Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) criticized the Biden Administration for removing free school lunches at Church of Compassion Dayspring Learning Center in California because they protested against the USDA’s SOGI Title IX rule. On July 27, Banks told the Federal Newswire that Republicans in the House need to undo this act by using the Farm Bill.
According to Banks, “House Republicans must use the farm bill to undo the Biden administration’s downright evil decision to take away free school lunches from needy children at observant Christian schools. I thought I’d seen it all from this administration, but this is a new low.”
According to the Daily Caller, Indiana Representative Banks addressed a letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, seeking clarifications regarding a recent rule change in the department, the result of the department’s Title IX sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) provision. Banks raised concerns that this rule change could potentially prevent religious schools from taking part in the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service programs, and gave the example of California Department of Social Services (CDSS) preventing preschoolers at Church of Compassion Dayspring Learning Center from eating free lunch because the school did not comply with the new rule.
According to the Daily Caller, Banks said that many of these children came from low-income families.
“About 40 percent of the children at Dayspring are low-income and, before they were denied access to federal nutritional assistance, qualified for USDA’s Child and Adult Food Care Program," he said. "For nearly twenty years, Dayspring had used the program to provide students in need with regular meals. As recently as 2022, that aid amounted to between $3,500 and $4,000 a month – until, as a result of your federal rule, it was cut off.”
According to a press release, the Alliance Defending Freedom claimed it was unlawful to remove school lunches for these children and is suing the Biden Administration as well as California State officials. The Alliance, a non-profit that protects parental and religious rights and free speech, said that the Biden administration significantly broadened its understanding of the term "sex" as used in Title IX, now encompassing sexual orientation and gender identity within its definition. This resulted in the sanction of religious schools who believe in a traditional view of sexuality.
Banks urged Republicans in the House to use the Farm Bill to overturn this new rule. According to Sustainable Agriculture, the farm bill is a piece of legislation that undergoes a renewal and revision process every five years. This involves a thorough series of steps, including proposal, congressional debates, and passage, culminating in the bill's enactment into law by the President. Notably, each farm bill carries a distinct title that sets it apart from previous versions. The last farm bill was passed in 2018, and so is set to expire in 2023.
