[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 165 (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           S. 3307, THE HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010

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                  HON. HENRY C. ``HANK'' JOHNSON, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 14, 2010

  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This bill is a good first step 
in addressing childhood hunger and poor nutrition, which are two of the 
greatest public health challenges facing the United States today.
  I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
legislation, which passed the Senate unanimously. It contains the most 
significant improvements in 30 years to the child nutrition programs 
that serve millions of children across our country. This legislation 
expands access to healthy foods for kids, makes it easier for low-
income kids to enroll in the school meal programs, improves the 
nutritional quality of school meals, significantly decreases the 
availability of junk food and sugary beverages from school vending 
machines, and expands access to after-school meals for low-income kids.
  This is a vote that I do not take lightly. While I never questioned 
the need to improve child nutrition programs across the country, I did 
question the Senate's choice to pay for this legislation with a 
reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. 
SNAP benefits are an essential part of this nation's nutrition safety 
net. More than 41 million Americans rely upon SNAP benefits monthly to 
put food on the table. According to the USDA Food and Nutrition 
Service, Data and Statistics Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
Report, released in October 2010, the number of households in my home 
state of Georgia receiving food stamps jumped from 581,709 total 
households in July of 2009 to 716,749 households in July of 2010--an 
increase of 23.2% in just one year. Many SNAP recipients are children 
or seniors, and I had serious concerns that the SNAP reduction would be 
a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I was deeply concerned 
that reducing SNAP benefits to pay for this bill would hurt the people 
it was meant to help--children of low-income families striving to make 
ends meet during this turbulent economy.
  After a long thought process, I stand here before you as a strong 
supporter of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. As a Member of the 
Congressional Progressive Caucus, I joined a letter to the Obama 
Administration expressing opposition to reducing SNAP benefits to fund 
this bill, or any other legislative priority. The President and his 
Administration share these concerns and have assured Congress that it 
will work with us to restore this cut and use their current authorities 
to protect the integrity of SNAP benefits and further improve 
children's access to nutrition programs.
  This bill would be instrumental in helping to address the growing 
crises of child hunger and also of childhood obesity. In terms of child 
hunger, last year, more than 1.29 million Georgia students participated 
in the Free and Reduced Price Lunch Program. Obesity is a national 
crisis, but it is of a particular concern in my home state of Georgia 
which has the second highest prevalence of obese 10-17 year olds in the 
nation. The provisions in the child nutrition bill that improve 
nutritional quality of foods served on school campuses throughout the 
school day and those that strengthen Local School Wellness Policies can 
help to combat the rise in childhood obesity we see here in Georgia. 
According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 
report released in September 2010, 22.3% of Georgia's children live in 
poverty--that's more than half a million children under age 18.
  I would be remiss if I did not mention two key individuals in my 
district that have worked hard to combat childhood obesity. Dr. Yvonne 
Butler founded Healthy Kids Smart Kids. Healthy Kids Smart Kids is an 
organization that fights childhood obesity and educates adults and 
children on healthy eating and staying active. She started the first 
sugar-free school program in Georgia at Browns Mill Elementary School 
in Lithonia. Ms. Pat ``Shy'' Haggans is a certified personal trainer 
and lifestyle coach who founded Generation Next Sports Performance 
facility in Lithonia where she specializes in getting kids fit to fight 
obesity. Like Dr. Butler, she has helped hundreds of kids shed pounds 
through exercise, planning and lifestyle changes to combat childhood 
obesity. She assists parents as well to ensure that the next generation 
will be healthier than ours.
  It is important to recognize that this bill would not be on the floor 
now if it were not for Representatives George Miller, Rosa DeLauro, and 
James McGovern. Their leadership in conducting negotiations with the 
Obama Administration was key to moving this bill forward.
  I strongly support the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which would 
also help advance the Administration's goal of solving the problem of 
childhood obesity within a generation, and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.

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