[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10197-H10200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3874, WILLIAM F. GOODLING CHILD NUTRITION
REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1998
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the conference report on the bill (H.R. 3874) to amend the National
School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide
children with increased access to food and nutrition assistance, to
simplify program operations and improve program management, to extend
certain authorities contained in those Acts through fiscal year 2003,
and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
(For conference report and statement see proceedings of the House of
October 6, 1998 at page H-9680.)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling).
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am not sure who is in charge of scheduling. Obviously it has nothing
to do with the order of importance. The President says we do not do
anything in education. Here we are at 10 minutes after midnight with
three very, very substantive pieces of legislation. I am sure the
President is not watching television, so he will not know that we did
something again. This is number 15, 16 and 17, as a matter of fact,
from this committee that we are doing at this wonderful hour in the
morning.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3874 is the reauthorization act of 1998 and it is
one of the most important bills we will enact. Its main purpose is to
provide our Nation's children and participants in the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
with vital nutritional assistance.
Long before I came to the House, I was familiar with the School Lunch
Program. As a former educator, I could see firsthand the importance of
providing nutritious meals to children in order to ensure that they had
the health and energy they needed to do well in school.
I believe the legislation we are considering this morning will go a
long
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way toward improving the operation of these programs, freeing them from
fraud and abuse and ensuring that children are provided with nutritious
meals.
I would like to mention a few key provisions of the legislation.
First, the legislation provides additional flexibility to States and
local providers of nutrition programs. Second, the Summer Food Service
Program is amended to encourage greater participation by private,
nonprofit organizations. This change is particularly important to rural
areas, some of which I represent, where it is otherwise difficult to
find program sponsors. Third, this legislation includes key provisions
that address fraud and abuse in both the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants and Children and the Child and Adult Care
Food Program. Next, this legislation modifies current nutrition
programs in order to provide snacks to schoolchildren participating in
school or community-based afterschool programs with an educational or
enrichment purpose. Our Nation is currently undertaking efforts to
reduce juvenile crime. Children participating in afterschool programs
are less likely to engage in delinquent activities. I believe it is
important that we support such programs by providing participants with
a nutritious meal.
Last but certainly not least I am pleased this agreement makes
permanent automatic eligibility under the Child and Adult Care Food
Program for children participating in the Even Start Family Literacy
Program. We will now be able to provide the children of some of our
most needy families who are making an effort to improve the quality of
their life and the lives of their children with nutritional assistance.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good bipartisan bill. I want to acknowledge
those Members who contributed their time and effort to crafting this
legislation. First I would like to thank the gentleman from Delaware
(Mr. Castle) who spearheaded the development of this legislation in the
Committee on Education and the Workforce. Working with him were the
chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families the
gentleman from California (Mr. Riggs), the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Clay), the gentleman from California (Mr. Martinez) and the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Woolsey).
From the Senate side, I would like to mention the efforts of Richard
Lugar, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Nutrition
and Forestry, staff from both the House and the Senate who worked on
this legislation, including Lynn Selmser, Vic Klatt, Alex Nock, Marci
Phillips, Dave Johnson, Mike Ruffner, Dan Spellacy, Mark Halverson and
Ed Barron.
Senators Mitch McConnell, Thad Cochran, Patrick Leahy and Tom Harkin
have also contributed greatly to the final version of this important
legislation.
On a personal note, I want to thank Senator Leahy, whom I have sat
across at many House-Senate conferences and have always found to be
fair and respectful of our differences and working in the best
interests of our children, for offering a motion in the conference to
name this important reauthorization after me. I am deeply honored and
profoundly humbled by his gesture and that of my colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, this bill goes a long way in improving our Nation's
child nutrition programs. I would like to stress that it makes these
changes without spending any additional Federal dollars. These are
important programs that provide nutritional assistance to millions of
individuals. By strengthening these programs, we will ensure that they
will continue to feed children and provide nutritional assistance to
participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants and Children for years to come.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
(Mr. CLAY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the President were awake at this time of
night and watching these proceedings, I am sure that he would say that
while he is pleased that this important measure is moving forward, he
is also disappointed that we have yet to tackle even more critical
priorities in education. This Congress has failed to take action on
reducing class sizes. This Congress has failed to take action to
address crumbling and overcrowded schools. This Congress has failed to
take action on revitalizing our public schools. If this Congress fails
to take action on these critical education priorities, we are
shortchanging America's schoolchildren. I am sure that would be the
response that our President would make.
