On the recordOctober 26, 2023
Mr. President, I rise today in strong opposition to S.J. Res. 42, which I view as a cruel effort to green-light discrimination against LGBTQ+ children. My colleagues--some of them--across the aisle have made false claims about a policy that the Biden administration has released, a policy that makes clear the obvious: that every child should be able to get lunch at school no matter their race, religion, ability, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation. That is it--a simple, narrow directive from the USDA that says schools that receive Federal funding for nutrition assistance must not discriminate within the confines of these nutrition programs on the basis of gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation. This is not about bathrooms. This is not about locker rooms. This is not about sports. This is also not about pushing some alleged agenda. This is about feeding children, period. Since this policy was issued over a year ago, in May of 2022, the USDA has initiated no enforcement-related actions, not a single case-- zip, nada, zero. This is a ``solution'' in search of a problem. The actual problem is some of my Republican colleagues' continued efforts to pick on LGBTQ+ children for their own political gain. By overturning this policy, my Republican colleagues are essentially arguing that discrimination based on gender identity, sex, and sexual orientation is OK. Well, I am so glad that there haven't been any instances of this happening.…





