Rep. Todd Akin Says the Federal Government Should Stop Funding School Lunches for Needy Children

Rep. Todd Akin, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, said, today, that the federal government should stop its financial support for school lunch programs, reports the Columbia Daily Tribune.

Rep. Akin spoke to several reporters at the annual Governor's Ham Breakfast at the Missouri State Fair: "There's another good question of who should be doing that. Is that something the federal government should be doing? I answer it 'no.' Why not do it at the state level?"

"I am not against school lunches, but I have a question of whether or not the federal government should be doing many things it is doing, and that would be one I would take a look at."

The discussion with reporters started when Rep. Akin was asked about the farm bill, which reauthorizes support for school nutrition and the food-stamp program that provides food to over thirty million poor children.

Rep. Akin is a six-term congressman who is running against Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, who said: "The notion that the federal government should stop giving support to help feed children is a nonstarter with me. It is not like our schools are sitting on piles of cash right now."