[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2507-S2509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND (for himself and Mr. Coverdell):
  S. 575. A bill to redesignate the National School Lunch Act as the 
``Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act''; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.


              richard b. russell national school lunch act

  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill to 
rename the National School Lunch Act after Senator Richard Russell. I 
am pleased to have Senator Coverdell as a original co-sponsor.
  Having met Senator Russell over 30 years ago when I was an intern on 
Capitol Hill, I gained a deep respect and reverence for the ``Senator 
from Georgia'' Richard B. Russell. Since being elected to the Senate 
over two years ago, I have been looking for a way to appropriately 
honor and express my appreciation for the contributions of Senator 
Russell. Honestly, I, like many others, usually associate Senator 
Russell with military issues and the work he did to provide our nation 
with a strong national defense. However, in researching his history in 
the Senate, I noticed that, time and again, Senator Russell stated that 
he viewed his proudest achievement in the Senate as the School Lunch 
Act.

[[Page S2508]]

  On February 26, 1946, speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Russell 
noted that the School Lunch Program, ``has been one of the most helpful 
ones which has been inaugurated and promises to contribute more to the 
cause of public education in these United States than has any other 
policy which has been adopted since the creation of free public 
schools.'' Strong words, not only about the school lunch program, but 
about Senator Russell's commitment to the same.
  Starting the first grade in 1947, I, like some of you, have always 
considered myself to be a true product of the national school lunch 
program. The program has been woven into the fabric of the American 
family. Today, the National School Lunch Program operates in more than 
95,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care 
institutions throughout the country, providing nutritionally balanced, 
low-cost or free lunches to more than 26 million children each school 
day. The knowledge that every one of our children is ensured a healthy 
and affordable meal every school day provides us all with a great deal 
of comfort and satisfaction. The program is available in almost 99 
percent of all public schools, and in many private schools as well. 
About 92 percent of all students nationwide have access to meals 
through the National School Lunch Program. As cited in several studies, 
a well fed child is more likely to do better in school and is less 
likely to misbehave--both highly desirable outcomes.
  Senator Russell was a tireless champion for establishing a program to 
deliver a healthy meal to our nation's schoolchildren. Senator Russell 
began his campaign to make school feeding programs available in the mid 
1930's by utilizing Section 32 funds of the Act of August 24, 1935. As 
Chairman of the Subcommittee on Agricultural Appropriations, Senator 
Russell exerted a great deal of influence and was a vigilant advocate 
of directing the Section 32 food surpluses towards school feeding 
programs. In the early 1940's, Senator Russell introduced several bills 
authorizing a national school lunch program. And, after several 
unsuccessful attempts, Senator Russell sponsored and pushed through the 
National School Lunch Act in 1946.
  Senator Russell's strong commitment to domestic agriculture 
production strengthened his support for the school feeding programs. In 
fact, Senator Russell's commitment to a strong national defense may 
have also played a role in his support for the program. As you know, 
Senator Russell served as a member, and later Chairman, of the Senate 
Armed Services Committee. During World War II and in post war hearings 
before the Armed Services Committee, testimony was provided by General 
Hershey and Surgeon General Parran and others indicating that a large 
percentage of men rejected from military service had diet-related 
health problems. This revelation resulted in the recognition by many 
that the school lunch program is a matter of national security.
  As stated in a report I received from the Congressional Research 
Service, ``Senator Russell played a key role in the creation and 
formation of the national school lunch program. The historical record 
of Senator Russell's actions on behalf of this program in the 1930's 
and 1940's give him a strong claim to being regarded as the ``father'' 
of the national school lunch program, and make a strong case for 
renaming the 1946 Act after him.'' There have most certainly been 
several other members from the House and Senate, both past and present, 
who have played an irreplaceable role in developing and championing the 
cause of the school lunch program and I believe that all of these 
members should be commended for their dedication. This proposal is not 
meant to diminish the contribution of countless others, but simply to 
recognize that Senator Russell played a primary role in the passage of 
the National School Lunch Act. I am convinced that no other member was 
as significant as Senator Russell in seeing the National School Lunch 
Act enacted into law. I am pleased to have received the strong 
endorsement of the Georgia School Food Service Association in their 
Resolution of support on January 23, 1999.
  Considering Senator Russell's vital role in making the school lunch 
program a reality and the passion he expressed for being its author, I 
believe that by renaming the School Lunch Act in his honor, we can 
fittingly memorialize his contribution, as well as call renewed 
attention to this vital national program. I ask for my colleagues 
support.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text, a letter of 
support, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

   Georgia School Food Service Association Resolution in Support of 
   Senator Max Cleland's Proposal to Memorialize Senator Richard B. 
                                Russell

