Yesterday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made a promise that the newest version of the House’s Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill “never sees the light of day on the House floor,” according to Politico.
The Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 proposed by Rep. Todd Rokita, R-Ind., is under intense scrutiny from the left, because of a block grant proposal embedded in the bill. The program would provide a three-year chunk of funding to three unannounced states and would exempt foodservice operators from federal regulations and nutritional guidelines.
A different provision in the bill would raise the eligibility standard for universal free or reduced-price meals. Under current law, only 40 percent of students in a school or group of schools need to qualify for free or reduced-price meals for free luch to be offered to all students. Rokita’s proposal would levy the standard to 60 percent.
"This is a moral issue," said Pelosi at the rally, according to Politico. “It isn't even an issue—it's a value. We're having a values debate right now with the Republicans. They want to give tax credits to their rich friends and then say, ‘We have to balance the budget, so let’s take food out of the mouths of babies to do it.’ It’s just plain wrong.”
Many groups—including the School Nutrition Association, a national nonprofit that represents 56,000 school-feeding professionals—have opposed the block grant. At the opposition rally, Pelosi stood along five other Democratic legislators and several anti-hunger and education groups on Capitol Hill. Food Policy Action, a coalition of food policy leaders, said the proposal gambles with school children’s basic nutrition. “Congress needs to stop this harmful bill in its tracks and put the health and nutrition of children ahead of politics,” said Claire Benjamin DiMattina, Food Policy Action’s executive director. “We will continue to fight for a CNR that puts our children first and ensures that no school child goes hungry and that all children have access to nutritious school meals.”