Thomas Daschle: “the Senate has a special bipartisan tradition of support for child nutrition, and I am pleased to promote that tradition…”

“the Senate has a special bipartisan tradition of support for child nutrition, and I am pleased to promote that tradition by joining with Senators Elizabeth Dole and Pat Roberts in cosponsoring S. 1549, which would expand children's access to the free school lunch and breakfast programs. This idea was first suggested to me by Senators Bob Dole and George McGovern at a conference last year at Dakota Wesleyan College in Mitchell, SD. Since our conversation, I have heard from a number of schools in South Dakota that many families whose children qualify for a reduced price lunch find it difficult to pay even the reduced fee. For some families, the fee can actually be an insurmountable barrier to participation. The main purpose of the school lunch program is to make sure that children have a reliable, nutritious lunch every day. If a lower income family can't afford to pay for a reduced price lunch, it follows that they will also struggle to afford to provide a bag lunch for their child. S. 1549 has strong support within my State. The South Dakota State Board of Education and more than two dozen local school boards have passed resolutions urging Congress to eliminate the reduced price school meal program. Expanding children's access to the free school lunch and breakfast programs would unquestionably help promote better child nutrition in America. I have cosponsored S. 1529 because I support that goal.”