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Noem to Introduce Legislation Offering More Flexibility for Local School Meal Programs

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Noem to Introduce Legislation Offering More Flexibility for Local School Meal Programs

kristi noem headshot May 21 2014Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem today announced plans for legislation that reduces federal mandates on school meal standards, including the more stringent whole grain requirements that went into effect in July 2014 and the Target 2 sodium requirements set to be implemented in the coming years.

“Current school lunch standards create a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t work for our kids and places costly and senseless burdens on school districts – especially smaller school districts,” said Noem.  “We all want our kids to be healthier, but we need to give our schools flexibility at the local level to ensure the standards work for the students it’s intended to serve.  As a mom, I want to make sure the school meal program my kids participate in is rooted in science-based nutrition plans and includes food that they’re actually going to eat.  After all, my kids don’t get the nutrients if it’s left on the plate.”

Rep. Noem introduced her initial Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act in December 2013.  This updated version of the bill includes new provisions to address concerns with the Target 2 sodium levels and whole grain requirements.

“It’s essential that kids get nutritious and filling meals while at school, but new standards have taken a step too far, resulting in many students choosing unhealthy alternatives outside the school lunch program,” said Sandi Kramer, Child Nutrition Director of the Yankton School District in South Dakota. “We are proud to support Rep. Noem’s Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act.  As a mother whose kids go to school in a very small school district, she understands the challenges schools will face in serving healthy and appetizing options to students under these new requirements.  With her bill, nutrition remains a priority, but it’s done in a way that’s going to work in the real world.”

The Reducing Federal Mandates on School Lunch Act will be introduced in the coming weeks.  The legislation would:

  • Allow schools to maintain the previous whole grain requirements.  Without this change, 100 percent of the grains that schools would be required to serve students would be whole-grain rich, pushing items like tortillas and pasta largely off the menu.  Rep. Noem’s bill would restore the requirement back to 50 percent, meaning half of the grains served would be required to be whole-grain rich.
  • Maintain Target 1 sodium requirements.  Absent a change, schools would have a difficult time serving healthy foods that include milk, cheese, meat and other foods with naturally occurring sodium.
  • Give administrators flexibility on some of the rules that have increased costs for school districts, including the school breakfast program, a la carte options, and school lunch price increases.
  • Make the USDA’s easing of the meat and grain requirements permanent through law, rather than regulations.  This would give certainty to schools that they’ll be allowed more flexibility in serving meats and grains while still staying within calorie maximums.

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Press Release: Rounds Statement on Netanyahu Address

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Rounds Statement on Netanyahu Address

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) today made the following statement following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress:

“I thank Prime Minister Netanyahu for taking the time to address us today on our shared goal of stopping Iran from its nuclear ambitions. Our relationship with Israel transcends both time and political theater, and we must continue to work together to defeat our enemies which seek to destroy us. A nuclear Iran threatens the entire world and cannot be allowed to get nuclear weapons. I encourage the President to carefully consider the Prime Minister’s remarks today as he moves forward with his Iranian policy.”

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Busy.. Working on legislation to help kids with Autism, and other stuff.

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Yes, I’ve been somewhat quiet on original writing over the last couple of weeks as I’ve held down the homefront while my wife dealt with her Dad’s passing, and we both traveled for the funeral in Arkansas this last week.  But in case you’re wondering, yes, that’s me in an article at ArgusLeader.com today.

No, I’m not in the accident reports, court reports, Argus 911, scolding political silliness or Democrats. I’m actually working with a great group of parents who are trying to ensure that a measure in the legislature being promoted as helping children with Autism actually does that, and doesn’t put families in a worse position than there were in before:

Parents of children afflicted with autism hope a bill moving through the legislature can be amended to help parents get insurance coverage for the most effective treatment plan.

and…

In 2014, insurers in the state began to deny the intensive and expensive treatment protocols used in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), which involve hours of therapy each week and can cost between $50,000 and $120,000 a year. A bill to require all plans to cover ABA died last year in Pierre and was replaced with a bill that called for a study group. Senate Bill 190 was offered by insurance providers in response to the study.

and…

Stanley and other parents, including Pat and Michelle Powers of Brookings, say the bill would put those whose children were grandfathered into coverage in a more difficult position than they are now.

Michelle Powers told KSOO radio’s Rick Knobe on Monday that recognizing ABA coverage as effective and worthy while cutting coverage for the hourslong workaday therapy involved leaves previously-covered parents with less than they have now.

Without amendments, Pat Powers said, the bill recognizes ABA but ignores the tiered delivery system that makes it possible.

“It also places stricter limitations on coverage levels than those recommended by the legislative report in 2014,” he wrote in an email.

Read it here.

If you care about kids with disabilities getting services to help them live up to their potential, and give them a chance to become productive taxpaying citizens, as opposed to wards of the state, it’s an important bill to watch. And with a couple of minor tweaks, it can be a good bill, as opposed to a bad one that hurts families.

(And while we’re at it, I’m also helping with publicity for the Brookings Area Special Olympics Polar 5k run taking place on March 27th. The Polar 5k is one of the fastest growing 5k events in the state, and rivals the Hobo Day 5k in size. Sign up today.)

AFP SD Director Ben Lee Discusses Stealth Tax Increase on KELO Radio

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AFP SD Director Ben Lee Discusses Stealth Tax Increase on KELO Radio

One Penny Sales Tax Proposal Would Result In More Than $150 Million In New Taxes

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Americans for Prosperity South Dakota Director Ben Lee appeared on KELO Radio to discuss a bill that could increase sales taxes in South Dakota by $150 million. AFP South Dakota has been engaging its network of activists, encouraging them to reach out to their legislatior and urge them to vote NO on this dangerous legislation.

Excerpt from the interview: “South Dakota’s economic advantage is our low tax structure…Any time we consider significant tax increases we’re threatening that and we’re threatening our economic advantage…If every city chose to take take advantage of the ability to add an additional 1 penny sales tax, that would result in more than $150 million in new taxes, which would be far and away the largest tax increase in South Dakota history… This bill has been under the radar and we don’t think enough folks have been talking about it. So we wanted to shine a light on it and talk about how we don’t believe this is good tax policy for South Dakota.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

Governor to Republicans – Get on the stick, and get recruiting

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From the Rapid City Journal:

Gov. Dennis Daugaard told Republican county leaders at their statewide meeting Saturday that candidate recruiting can start immediately for 31 of the 105 seats in the Legislature. Those are seats that Democrats currently hold or have Republicans who can’t seek re-election to the seats in 2016 because they are term-limited. He also suggested that the 74 other Republicans should be asked whether they plan to run again in 2016 so there can be a head-start on finding new Republican candidates to run if they aren’t.

“We are so much more organized, and it makes us strong,” Daugaard said.

Read it here.

Good, solid advice. Time to get recruiting for offices, especially since we may be circulating petitions in 9 months.

That explains a lot. Rapid City CVB using mascots in campaign. Not Tourism

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Coming on the heels of my post asking about why the Rushmore mascots are being used in a political campaign, I received a heads up about there being more than one set:

There are two sets of Rushmore mascot costumes.  One is owned by the SD Department of Tourism, and the other is owned by the Rapid City Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The Tourism mascots are not participating in this campaign, so I can only assume it is the Rapid City CVB mascots.

So, it’s not the state’s mascots who are inserting themselves into the convention center vote. It’s those owned by the Convention and Visitors Bureau.