Michelle Bachman gets her facts wrong again. By now we should be used to this. Bachman opposes anything that the Obama administration proposes, but promoting breastfeeding?
As reported last night on Lawrence O'Donnell's program, and in this morining's New York Times , even a campaign by the First Lady to promote breastfeeding as part of her campaign to reduce childhood obesity has provoked a partisan reaction from Michelle Bachman, Sarah Palin, and others.
First the facts:
1. the proposal is to allow women to deduct the expenses of breast-feeding, such as breast pumps, or they pay for breast pumps using pre-tax dollars in medical savings accounts.
2. The federal government is one of the biggest buyers of baby formula which breastfeeding women don't need to buy, so promoting breastfeeding could actually result in more spending cuts.
To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump — You want to talk about nanny state, I think we just got a new definition. - Michelle Bachman
Of course the facts rarely matter to Michelle Bachman. Remember the $200 million a day she claimed President Obama's trip to India was costing? Or the time she claimed that the government was banning incandescent light bulbs? Bachman's comments on breastfeeding have even conservatives disagreeing.
I am a conservative,” . “I am also a breast-feeding advocate. This is just stupid.- writer in an Arkansas Times Blog
The benefits of breastfeeding to infants and mothers are well-documented. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be fed only breastmilk for the first six months. Breast pumps allow working women who want to breastfeed to pump breastmilk while they are at work, and resume breastfeeding at home and on weekends. Breast pumps are essential for mothers of preemies who want to breastfeed. Breastmilk is especially important for these tiny babies, and pumping allows a mother to supply her little one with breastmilk, and even breastfeed her baby once the sucking reflex is established.
Of course, Sarah Palin also had to weigh in.
No wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody, ‘You better breast-feed your baby,’ . Yeah, you’d better, because the price of milk is so high right now.
Babies are not fed cow's milk of course; if they are not breastfed, they are fed formula. The federal government, through the WIC program, encourages breastfeeding, but will also pay for baby formula.
WIC recognizes and promotes breastfeeding as the optimal source of nutrition for
infants. For women who do not fully breastfeed, WIC provides iron-fortified infant
formula. Special infant formulas and medical foods may be provided when prescribed
by a physician for a specified medical condition.
I found it interesting that WIC will also provide breast pumps. Apparently the government is already providing breast pumps to the poor.
Breastfeeding mothers may receive breast pumps and other aides to help support
the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding.
Allowing to use their health savings accounts to purchase breast pumps, or deduct the cost from their income tax is not the same as a nanny state trying to force women to breastfeed. It is a sad indication of how partisan the debate has become when even trying to encourage breastfeeding as part of a campaign to prevent childhood obesity becomes a political football.
Updated by loblolly at Sat Feb 19, 2011, 03:43:12 PM
In today's mid-day open thread, Brooklyn Bad Boy has more on the story. The IRS issued a ruling earlier this months regarding breast pumps. Two days before the IRS ruling was issued, Mrs. Obama had commented that in the second year of her "Let's Move" campaign, she wanted to focus on breastfeeding, because it helps prevent childhood obesity. Laura Ingram asked Bachman if the IRS ruling was coordinated with Mrs. Obama's promotion of breastfeeding, and a "controversy" was born.
"The controversy stems from an IRS announcement earlier this month that breast pumps and other breast-feeding supplies would qualify for reimbursement as a medical expense under federal tax law.
Previously, new mothers who set aside pre-tax money in health savings accounts, or who itemized their medical expenses at tax time, were prohibited from filing claims for money spent on breast-feeding equipment.
As for the question of whether politics played any role in the IRS decision, spokespeople for the IRS and the Treasury Department said the decision was a legal one made by the IRS general counsel's office."
Updated by loblolly at Sat Feb 19, 2011, 03:47:33 PM
Here are some of the items that the IRS considers medical expenses- breast pumps and breast-feeding supplies would seem to be a reasonable addition to the list.
"The IRS has a fairly broad interpretation of the term "medical expenses" in the federal tax code, including wigs, acupuncture, artificial teeth, eyeglasses, contact lenses, certain home improvements, lead-based paint removal and television equipment for the hearing-impaired as deductible expenses."
