News One is reporting that House Republicans are resisting President Obama's attempt to stop food companies from advertising junk food to children.
The Associated Press reports that some food companies say the government is going too far with guidelines proposed earlier this year by several government agencies. The guidelines would attempt to shield children from ads for sugary and fatty foods — think colorful characters on cereal boxes — on television, in stores and on the Internet. Companies would be urged to market foods to children ages 2 through 17 only if they contain specific healthy ingredients and are low in fats, sugars and sodium.
Even though the guidelines are voluntary, many companies are aggressively lobbying against them, saying they fear the government will retaliate against them if they don’t go along.
Republicans are attempting to delay the guidelines by including a provision in next year's budget that would require the Federal Trade Commission to study the potential costs and impacts of the guidelines before implementing them. Seriously.
By now, we've all figured out that House Republicans are going to vote against anything the president tries to accomplish. With the rate of childhood obesity in this country, asking advertising companies to voluntarily self-regulate how much junk food they advertise to children sounds like a reasonable request. The cost of saving children's lives should far outweigh the cost of attempting to adhere to those guidelines. Clearly this would be good for the kids.
The fact that the GOP is rallying against this proves 1) they will go against anything the president suggests, even when it makes sense, and 2) the needs of children are not on their agenda.
Read more at News One.
In other news: Candorville: Do the Right Thing.