In response to a proposed bill that would guarantee free meals to all students in the state, this Republican State Senator argued he had “yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry.”
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00:00I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that is hungry.
00:04I have yet to meet a person in Minnesota that says they don't have access to enough food
00:09to eat.
00:10That's what one Minnesota Republican had to say in opposition to a proposed bill that
00:13would guarantee free meals to all students in the state.
00:16This is pure socialism.
00:19This is about control.
00:21The next thing the Socialist Party of Minnesota will be bringing to this chamber is one to
00:25provide their clothing.
00:27They'll be coming to buy their socks and buy their pants and buy their shirts and maybe
00:32their hats and maybe their winter clothing and who knows what next.
00:37Draskowski argued that the approximate $400 million needed to fund the bill should instead
00:42be allocated towards improving reading, math, and science proficiencies.
00:46That is what our Constitution provides for, to teach them, not to feed them.
00:52Senator Heather Gustafson, the bill's author and an experienced teacher, rebutted Draskowski's
00:57arguments.
00:58I've had countless students come into my classroom.
01:00They're looking for food and not just for themselves, but for their siblings as well.
01:04There is not a literacy program or a math strategy that's going to improve scores if
01:08a student doesn't know where their next meal is coming from.
01:11She also spoke on her own personal experiences as a mother.
01:14I have four kids.
01:15There are a lot of years that we couldn't afford much.
01:19I would have appreciated a policy like that.
01:21The bill ultimately passed by a vote of 38 to 26.