[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 716 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 716

     Designating the week of October 5 through October 9, 2020, as 
                    ``Malnutrition Awareness Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 24, 2020

Mr. Murphy (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Hassan, Mr. 
 Booker, Ms. Smith, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Manchin, Mr. King, Mr. Blumenthal, 
   Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
   Lankford, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Roberts, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. Capito) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Designating the week of October 5 through October 9, 2020, as 
                    ``Malnutrition Awareness Week''.

Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a person does not get 
        enough protein, calories, or nutrients;
Whereas the 2020 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic (referred to in 
        this preamble as the ``2020 coronavirus pandemic'')--

    (1) has resulted in a significant increase in food insecurity, which is 
linked to malnutrition; and

    (2) has nearly doubled food insufficiency rates since 2019;

Whereas the 2020 coronavirus pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on 
        children, as 13,900,000 children live in a household characterized by 
        child food insufficiency, and the rate of households with food 
        insufficient children in 2020 was more than 5 times the rate of 
        households with food insufficient children in 2019;
Whereas the impact of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic on the chronically ill has 
        forced the examination of chronic disease prevention, especially through 
        nutrient consumption and absorption, which is examined in the 2020-2030 
        Strategic Plan for NIH Nutrition Research published by the National 
        Institutes of Health;
Whereas malnutrition is a significant problem in the United States and around 
        the world, crossing all age, racial, class, gender, and geographic 
        lines;
Whereas infants, older adults, people with chronic diseases, and other 
        vulnerable populations are particularly at risk for malnutrition;
Whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that failure to provide key 
        nutrients during early childhood may result in lifelong deficits in 
        brain function;
Whereas disease-associated malnutrition affects between 30 and 50 percent of 
        patients admitted to hospitals, and the medical costs of hospitalized 
        patients with malnutrition can be 300 percent more than the medical 
        costs of properly nourished patients;
Whereas, according to the National Blueprint: Achieving Quality Malnutrition 
        Care for Older Adults, 2020 Update, as many as \1/2\ of older adults 
        living in the community are malnourished or at risk for malnutrition;
Whereas disease-associated malnutrition in older adults alone costs the United 
        States more than $51,300,000,000 each year; and
Whereas the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition established 
        Malnutrition Awareness Week to raise awareness and promote prevention of 
        malnutrition across the lifespan: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates the week of October 5 through October 9, 
        2020, as ``Malnutrition Awareness Week'';
            (2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists and other 
        nutrition professionals, health care providers, social workers, 
        advocates, caregivers, and other professionals and agencies for 
        their efforts to advance awareness, treatment, and prevention 
        of malnutrition;
            (3)(A) recognizes the importance of existing Federal 
        nutrition programs for their role in combating malnutrition; 
        and
            (B) supports emergency funding for those critical Federal 
        nutrition programs for the duration of the Coronavirus Disease 
        2019 (COVID-19) pandemic;
            (4) recognizes--
                    (A) the importance of medical nutrition therapy 
                under the Medicare program under title XVIII of the 
                Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); and
                    (B) the need for vulnerable populations to have 
                access to nutrition counseling;
            (5) recognizes the importance of the innovative research 
        conducted by the National Institutes of Health on--
                    (A) nutrition, dietary patterns, and the human 
                gastrointestinal microbiome; and
                    (B) how those factors influence the prevention or 
                development of chronic disease throughout the lifespan; 
                and
            (6)(A) supports access to a malnutrition screening and 
        assessment; and
            (B) encourages the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
        to evaluate--
                    (i) the provision of a malnutrition screening and 
                assessment through telehealth during the Coronavirus 
                Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency; and
                    (ii) the adoption of malnutrition electronic 
                clinical quality measures.
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