[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 165 (Friday, November 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15112-S15113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL:
  S. 1995. A bill to amend the National School Lunch Act to revise the 
eligibility of private organizations under the child and adult care 
food program; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.


   legislation to amend the national school lunch act to revise the 
  eligibility of private organizations under the child and adult care 
                              food program

 Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that will correct an unintended obstacle in current law and expand the 
number of low-income children in child care centers that receive 
nutritious meals through the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
  The current CACFP law provides for subsidies to proprietary child 
care centers for the nutritious meals they serve children, provided 
that at least 25% of the participants receive Title XX subsidies. This 
provision was included to encourage private child care providers to 
serve more low-income children, by providing funds to reimburse the 
costs of providing meals. When the law was enacted in 1981, it made 
sense to tie CACFP funds to Title XX, because Title XX was the primary 
source of Federal child care assistance at that time.
  As we all know, however, the Child Care & Development Block Grant has 
since become the States' primary funding source for child care 
assistance, while Title XX funds are being used primarily for other 
social service needs. This means that although many proprietary child 
care centers have enrollments with over 25% low-income children, those 
who no longer receive Title XX are no longer eligible for the CACFP 
meal subsidy.
  Thirty-eight States are currently using small amounts of their Title 
XX funds for child care subsidies so that at least some of the 
otherwise eligible children will receive meals in proprietary centers. 
In Wisconsin, for example, 65 proprietary centers are currently 
participating in the CACFP program, serving 3,294 children. However, if 
all eligible centers were able to participate, those numbers could 
increase to 149 proprietary centers serving 8,195 children, an increase 
of 4,901 children. A simple change in the law to reflect the current 
nature of Federal child care assistance could lead to Wisconsin 
receiving nearly $2,975,000 each year in Federal food subsidies for 
low-income children in child care.
  The bill I introduce today is simple. It would eliminate the outdated 
requirement that eligible children receive Title XX funds in order to 
trigger the CACFP meal subsidy. This would allow proprietary centers to 
participate in CACFP if at least 25% of the

[[Page S15113]]

children they serve are eligible for a food nutrition subsidy. This 
change will ensure that proprietary centers will be able to continue to 
serve low-income children. It reduces pressure on proprietary centers 
to increase their rates for non-subsidized children to recover the 
costs of unreimbursed meals for subsidized children. It preserves the 
right of parents, including low-income parents, to choose the quality 
child care center that is most appropriate for their children. And most 
importantly, this change reinforces the original intent of the law: to 
ensure that eligible low-income children in proprietary child care 
centers have the benefit of a nutritious meal. I hope that all of my 
colleagues will join me in cosponsoring this legislation and I look 
forward to working for its swift passage when Congress reconvenes in 
January.
                                 ______