[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 126 (Monday, September 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
  SUPPORT OF THE BETTER NUTRITION AND HEALTH FOR CHILDREN ACT OF 1994

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, Congress demonstrated its support for 
the health and well-being of our Nation's children through its recent 
approval of legislation which reauthorizes important Federal nutrition 
and school lunch programs through fiscal year 1998. The Better 
Nutrition and Health for Children Act of 1994 will help to ensure that 
millions of children continue to have access to the food necessary to 
keep them healthy and learning.
  According to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau last fall, 36.9 
million Americans lived in poverty in 1992. This increase, from 33.6 
million in 1990, represents the largest increase of people living in 
poverty since the 1960's. More distressing, however, is that children 
continue to be the poorest age group in the country. Over the past 20 
years, the number of American children in poverty has increased by more 
than 37 percent. Further, the Center on Hunger, Poverty, and Nutrition 
Policy claims that if child poverty trends continue as they have over 
the past two decades, nearly 2.8 million more American children will 
fall into poverty by the year 2000. In a country with our resources, 
this is simply unacceptable.
  A study coordinated by the Food Research and Action Center in 1991 
estimated that approximately 5.5 million American children under the 
age of 12--61,000 in my home State of Maryland--go hungry each month 
and that millions more are at risk of hunger. Further, the study 
indicated that hungry children are two to three times more likely than 
other children to have suffered from individual health problems, such 
as unwanted weight loss, fatigue, irritability, and headaches. Clearly, 
it is unreasonable to expect children who are faced with such 
distractions to function effectively in and outside the classroom.
  I would also point out that this legislation is especially important 
in light of the recent Senate passage of the reauthorization of the 
elementary and Secondary Education Act. How can the important education 
initiatives set forth in that legislation succeed if its major 
participants and benefactors--the children--are too sick and hungry to 
concentrate in the classroom?
  The necessity for adequate funding for these programs is painfully 
obvious. If our Nation is to succeed in an increasingly competitive 
world, efforts to guarantee children access to basic nutrition must be 
maintained and expanded.
  For many years, the Federal Government exhibited a strong commitment 
to funding for food assistance programs. In response to large numbers 
of American draftees failing their physical examinations because of 
nutritional deficiencies, President Truman proposed and Congress 
enacted the National School Lunch Act of 1946. This marked the 
beginning of congressional focus on food assistance programs. The 
stated purpose of this legislation was to provide both a market for 
agricultural production and to improve the health and well-being of our 
Nation's youth.
  Under the influence of President Johnson's broad domestic legislative 
agenda in the 1960's, the primary purpose of food distribution programs 
began to shift from surplus disposal to furnishing nutritious food to 
low-income households with needy children. The issuance of a 1961 
Executive order which mandated that the Department of Agriculture 
[USDA] increase the quantity and variety of foods donated for needy 
households further established the program's direction. Congress 
continued to expand food and nutrition programs during the 1960's and 
1970's, increasing reimbursements and expanding program eligibility to 
cover a wider range of low-income families. Critical new programs were 
put into effect, including the WIC Program and nutrition programs 
targeting the elderly.

  However, after almost 45 years of relatively uninterrupted growth, 
Federal funding for these critical food assistance programs was 
drastically cut through the Reagan administration's Omnibus 
Reconciliation Act of 1981. This measure, which reduced Federal funding 
for all domestic programs by $35 billion in fiscal year 1992, cut 
approximately $1.4 billion from child nutrition programs.
  The School Lunch Program received the target dollar amount reduction, 
losing almost $1 billion in fiscal year 1982. The Special Milk Program 
was cut by 77 percent; grant funding for the Nutrition, Education and 
Training Program [NET] was cut from $15 million to $5 million; and the 
Summer Food Service Program was reduced by 54 percent below the 
expected fiscal year 1982 level.
  Efforts to restore some of the cutbacks in these programs began in 
the mid-eighties with the passage of the food stamp amendments to the 
1985 farm bill and the School Lunch and Child Nutrition Amendments of 
1986. In 1988, Congress passed the Hunger Prevention Act, major 
legislation that mandated funding for commodity purchases for soup 
kitchens and food banks, expanded reimbursements and eligibility for 
the School Breakfast, Child Care Food, and Summer Food Service 
Programs, and changed food stamp benefits and eligibility rules.
  I am pleased that largely through these congressional efforts, 
Federal funding for food assistance programs has increased since the 
cutbacks of the early eighties. Today, these programs also enjoy the 
support of the Clinton administration. President Clinton's commitment 
to our Nation's children and low-income families is reflected in his 
fiscal year 1995 budget request for a $2 billion increase for food 
assistance programs.
  The bill we have approved will increase total spending on nutrition 
programs and school lunches by approximately $174 million over 5 years 
and will extend funding for start up and expansion of school breakfast 
and summer food service programs. It also reauthorizes WIC, school 
lunch and breakfast programs, the Summer Food Service Program and the 
Child and Adult Care Food Program.
  The WIC Program, which provides food vouchers and nutrition education 
to pregnant women and young children, is expected to support an average 
of 7.2 million participants at an average monthly cost of $42.38 per 
person per month in fiscal year 1995. The General Accounting Office 
estimates that WIC services to pregnant women who gave birth in 1990 
cost the Federal Government nearly $296 million, but could save a 
projected $1.036 billion in Federal, State, local and private dollars 
by the year 2008. To date, this important program has served almost 
90,000 of more than 210,000 eligibles in my home State of Maryland.
  The bill will make children from low-income families who already 
qualify for Head Start automatically eligible for free meals under the 
Child and Adult Care Food Program. In order to ensure that children 
continue to receive nutritious meals, this legislation also 
reauthorizes the Summer Food Service Program which will appropriate 
Federal funds for meals served to children by both public and nonprofit 
organizations during the summertime.

