[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 145 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12747-S12748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN:
  S. 1750. A bill to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve the nutrition 
and health of children in the United States; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a bill of 
significant importance to our Nation's health: The Better Eating for 
Better Living Act of 2003.
  Today, heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are responsible 
for two-thirds of the deaths in the United States. The major risk 
factors for these diseases and conditions are established in childhood 
through unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, obesity, and 
tobacco use. Obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in 
adolescents over the last 2 decades. Today 1 in 7 young people are 
obese and 1 in 3 are overweight. This is not a problem. This is a 
crisis with potentially dire consequences that demands our immediate 
attention.
  Obese children are twice as likely as non-obese children to become 
obese adults. Overweightness and obesity can result in physical, 
psychological, and social consequences, including heart disease, 
diabetes, cancer, depression, decreased self-esteem, and 
discrimination. Obesity is a complex multi-factorial disease that is 
difficult to prevent but even more difficult to treat. Our best bet at 
improving the lives of children who currently are obese and preventing 
more from joining the ranks is to encourage environments that foster 
healthy eating and activity in our communities, in our homes, and in 
our schools.
  It is the need to improve the nutritional environment of our schools 
that I want to address today. Our school breakfast and lunch programs 
were originally designed to combat hunger in our nation. They have been 
and continue to be a vital component of the food security safety net. 
However, today we have another problem: obesity and overweight, and the 
child nutrition programs need to be updated to meet the needs of our 
current health challenges while maintaining their role securing healthy 
food for all children.
  Only 2 percent of children currently consume a diet that meets the 
five main recommendations for a healthy diet from the USDA Food Guide 
Pyramid. Three out of four high school students in the U.S. do not eat 
the recommended 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day 
and 3 out of 4 children consume more saturated fat than it recommended 
in the dietary Guidelines for Americans. Although the school lunch and 
school breakfast programs have made great strides in improving health 
by meeting these guidelines, our work in creating healthy school 
environments is not yet done.
  Since obesity is a complex issue, stemming the tide will take a 
myriad of interventions. I commend Senators Harkin, Leahy, Kohl, Dole, 
and others who have introduced bills that would improve the Child 
Nutrition programs and the children and schools they serve while 
preserving its mission to provide nutritionally sound meals to the 
young people who need them.
  Today I am introducing another bill vital to improving our children's 
health: The Better Eating for Better Living Bill. This bill has four 
key components.
  First, the bill increases the reimbursement rates for school lunch. 
School food service directors have been expected to improve the quality 
of their meals without any concurrent funding increase for years, and 
it's time that changes. An additional 10 cents per meal may not sound 
like much but it will offer school food service directors significantly 
greater flexibility in purchasing quality food including leaner meats, 
fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits.
  Second, the bill requires the secretary of agriculture to evaluate 
the nutrition guidelines for school meals every five years. The science 
of nutrition is a dynamic and rapidly changing field. Guidelines are 
appropriately based on the best science of the time but as that science 
evolves, so should the guidelines regulating school meals. Our children 
deserve the benefit of the most current science. Thus, updates are to 
be based on current and sound scientific evidence, current public 
health concerns, and cultural appropriateness.
  Next the bill will liberalize the current milk guidelines so as to 
only require schools to require low fat or no fat milk as is 
appropriate for school-age children. Schools would have the option of 
providing other milk products so long as they are cost and 
nutritionally equivalent.
  Finally, serving healthy food is an important first step, but 
accompanying that food with adequate nutrition education is vital to 
growing a generation of healthy eaters and active adults. Thus, the 
bill provides increased funding for nutrition education. Specifically, 
it would provide guaranteed funding at the state level for 
implementation and administration of the Team Nutrition Program. This 
is a program that has existed in statute for years, but because its 
administration has rarely been funded, it has not been implemented. It 
is time we commit to nutrition education as part of making a strong 
commitment to our children's health and well-being.
  Now is the time to take action toward improving the health and well-
being of our nations' youth. Let us implement these vital advances in 
the child nutrition program now while we are reauthorizing the Child 
Nutrition Act. The cost of improving the health of our children will be 
far less than the cost of the health consequences to come if we do 
nothing.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1750

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Better 
     Eating for Better Living Act of 2003''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.

  TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO RICHARD B. RUSSELL NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT

Sec. 101. Reimbursement for school lunches.
Sec. 102. Nutritional quality of school meals.

          TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966

Sec. 201. Funding for nutrition education.

