frequency and access to service would be jeopardized or eliminated by a block grant .[this is] a clear first step in eroding any progress made by the 2010 reauthorization. Advocates from all walks, including hunger community, the School Nutrition Association, and others have indicated they do not support a block grant for school meals program." -- Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA)
"The legislation creates a new block grant program, something the School Nutrition Association has called "reckless.' This proposal abandons their promise to make sure that low-income students are given an opportunity to succeed by having access to the healthy meals that support physical and mental development and academic achievement." -- Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)
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