On the recordOctober 26, 2023
Mr. President, also from Michigan, it is wonderful to see you in the Chair. Mr. President, I want to explain how we got here today because you are going to hear a lot of things that are just false today and, frankly, are things that, I believe, are mean and using some of our most vulnerable children for political stunts. But let's start. Why are we having this discussion? Well, the Supreme Court has ruled that discrimination based on sex includes sexual orientation and gender identity. In general, it makes sense. The administration, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is simply updating its policies to comply with the law. Now, last year, 22 Republican attorneys general took the Department of Agriculture to court based on the argument that you will hear today from this resolution's sponsor. Everything you will hear they sued the Department of Agriculture over, and the court just dismissed the case. They completely dismissed the case. In fact, the opinion dismissing the lawsuit called the Republicans out for their political stunt. This is the judge saying this, stating that this case had nothing to do with bathrooms or sports teams. And the judge then said that this case is about food stamps and nutrition--not bathrooms, not sports teams, not free speech, and not religious exercise. It is about whether or not the USDA--how they administer food benefits: school breakfast, school lunch, after-school snacks, and other kinds of school and other food programs.…
Source
govinfo.gov




