[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 9 (Tuesday, January 17, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S957-S959]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                SCHEDULE

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I will note that at 9:30, after morning 
business, which the Chair has just noted, we will resume consideration 
of S. 1, the unfunded mandates bill.
  Also, I note that the Senate will recess from the hours of 12:30 p.m. 
to 2:15 p.m., in order for the weekly party luncheons to occur.
  For the information of all Senators, the majority leader has 
indicated that rollcall votes may occur prior to the 12:30 p.m. recess 
today.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
   [[Page S958]] The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the 
roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
             USDA REPORT ON THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, today the USDA issued a report analyzing 
the effects of the House Republican Personal Responsibility Act (H.R. 
4), which is part of the Contract With America. All States including 
Vermont are big losers. I suggest that all Senators read this report 
which I am inserting into the Record.
  My home State of Vermont alone will lose $10 million in Federal 
nutrition aid in 1996 according to the USDA report.
  H.R. 4 will increase malnutrition among children and the elderly. 
This Contract With America bill is antichild, antifamily, and it is 
false advertising. It promises block grants, but delivers not even a 
penny.
  The report also concludes that this bill could reduce retail food 
sales by as much as $10 billion, reduce gross farm income by as much as 
$4 billion, and cost the economy as many as 138,000 jobs.
  It could reduce the income of the average dairy farmer in Vermont by 
as much as $2,000 per year and could also double the cost of the dairy 
program nationwide.
  This is a double whammy--it will force dairy farmers to apply for 
food assistance just when that assistance is slashed.
  Nutrition funding nationwide will be cut by almost $31 billion over 
the next 5 years.
  It eliminates the Meals on Wheels Program which provides food to the 
homebound elderly.
  Seventy-five percent of the school children in Vermont will be thrown 
off the School Lunch Program. Nutrition standards for healthy school 
lunches are eliminated. And the cuts in child nutrition in Vermont 
exceed the total size of our School Breakfast Program and the Summer 
Food Service Program.
  As bad as this is, I am worried that the USDA report issued today 
greatly understates the harm that will be caused by the Contract With 
America. The report in many respects assumes that the block grants will 
be fully funded. I believe that in a couple years, they will be only 
funded at a fraction of the full amount authorized.
  America's Governors will be stunned when they read the fine print and 
realize they have to come to Washington each year and plead for money.
  States will be forced to reduce the number of people served, cut 
benefits or somehow make up for the loss with State funds.
  The effect would be even worse during a recession. Under current law, 
programs such as school lunch, food stamps, and the Child Care Food 
Program, automatically give States more money to respond to increased 
needs during periods of higher unemployment.
  This Contract With America bill changes all that and says to the 
States, ``tough luck, next time don't have a recession.''
  According to the USDA report, if that bill had been in effect over 
the last 5 years, the block grant in 1994 would have been over $12 
billion less than the food assistance actually provided--a reduction of 
about one-third.
  They are proposing a massive Federal experiment on America's 
children. If it works, I admit that Federal costs will be reduced.
  If it doesn't, and funding is not provided, millions of children, the 
elderly, and pregnant women will go hungry. Medical costs will 
skyrocket as more and more children are born disabled, and more and 
more children become handicapped in their efforts to learn.
  Before we have a wholesale dismantling of every major nutrition 
program under the guise of welfare reform, we ought to take a look at 
how this will affect hungry children.
  This is not welfare reform. Do not be fooled by this bill. It implies 
that States will get block grants to fund food assistance programs. But 
as I said earlier, not one penny is provided to states or communities 
by the bill--separate legislation would have to pass each year to 
provide funding.
  Let us not forget what happened in early 1981--hasty cuts were made 
in child nutrition programs. Those programs were cut by 28 percent. The 
cuts resulted in 3 million fewer children receiving school lunches.
  I stand ready to work with responsible Members of both parties to 
encourage work, to cut costs, to punish abuse, but I will not sacrifice 
the nutrition of America's children for legislation by bumper sticker.
  I ask unanamous consent that the USDA report be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the report was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

        [From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jan. 17, 1995]