       Whereas, The Georgia School Food Service Association 
     (GSFSA) has learned that Senator Max Cleland wishes to 
     sponsor legislation to permanently associate the name of 
     Senator Richard B. Russell with and to memorialize the 
     contribution that he made to the establishment of the 
     National School Lunch Act by naming The National School Lunch 
     Act of 1946 (NSLA), the Richard B. Russell National School 
     Lunch Act, and
       Whereas, Senator Richard B. Russell has been known as ``the 
     father of the school lunch act'' as documented in a 1973 
     publication, ``Education in the States,'' published by The 
     National Education Association in cooperation with The Chief 
     State School Officers, and
       Whereas, a review of the 1945-46 Congressional debates 
     leading up to the passage of the Act in May 1946 and signing 
     by President Harry Truman on June 4, 1946 reflects the 
     leadership role of Senator Russell as author of the bill that 
     finally was approved by the Congress, and
       Whereas, Senator Russell's success in getting the 
     legislation passed was greatly enhanced by the outstanding 
     bi-partisan support in the Senate by Senator George D. Aiken, 
     Vermont and Senator Allen J. Ellender, Louisiana and in 
     collaboration with The House of Representatives under the 
     committee leadership of Congressman Flannagan of Virginia, 
     and
       Whereas, with the passage of time the names of NSLA 
     pioneers are faded from memory and we believe there should be 
     an appropriate memorial established to perpetuate the memory 
     of the contribution made by the visionary Richard B. Russell 
     for the program.
       Whereas, the year 2000 will mark the 55th Anniversary of 
     The National School Lunch Act and GSFSA joins with Senator 
     Max Cleland in believing that the time is right for the name 
     of Richard B. Russell to be memorialized and permanently 
     attached to The National School Lunch Act, and
       Whereas, the vision of this program defined by Senator 
     Russell and articulated in The NSLA, Section 1 Policy, to 
     ``safeguard the health and well-being of all children . . . 
     by supporting the establishment of programs and promoting the 
     consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities'' laid the 
     foundation as a nutrition program for all children, and
       Whereas, this vision enacted into legislation in 1946 has 
     provided the framework for the growth of Child Nutrition 
     Programs, which began as a single meal, and has been expanded 
     many times by many Congressional sessions promoted by the 
     leaders in Congress to a year round, all day program serving 
     breakfast, lunch, after school supplements, summer food 
     service, and the child and adult care food program, and
       Whereas, the leadership and commitment of Senator Richard 
     B. Russell as Chairman of the US Senate Committee on 
     Agriculture and Forestry in close collaboration with a bi-
     partisan group in the Senate and a collaborative relationship 
     with the US House of Representatives, persisted through 10 
     years of year-to-year appropriations for the program and two 
     long years of debate and resulted in the enactment of 
     permanent legislation that established an infrastructure for 
     the school lunch program and a framework for all child 
     nutrition programs, and
       Whereas, his leadership for the program did not stop at 
     that point as he had a major role in having the school lunch 
     program designated as an educational program in the states as 
     many state agencies were vying to have administration of the 
     program, and
       Whereas his leadership continued into the 1960's during his 
     final years in the US Senate when he was Chair of the Armed 
     Services Committee, and he provided leadership to have the 
     apportionment formula changed to allocate money to the states 
     on the number of meals served rather than on state enrollment 
     of children,


    the georgia school food service association therefore recommends

       That the General Assembly of Georgia be requested to adopt 
     this resolution in support of Senator Cleland's proposal to 
     have the National School Lunch Act of 1946 renamed the 
     Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, and
       The American School Food Service Association be requested 
     to provide support for Senator Cleland's proposal for 
     permanently associating Senator Russell's name with the NSLA, 
     which would be an appropriate memorial to his leadership in 
     authoring legislation that established the foundation for a 
     program that has been successful for more than half-a-
     century, and,
       The GSFSA expresses its appreciation to Senator Max Cleland 
     for recognizing the importance of memorializing Senator 
     Russell

[[Page S2509]]

     as ``the father of the school lunch program'' by attaching 
     his name to the Act, and pledges its support to Senator 
     Cleland in having his proposal turned into reality, and 
     finally,
       That copies of this resolution be provided all members of 
     the Georgia Congressional delegation as a means of seeking 
     their support for honoring an outstanding statesman from 
     Georgia who has been memorialized in many ways, including 
     having a Senate Office Building named in his honor, but has 
     never been publicly honored for the ``piece of legislation 
     that he often claimed to be his proudest work'' that of the 
     passage of the NSLA, as it served all children, the education 
     program and the agriculture programs of the nation. ``this 
     program has been one of the most helpful ones which has been 
     inaugurated and promises to contribute more to the cause of 
     public education in these United States than has any other 
     policy which has been adopted since the creation of free 
     public schools.''--Richard B. Russell, Feb. 26, 1946. The 
     Congressional Record
           Approved by,
                                                        Joan Kidd,
                                                 President, GSFSA.
                                 ______