ROGERS URGES BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO HELP ALABAMA SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND STUDENTS IMPACTED BY SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL) sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack informing them of the impacts that the supply chain crisis is having on children in Alabama’s Third Congressional District and urging immediate action by the administration to help these school districts and students. 

In the letter Rep. Rogers writes, _”I represent a poor, rural Congressional District, and for many children, school is the one place they feel safe and well-fed. One school system in my district, Alexander City Schools, has 65% of students enrolled in free and reduced-price meals. This same school system has had to take to social media and private industry to ask for help feeding breakfast to its students due to delayed or missing shipments.

Another school system, Sylacauga City Schools, wrote to me ‘We simply do not know from week to week what we will be getting, and after the truck arrives missing key menu items, it takes days or weeks to make other menu-compliant arrangements.’ How can this Administration sit idly by as children go hungry?” _

Rep. Rogers also notes comments by Biden administration officials dismissing the supply chain crisis as “high class problems.” Calling these comments “dead wrong.” 

The full text of the letter is below: 

Dear President Biden and Secretary Vilsack: 

I write to you today to bring your attention to a crisis affecting the children of my Congressional District, Alabama’s Third. As I travel the district, I hear constantly how our nation’s supply chain issues are affecting ever facet of life for my constituents. One such ramification of these supply chain issues may be the most concerning and unacceptable yet due to shortages, students across Alabama’s Third District are going without food during the day. I have heard from parents, students, school administrators, and child nutrition program leaders of the extreme difficulties they have faced this year. Not only has Covid-19 changed the education landscape but now these folks must also deal with an inability to get basic supplies to educate and feed their students. 

I represent a poor, rural Congressional District, and for many children, school is the one place they feel safe and well-fed. One school system in my district, Alexander City Schools, has 65% of students enrolled in free and reduced-price meals. This same school system has had to take to social media and private industry to ask for help feeding breakfast to its students due to delayed or missing shipments. Another school system, Sylacauga City Schools, wrote to me “We simply do not know from week to week what we will be getting, and after the truck arrives missing key menu items, it takes days or weeks to make other menu-compliant arrangements.”

How can this Administration sit idly by as children go hungry?

Jen Psaki, a member of your Administration, said on camera that the supply chain crisis was nothing more than delayed treadmills and Ron Klein, your Chief of Staff, agreed with a tweet calling the supply chain crisis a “high class problem.” I’m here to tell you this is dead wrong. The stories in Alabama’s Third District are echoed across the country, and that is unacceptable. After the pandemic, our economy continues to struggle, and we are lagging on the global stage. Instead of focusing on radical policies and increased regulation, I urge your Administration to prioritize fixing the supply chain crisis facing our nation. I also urge you to focus on increased flexibility for the schools in my district. If this Administration refuses to focus on the supply chain catastrophe, at the very least please offer flexibility to USDA’s onerous restrictions. These kids need immediate action not bureaucratic hurdles from your administration.

Sincerely,

Mike Rogers