  The National School Lunch Program, the oldest of all child nutrition 
programs, serves more than 25 million meals daily and boasts a 90 
percent participation rate of schools nationwide. The average daily 
participation rate in Maryland is estimated to be around 374,855 
children out of a public school enrollment of 763,274. That's nearly 
half of all children enrolled in the Maryland public school system.
  This bill appropriately recognizes that in providing food assistance 
to needy kids, it is equally important to make certain that the food 
provided is nutritious. The bill requires that the USDA improve the 
nutritional value of commodities provided to schools and guarantee that 
those commodities have nutrition labels. To achieve this goal, USDA has 
increased the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables that will be 
offered through schools lunch programs by direct USDA commodity 
purchases.
  The bill also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to give technical 
assistance to schools and other participants in the program to help in 
meeting specific nutritional guidelines under the school lunch program. 
Such assistance would include training in preparation of low-fat forms 
of common food items and providing special meals for children whose 
medical conditions dictate unique dietary essentials.
  I would like to take this opportunity to recognize one of several 
school districts from across the country which is already meeting some 
of the Federal standards for healthier lunches. According to a study 
published last month by the Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, 
Maryland's Howard County is one of several school districts currently 
providing well-balanced meals to its students.
  The Washington Post recently reported that among the innovative 
programs at work in Howard County public schools is a option called 
Coach's Corner which provides a 1,000 calorie, low-fat meal for 
athletes and other interested students. In an effort to promote a 
greater understanding and appreciation of a nutritious diet, Howard 
County also provides nutrition education to students and faculty and 
nutrition training to all cafeteria managers.
  Improvements made by school districts such as Howard County should 
serve as models of reform for other school lunch programs across the 
country.
  Finally, I would note that in the context of the current debate on 
health care reform, this bill takes on an added significance. According 
to a Harvard University study, every dollar spent on prenatal care 
through the WIC Program saves as much as $3 in future health care 
costs. The Department of Agriculture also estimates that every dollar 
spent on prenatal care through the WIC Program results in a significant 
Medicaid savings within the first 60 days after birth. In addition to 
the cost savings, this early investment results in increased 
birthweight, improved motor and visual skills and a reduction of a 
anemia among low-income children.
  Similar benefits can be found among participants in the school lunch 
and breakfast programs. The community childhood hunger identification 
project reports that children who participate in the school lunch 
program miss fewer school days, enjoy better overall health and improve 
significantly in standardized achievement test scores. It also stands 
to reason that healthier children with good eating habits translates 
into healthier adults with fewer medical problems.
  It is estimated that low-income children receive from one-third to 
one-half of their daily nutrient intake from the school lunch program. 
Ellen Haas, Assistant Secretary for Food and Consumer Services at the 
Department of Agriculture, accurately noted that ``for low-income 
children, a school meal is often their only nutritious meal of the 
day.''
  Mr. President, I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this 
legislation. This Nation's long record of supporting child nutrition 
programs illustrates the high priority we have placed and should 
continue to place on the health and well-being of our most precious 
resource--our children. It is not only sound economic policy, but is--
put simply--the right thing to do.

                          ____________________