[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12777-S12778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KOHL (for himself, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Tester, Mr. Sanders, 
        Mr. Kerry, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Obama, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. 
        Domenici):
  S. 2143. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
to establish a program to improve the health and education of children 
through grants to expand school breakfast programs, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I join Senator Kohl in introducing 
the Student Breakfast and Education Improvement Act as part of my 
continued efforts to improve our nation's schools. I am pleased to be 
working with the senior Senator from Wisconsin, who has been a longtime 
leader in this area. As far back as 1999, he has sponsored legislation 
to support breakfast programs, and he has continued his support through 
his work on the Agriculture Appropriations Committee since then.
  One often overlooked part of student classroom performance is 
nutrition and hunger, which can have a tremendous impact on students. I 
know many of my colleagues share my support for school programs that 
help alleviate hunger for the most in-need students, such as the Free 
and Reduced Price Lunch Program, as well as those programs that provide 
healthier food, such as the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack and Farm-
to-Cafeteria programs.
  I am sure that I am not the only member of this body who grew up 
hearing that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. When I 
talk to my colleagues and constituents about our proposal and the 
importance of breakfast and learning, it is not a hard sell. People 
understand immediately why this issue matters.
  Unfortunately, too many children go hungry and too many parents have 
to choose between giving their children lunch or breakfast, even if 
they get the help of reduced price meals.
  The Student Breakfast and Education Improvement Act would provide 
grants for schools wishing to begin or expand universal school 
breakfast programs. Studies show that kids who eat breakfast perform 
better in school and on tests, and they tend to be less disruptive to 
the class, and I have heard many stories from teachers, school nurses, 
and other school officials over the years to confirm this. In fact, 
last

[[Page S12778]]

year in my home State of Wisconsin, with the support of Senator Kohl, 
the Milwaukee Public Schools worked with the Hunger Task Force to 
implement universal school breakfast programs in more than 60 schools. 
This program, which has expanded in its second year, has proven popular 
with students, teachers, and parents.
  We are set to debate the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind 
Act, NCLB, later this year. NCLB was the 2002 reauthorization of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA, of 1965. NCLB set the 
important goal of closing the achievement gap that exists in our 
nation's schools. I disagree with some of the methods that NCLB 
employs, including relying primarily on high-stakes standardized tests 
to measure students and schools, but I strongly agree that the 
achievement gap needs to be closed. The latest scores from the National 
Assessment on Educational Progress NAEP were released last week and the 
scores show we have a very long way to go before we close that 
achievement gap in many States, including in my State of Wisconsin.

  There are a variety of education reforms that need to be pursued at 
the federal, state, and local level in order to close the achievement 
gap. One step Congress can take is to support programs to 
comprehensively address the needs of children, including their 
nutrition, health, and social needs. Our Student Breakfast and 
Education Improvement Act is legislation that is designed to help 
address some of those needs. Too many students in some of our nation's 
most disadvantaged schools walk into school in the morning hungry, or 
eat junk food for their breakfast. By working to provide these students 
with access to a nutritious breakfast, we are telling these students 
that we value them and that we want to help them achieve all that they 
can in school. Much more needs to be done to address other needs of our 
students, but this bill is a step in the right direction.
  Our legislation would target the schools most in need, those with 65 
percent more of students eligible for the free and reduced price lunch 
program, with the funds necessary to implement a universal free 
breakfast program. The grants, which could be used in a number of ways, 
aim to help schools overcome the numerous barriers to creating a 
universal school breakfast program. In fiscal year 2006, 10 million 
more students participated in free and reduced price lunch than 
breakfast. This disparity is troubling to me and many others.
  Our bill would work with existing meal programs, not replace them. 
Provision 2 of Section 11(a)(l) of the National School Lunch Act allows 
schools to establish their free and reduced meal rates for a 4 year 
period if they serve all meals at no charge. The combination of not 
having to collect free and reduced price information from students 
annually, and not having to collect daily meal money from students, 
results in significant administrative savings. While schools 
participating under Provision 2 must cover the lost revenue from the 
reduced and full price meal costs, for the high-needs schools such as 
those targeted by this program, the typically higher participation rate 
also means the school can benefit from some economies of scale and 
receive a better price for the food. The grants this bill would provide 
would help schools make the initial investments needed to establish a 
universal breakfast program and make up for the lost revenue.
  Some universal breakfast programs, like the one I mentioned in 
Milwaukee, have demonstrated that universal free breakfast programs 
create an economy of scale that actually makes the cost per student 
lower. The Milwaukee program served breakfast in the classroom, which, 
according to teachers and others involved, further improved the economy 
of the program, as well as the positive impact of breakfast on 
students' attention.
  While our bill has some preferences, including a target for the 
poorest schools, it is important to note that it has tremendous 
flexibility for the states and school districts. Schools will be able 
to tailor their universal breakfast programs to the needs of their own 
students. It also gives schools the option of purchasing locally grown 
foods and linking with local farmers, which provide excellent 
opportunities for nutrition lessons and can even be incorporated into 
other subjects such as science and math.
  This bill is just a start; much more should be done to increase 
participation in breakfast programs and provide schools with the 
ability and resources to design programs that address the needs of 
their students and communities. Our bill does not intend to replace 
broader efforts, but rather to provide some immediate assistance for 
the schools most in need. Furthermore, by including a reporting 
requirement and encouraging researchers to study the effectiveness of 
the funded programs in improving student learning, this legislation 
would provide useful evidence about the need for broader investment and 
how to ensure those resources are best spent.
  I would like to thank Senators Tester, Sanders, Kerry, Durbin, Obama, 
Bingaman, and Domenici for their support for this legislation. The 
Student Breakfast and Education Improvement Act is also supported by 
the Hunger Task Force, Community Food Security Coalition, the School 
Social Work Association of America and the Wisconsin School Social 
Workers Association. I look forward to working with my colleagues to 
provide breakfast to more in-need students.
                                 ______