{"id":1162,"date":"2023-04-07T21:58:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T21:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nulifedaily.com\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2023-04-08T16:13:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-08T16:13:43","slug":"republicans-who-voted-against-free-school-lunch-turn-around-vote-to-get-more-for-their-own-lunches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/proliberation.com\/underthesun\/republicans-who-voted-against-free-school-lunch-turn-around-vote-to-get-more-for-their-own-lunches\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans who voted against free school lunch turn around, vote to get more for their own lunches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Monday, March 27, the North Dakota Senate failed to pass HB 1491<\/a>, 23-24, with only Republicans voting against it. HB 1491 would have earmarked $6 million to help provide school lunches for children from low-income families. It would not have covered all school children, just those with families who might appreciate the help. At the time, Republicans like state Sen. Mike Wobbema argued that North Dakotans shouldn\u2019t have to pay for \u201cparents being negligent.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday, April 6, only five\u00a0business<\/em>\u00a0days later, the very same \u201cRepublican-dominated<\/a>\u201d North Dakota Senate held a vote and passed\u00a0SB\u00a02124, 26-21.<\/a>\u00a0This bill raises the amount of money North Dakota senators and their staff can be reimbursed by the state for meals. It\u2019s like lunch money that North Dakotans pay for! For adults!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, and the bill also directs the office of management of the state to \u201cestablish a policy to set the lodging reimbursement at an amount equal to ninety percent of the rate established by the United States general services administration for lodging reimbursement in this state. A political subdivision may reimburse an elective or appointive officer, employee, representative, or agent for actual lodging expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guess who voted to get themselves some free meals? \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As North Dakota\u2019s InForum reports<\/a>, \u201cThe other Republican senators who voted for Senate Bill 2124 and against House Bill 1491 are Randy Burckhard, David Clemens, Bob Erbele, Judy Estenson, Curt Kreun, Judy Lee, Randy Lemm, Larry Luick, Don Schaible, Terry Wanzek and Mike Wobbema.\u201d You remember Wobbema\u2014Wobbema is the state senator who began his bootstrapping speech not five business days earlier, saying, \u201cI\u2019ll be the ogre in the room,\u201d and followed that up by arguing: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe talk about personal responsibility as one of the major principles that the Republican Party stands on. Yes, I can understand kids going hungry, but is that really the problem of the school district? Is that the problem of the state of North Dakota? It’s really the problem of parents being negligent with their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As a reminder, the $6 million that Republicans like Wobbema rejected to provide school-age children with food assistance in school was the compromise from the original Democratic-proposed $89,500,000<\/a> for universal free lunch in the Peace Garden state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, a Democrat representing Fargo, told reporters she \u201cthought today\u2019s vote was very self-serving.\u201d<\/a> Here\u2019s what Republican Majority Leader David Hogue\u2014who voted against kids school lunch but for a raise to his own lunch money\u2014said when pressed on the \u2026 disconnect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t have a good answer for you as (to) why we do it sometimes and not others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

All disrespect to Hogue, but that\u2019s 100% your job: to know exactly why you choose to allot money for one thing and not another. If you have some kind of magical<\/em> philosophy that appeals to your constituents, you should be able to articulate it publicly since you are a politician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding more hypocrisy to the fire, Republican Assistant Majority Leader Jerry Klein, who also voted against helping ease the financial burden many families in his state face, told reporters that there was no \u201ccorrelation\u201d between his contradictory votes. In fact, Klein explained that because of inflation, buying meals has become more expensive, so he needs a higher per diem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly reporters didn\u2019t simply tell Klein to repeat back to himself what he just said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s watch maroon-suit-hypocrite Wobbema explain once again how children from low-income families need to take some \u201cpersonal responsibility\u201d for their food budget, while taking a handout for himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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