[Hoot Gibson]

They do not always have the option. We forget that there are families out there that are poor. There are kids out there who only eat at school. Its hard to imagine but its the truth. There are also parents who don't care or do not know enough to care. I see people feeding kids burgers, fries and a coke every day. Then they complain because they pay to much for health care while smoking their cigerettes in the same car with their kids. I believe in this case the federal government is needed. I do not like them being in our school systems however on the issue of obesity they have to do something. Obesity goes beyond state borders and effects everyone across the nation.

The fact that every state in the US has obese children living within their borders does not make childhood obesity a federal issue. People in every state have headaches too, but should the federal government be handing out free aspirins?

People who believe that the federal government should get involved in local issues like what school cafeterias put on their menus and what local schools can put in vending machines apparently think that people here in the DC area are smarter, more competent, and more trustworthy than people in their own communities. Otherwise, why would they argue that people working hundreds of miles away from their school are more capable of deciding what their children should be eating than they are?

If the federal government would remove its clutches from states and local governments, there would be more money to spend in public schools and people in my neighborhood might be feeling the recession a little bit more. Every piece of legislation like this one creates more good paying jobs in and around the nation's capital. Come to the Washington suburbs and see for yourself what a recession looks like here (or should I say, a jobless recovery?).