[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 55 (Friday, March 24, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          GOP WELFARE REFORM PLAN SPENDS MORE ON SCHOOL LUNCHES

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 24, 1995
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member highly commends to his 
colleagues this editorial which appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on 
March 12, 1995.
       Rush Limbaugh urged his listeners to complain to news 
     organizations that have carried misstatements about a House 
     GOP plan to convert the school lunch program into block 
     grants. Many listeners, it is reported, followed his advice.
       Their concerns are grounded in fact. As recent World-Herald 
     editorials have noted, a good many people, including some 
     writers and commentators, accept the falsehood that food 
     would be taken away from poor kids if the Republicans had 
     their way. In reality, the GOP plan would spend more, not 
     less, on school lunches although spending would grow at a 
     slower rate in the next few years.
       The charge that poor kids would go hungry is only one of 
     the ridiculous misrepresentations that have circulated about 
     the proposal. Another misrepresentation has been addressed by 
     Robert W. Goldberg, a researcher at Brandeis University.
       School lunches aren't just for poor kids, he noted. School 
     lunches have become a middle-class entitlement with most of 
     the growth in recent years coming in wealthier school 
     districts. The stupidy of subsidizing meals for non-needy 
     kids was noted by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. But his 
     attempt to preserve the benefits for low-income children 
     while making others pay more of their own way failed to 
     attract congressional support.
       Little by little, the truth comes out. It should help the 
     public evaluate the plan fairly to know that a previous 
     liberal Democrat in the White House had concerns about school 
     lunches that are similar to those now being voiced by House 
     Republicans.
       Jimmy Carter was right. Providing nutrition for needy 
     children is one thing. But a government that is spending 
     itself into bankruptcy can't afford to feed the rich and 
     near-rich.
     

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