The Republican Study Committee’s annual budget also calls to permanently defund UNRWA and eliminate the National Labor Relations Board.

The Republican Study Committee’s annual budget also calls to permanently defund UNRWA and eliminate the National Labor Relations Board.

On Wednesday, the Republican Study Committee, of which some three-quarters of House Republicans are members, released its 2025 budget entitled “Fiscal Sanity to Save America.” Tucked away in the 180-page austerity manifesto is a block of text concerned with a crucial priority for the party: ensuring children aren’t being fed at school.

Eight states offer all students, regardless of household income, free school meals — and more states are trending in the direction. But while people across the country move to feed school children, congressional Republicans are looking to stop the cause.

The budget — co-signed by more than 170 House Republicans — calls to eliminate “the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) from the School Lunch Program.” The CEP, the Republicans note, “allows certain schools to provide free school lunches regardless of the individual eligibility of each student.”

“Additionally,” the Republicans continue, “the RSC Budget would limit spending in the program to truly needy households.”

  • @andros_rex@lemmy.world
    27•8 months ago

    These kinds of programs are important in high poverty districts. Super transient population - sometimes students might attend for a couple of weeks and then disappear. Parents don’t speak English, or can’t read, so they can’t fill out the paperwork to get their kid on the free lunch program. Many of these kids come to school TO eat - when COVID shut my district down the schools were kept open as feeding sites. We provided breakfast and had a school food pantry.

    I don’t think people understand how many children would starve without free lunch programs.