                       TITLE III--EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 301. Effective date.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are 
     responsible for \2/3\ of deaths in the United States;
       (2) the major risk factors for those diseases and 
     conditions are established in childhood through unhealthy 
     eating habits, physical inactivity, obesity, and tobacco use;
       (3) obesity rates have doubled in children and tripled in 
     adolescents over the last 2 decades;
       (4) today, 1 in 7 young people are obese, and 1 in 3 are 
     overweight;
       (5) obese children are twice as likely as nonobese children 
     to become obese adults;
       (6) overweightness and obesity can result in physical, 
     psychological, and social consequences, including heart 
     disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, decreased self-esteem, 
     and discrimination;
       (7) only 2 percent of children consume a diet that meets 
     the 5 main recommendations for a healthy diet from the Food 
     Guide Pyramid published by the Secretary of Agriculture;
       (8) 3 out of 4 high school students in the United States do 
     not eat the recommended 5 or more servings of fruits and 
     vegetables each day; and
       (9) 3 out of 4 children in the United States consume more 
     saturated fat than is recommended in the Dietary Guidelines 
     for

[[Page S12748]]

     Americans published by the Secretary of Agriculture.

  TITLE I--AMENDMENTS TO RICHARD B. RUSSELL NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT

     SEC. 101. REIMBURSEMENT FOR SCHOOL LUNCHES.

       Section 4(b)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
     Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)(2)) is amended by striking 
     ``10.5'' and inserting ``20.5''.

     SEC. 102. NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF SCHOOL MEALS.

       (a) Revision of Meal Guidelines.--Section 9(a)(1) of the 
     Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1758(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) Revision of nutritional guidelines.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Secretary, in collaboration with 
     experts in nutrition, school health, food service, and school 
     administration, shall, not later than July 31, 2004, and 
     every 5 years thereafter--

       ``(I) review the nutritional guidelines applicable to meals 
     served under the school lunch program under this Act, taking 
     into consideration--

       ``(aa) advances in the field of nutrition;
       ``(bb) identified public health risks relating to 
     inadequate nutrition and overconsumption; and
       ``(cc) the needs of student populations covered by programs 
     under this Act; and

       ``(II) issue revised nutritional guidelines, as necessary, 
     including guidelines with respect to--

       ``(aa) the content of meals served of calories, fat 
     (including types of fat), added sugars, fiber, sodium, 
     vitamins, and minerals;
       ``(bb) the variety of foods offered;
       ``(cc) the availability of fruits and vegetables; and
       ``(dd) the cultural appropriateness of foods offered.
       ``(ii) Applicability.--Revised nutritional guidelines 
     issued by the Secretary under clause (i) shall apply to meals 
     served under the school lunch program under this Act on and 
     after the date that is 2 years after the date of issuance of 
     the revised nutritional guidelines.''.
       (b) Fluid Milk.--Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell 
     National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)) is amended 
     by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
       ``(B)(i) at a minimum, shall offer students a choice of 
     lowfat or nonfat fluid milk; and
       ``(ii) in addition to the type of fluid milk offered under 
     clause (i), may offer such other varieties of fluid milk as 
     are--
       ``(I) consistent with expressed preferences of the student 
     population; and
       ``(II) reasonably equivalent in calcium, protein, vitamin 
     A, and vitamin K content and cost.''.

          TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966

     SEC. 201. FUNDING FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION.

       Section 19(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
     1788 (i)) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
     (3) and (4), respectively; and
       (2) by striking ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--'' 
     and all that follows through paragraph (1) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(i) Funding.--
       ``(1) Payments.--Out of any funds in the Treasury not 
     otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
     transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out this 
     section, to remain available until expended--
       ``(A) on October 1, 2003, $10,000,000;
       ``(B) on October 1, 2004, $15,000,000; and
       ``(C) on October 1, 2005, $20,000,000.
       ``(2) Receipt and acceptance.--The Secretary shall be 
     entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to carry out 
     this section the funds transferred under paragraph (1), 
     without further appropriation.
       ``(3) Grants.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), grants to 
     each State from the amounts made available under paragraph 
     (1) shall be based on a rate of \1/2\ cent per average daily 
     number of meals served, to be allocated among State, 
     district, and school food service and health education 
     authorities, as determined by the Secretary.
       ``(B) Minimum amount.--The minimum amount of a grant 
     provided to a State for a fiscal year under this section 
     shall be $200,000, as adjusted in accordance with section 
     11(a)(3)(B) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(3)(B)).''.

                       TITLE III--EFFECTIVE DATE

     SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect on 
     October 1, 2003.

                          ____________________