 The Nutrition, Health, and Economic Consequences of Block Grants for 
          Federal Food Assistance Programs--Executive Summary

        The proposed Personal Responsibility Act, a key component 
     of the Contract with America, would make sweeping changes 
     that alter the very character of the existing food assistance 
     programs. Specifically, the Personal Responsibility Act, if 
     enacted, would:
       Combine all USDA food and nutrition assistance programs 
     into a single discretionary block grant to States;
       Authorize an appropriation of $35.6 billion in fiscal year 
     1996 for food and nutrition assistance;
       Eliminate all uniform national standards;
       Give States broad discretion to design food and nutrition 
     assistance programs, provided only that no more than 5 
     percent of the grant support administration, at least 12 
     percent support food assistance and nutrition education for 
     women, infants, and young children, and at least 20 percent 
     support school-based and child-care meal programs; and
       Eliminate USDA's authority to donate commodities; USDA 
     could only sell bonus commodities to States.
       The consequences of these changes on the safety net of food 
     assistance programs, the nutrition and health of low-income 
     Americans, the food and agriculture economies, and the level 
     and distribution of Federal support to States for food 
     assistance are significant.
       The Personal Responsibility Act would significantly reduce 
     federal support for food and nutrition assistance.
       Federal funding for food and nutrition assistance would 
     fall by more than $5 billion in fiscal year 1996 and nearly 
     $31 billion over 5 years (Table 1).
       All food and nutrition assistance would be forced to 
     compete for limited discretionary funds. States' ability to 
     deliver nutrition benefits would be subject to changing 
     annual appropriation priorities.
       Programs would be unable to respond to changing economic 
     circumstances. During economic downturns, funding would not 
     keep up with rising poverty and unemployment. The demand for 
     assistance to help the poor would be greatest at precisely 
     the time when state economies are in recession and tax bases 
     are shrinking.
       For example, if the Personal Responsibility Act had been in 
     place over the last five years--a period marked by both 
     economic recession and recovery--the block grant in 1994 
     would have been over $12 billion less than the food 
     assistance actually provided, a reduction of about one-third 
     (Table 2).
       States would be forced to reduce the number of people 
     served, the benefits provided, or some combination of both. 
     The bill could lead to the termination of benefits for 6 
     million food stamp recipients in fiscal year 1996.
       The reduced investment in food and nutrition assistance 
     programs and elimination of the authority to establish 
     nutrition standards will adversely affect the nutrition and 
     health of low-income families and individuals.
       The scientific link between diet and health is clear. About 
     300,000 deaths each year are linked to diet and activity 
     patterns.
       Low-income households are at greater risk of nutrition-
     related disorders and chronic disease than the general U.S. 
     population. Since the nationwide expansion of the Food Stamp 
     Program and the introduction of WIC, the gap between the 
     diets of low-income and other families has narrowed.
       The incidence of stunting among pre-school children has 
     decreased by nearly 65 percent; the incidence of low 
     birthweight has fallen from 8.3 percent to 7.0 percent.
       The prevalence of anemia among low-income pre-school 
     children has dropped by 5 percent or more for most age and 
     racial/ethnic groups.
       The Personal Responsibility Act would eliminate all federal 
     nutrition standards, including those in place to ensure that 
     America's children have access to healthy meals at school. 
     Even small improvements in average dietary intakes can have 
     great value. The modest reductions in fat, saturated fat, and 
     cholesterol intake due to the recent food labeling changes 
     were valued by the Food and Drug Administration at $4.4 
     billion to $26.5 billion over 20 years among the U.S. adult 
     population.
       [[Page S959]] The Act would also threaten the key 
     components of WIC--a tightly prescribed combination of a 
     targeted food package, nutrition counseling, and direct links 
     to health care. Rigorous studies have shown that WIC reduces 
     infant deaths, low birthweight, premature births, and other 
     problems. Every dollar spent on WIC results in between $1.77 
     and $3.13 in Medicaid savings for newborns and their mothers.
       By reducing federal support for food assistance and 
     converting all remaining food assistance to a block grant, 
     the Personal Responsibility Act would lower retail food 
     sales, reduce farm income, and increase unemployment.
       Under the proposed block grant, States could immediately 
     cash-out any and all food assistance programs in spite of 
     evidence that an in-kind benefit is more effective in 
     stimulating food purchases than a similar benefit provided in 
     cash.
       In the short-run, the bill could reduce retail food sales 
     by as much as $10 billion, reduce gross farm income by as 
     much as $4 billion, increase farm program costs, and cost the 
     economy as many as 138,000 jobs.
       In the long run, the bill could reduce employment in farm 
     production by more than 15,000 jobs and output by more than 
     $1 billion. The food processing and distribution sectors 
     could lose as many as 83,000 jobs and $9 billion in output.
       The economic effects would be felt most heavily in rural 
     America. In both the short- and long-run, rural areas would 
     suffer disproportionate job losses.
       Every $1 billion in added food assistance generates about 
     25,000 jobs, providing an automatic stabilizer in hard times.
       The proposed basis for distributing grant funds would 
     result in substantial losses for most States.
       If Congress appropriates the full amount authorized, all 
     but 8 States would lose federal funding in fiscal year 1996. 
     California could gain about $650 million; Texas could lose 
     more than $1 billion (Table 3).
       Although some States initially gain funding, all States 
     would eventually fare worse than under current law. Over 
     time, the initial gains will erode because the block grant 
     eliminates the automatic funding adjustments built into the 
     existing Food Stamp and Child Nutrition programs.

