110 SRES 634 ATS: Recognizing July 30, 2008, as the 40th U.S. Senate 2008-07-30 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

III 110th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 634 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 30, 2008 Mr. Casey (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Roberts, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry September 22 (legislative day, September 17), 2008 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Recognizing July 30, 2008, as the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the resolution establishing the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs.

Whereas, on April 26, 1968, after viewing the CBS Emmy-award winning documentary Hunger in America, Senator George McGovern introduced a resolution to establish a Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs; Whereas the resolution establishing the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs was enacted on July 30, 1968; Whereas Senator George McGovern served as the Chairman of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs from 1968 to 1977; Whereas July 30, 2008, marks the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the resolution establishing the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, which later became the foundation of the current Subcommittee on Nutrition and Food Assistance, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and General Legislation Jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Whereas Senator George McGovern was committed to exposing the failure of Federal food assistance programs to reach citizens lacking in adequate quantities and quality of food; Whereas Senators George McGovern and Robert Dole worked tirelessly in their respective roles on the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs to develop a bipartisan Federal response to hunger; Whereas the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs played a key role in educating Congress, the Federal Government, and the Nation at large about the magnitude of hunger in the United States; Whereas the work of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs was vital to reforming the Federal food stamp program, culminating in the passage of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), which made the program more efficient and more accessible to those most in need by finally eliminating the requirement that Americans pay for a portion of their food stamps; Whereas the work of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs was essential to expanding the school lunch program established under the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and permanently establishing the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), the child and adult care food program under section 17 of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766), and the summer food service program for children under section 13 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1761); Whereas the work of the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs was instrumental in the establishment of the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) (WIC); Whereas the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry remains committed to continuing the important work begun by Senators George McGovern and Robert Dole of providing a Federal response to hunger; Whereas the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry provided a record-level amount of nutrition funding in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246; 122 Stat. 1651) to reform and strengthen Federal nutrition assistance programs; Whereas, through the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246; 122 Stat. 1651), the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry made key improvements to the food stamp program, including— (1)increasing the food purchasing ability of low-income households by accounting for food cost inflation; (2)increasing the minimum benefit; (3)encouraging retirement and education savings; and (4)allowing families to account for child care costs in calculating food assistance; Whereas, through the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246; 122 Stat. 1651), the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry helped to strengthen the domestic food assistance safety net by providing significant funding to increase commodity purchases for local area food banks; Whereas, in 2008, more than 28,000,000 people in the United States participate in the food stamp program; Whereas, in 2008, more than 17,500,000 low-income children receive free or reduced-price meals through the national school lunch program; Whereas despite Federal food assistance programs, 35,500,000 people in the United States, including 12,600,000 children, continue to live in households considered to be food insecure; Whereas children who live in households lacking access to sufficient food are more likely to be in poorer physical health than children from food secure households; and Whereas children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of food insecurity because undernutrition can have adverse impacts on emotional health, behavior, school performance, and cognitive development: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)recognizes July 30, 2008, as the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the resolution establishing the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs; (2)recognizes the substantial contributions the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs made in ensuring that effective and efficient Federal food assistance programs were accessible to those most in need; (3)recognizes that hunger continues to be an issue plaguing the United States; and (4)supports the continued efforts of Federal, State, and local governments and private non-profit organizations to eradicate hunger in the United States.