Monday, February 13, 2012
A few months ago I wrote Senator Rand Paul (among others) requesting they support continued funding of the National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in bill HR 212. While this bill has since been and gone, today I received (a very belated) reply from Rand Paul.
Dear Ms. Pace,Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the important issue of child nutrition.On Nov. 17, 2011, the President signed H.R. 2112, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 into public law (P.L. 112-55). This measure directs the amount of federal taxpayer dollars that will be used to fund various mandatory food and nutrition programs within the Department of Agriculture. For fiscal year 2012, the overall funding level of $98.6 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) includes $18.2 billion for school lunch and school breakfast programs and $6.6 billion for the Women, Infants, and Children program.While the federal government is and continues to be a major provider of food aid, our nation is in such a perilous financial situation that we must continuously evaluate the effectiveness and sustainability of these programs. As we continue to battle the effects of the recent recession, there will undoubtedly be many seeking to use these programs. We can assist the truly needy, but with a national debt approaching $15 trillion and increasing structural deficits, we must be precise about whom we decide to target with scarce federal resources. Because this measure -- a massive spending bill that funds most of the federal government -- only exacerbates our crushing national debt burden, and because I believe that food aid can and should be administered by the states and charitable organizations, I voted against H.R. 2112.Again, thank you for contacting my office. It is an honor and a privilege to represent the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the United States Senate. Please continue to inform me of any thoughts you may have on federal legislative issues.Sincerely,Rand Paul, MD
United States Senator
What disturbs me the most about this letter, is that Rand Paul states "because I believe...". It is not a senators job to vote on a bill based on his personal feelings on the issue. It is his job to represent his constituents. Which makes me wonder... if there any point in advocating anything to this particular senator, if he is going to vote on bills based on his beliefs?
Labels: Advocacy in Action, Policy
by E Pace at 11:37 AM |
1 Comments:
I am inspired already and this is my first "serious" visit to your blog. Everyone who has a child or grandchild in school should be required to follow this blog! Some very creative things going on here. Keep it up!
Post a Comment
<< Home