House Republicans Trying to Kill Child Nutrition Bill
EINNEWS, December 2---Who could be against serving young school kids healthier meals? Apparently, Republican members of Congress.
House Republicans blocked the measure from coming up for a final vote on Wednesday by proposing an amendment Democrats see as a bill-killer.
The measure, which would give 20 million more needy children the opportunity to eat free and healthier lunches at school, already has passed the Senate. If the House passes it with no language changes, it can go directly to the President. Republicans proposed adding an amendment to check the background of food service workers.
The nutrition bill has been a high White House priority, a signature issue for First Lady Michelle Obama as part of her "Let's Move" campaign to fight childhood obesity.
That campaign has come under increasing fire from many Republicans lately. A few weeks ago Sarah Palin brought decidedly fattening cookies with her to a Pennsylvania school to demonstrate her opposition. She calls it a "nanny state run amok."
"It's not about making our children healthy and active," said Rep. John Kline, R-Minn. "We all want to see our children healthy and active. This is about spending and the role of government and the size of government -- a debate about whether we're listening to our constituents or not."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. said the House will hold separate votes on the amendment and the bill.
The bill would provide money to serve more than 20 million additional after-school meals annually to children in U.S. schools. Many of those children now only receive after-school snacks. It would also increase the number of children eligible for school meals programs by at least 115,000, using Medicaid and census data to identify them.
The legislation would increase the amount of money schools are reimbursed by 6 cents a meal and establish new standards to improve the meals. Meals would be made healthier by specifying such things as hamburgers with leaner meat and whole wheat buns.
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