[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 36 (Thursday, March 10, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1565-S1566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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SENATE RESOLUTION 98--TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
                        SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM

  Mr. KOHL (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Harkin, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, and Mr. Brown of Ohio) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry:

[[Page S1566]]

                               S. Res. 98

       Whereas participants in the school breakfast program 
     established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
     (42 U.S.C. 1773) include public, private, elementary, middle, 
     and high schools, as well as rural, suburban, and urban 
     schools;
       Whereas in each of the school years beginning July 1, 2008, 
     and July 1, 2009, 86.3 percent of schools that participated 
     in the school lunch program established under the Richard B. 
     Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) 
     also participated in the school breakfast program;
       Whereas in each of the school years beginning July 1, 2008, 
     and July 1, 2009, approximately 10,800,000 students in more 
     than 86,000 schools participated in the school breakfast 
     program on a typical day;
       Whereas in fiscal year 2009, approximately 9,100,000 low-
     income children in the United States consumed free or reduced 
     price school breakfasts on an average school day;
       Whereas for every 100 children receiving free and reduced 
     price lunches, approximately 47 children receive free and 
     reduced price breakfasts;
       Whereas in each of the school years beginning July 1, 2008, 
     and July 1, 2009, less than half of eligible low-income 
     children received breakfasts at school each day;
       Whereas in fiscal year 2009, 62 percent of school lunches 
     served, and 81 percent of school breakfasts served, were 
     served to students who qualified for free or reduced priced 
     meals;
       Whereas the current economic situation (including the 
     increase in families living below the poverty line) is 
     causing more families to struggle to feed their children and 
     to turn to schools for assistance;
       Whereas implementing or improving classroom breakfast 
     programs has been shown to increase the participation of 
     eligible students in breakfast consumption dramatically, 
     doubling, and in some cases tripling, numbers, as evidenced 
     by research conducted in the States of Minnesota, New York, 
     and Wisconsin;
       Whereas making breakfast widely available through different 
     venues or combinations, such as in the classroom, obtained as 
     students exit a school bus, or outside the classroom, has 
     been shown to lessen the stigma of receiving free or reduced 
     price breakfasts, which often deters eligible students from 
     obtaining traditional breakfasts in the cafeteria;
       Whereas providing free universal breakfasts, especially in 
     the classroom, has been shown to significantly increase 
     school breakfast participation rates and decrease absences 
     and tardiness;
       Whereas studies have shown that access to nutritious meals 
     under the school lunch program and the school breakfast 
     program helps to create a strong learning environment for 
     children and helps to improve the concentration of children 
     in the classroom;
       Whereas providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown 
     in several instances to improve attentiveness and academic 
     performance, while reducing tardiness and disciplinary 
     referrals;
       Whereas students who eat a complete breakfast have been 
     shown to make fewer mistakes and work faster in math 
     exercises than students who eat a partial breakfast;
       Whereas studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to 
     classroom and test-taking time improves student performance 
     on standardized tests relative to students who skip 
     breakfasts;
       Whereas studies show that students who skip breakfasts are 
     more likely to have difficulty distinguishing among similar 
     images, show increased errors, and have slower memory recall;
       Whereas children who live in families that experience 
     hunger have been shown to be more likely to have lower math 
     scores, face an increased likelihood of repeating a grade, 
     and receive more special education services;
       Whereas studies suggest that children who eat breakfasts 
     have more adequate nutrition and intake of nutrients, such as 
     calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A, E, D, and B-6;
       Whereas studies show that children who participate in 
     school breakfast programs eat more fruits, drink more milk, 
     and consume less saturated fat than children who do not eat 
     breakfast;
       Whereas children who fail to eat breakfasts, whether in 
     school or at home, are more likely to be overweight than 
     children who eat a healthy breakfast on a daily basis; and
       Whereas March 7 through March 11, 2011, is National School 
     Breakfast Week: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the importance of the school breakfast 
     program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 
     of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and the overall positive impact of 
     the program on the lives of low-income children and families, 
     as well as the effect of the program on helping to improve 
     the overall classroom performance of a child;
       (2) expresses support for States that have successfully 
     implemented school breakfast programs in order to improve the 
     test scores and grades of participating students;
       (3) encourages States--
       (A) to strengthen school breakfast programs by improving 
     access for students;
       (B) to promote improvements in the nutritional quality of 
     breakfasts served; and
       (C) to inform students and parents of healthy nutritional 
     and lifestyle choices;
       (4) recognizes that the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 
     2010 (Public Law 111-296) and amendments made by that Act 
     provide low-income children with greater access to a 
     nutritious breakfast nationwide;
       (5) recognizes the impact of nonprofit and community 
     organizations that work to increase awareness of, and access 
     to, breakfast programs for low-income children; and
       (6) recognizes that National School Breakfast Week 
     celebrated from March 7 through March 11, 2011, helps draw 
     attention to the need for, and success of, the school 
     breakfast program.

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