Letter to the editor: North Dakota children already get their milk

Legislators are elected to address the needs of North Dakota. To do our duty effectively we invite the public to provide testimony on every bill. Many bills will have a dozen or more individuals or groups testify. What the Democrat House members fail to inform you is the “milk bill” had only two supporters: the Democrat sponsor himself and one letter from an organization located in his district. Not one school administrator, parent or child came to claim this bill was a good idea. Not one advocacy group came to provide testimony or to express need. The bill sponsor and his bill are saddled with these facts: no child advocacy group expressed a need and the federal government defunded the same program!

The American Heart Association recommends one pint of milk per day, and that is exactly what children on the current discounted or free breakfast/hot lunch system receive. Students receive a half pint each at breakfast and lunch. This bill would have provided an additional half pint in between breakfast and lunch, mandating milk every 90 minutes for the first three hours of school. These children are currently receiving the full nutritional value and last week’s vote does nothing to change that. No child is forced to watch his or her classmate drink milk while he or she sits, thirstily watching.

If additional calories are the objective, then I recommend we repeal calorie-restricting hot lunch diets recommended by first lady Michelle Obama. A wide array of school administrators, teachers, parents and children have voiced negative concern for the food-rationing program but little media attention is given. Yet we receive media backlash when we reject a $1.2 million program (check the facts at www.legis.nd.gov) that had no public support.

Additionally, in a Forum article, a House Democrat mentioned he and other Democrats “plan(ned) to donate any money raised to a local school” via milk carton piggy banks on their legislative desks. That may have appeared noble, but that Democrat also sent an email to the state Democratic-NPL Party blasting the Republicans and asked for a donation … to the Democratic-NPL Party, not a needy child or school. That’s pretty cynical, and it explains the Democrats’ plan on this bill. It’s all politics.

The Republicans will remain focused on creating change that will address real needs facing children. The Democrats are more than welcome to spend the session on political games, tongue-in-cheek headline titles and political Ponzi schemes.

(Hatlestad, a Republican, represents District 1 in the North Dakota Legislature)

Tags: opinion, letters, politics