This bill, the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Act of 1998, before the House is the product of bipartisan work and an
excellent example of what can be accomplished when we join forces to
address problems facing our Nation's youth. This important legislation
firmly places our child nutrition programs on the path to serve the
needs of America's children in the 21st century.
H.R. 3874 expands and improves the focus of child nutrition programs
in numerous ways. First, it ensures that the Summer Food Service
Program will reach more needy children with more nutritious meals.
Second, the bill adds provisions to guard against fraud in the WIC
program. In addition, it establishes a universal school breakfast pilot
project which will examine the close link between education and
nutrition.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, and most importantly, this legislation enables
institutions providing afterschool care to receive reimbursement for
meal supplements served to children under the age of 18. This
supplement is one more incentive for parents and children to
participate in productive, afterschool programs.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to extend my thanks for the hard work
of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), the gentleman from
Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the ranking subcommittee member the gentleman
from California (Mr. Martinez) for crafting this legislation. I
especially want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey)
who spearheaded much of the reauthorization on our committee. Her work
has been invaluable and many of the bill's provisions are based on
legislative proposals that she championed.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a positive step forward. I urge its
adoption by the House.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) who championed this bill through
our committee.
Mr. CASTLE. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling)
and appreciate tremendously his effort in this direction. I do
appreciate the work of the minority members on this bill as well as all
the staff individuals as well.
I would say something to the ranking member before I get into the
goodness of this bill, and I mean this very sincerely, because it
really has bothered me because the President came here in January and
he talked about reducing class size, as the gentleman has indicated,
and I think he is committed to that.
{time} 0020
He talked about rebuilding, revamping schools, which I think he is
also committed to, but I think we all need to recall that the funding
mechanism that he talked about, that was the tobacco legislation
funding which would not be. Ever since it has been very apparent for at
least 3 or 4 months that that was not going to pass, there has been no
shift into any other kind of funding put forward by the White House or
anybody else, and I think we need to recognize that fact.
I would like to do these things, too. Maybe the Federal Government
should not be doing it but the President should not keep giving the
illusion that this can be done because the funding is simply not there.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. CASTLE. I yield to the gentleman from Missouri.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, we find monies for all other kinds of
products. I would think that we would find money for these most
essential projects that the country needs.
Mr. CASTLE. Reclaiming my time, they always have been done by the
[[Page H10199]]
State and local governments, and secondly it seems to me that if the
White House is referencing them and wants to get them done and puts up
the money in the source of the tobacco money and then loses that, they
have some obligation to come back and try to help out.
I just make a point. I do not want to make a fight of it tonight. It
is too late, but I do think we have to recognize that. Let us talk
about something that is good, which is this bill, which the gentleman
worked on, and I have comments which I will submit when I revise and
extend, but I just want to comment that I am very pleased to support
this legislation.
I truly am pleased with the work that everybody did on it. It could
not have happened otherwise. This is not an easy piece of legislation.
We have had some tremendous staff work on it. It has been, frankly, a
real pleasure to shepherd the bill through the legislative process. It
really was a collaborative effort with Republicans and Democrats, with
the House and the Senate working on this, and with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture which was tremendously helpful on this.
This is truly, I think, a strong bipartisan bill. It is the kind of
bill we should do at 4:00 in the afternoon so people can see what we
can do by working together. I would like to thank those who worked on
it, particularly the chairman and certainly the gentleman from
California (Mr. Martinez) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay)
who worked so very hard on this, and the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Woolsey) who is on the floor here, who worked so very hard on it.
