[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 31 (Tuesday, March 5, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST WEEK

  (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National School 
Breakfast Week. We know that the simple act of a child eating a healthy 
breakfast can have dramatic effects, not only on their health, but on 
their academic performance.
  I am cochair of the Congressional School Health and Safety Caucus, 
and I was honored to join the Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry 
Campaign discussing last week, in a briefing, the importance of the 
School Breakfast Program.
  I was proud to vote for the bipartisan Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 
of 2010 that helped to expand the School Breakfast Program, but I'm 
disheartened that only about half of eligible students are 
participating in the program. We can do better.
  I spent years as a school nurse, and I saw, firsthand, how hunger can 
cause children to lack focus in school, often get sick, and eventually 
fall behind. And that's why students are encouraged to eat, and often 
provided with a breakfast on the day of a big test. But we need to make 
sure they eat breakfast every day.
  We've put the School Breakfast Program in place, and now we need to 
increase awareness and ensure access for all eligible students. That's 
why I encourage my colleagues to join me in recognizing National School 
Breakfast Week because, after all, breakfast is the most important meal 
of the day.

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