[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 38 (Tuesday, March 6, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2707-S2708]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
        Voinovich, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. 
        Carper, and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 771. A bill to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to improve 
the nutrition and health of schoolchildren by updating the definition 
of ``food of minimal nutritional value'' to conform to current 
nutrition science and to protect the Federal investment in the national 
school lunch and breakfast programs; to the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, our Nation faces a public health crisis of 
the first order. Poor diet and physical inactivity are contributing to 
growing rates of chronic disease in the U.S. These problems do not just 
affect adults, but increasingly affect the health of our children as 
well. Research suggests that one-third of American children born today 
will develop type II diabetes at some point. For some minority 
children, the numbers are even more shocking, as high as 50 percent. At 
the same time, since 1963, rates of obesity have quadrupled among 
children ages 6 to 11 and tripled among children ages 12 to 19. Even 
our youngest children are not immune. Since 1971, among children ages 2 
to 5, obesity rates have tripled.
  There are many reasons for this public health crisis, and 
accordingly, addressing the crisis will require multiple solutions as 
well. One place where we can start is with our schools, which have been 
inundated with foods and drinks having little or no positive 
nutritional value. A recent study from the Government Accountability 
office found that 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle 
schools, and 83 percent of elementary schools sell foods from vending 
machines, school stores, or a-la-carte lines in the cafeteria. And it 
is not fresh fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods that are 
being sold. No, the vast majority of the foods being sold in our 
schools outside of Federal meal programs are foods that contribute 
nothing to the health and development of our children and are actually 
detrimental to them.
  Not only does the overconsumption of these foods take a toll on the 
health of our children, but they also have a negative impact of the 
investment of taxpayer dollars in the health of our kids. Every year 
the Federal Government spends nearly $10 billion to reimburse schools 
for the provision of meals through the National School Lunch Program 
and School Breakfast Program. In order to receive reimbursement, these 
meals must meet nutrition standards based upon the Dietary Guidelines 
for All Americans, the official dietary advice of the U.S. government. 
However, sales of food elsewhere in our schools do not fall under these 
guidelines. Therefore, as children consume more and more of the foods 
typically sold through school vending machines and snack bars, it 
undermines the nearly $10 billion in federal reimbursements that we 
spend on nutritionally balanced school meals.
  Finally, the heavy selling of candy, soft drinks and other junk food 
in our schools undermines the guidance, and even the instruction and 
authority of parents who want to help their children consume sound and 
balanced diets. The American public agrees. A Robert Wood Johnson 
Foundation poll from several years ago found that 90 percent of parents 
would like to see schools remove the typical junk food from vending 
machines and replace it with healthier alternatives. My bill seeks to 
restore the role and authority of parents by ensuring that schools 
provide the healthy, balanced nutrition that contributes to health and 
development.
  What really hurts children and undermines parents is the junk food 
free-for-all that currently exists in so many of our schools. How does 
it help kids if the school sells them a 20-ounce soda and a candy bar 
for lunch when their parents have sent them to school with the 
expectation that they will have balanced meals from the school lunch 
program?

  Today, along with my colleague Senator Murkowski of Alaska, I will 
introduce bipartisan legislation to address this problem--and to do 
what is right for the health of our kids. This bill has broad support 
in both the education and the public health communities and is 
supported by the National PTA, the National Education Association, the 
American Federation of Teachers, the American Medical Association, the 
Center for Science in the Public Interest, the School Nutrition 
Association, the Food Research and Action Center, the American Heart 
Association, the American Dietetic Association, the American Diabetes 
Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others.
  The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2007 
does two very simple but important things:
  First, it requires the Secretary of Agriculture to initiate a 
rulemaking process to update nutritional standards for foods sold in 
schools. Currently, USDA relies upon a very narrow nutritional standard 
that is nearly 30 years old. Since that definition was formulated, 
children's diets and dietary risk have changed dramatically. In that 
time, we have also learned a great deal about the relationship between 
poor diet and chronic disease. It is time for public policy to catch up 
with the science.
  Second, the bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to apply the 
updated definition everywhere on school grounds and throughout the 
school day. Currently, the Secretary can only issue rules limiting a 
very narrow class of foods, and then only stop their sales in the 
actual school cafeteria during the meal period. As a result, a child 
only needs to walk into the hall outside the cafeteria to buy a lunch 
consisting of soda, a bag of chips and a candy bar. This is a loophole 
that is big enough to drive a soft drink delivery truck through--
literally. It is time to close it.
  The bill is supported in the Senate by a bipartisan group of 
Senators. Joining me in introducing the bill are Senator Murkowski of 
Alaska, Senator Durbin of Illinois, Senator Voinovich of Ohio, Senator 
Menendez of New Jersey, Senator Lieberman of Connecticut, Senator 
Schumer of New York, Senator Cantwell of Washington, and Senator Carper 
of Delaware. The diverse group of supporters of this bill cuts across 
ideological lines and shows that when the health of our children is at 
stake, we can put aside our differences in the interest of our 
children.
  This bill, by itself, will not solve the problem of poor diet and 
rising rates of chronic disease among our children and adults. But it 
is a start. Scientists predict that--because of obesity and preventable 
chronic diseases--the current

[[Page S2708]]

generation of children could very well be the first in American history 
to live shorter lives than their parents. If this isn't a wake up call, 
I don't know what is.
  Our children are at risk. The time to act is now. And that's why I am 
pleased to introduce the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch 
Protection Act of 2007.
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