由 jpichiban Tue, 28 Jan 2025 19:11:37 GMT
Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., particpates in the Republican Study Committee news conference to unveil their FY2025 budget proposal in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, March 21, 2024.Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty ImagesRep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., on Tuesday defended the impacts of the White House’s federal aid freeze on school lunch programs by suggesting that some children should be working instead of receiving free lunch.During an interview on CNN, McCormick praised the move as a way to broadly re-evaluate how the government allocates funding. CNN anchor Pamela Brown noted that Head Start, which helps provide nutritional assistance to low-income children and families, is one of the programs that could be affected. She pressed McCormick on whether he would support cutting funding for free breakfast and lunches.”Before I was even 13 years old, I was picking berries in the field, before child labor laws that precluded that. I was a paper boy, and when I was in high school, I worked my entire way through,” McCormick said. “You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald’s, during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review.”Read more from NBC News:White House says most New Jersey drones were authorized by FAA: ‘This was not the enemy’A defiant Hamas displays its authority in Gaza, posing a challenge to NetanyahuPower line had increase in current on day of Eaton Fire, California utility saysMcCormick, who was speaking from Doral, Florida, where House Republicans are holding their annual issues conference, said that the pause on federal funds gives the government a chance to “see where is the money really being spent.””Who can actually go and actually produce their own income? Who can actually go out there and do something that makes them have value and work skills for the future?” McCormick said.He added, “I mean, how many people got their start in fast-food restaurants when they were kids, versus just giving a blanket rule that gives all kids lunches in high school who are capable of going out and actually getting a job and doing something that makes them have value, thinking about their future instead of thinking about how they’re going to sponge out the government when they don’t need to.”Acting White House Office of Management and Budget Director Matthew J. Vaeth said in a memo Monday to federal departments and agencies that by Tuesday at 5 p.m., they must “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders” signed by President Donald Trump in the last week.The memo indicated that the freeze wouldn’t affect Medicare or Social Security benefits or government assistance provided directly to individuals.Students at Jefferson Junior / Senior High School finish up their lunches in the schools cafeteria in Edgewater, Colorado, on Sept. 26, 2024.Rj Sangosti | MediaNews Group | Denver Post | Getty ImagesA longer document sent to federal agencies and obtained by NBC News requested details on thousands of programs that provide financial assistance. School meals for low-income students were among the programs on the list.McCormick said that the government doesn’t give people the ability to “dig themselves out” and instead “penalize them for actually working and actually keep them on welfare.””We need to have a top-down review so we can get people out of poverty,” he said, adding that Americans are losing their way because the government gives “people incentives to stay home and not work.”The congressman also referred during the interview to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.”When you talk about producing not just calories, but nutrition, that’s what JFK Jr. is all about,” he said, accidentally referring to the He 卫生部长提名人选、已故表亲的提问：“历史上何时——这对任何记者来说都是一个很好的问题——历史上何时，我们的最贫困人群同时也是最肥胖人群？”他问道，“这在美国是首次。传统上，我们的最贫困人群往往非常瘦弱，营养不良。”麦科米克的办公室和白宫未立即回应置评请求。NBC新闻也联系了负责监管国家学校午餐计划的农业部食品与营养服务局。根据该计划的一份情况说明书，符合特定标准的儿童有资格获得免费学校午餐，包括参与补充营养援助计划等其他联邦项目，“或基于他们作为无家可归者、移民、流浪儿童或寄养儿童的身份。”参加启蒙计划或类似州资助的学前项目的儿童也有资格获得免费餐食。此外，说明书中提到，“家庭收入等于或低于联邦贫困线130%的儿童有资格获得免费餐食。收入在联邦贫困线130%至185%之间的儿童有资格获得减价餐食。”
原文链接：https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/republican-congressman-suggests-some-children-receiving-free-school-lunches-should-work-at-mcdonalds-instead.html