            TABLE 1.--EFFECT OF THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT ON USDA FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM COSTS           
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Fiscal year--                            
                                                    --------------------------------------------------   Total  
                                                       1996      1997      1998      1999      2000             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current law:                                                                                                    
    Food stamps/NAP................................   $27,777   $29,179    30,463   $31,758   $33,112   $152,290
    Child nutrition................................     8,681     9,269     9,903    10,556    11,283     49,692
    WIC............................................     3,924     4,231     4,245     4,379     4,513     21,291
    All other......................................       382       351       351       351       351      1,784
                                                    ------------------------------------------------------------
        Total......................................    40,764    43,029    44,962    47,042    49,260    225,057
                                                    ============================================================
Proposed law.......................................    35,600    37,138    38,756    40,457    42,214    194,166
    Difference.....................................    -5,164    -5,891    -6,206    -6,585    -7,046    -30,892
    Percent difference.............................     -12.7     -13.8     -13.8     -14.0     -14.3      -13.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes.--Based on current service program level for USDA food assistance programs in Department estimates of     
  September 1994 (excluding projected costs of Food Program Administration but including anticipated mandatory  
  spending for WIC, consistent with the Presidential policy). This table does not include the budgetary effects 
  of food programs operated by the Administration on Aging in the Department of Health and Human Services.      
The Food Stamp total includes the cost of the Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico.                      
The Child Nutrition total includes all administrative and program costs for the National School Lunch, School   
  Breakfast, Special Milk, Summer Food Service, Nutrition Education and Training, and Child and Adult Care Food 
  Programs, the value of commodities provided to schools, and support for the Food Service Management Institute.
The All Other total includes all administrative and program costs for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program,  
  the Emergency Food Assistance Program, the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, the Nutrition    
  Program for the Elderly, and Food Distribution to Charitable Institutions and Soup Kitchens and Food Banks.   
Proposed levels for the block grant in fiscal years 1997 through 2000 are increased from the 1996 amount using  
  the projected increase in total population and the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan for the preceding year.      
  Totals may not equal the sum of columns due to rounding.                                                      
This table assumes that Congress appropriates the full amount authorized in each year.                          


