News Brief: Congressional Outrage Du Jour — Anyone Remember Virginia Foxx?

From DownWithTyranny.blogspot.com
Published March 5, 2010

My own congresswoman, Diane Watson, introduced a simple resolution yesterday (which had over 50 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle), H.Res.362. It expresses the House's support for the goals and ideals of the National School Lunch Program and "recognizes that our pupils deserve access to high-quality, safe, and nutritious meals in school." It passed 403-13, every Democrat and 155 Republicans, including the entire GOP congressional leadership voting in favor.

So who could possibly be against this? Let me give you a hint. Every single member of the North Carolina congressional delegation, Democrats and Republicans voted in favor, except one. Yes, of course, Virginia Foxx...

As you may know, Blue America has endorsed her opponent, plainspoken farmer and carpenter Billy Kennedy from Watauga County. This morning we asked him how he left about Foxx's bizarre vote.

What a sad day for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional district. Rep. Foxx was one of just 13 House members to vote against H RES 362, a bill “Expressing the support of the House of Representatives for the goals and ideals of the National School Lunch Program.”

If you can’t say “yes” to the “goals” of America’s national school lunch program, then what the heck can you say “yes” to? America’s national lunch program provides a mid day meal to over 30 million school kids every day and snacks for children in after-school programs. The School Lunch Program operates in public schools, non-profit private schools, and some child care facilities. Its goal is to provide “nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches.”

1-in-7 children in North Carolina lives in a household that is forced to reduce food intake, alter normal eating patterns, or go hungry because they lack the money or resources to obtain adequate food. More than 800,000 NC school children take part in the National School Lunch Program each day. In 2007, even before the current recession hit, 7 out of 10 children in Alleghany County participated in the school lunch program. Almost that many children got free or reduced lunches in Surry, Wilkes and Ashe counties, and more than half the children in Yadkin and Forsyth counties participated.

What was Rep. Foxx thinking? Maybe she was still mulling over the words of Rush Limbaugh who said just this February about our national school lunch program: "It never occurs to the parents to go to the grocery store?" I doubt Rush Limbaugh has ever gone hungry, and it looks like Rep. Foxx isn’t having any trouble finding her next meal either. In fact, maybe she should get out of the Washington House members’ Longworth cafeteria a little more often, where on Tuesdays she can dine on Wild Mushroom, Cheese Stuffed Ravioli at a discount and where the coffee comes from Pura Vida. At least that’s what the “United States House of Representatives Dining Service Website” says.

Read the full post here.