The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) deserves special
recognition. He has been a long time supporter of child nutrition
programs and it is why it was such a pleasure to vote in conference to
name this bill after our distinguished chairman, and so now we have
before us the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Authorization Act.
While I realize that we have not been able to address everyone's
concerns with this bill, although we got close to it, I do believe we
have an excellent compromise that will go a long way towards improving
our Nation's child nutrition programs by reducing red tape and
bureaucracy, finding and punishing fraud and abuse, giving program
providers more flexibility, ensuring our Nation's children have access
to healthy meals in schools, in child care settings, in after-school
programs and during the summer months, and providing low-income
pregnant and postpartum women, their infants and young children, access
to nutritious foods.
Frankly, one of the greatest accomplishments is the fact that we have
been able to make these important changes without blowing the caps of
our budget. I could go on about what else is in here but I think the
people on the floor here tonight are generally familiar with it.
I would just like to close by thanking everybody who has worked on
this because without that sincere bipartisan effort it is not the kind
of bill we would be able to get done.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Woolsey).
(Ms. WOOLSEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I doubt that I will use 5 minutes. Mr.
Speaker, it gives me such great pleasure to rise in support of H.R.
3874, the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act of
1998. That is a lot to say, Mr. Speaker. One has to be awake to do
that.
This legislation will benefit children in schools and child care
facilities across our Nation. Our teens will be safer because it will
be easier for schools and community organizations to offer them after-
school programs.
Elementary students are going to enter the classroom ready to learn
and able to do better work in school because this legislation takes an
important first step towards making breakfast available at school for
all elementary school children.
H.R. 3874 will allow 5 states to provide school breakfasts to all
their students free of charge. Two studies have proven that kids who
eat breakfast improve both their grades and their school behavior.
In today's world, where two working parents are the norm and long
commutes common, more and more families are out the door, on the road,
early in the morning, with no time to sit down for breakfast. Whether
we like it or not, children, even when they have food at home, leave
their home and arrive at school hungry.
Unless we want to pass a law requiring every family to feed their
kids breakfast before school and then hire a bunch of breakfast police
to enforce it, we need to start looking at school breakfast programs in
a different way, and this bill does just that.
This bill also makes it easier for schools and community
organizations to offer after-school programs to teenagers by making it
easier to pay for their snacks.
We know that the vast majority of juvenile crime and teen pregnancies
occur after the school bell and before the dinner bell. We desperately
need more after-school programs for adolescents, but feeding
adolescents, even when it is just a snack, can be expensive.
H.R. 3874 will open the child and adult care food programs to low
income teens and to more after-school programs. This is not Twinkies
for teens. The Police Athletic League and other law enforcement
organizations have strongly endorsed the benefits of after-school
programs for adolescents. This legislation will make more of these
programs possible and give teens a place to be after school.
H.R. 3874 will benefit millions of children and I would say to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) that he can be proud to have
this bill carry his name.
Children are only 25 percent of this country's population but they
are 100 percent of our future. The William F. Goodling Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Act is a sound investment in America's most precious
resource: Our children. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I will just close by reciting the 21 programs that came
from our committee: Higher Education Act, Reading Excellence Act,
Dollars to the Classroom Act, D.C. Scholarship, Prepaid College Tuition
Plans, Job Training Reform, Emergency Student Loans, Quality Head
Start, School Nutrition, Charter Schools, Drug Education Initiative, A-
plus Savings Accounts, $500 million more for Special Education, Loan
Forgiveness for New Teachers, Teacher Testing, Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, High-Tech Job Skills/Vocational Education,
Bilingual Education Reform, Prohibition on New Federal School Tests,
Equitable Child Care Resolution, Juvenile Justice.
That is a pretty healthy menu, I believe.
