Rep. Mike Stewart asks Haslam to veto ‘starve the children’ bill

Nashville House Democrat Mike Stewart is calling on the governor to veto a Republican-backed bill that he says attacks impoverished children.

House Bill 1171 proposes to permit a local board of education to decline federal funding for an education program without penalty from a state agency or state official. The bill specifically takes aim at what Republican backers call cost savings in cutting certain federal programs, including the requirement to accept federal money for free and reduced lunch.

It’s unclear whether the bill would allow districts to cut food programs for students. While bill sponsor state Rep. Eddie Smith, R-Knoxville, has said the state would still require free and reduced lunch programs, Stewart said legal opinions suggest otherwise.

Stewart proposed to exclude federal food programs from the bill. That amendment was tabled because House Republicans said the amendment would gut the bill. Stewart has since called the proposed legislation the “starve the children” bill.

“Any change in the law that potentially undermines our existing commitment to providing nutritious meals to our school children should be rejected,” Stewart said in a letter to the governor.

The bill has been promoted as a way to increase local control over federal mandates and has passed in the House and Senate chambers. Gov. Bill Haslam will need to sign off on the bill for it to become enacted.

Reach Jason Gonzales at 615-259-8047 and on Twitter @ByJasonGonzales.