It's now officially legislative silly season, when every special interest group tries to claim their share of credit for various legislation that passed. This time it's the Big Government Bell Policy Center using…wait for it…an elementary school class to claim credit for legislation that funded the free school breakfast program for students who qualified for reduced price lunches. Problem is Senator Keith King was the one who did it, not Bell Policy. 

Bell uses its email blast to insinuate it was they, and their “educating” of a fifth grade class, that helped save the school breakfast program that initially did not get initial approval from the Joint Budget Committee:

[The fifth grade class] learned that the Bell Policy Center did some of the research behind Senate Bill 59 in 2007. The bill established the Start Smart breakfast program.  

The students invited Rich Jones, the Bell's director of policy and research, to visit the class and explain how a bill becomes law, and what role research plays in crafting legislation.  

In 2007, the Bell testified in favor of the bill, saying that "research has consistently found that students who participate in (school breakfast programs) have more nutritious diets, do better academically and have fewer behavioral problems."

You see, Bell Policy IS the school breakfast program. But let's take a look back at the legislative record and news coverage of how the legislation to fund the program was ultimately passed.  From the Denver Post's article entitled "Republican Senator Restores Funding for School Breakfast Subsidy":

A Republican state senator who’s also a school principal restored funding today for a program that subsidizes school breakfasts for poor children.  

Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, moved an amendment in the Senate Appropriations Committee this morning that approved $124,229 in supplemental funding for the Start Smart Nutrition Program, which makes breakfast free for children who would otherwise have to pay a reduced price of 30 cents.

Or how about Fox 31's coverage:

Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, moved a successful amendment Wednesday to approve the $124,229 in extra funding that the Smart Start program needed to operate through the end of the current school year.

We know that Democrats wanted to be the conquering heroes of the school breakfast subsidy, but the mantle was taken from them when it was Republican Senator Keith King who saved the program. Say what you will about the (tone-deaf) decision to cut funding in the first place, but there is no denying it was Sen. King, and not Bell Policy Center, who saved the program.

Next thing you know, when the economy improves we'll get an email blast from Bell Policy claiming it was really due to all the illegal immigration they argued is a positive economic force.