It's terribly easy for Washington to impose rules and regulations on the states but not provide the money to implement those rules. That is what has happened with public school lunch programs.
In the coming academic year, schools were supposed to start serving more healthful meals, with more servings of vegetables, fruit and so forth. That sounds like a good idea. But in a recent letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, governors from around the country pointed out that short-term money being provided by the federal government to pay for more nutritious school meals was extremely inadequate and would saddle cash-strapped states with a huge new expense.
Now, however, members of Congress who are fighting such unfunded mandates are being accused of wanting to sabotage the health and nutrition of schoolchildren.
That's ridiculous.
We're all for reducing childhood obesity and encouraging exercise. But Washington should not impose regulations, even for noble purposes, and then simply leave someone else to pick up the tab. That -- not sabotaging children -- is the real issue.