[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 35 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S2101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COCHRAN:
  S. 1613. A bill to amend the National School Lunch Act to provide 
greater flexibility to schools to meet the Dietary Guidelines for 
Americans under the school lunch and school breakfast programs, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.


          the national school lunch act amendment act of 1996

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the bill that I am introducing 
today will amend the National School Lunch Act to provide greater 
flexibility to schools to meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 
under the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.
  The National School Lunch Program is a program that works.
  The National School Lunch Program currently operates in over 92,000 
schools and serves approximately 26 million children each day. In my 
State of Mississippi approximately 7 out of 10 children participate in 
the School Lunch Program. It is very important to have the flexibility 
to serve the children healthy meals while reducing time consuming 
paperwork.
  The Healthy Meals for Healthy Americans Act of 1994 contained 
provisions to improve and simplify the National School Lunch Program. 
It included a requirement that schools implement the Dietary Guidelines 
for Americans.
  We must allow for local and regional food preferences. Further, not 
every school district has the resources to conduct sophisticated 
nutrient analysis of each meal or to hire a nutritionist.
  The legislation that I am introducing today would not delete or 
postpone in any way the requirement that the School Lunch Program 
implement the Dietary Guidelines in a timely manner. Rather, my 
legislation will allow local schools to implement the Dietary 
Guidelines with greater program flexibility and less expense.
  This legislation has the strong support of the school food service 
administrators in Mississippi.
  I urge Senators to support it.
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