[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1869 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1869
To require the President to call a White House Conference on Food and
Nutrition.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 2, 2009
Mr. McGovern (for himself and Mrs. Emerson) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the President to call a White House Conference on Food and
Nutrition.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``The White House Conference on Food
and Nutrition''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Hunger and undernutrition are political conditions that
can be solved.
(2) Access to healthy food and good nutrition should be a
fundamental right of all Americans.
(3) Nearly 40 years have passed since the United States
convened a White House conference to comprehensively address
the issues of food, hunger, health, and nutrition in America.
(4) More than 35,500,000 Americans live in households that
face a constant struggle against hunger, 12,600,000 of whom are
children and 5,000,000 of whom are seniors, the disabled, and
the critically ill.
(5) The Government spends more than $55,000,000,000 every
year responding to the concurrent epidemics of hunger and
undernutrition, yet the number of Americans facing hunger
continues to grow and our Nation's nutritional health is
declining.
(6) Conservative cost estimates show that the true cost of
hunger and illness related to undernutrition in America is at
least $90,000,000,000 a year, more than half of which is paid
by Medicare and Medicaid.
(7) Appropriate food and nutrition can save the United
States billions of dollars in health care costs by preventing
or delaying the progression to late-stage disease for tens of
millions of Americans who live with chronic diseases, such as
diabetes, HIV, AIDS, and heart disease. The costs of the
effects and treatments of those diseases are significantly
exacerbated by hunger, food insecurity, and undernutrition.
(8) A national discussion of the root causes of hunger,
food insecurity, and undernutrition, as well as identification
of solutions to these epidemics, can lead to action to
implement such solutions and to end hunger in America.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONFERENCE.
(a) Authority To Call Conference.--Not later than December 31,
2010, the President shall call the White House Conference on Food and
Nutrition (in this Act referred to as the ``Conference'') to be
convened not later than 18 months after the selection of the Policy
Committee established in section 4, in order to make fundamental policy
recommendations on ways to end hunger and to improve nutrition in the
United States and to implement the purposes set forth in subsection
(c).
(b) Planning and Direction.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the
Treasury (in this Act referred to as the ``Cochairs'') shall plan,
conduct, and convene the Conference, in consultation with the Surgeon
General.
(c) Purposes of the Conference.--The purposes of the Conference are
to--
(1) identify viable solutions for ending hunger in the
United States;
(2) review the current structure, scope, and effectiveness
of existing legislation and programs at the Federal, State, and
local levels that provide for the nutritional needs of food-
insecure people living in the United States;
(3) determine the extent to which current Federal, State,
and local programs that provide for the nutritional health of
Americans can better use available resources and ensure greater
coordination among such programs;
(4) identify new ways to utilize the abundant agricultural
resources of the United States to meet the nutritional needs of
all Americans;
(5) highlight emerging and innovative programs from the
public and private sectors, including community-based and
faith-based organizations that effectively address the
nutrition needs of vulnerable Americans and recommend such
programs as can be reasonably and cost-effectively replicated;
(6) identify opportunities for effective partnerships
between the Government, industry, labor, healthcare, and the
nonprofit sectors to fight hunger in the United States;
(7) explore the possibility of creating a Federal office
within the Department of Agriculture to oversee the Nation's
response to persistent and widespread hunger and food
insecurity, to include the oversight and coordination of all
Federal, State, and local antihunger programs;
(8) bring public attention to the more than 35,500,000
people living in the United States that face a constant
struggle against hunger, food insecurity, and inadequate
nutrition;
(9) illustrate the medical, developmental, and educational
impact of hunger, food insecurity, and inadequate nutrition,
and the potential savings to the United States health care
system, educational system, and other sectors when appropriate
food is available to the critically and chronically ill;
(10) build understanding of the true cost of hunger in the
United States, to include lost wages, diminished stamina,
reduced capacity to learn, and the impact of despair; and
(11) build understanding that the ever-burgeoning dual
epidemic of hunger and undernutrition is a matter of national
security.
SEC. 4. POLICY COMMITTEE; RELATED COMMITTEES.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than June 30, 2009, there is
established a Policy Committee comprising of 17 members to be selected
as follows:
(1) Presidential appointees.--Nine members shall be
selected by the President and shall include--
(A) 3 members who are officers or employees of the
United States, including the Surgeon General; and
(B) 6 members with experience in addressing the
needs of food-insecure and undernourished people in the
United States.
(2) House appointees.--
(A) Two members shall be selected by the Speaker of
the House of Representatives after consultation with
the chairperson of the Committee on Education and
Labor, the chairperson of the Committee on Ways and
Means, and the chairperson of the Committee on
Agriculture, of the House of Representatives.
(B) Two members shall be selected by the minority
leader of the House of Representatives, after
consultation with the ranking minority members of such
committees.
(3) Senate appointees.--
(A) Two members shall be selected by the majority
leader of the Senate, after consultation with members
of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions, the Committee on Agriculture, and the
Committee on Finance, of the Senate.
(B) Two members shall be selected by the minority
leader of the Senate, after consultation with members
of such committees.
(b) Voting; Chairperson.--
(1) The Policy Committee shall act by the vote of a
majority of the members present. A quorum of Committee members
shall not be required to conduct Committee business.
(2) The Surgeon General shall serve as the chairperson of
the Policy Committee. The chairperson may vote only to break a
tie vote of the other members of the Policy Committee.
(c) Duties of the Policy Committee.--The Policy Committee shall
initially meet at the call of the Cochairs, not later than 30 days
after the last member is selected under subsection (a). Subsequent
meetings of the Policy Committee shall be held at the call of the
chairperson. Through meetings, hearings, and working sessions, the
Policy Committee shall--
(1) make recommendations to the Cochairs to facilitate the
timely convening of the Conference;
(2) submit to the Cochairs a proposed agenda for the
Conference not later than 90 days after the first meeting of
the Policy Committee;
(3) make recommendations for the delegates of the
Conference;
(4) establish the number of delegates to be selected under
section 5; and
(5) establish an executive committee consisting of 3
members of the Policy Committee to work with delegates of the
Conference.
