Rep. Rich McCormick is receiving backlash for his comments regarding the White House’s decision to freeze federal aid for school lunch programs, suggesting that some kids ought to be out there working instead of relying on free meals.
In a CNN interview, McCormick framed this move as a chance to rethink how the government distributes its funds. When CNN anchor Pamela Brown pointed out that programs like Head Start, which provide crucial nutritional support to low-income families, might take a hit, she questioned him on whether he backs cuts to funding for free breakfast and lunch programs. “Before I was even 13 years old, I was picking berries in the field, before child labor laws that precluded that. I was a paper boy, and when I was in high school, I worked my entire way through,” McCormick said. “You’re telling me that kids who stay at home instead of going to work at Burger King, McDonald’s, during the summer, should stay at home and get their free lunch instead of going to work? I think we need to have a top-down review.”
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“Who can actually go and actually produce their own income? Who can actually go out there and do something that makes them have value and work skills for the future?” McCormick added. “I mean, how many people got their start in fast-food restaurants when they were kids, versus just giving a blanket rule that gives all kids lunches in high school who are capable of going out and actually getting a job and doing something that makes them have value, thinking about their future instead of thinking about how they’re going to sponge out the government when they don’t need to.”
Acting Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, Matthew J. Vaeth, issued a memo on Monday to federal departments and agencies, stating that they need to complete certain tasks by Tuesday at 5 p.m. claiming they must “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders” signed by President Donald Trump in the last week.
The memo clarified that the funding freeze would not impact Medicare, Social Security benefits, or direct government assistance to individuals.
A more extensive document sent to federal agencies, which was obtained by NBC News, sought information on thousands of financial assistance programs, including school meals for low-income students.
McCormick argued that the government fails to empower individuals to “dig themselves out” of their situations, instead “penalizing them for putting in the effort to work and keeping them on welfare.”
“We need to have a top-down review so we can get people out of poverty,” he said, adding that Americans are losing their way because the government gives “people incentives to stay home and not work.”