My friend from Delaware did not want to take the gentleman from
Missouri on. I want to make very clear that the whole idea of pupil/
teacher ratio has nothing to do with the Federal Government whatsoever.
That is none of our business and if there are not quality teachers in
the classroom, it would not matter whether they are one-on-one. If that
is something we want to do, fine.
Secondly, I want to make very sure that everybody understands, the
Federal Government has nothing to do with maintenance and building of
school buildings.
What the Federal Government does have something to do with is putting
the 40 percent that they promised 30 years ago into special education,
and every year the Los Angeles Unified School District would have had
$18 million more, every year, to do whatever they wanted to do about
class size and to do whatever they wanted to do about maintaining
buildings. That was a responsibility because we sent 100 percent of the
mandate for special education.
What did the budget that came from the President of the United States
do about special education? Cut it; did not even include an increase
for inflation; cut it, when there are more and more students coming in
constantly into special ed, the most expensive program that we have.
{time} 0030
Not only the most expensive, but an injustice to an awful lot of
youngsters
[[Page H10200]]
who find themselves in that program simply because they have some
reading difficulties.
So I do not take a back seat to anybody in relationship to what this
committee has done during the last 2 years to try to improve education
and job training in this country.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield to me just for a
short question?
Mr. GOODLING. I yield to the gentleman from Missouri.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, how many of the 21 bills that the gentleman
has cited have become law?
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, we are going to have Higher Education, we
are going to have Reading Excellence.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, we are going to.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, we are going to have Prepaid College
Tuition Plans. We are going to have Job Training Reform. We are going
to have Emergency Student Loans. We are going to have Quality Head
Start. We are going to have School Nutrition. We are going to have
Charter Schools. We are going to have Drug Education Initiatives. We
already have $500 million more for Special Education. We have a Loan
Forgiveness for New Teachers. We had to bail out the department in
order to get the loan situation straightened out.
All of those are there in law by the time we finish at 1 or 2 o'clock
this morning. It will be a magnificent effort on the part of the
committee of which the gentleman from Missouri was a part.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the conference
report on H.R. 3874, the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition
Reauthorization Amendments of 1998. This legislation shows what we can
do when we put partisanship aside in the name of commitment to our
Nation's children.
The Federal child nutrition programs provide access to the healthy
meals that are essential to the success of our children today, and well
into the future. The reauthorization measure before us this morning
strengthens and improves the nutrition programs to meet the needs of
children and their families as we move into the 21st century. For
instance, this legislation will reimburse schools and other
institutions for snacks that they provide to children under age 18 in
after-school programs.
The majority of violence and other crimes committed against and by
youth occurs after school--between the hours of 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. I
believe that the support we provide for after-school programs in this
legislation renews our commitment to the prevention of juvenile crime
and the provisions of positive alternatives for youth.
It is important that we take other steps to shape the nutrition
programs to address the situation of today's families.
As we have all heard time and time again, the most important meal of
the day is breakfast. An alarming number of children do not eat
breakfast, and thus begin their school day lacking the nutrients and
energy to effectively learn. This is not just a problem tied to
poverty. In our society, more and more parents have to work, regardless
of their economic status.
It is my opinion that one of the most important and cost-effective
commitments we can make toward strengthening education in this country
is by providing breakfast for every schoolchild. That is why I
enthusiastically endorsed Congresswoman Woolsey's legislation to
authorize universal school breakfast. Through her advocacy, we have
been able to include in this legislation a pilot program, which would
follow the implementation of universal school breakfast in six States
and report on what I believe will be its strong success.
I would have preferred that this legislation authorize mandatory
spending for this pilot, to ensure that dedicated, consistent funding
is provided over the five years of the program and its accompanying
study. I urge appropriations to commit themselves to funding this
program for the length of this authorization, as some in the State
already have pledged to do.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3874 renews our firm commitment to the health and
success of our Nation's children, and I strongly support its passage.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Blunt). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the conference report on the bill,
H.R. 3874.
The question was taken.
Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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