The North Dakota Senate recently voted against House Bill 1624, which would provide free meals for K-12 students. The decision was met with backlash online, as many believed that it was cruel to poor children in North Dakota.
As reported by KFYR TV (and later shared on X by GOP Ls), HB 1624 lost the vote as 24 state senators voted against it, while only 22 voted in favor. The measure would have given free breakfast and lunches to all students and could have cost North Dakota $65 million.
Politicians who were against the bill, such as Republican Sen. David Clemens, argued that it should be the parents’ responsibility to cover meals, and that the state did not want to diminish that responsibility. Others, such as Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal, said: “It advances us towards socialism.” Some also argued that the bill could cause funding issues.
North Dakota Senators Criticized After Blocking Bill
Internet users had a fairly visceral reaction to the case on X, as many believed that it was inherently inhumane not to feed hungry children: “We simply aren’t even the same species of human if I have to convince you to feed kids. Like we cannot BE in community together; people who think like this don’t belong in anyone’s community.”
Someone else commented: “This is horrible. This is a horrible thing. Feeding HUNGRY KIDS is NOT SOCIALISM. It’s humanity. And for a long time, it was AMERICAN HUMANITY.”
What really irritated some people online was how politicians such as Sen. Myrdal tried to link the whole project to socialism. One of them said, sarcastically: “Kids eating food is socialism.” Another one argued: “Do they know this is only gonna make socialism more appealing?”
While most users were visibly irritated with the senator’s decision, others took the opportunity to complain using sarcasm. One of these people wrote: “‘Little communist freeloaders waiting on their government handout, not on my watch!’ Pick yourself up by the bootstraps, kiddos; the coal mines are calling!”
At the moment, the bill has been defeated, but its supporters still want to gather enough signatures to turn it into a state amendment during the November election, which could change that.