SEC. 5. CONFERENCE DELEGATES.
To carry out the purposes of the Conference, the Cochairs shall
bring together delegates representative of the spectrum of thought in
the field of food and nutrition, without regard to political
affiliation or past partisan activity, who shall include--
(1) representatives of Federal, State, and local
governments;
(2) professional people and laypeople who are working in
the field of food, health, nutrition, and economic security;
and
(3) representatives of the general public who are affected
by hunger in the United States.
SEC. 6. CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Administration.--In administering this section, the Cochairs
shall--
(1) provide written notice to all members of the Policy
Committee of each meeting, hearing, or working session of such
Committee not later than 48 hours before the occurrence of such
meeting, hearing, or working session;
(2) request the cooperation and assistance of the heads of
such other Federal departments and agencies as may be
appropriate, including the detailing of personnel;
(3) make available for public comment a proposed agenda
prepared by the Policy Committee, which will reflect to the
greatest extent possible the major issues facing the field of
food and nutrition consistent with the purposes of the
Conference set forth in section 3(c);
(4) prepare and make available background materials that
the Cochairs deem necessary for the use of delegates to the
Conference; and
(5) employ such additional personnel as may be necessary to
carry out the provisions of this Act without regard to
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing
appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to
chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title
relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates.
(b) Duties.--In carrying out the Cochairs's responsibilities and
functions under this section, the Cochairs shall ensure that--
(1) the proposed agenda prepared under subsection (a)(3) is
published in the Federal Register not later than 30 days after
such agenda is approved by the Policy Committee;
(2) the personnel employed under subsection (a)(5) are
fairly balanced in terms of points of views represented and are
appointed without regard to political affiliation or previous
partisan activities;
(3) the recommendations of the Conference are not
inappropriately influenced by any public official or by any
special interest, but instead are the result of the independent
and collective judgment of the delegates of the Conference; and
(4) before the Conference is convened--
(A) current and adequate statistical data
(including decennial census data) and other information
on food and nutrition in the United States; and
(B) such information as may be necessary to
evaluate Federal programs and policies relating to food
and nutrition;
which the Cochairs may obtain by making grants to or entering
into an agreement with, public agencies or nonprofit
organizations, are readily available in advance of the
Conference to the delegates.
(c) Gifts.--The Cochairs may accept, on behalf of the United
States, gifts (in cash or in kind, including voluntary and
uncompensated services), which shall be available to carry out this
Act. Gifts of cash shall be available in addition to amounts
appropriated to carry out this title. Gifts may be earmarked by the
donor or the executive committee for a specific purpose.
(d) Records.--The Cochairs shall maintain records regarding--
(1) the sources, amounts, and uses of gifts accepted under
subsection (c); and
(2) the identity of each person receiving assistance to
carry out this Act, and the amount of such assistance received
by each such person.
SEC. 7. REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE.
(a) Preliminary Report.--Not later than 100 days after the
Conference adjourns, the Policy Committee shall prepare a preliminary
report on the Conference which shall be published in the Federal
Register and submitted to the chief executive officers of the States.
The Policy Committee shall request that the chief executive officers of
the States submit to the Policy Committee, not later than 45 days after
receiving such report, their views and findings on such report.
(b) Final Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date on which
the Conference adjourns, the Policy Committee shall--
(1) prepare a final report of the Conference which shall
include a compilation of the views and findings of the chief
executive officers of the States received under subsection (a);
and
(2) publish in the Federal Register, and transmit to the
President and to Congress, the recommendations for the
administrative action and the legislation necessary to
implement the recommendations contained in such report.
SEC. 8. STATUS REPORTS.
(a) Initial Status Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date
on which the Conference adjourns, the Surgeon General shall--
(1) prepare a status report documenting the implementation
of the recommendations contained in the final report described
in section 7(b)(1); and
(2) publish in the Federal Register, and transmit to the
President and to Congress, such status report.
(b) Subsequent Status Reports.--Not later than 5 years after the
date on which the Conference adjourns, and every 5 years thereafter
until all recommendations in the final report described in section
7(b)(1) are achieved, the Comptroller General shall--
(1) prepare a status report documenting the implementation
of the recommendations contained in such final report; and
(2) publish in the Federal Register, and transmit to the
President and to Congress, such status report.
SEC. 9. DEFINITION OF STATE.
For the purposes of this Act, the term ``State'' means any of the
several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Authorization.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this Act--
(A) such sums as may be necessary for the first
fiscal year in which the Policy Committee plans the
Conference and for the following fiscal year; and
(B) such sums as may be necessary for the fiscal
year in which the Conference is held.
(2) Limitation.--Any new spending authority or new
authority to enter into contracts under this Act, and under
which the United States is obligated to make outlays, shall be
effective only to the extent, and in such amounts, as are
provided in advance in appropriations Acts.
(b) Availability of Funds.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), funds
appropriated to carry out this Act and funds received as gifts
under section 6(c) shall remain available for obligation or
expenditure until the expiration of the 1-year period beginning
on the date the Conference adjourns.
(2) Unobligated funds.--Except as provided in paragraph
(3), any such funds neither expended nor obligated before the
expiration of the 1-year period beginning on the date the
Conference adjourns shall be returned to the United States
Treasury.
(3) Conference not convened.--If the Conference is not
convened before December 31, 2010, a trust fund shall be
established and such funds shall only be available for a future
Conference on Food and Nutrition.
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