                                            TABLE 2.--HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATION OF FOOD ASSISTANCE BLOCK GRANT                                            
                                                                [In millions of dollars]                                                                
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       With initial reduction\1\                                Without initial reduction               
                                       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Year            Actual food                                     Difference                                               Difference             
                         assistance       Adjusted block  --------------------------------------   Adjusted block  -------------------------------------
                                              grant              Total             Percent             grant              Total             Percent     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989...............            $21,697            $18,941            -$2,756              -12.7            $21,697                N/A                N/A
1990...............             24,778             20,666             -4,112              -16.6             23,672            -$1,106               -4.5
1991...............             28,849             21,971             -6,878              -23.8             25,167             -3,682              -12.8
1992...............             33,519             23,232            -10,287              -30.7             26,612             -6,907              -20.6
1993...............             35,397             23,369            -12,028              -34.0             26,769             -8,628              -24.4
1994...............             36,928             24,374            -12,554              -34.0             27,920             -9,008              -24.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\The initial 12.7 percent reduction in the first year is equivalent to the estimated percentage reduction in food assistance funding in the first year
  of the Personal Responsibility Act as shown in Table 1.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                        
Notes.--Actual food assistance includes total federal cost of all USDA food assistance programs, excluding Food Program Administration. The cost of food
  programs operated by the Administration on Aging in the Department of Health and Human Services are not included.                                     
These figures assume that Congress would have appropriated the full amount authorized in each year. The block grant authorization is adjusted by the    
  change in total U.S. population and the Consumer Price Index for Food at Home in the preceding year (ending on July 1 for population and in May for   
  the CPI).                                                                                                                                             


    TABLE 3.--EFFECT OF THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT ON USDA FOOD    
            ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS BY STATE IN FISCAL YEAR 1996            
                        [In millions of dollars]                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Level of food assistance         Difference       
        State        ---------------------------------------------------
                        Current      Proposed      Total       Percent  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.............         $818         $713        -$105          -13
Alaska..............           97           84          -13          -13
Arizona.............          663          554         -109          -16
Arkansas............          422          403          -19           -4
California..........        4,170        4,820          650           16
Colorado............          412          417            5            1
Connecticut.........          297          248          -49          -17
Delaware............           92           58          -34          -37
District of Columbia          137           85          -52          -38
Florida.............        2,194        1,804         -389          -18
Georgia.............        1,209          934         -275          -23
Hawaii..............          215          198          -17           -8
Idaho...............          127          176           49           38
Illinois............        1,741        1,483         -258          -15
Indiana.............          713          691          -22           -3
Iowa................          297          266          -31          -11
Kansas..............          307          270          -37          -12
Kentucky............          740          582         -157          -21
Louisiana...........        1,141          765         -375          -33
Maine...............          188          167          -21          -11
Maryland............          576          404         -172          -30
Massachusetts.......          608          577          -32           -5
Michigan............        1,390        1,109         -281          -20
Minnesota...........          508          490          -18           -4
Mississippi.........          730          603         -127          -17
Missouri............          810          754          -56           -7
Montana.............          111          140           29           26
Nebraska............          187          175          -12           -6
New Hampshire.......           89           94            5            5
New Jersey..........          836          704         -132          -16
New Mexico..........          361          321          -40          -11
Nevada..............          145          150            5            3
New York............        3,101        2,661         -440          -14
North Carolina......          930          849          -81           -9
North Dakota........           86           76           -9          -11
Ohio................        1,768        1,287         -481          -27
Oklahoma............          528          475          -53          -10
Oregon..............          410          346          -64          -16
Pennsylvania........        1,617        1,465         -152           -9
Rhode Island........          128          101          -27          -21
South Carolina......          602          546          -56           -9
South Dakota........           99           95           -4           -4
Tennessee...........          983          743         -241          -24
Texas...............        3,819        2,665       -1,154          -30
Utah................          234          277          -43           18
Vermont.............           76           66          -10          -13
Virginia............          783          597         -185          -24
Washington..........          660          444         -216          -33
West Virginia.......          405          309          -96          -24
Wisconsin...........          467          442          -25           -5
Wyoming.............           57           57        (\1\)            1
                     ---------------------------------------------------
    Total...........       40,764       35,600       -5,164          -13
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Equals less than $1 million.                                         
                                                                        
Notes.--Individual cells may not sum to totals because of rounding.     
Total includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, other territories and   
  outlying areas, and Indian Tribal Organizations.                      
This table assumes that Congress appropriates the full amount authorized
  for fiscal year 1996.                                                 

  

                          ____________________