If sh*t could take a crap, the product would be a Republican state legislator

(HuffPost) Republicans in the North Dakota and Vermont state Legislatures on Tuesday voted against subsidizing lunch or milk for school children.

The North Dakota legislation would pay for milk or juice during breaks for students in early childhood grades who already are eligible for free breakfasts and lunches. Republicans on the House Education Committee said they were against the program because it simply duplicates the breakfast program. In Vermont, the bill would close a loophole in the federal school lunch program by paying the remainder of costs not covered by the federal subsidy program, a price currently borne by students. GOP members on the Democratic-controlled House Education Committee said they do not oppose the bill, but rather have objections to how it was rolled out.

"We are talking about two million cartons of milk or juice over two years -- that was unacceptable to the committee," North Dakota House Assistant Minority Leader Corey Mock (D-Grand Forks), an Education Committee member, told The Huffington Post. "In another committee room, we were talking about giving tax breaks equivalent to 100 million cartons of milk over five years."

Mock was referencing ongoing discussions in the Legislature to award various tax deductions to out-of-state oil and energy companies working in the western part of the state. The proposal would cost the state $500,000 over the course of two years, Mock said. North Dakota has been experiencing record budget surpluses as a result of the oil boom. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/06/state-lunch-milk-programs_n_2632517.html?1360189353&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009