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U.S. Rep. Bill Owens has penned a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture to let him know, in case he wasn't, ya know, aware of the wall-to-wall coverage, that kids really hate these new school lunches that the USDA has required.
“As a supporter of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, I am particularly concerned that the rules promulgated by USDA may be working at cross purpose to the intent of the law: to provide students with a healthy meal to improve their performance during school and afterschool activities, particularly in circumstances where a child does not have access to healthy meals at home," Mr. Owens, D-Plattsburgh, wrote in a letter dated today.
Mr. Owens' Nov. 6 opponent, Republican Matt Doheny, has been to at least three schools, bringing reporters with him, to decry the new calorie limits. Mr. Owens voted for the bill that authorized the new regulations. But the bill didn't go so far as to put the calorie limits in place itself. Congress wasn't legislating french fries, exactly.
Mr. Owens, a moderate Democrat, aired a commercial earlier in the cycle that a Republican would have been proud of. In one part of the commercial, Mr. Owens gets so angry about regulations that he kicks over a pail of milk.
This time, he's taking out his frustrations in a letter. Here it is: