Michigan National Guard men in charge of continuing to protect the US Capitol said they were receiving food “undercooked, raw, moldy and even full of metal shavings,” according to a letter from the state House delegation obtained by CBS News on Tuesday. Some guards were hospitalized after eating the food, the letter said.
“It is clear that these contracted meals are poorly prepared, often inedible and highly inadequate to support our soldiers,” said the 14 lawmakers in the letter, sent to the head of the Pentagon’s National Guard Office. “It is completely unacceptable that our men and women who serve in Washington, DC, are being hospitalized because of the food they are receiving.”
The letter asks the National Guard to terminate its contract with its current food provider and find a new one or give the guards a daily allowance for the remainder of their time on Capitol Hill.
At the your own letterSenator Gary Peters of Michigan said the guards were “being fed chicken with the feathers still attached and raw ground beef”. As a result, he said, the 983 members of the state’s National Guard who still protected the Capitol were often forced to buy food with their own money.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said he was not aware of the reports when asked on Tuesday, but said the Pentagon plans to ensure that all guards receive “the support they deserve”. The National Guard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a live broadcast from Facebook on Tuesday night, Congressman Bill Huizenga – one of the signatories to the House letter – said he had been struggling for weeks to get adequate food for guards after worried friends and family called his office. He said there were problems with “freshness” as well as “cases of mold and other creatures in the food”. He also said that the guards were receiving raw and undercooked food.
Huizenga, a Republican, said he believed the problem was resolved. But in the past few days, he said, he has received reports of metal shavings in food – potentially steel wool pads – as well as more occurrences of raw, undercooked and “inedible” foods.
“This is not acceptable. It is not entirely acceptable,” he said.
Approximately one fifth of National Guard troops still working within the Capitol perimeter are from Michigan, said CBS affiliate WUSA9. All National Guard troops will leave Capitol facilities by March 12, the vehicle said.
This is not the first time lawmakers have questioned the treatment of guards at the Capitol. In late January, lawmakers express outrage after the guards were asked to leave the Capitol building and, instead, rest in a parking lot during their shifts. The guards were quickly allowed to enter.
Eleanor Watson contributed to the report.