The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –
On May 5th, 2022, the USDA, under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration, announced they will begin reinterpreting existing U.S. Code in order to force schools to allow biological males into females restrooms, changing areas, etc. The USDA states that if schools don’t abide by the order, federal funds for food for children at school will be cut off.
In response, The Tennessee Conservative reached out to key Republican members of education committees in the General Assembly for their stance on the issue and asked what, if anything, could be done to fight this order on the state-level.
Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge-District 33) said, “It’s absolutely disgusting that a sitting American President would stoop to literally taking food out of the mouths of children. Why? To try to extort schools into letting boys use girls’ showers? Mr. Biden, have you no decency?
Not surprisingly, this is typical, sleazy Democrat politics at its absolute worst. Threaten little kids on the free school lunch program to get votes from the trans-what-evers and their radically misguided supporters! Mr. Biden, have you no shame?
Well, in Tennessee, we do not put up with such tawdry shenanigans! We already have laws on the books prohibiting the obscene practices you are demanding. Moreover, we will enforce them and, if it is necessary, take you all the way to the Supreme Court to beat your creepy shakedown scheme!
Perhaps the president and his administration should direct his focus to lowering our fuel prices and fixing our supply chain crisis so parents can get the formula they need to feed their babies.”
The USDA states that they will “interpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex found in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp Program (7 USC § 2011 et seq.), to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”
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According to the USDA, prior to COVID shutdowns, the National School Lunch Program, on average, fed nearly 30 million children every school day, in an estimated 100,000 public and private schools and residential care facilities.
They go on to state that this action is in line with Biden’s Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, and that it is consistent with with the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the Court held that the prohibition on sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Under the new USDA order, establishments that receive federal food funding, including food stamps, must allow biological males who claim to be females to have access to areas designated for female-only use, such as restrooms, sleeping areas and showers. Organizations such as these must also follow protocols such as requiring staff members to use an individual’s preferred pronouns and allowing males to dress as females while at work.
Representative Mark White (R-Memphis-District 83) echoed Rep. Ragan’s statement saying that “Tennessee currently has laws protecting against such abuse”.
“I will continue to support measures that protect our school age girls and boys where they are most vulnerable. The Biden Administration continues to use our children and our schools for social experiments,” Rep. White said, “It is also amazing that the Biden Administration would take away the funds to feed the poor students and play games for social reasons. I will support any and all measures to fight against such abuse of our students in our schools.”
The Biden Administration also intends to force schools to allow transgender athletes to participate in sports on teams not associated with their biological sex, in order to continue to receive the food funds.
Critics of the new policy argue that girls will be victims of this change when schools are required to allow transgender individuals to use facilities designated for women, such as bathrooms, locker rooms and dorm rooms, saying it violates their privacy and opens them up to sexual assault.
They also argue it will hurt female athletes and take away their athletic opportunities. Several trans women have quickly risen to dominance in their respective sports after not having the same success when competing against men.
Sarah Perry, a legal expert at the Heritage Foundation, said “This will not only have a significant impact on privacy, safety and security of women and girls but also on the equity and fairness of women to be able to participate in scholastic athletics whether at the K-12 or at the collegiate level,” adding that these rule interpretation changes would “change the face of American education if it is approved and published, and that is not an overstatement.”
Representative Justin Lafferty (R-Knoxville-District 89) said, “It is a shame that the current administration is so out of touch with common sense and common decency. Sadly, it is just the latest example of a paternalistic federal government that feels the need to threaten and punish its rebellious children. As long as we continue to rely on Caesar’s money, we will remain under threat of the whims of Caesar.”
Under the new rule, religious institutions (including Christian schools) may qualify for a waiver exempting them from the USDA requirements, but experts say it remains unclear whether the Biden administration will honor those exemptions or challenge them, which would likely lead to a legal battle.
Meanwhile, Tennessee continues to break records with monthly tax revenue far exceeding expectations with $2.5 Billion over projections collected by the end of March this year.
However, Republican leadership seems determined to spend a vast percentage of revenue and taxpayer’s dollars on corporate welfare projects, such as the new Tennessee Titans domed stadium and the Ford Megasite rather than putting programs into effect that would break some reliance on the federal government for the good of Tennesseans.
Under the new rule, religious institutions (including Christian schools) may qualify for a waiver exempting them from the USDA requirements, but experts say it remains unclear whether the Biden administration will honor those exemptions or challenge them, which would likely lead to a legal battle.
About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career. Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others. He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History. Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com
3 Responses
He has no control over how the money is spent unless we let him get by with an unconstitutional executive order. Congress appropriates and designates how money is spent.
This is the most insulting piece of the legislature this incompetent President has done, He should be impeached for the destruction he has done to this country, high gas, and food prices going sky high, yet, all he is interested in is getting the votes from the far out crew.
Prepare foods that kids will eat and therefore less waste of food and tell Brandon what he can do with his Un-constitutional mandates. Way past time to take a stand and PUSH back Hard!!! Especially in November.