ND Senate Votes To Increase Their Meal Allowances After Voting Against Free Lunches For Poor Students

InForum reports:

Ten days after narrowly defeating a bill to provide free school lunches to low-income K-12 students, the North Dakota Senate approved legislation to increase the amount of money lawmakers and other state employees receive in meal reimbursements.

A leading Republican senator says employee meal compensation rates and free school lunch programs aren’t related issues, but top Democrats see the chamber’s conflicting actions on the two bills as unjustifiable.

Thirteen Republican senators, including Majority Leader David Hogue and Assistant Majority Leader Jerry Klein, voted to increase meal reimbursements after voting against the free school lunch bill.

Read the full article.

The meals per diem would be $45 if the bill goes into law.

NEW: Thirteen Republican senators voted to increase meal reimbursements for state employees after voting against a bill to expand free school lunches for low-income students.https://t.co/EpfTRbJux5

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) April 7, 2023

Debating free school lunch for low-income kids, North Dakota State Sen. Mike Wobbema (R) says families are to blame for their hunger: “It’s really the problem of parents being negligent with their kids, if their kids are choosing to eat in the first place.”

The bill died, 23-24. pic.twitter.com/WotKJqOXGN

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) March 29, 2023