(Washington, D.C.) – Congressman Glenn Grothman (WI-06) and Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (TN-01) introduced the Stop “Wrongs to Our Kids’ Educational” (WOKE) Meals Act to prohibit the Department of Agriculture from withholding federal funds from schools that maintain biological distinctions between boys and girls. This bill has been endorsed by Heritage Action for America.
“Comply with radical transgender ideology or leave low-income students without meals. That is the choice President Biden’s USDA is setting up for schools,” said Grothman. “This mandate from the Administration is a way to strongarm schools into falling in line with the ‘woke’ left’s worldview and it is disgraceful. If a school, parent, student, or teacher believes that there are biological differences between males and females, too bad, because their federal funding may be cut off if they don’t obey this mandate. This is why you should never want new federal programs.
“Nobody dreamed that someday school lunches would be used as leverage to force school districts to do what the transgender lobby wants. Nevertheless, the Biden Administration’s new rule opens the door to letting children go hungry if schools do not adhere to his extreme gender ideology.
“By passing the Stop WOKE Meals Act, we can eliminate this ridiculous choice schools may face and ensure our kids keep receiving the school meals they’ve been promised.”
“Punishing schools for failing to adopt radical transgender ideology is wrong. Ripping school lunches from low-income students because their schools disallow biological males to enter women’s restrooms and compete in women’s sports is nothing short of disgraceful. The Biden Administration continues to abuse executive privilege to force Americans into compliance with an extreme agenda. Our bill protects students so they are not hungry at school,” said Congresswoman Harshbarger.
Background Information
On May 5, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will interpret federal anti-discrimination law in education, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, to include “sexual orientation and gender identity”.
If passed, the Stop WOKE Meals Act would block the USDA from moving forward with its new view of Title IX anti-discrimination laws that could strip federal funding for meal assistance programs from schools that do not let transgender students use bathrooms or play on sports teams with members of the opposite sex.
This bill has 14 cosponsors, including Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07).
