Mary Cheh and the other co-sponsors of a bill to mandate what food DC School youth will eat are taking the wrong approach to health.  In tight economic times, Cheh proposes a $6 million per year bill that mandates that kids in DC Public Schools eat more health, locally grown food.  While eating more fruits and veggies is a great idea, I don’t thing that it should cost tax payers 6 million dollars.  Ms. Cheh’s bill tries to mandate solutions for problems that are not the core problems that DC youth face.  Ms. Cheh and the rest of the city council, who all voted for this bill, are out of touch with the real needs of DC youth and families.  While an HIV/AIDS crisis runs rampant, the city spends nothing to promote sexual abstinence, which is a proven method to reduce life threatening diseases, including HIV/AIDS, which has claimed about 10,000 lives in the District of Columbia.  Yet ms Cheh co-sponsored the legislation that mandates HPV shots for 11 year old sixth grade girls.   And in my visits to her office and communication to her, she has shown disdain for school programs that help youth avoid deadly sexually transmitted diseases, as well as many other consequences by promoting sexual abstinence.  In Ms. Cheh’s brave new world, there is a legislative fix for children who don’t eat enough vegetables, but yet she believes young girls would receive dangerous HPV shots and turns a blind eye, or worse yet, hostility, toward programs that would help youth by promoting self discipline and character and sexual abstinence. 

As your At-Large Councilmember, I will focus on the most pressing and fundamental health concerns, like stopping the rampant HIV/Aids epidemic,.  DC public school can include healthier foods without creating unnecessary new taxes and and a nanny state with misguided priorities.  The best thing that the District government can do for the long term well being of District of Columbia residents is to provide incentives for family formation, and education for youth to guide them toward the formation of two parent families.  The council should provide real leadership in stopping HIV AIDS by promoting sexual abstinence and fidelity to one sexual partner (i.e., marriage).  The more two parents are present in children's lives, and the more families that have parents present, the better the long term health outcomes for the District will be.

There are also a number of disturbing provisions in the bill.   Snacks served at meetings after school, say cookies and juice, could result in a $500 fine per day to the school, since these will not meet the healthy lunch standards.  Candy bars sold as fundraisers could also result in a $500 per day fine.   School health centers will be placed in all comprehensive high schools.  These health centers will no doubt distribute more free condoms, a failed method of HIV and STD prevention.  A commission appointed by the mayor will also oversea sexual health.  Again, read, more condoms and the exclusion of programs that encourage youth to abstain from sex.  

Again, considering the severe issues of family breakdown, fatherless children, and an HIV/AIDS and STD epidemic, this till is both misguided as well as intrusive and devious in the sweeping powers that will be given to the District to regulate the lives of our children.  Parents are the ones who should lead the implementation of health efforts for district children, not Ms. Cheh and Vincent Gray, and all the other council members who voted for this bill.  Arguably, the most important factors influencing the health and future of our youth, premature sexual activity is ignored, or worse yet, children are given a false sense of protection by condom promoting “Health clinics”.

The misnamed “Healthy Schools Act” is another example of just how out of touch the City Council is with District of Columbia parents.