[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 6, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5787-S5788]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mr. Lugar, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Dodd, and 
        Mr. Jeffords):
  S. 1007. A bill to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to promote 
better nutrition among school children participating in the school 
breakfast and lunch programs; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce today with my 
respected colleague from Indiana, Senator Lugar, a bill designed to 
improve the health of our Nation's schoolchildren. I am also pleased to 
have the support of Senators Bingaman, Dodd and Jeffords, who have 
worked with me in past Congresses on this bill. I am hopeful that in 
the coming weeks many more Senators will join us in this important 
effort.
  We have an obesity crisis in America. Too many children are gaining 
too much weight. Advertisements for soda and candy bombard them from 
television, vending machines, and grocery store aisles. Schools, 
however, should be a healthy refuge from the outside world, where kids 
can learn to make the right choices when it comes to their diets. 
Nutrition education needs to be a critical component of every child's 
school day. But with all of the funds that Congress rightly 
appropriates each year for nutrition education and healthy school 
lunches and meals, our Nation's efforts are severely undermined when 
children have to walk through a gauntlet of vending machines offering 
unhealthy choices on the way to the cafeteria.
  Under current regulations, schools may not offer soda, hard candies 
or other foods of minimal nutritional value in the cafeteria during 
lunch or breakfast. Unfortunately, some private companies have offered 
schools signing bonuses to openly flout this restriction, at times 
lining the halls to the cafeterias with foods that provide absolutely 
no nutritional value. In February 2001, the Washington Post reported 
that a school in Maryland had signed a contract with a soda company 
that contained a clause forbidding the school from enforcing the 
Federal ban on soda machines in schools. The clause read ``If the Board 
of Education actively enforces the policy in which vending machines are 
turned off during the school day, the commission guarantee will be 
suspended.'' In other words, the schools could only get commissions 
from the vending machines if they broke the law.
  We can not sell our children's health to the highest bidder on a 
sodas contract. That is why our bill would give the Secretary of 
Agriculture authority to more effectively restrict the sale of soft 
drinks and other foods of minimal nutritional value in schools that 
participate in the Federal school lunch program. We would give the 
Secretary authority to regulate these foods throughout the school 
grounds, until the end of the school lunch period. Our bill also 
mandates that the Secretary use the best science available to determine 
which foods provide no nutritional value. My bill will ensure that 
students are not substituting empty calorie sodas and snacks for their 
nutritious federally subsidized school meals.
  According to a report issued by the Center for Science and the Public 
Interest, 20 years ago boys consumed more than twice as much milk as 
soda; now boys and girls drink twice as much soda as milk. This is a 
huge problem, particularly for girls--the teenage years are critical 
for building up a woman's lifetime supply of calcium. Girls who 
substitute soda for milk are at a greater risk for developing 
osteoporosis later in life. We must provide our kids with better 
options. I have no problem with vending machines themselves, but let's 
get vending machines that sell fresh milk, fruits and vegetables into 
our schools.
  Senator Lugar and I have successfully worked together on many 
important issues relating to child nutrition and agriculture in the 
past. I am extremely pleased that we can work together again to create 
healthier schools and healthier children.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Better Nutrition for 
Schoolchildren Act of 2003 be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1007

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Better Nutrition for School 
     Children Act of 2003''.

     SEC. 2. FOODS OF MINIMAL NUTRITIONAL VALUE.

       (a) In General.--Section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act of 
     1966 (42 U.S.C. 1779) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``(throughout the 
     entire school, including the school grounds, until the end of 
     the time of service of food under the school lunch program 
     under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1751 et seq.))'' after ``participating schools'';
       (2) by striking subsection (b);
       (3) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
       (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Basis.--The Secretary shall promulgate the 
     regulations required under subsection (a) based on sound 
     nutritional science, as determined by the Secretary.

[[Page S5788]]

       ``(c) Factors.--In promulgating the regulations required 
     under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider--
       ``(1) the nutritional needs of students in various grade 
     levels;
       ``(2) the proximity of any area where foods of minimal 
     nutritional value may be sold, donated, or served without 
     charge to the food service facilities or areas;
       ``(3) the extent to which students will likely substitute 
     consumption of foods of minimal nutritional value for other 
     food served in participating schools under this Act and the 
     Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 
     et seq.); and
       ``(4) the benefits to a school of permitting the sale, 
     donation, or service without charge of foods of minimal 
     nutritional value, including the extent to which the proceeds 
     of such sales inure to the benefit of a school or an 
     organization of students approved by a school.''.
       (b) Regulations.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
     promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement the 
     amendments made by this section.
       (2) Foods of minimal nutritional value.--In promulgating 
     the regulations, the Secretary shall review and (as 
     necessary) revise the definition of ``foods of minimal 
     nutritional value'' that is used to carry out the Child 
     Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) and the Richard B. 
     Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
       (3) Procedure.--The promulgation of the regulations and the 
     administration of the amendments made by this section shall 
     be made without regard to chapter 35 of title 44, United 
     States Code (commonly known as the ``Paperwork Reduction 
     Act'').
       (3) Congressional review of agency rulemaking.--In carrying 
     out this subsection, the Secretary shall use the authority 
     provided under section 808(2) of title 5, United States Code.

  Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my good friend and 
colleague, Senator Patrick Leahy in introducing the Better Nutrition 
for School Children Act of 2003. This bill takes a common sense, 
flexible approach to the sales of food that competes with federally 
supported school meals, and represents one component of addressing the 
overall health of our Nation's children.
  This year Congress will address a number of the Federal nutrition 
programs, including those administered through local school systems. 
Our Nation's schools provide our children with over 28 million 
federally subsidized meals each day. For some of these children, these 
meals provide the bulk of their nutrition needs. As a result, the meals 
served by schools should meet balanced nutrition standards in order to 
promote overall health.
  Unfortunately, an increasing number of our Nation's children are 
becoming overweight and obese. Children who are overweight and obese 
are much more likely to have difficulty controlling their weight in the 
future, which increases their risk of medical problems such as diabetes 
and heart disease. In order to address this issue, Congress has a duty 
to analyze variables at school that affect a child's health, including 
foods of minimal nutritional value.
  In addition to the federally subsidized foods served in our schools, 
many children have access to and choose to purchase competitive foods 
from other sources, such as vending machines. This bill asks the 
Secretary of Agriculture to investigate the sales of foods that are 
outside the Federal meal programs and issue a regulation that balances 
the schools' interests with that of overall childhood health. In 
particular, the regulation must take into consideration the financial 
benefits a school receives from competitive food sales, how likely a 
child is to make this choice instead of nutritious foods, and the 
nutritional needs of children according to their school grade level. 
This bill does not require the Secretary to implement any further 
restrictions than what currently exist.
  I believe this bill provides a rational approach to one facet of 
improving the health and fitness of our Nation's children. I urge my 
colleagues to join us in supporting The Better Nutrition for School 
Children Act of 2003.

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