U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Governor Steve Sisolak and Rep. Susie Lee attended a Henderson Elementary School’s summer lunch program Thursday, where they spoke to administrators and students before raising President Joe Biden’s ongoing legislative goals at a press conference.
“Children who are not well fed and children who are not fed at all have a very difficult time raising and that endangers their future and the future of our country,” said Vilsack after touring the Estes McDoniel Elementary.
“So if we are interested in being a competitive nation that continues to grow and lead the world, we need to make sure that these young people are well educated. And in order for them to be well educated, they have to be well nourished. “
The trio of Democratic leaders commended McDoniel and the Clark County School District for providing millions of meals to students during the pandemic, in part through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and federal programs.
On Thursday, McDoniel students were served a chicken sandwich, potato wedges, apple slices, carrots, and a choice of plain or chocolate milk, the latter drink choice being highly praised by Sisolak as he spoke to the young children who entered their cafeteria.
“We all know that education is the key to opportunity,” Lee said during the press conference held in the school library while students ate across the hall. “And we as a country need to focus on food security if we are to prepare students for success. When children are hungry, when they are worried about their next meal, they fall behind academically. “
Lee and Vilsack contributed recent success in providing services to the needy to the American Rescue Plan, the latest stimulus package from the Biden government and Congress. Both also stressed the need for Biden’s infrastructure and family plans, two mammoth bills currently being debated in Congress, to keep the flow of services beyond the pandemic and to fight hunger, climate change, education cuts and various other national diseases.
“(Biden’s American Families Plan) will redouble our efforts to get the student nutrition they need to thrive in school,” said Lee. “And an important part of that will include $ 17 billion in meals for children in the poorest school districts.”
Lee has endorsed a more modest bipartisan infrastructure deal for the past few weeks, and said Thursday that the proposal for the family plan would likely go through similar negotiations once the infrastructure deal is finalized. Nevada, she said, is poised to benefit from both plans more than any other state, as the state has been hardest hit during the pandemic.
Further emphasizing the importance of the family plan, Vilsack noted that one day it could offer McDoniel and the school district students a free community college as well as childcare tax breaks for their parents and a universal preschool for their siblings.
“We must also recognize that investing in American families is the human infrastructure that will ensure our country a competitive future,” said Vilsack. “And this American Families Plan addresses many of the challenges, many of the pressures, that American families are feeling today.”
Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.
