[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 166 (Thursday, September 24, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5875-S5876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 716--DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 5 THROUGH 
          OCTOBER 9, 2020, AS ``MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK''

  Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Hassan, 
Mr. Booker, Ms. Smith, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Manchin, Mr. King, Mr. 
Blumenthal, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mr. 
Coons, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Roberts, Ms. Collins, and Mrs. 
Capito) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 716

       Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a 
     person does not get enough protein, calories, or nutrients;
       Whereas the 2020 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) 
     pandemic (referred to in this preamble as the ``2020 
     coronavirus pandemic'')--
       (1) has resulted in a significant increase in food 
     insecurity, which is linked to malnutrition; and
       (2) has nearly doubled food insufficiency rates since 2019;
       Whereas the 2020 coronavirus pandemic has had a 
     disproportionate impact on children, as 13,900,000 children 
     live in a household characterized by child food 
     insufficiency, and the rate of households with food 
     insufficient children in 2020 was more than 5 times the rate 
     of households with food insufficient children in 2019;
       Whereas the impact of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic on the 
     chronically ill has forced the examination of chronic disease 
     prevention, especially through nutrient consumption and 
     absorption, which is examined in the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan 
     for NIH Nutrition Research published by the National 
     Institutes of Health;
       Whereas malnutrition is a significant problem in the United 
     States and around the world, crossing all age, racial, class, 
     gender, and geographic lines;
       Whereas infants, older adults, people with chronic 
     diseases, and other vulnerable populations are particularly 
     at risk for malnutrition;
       Whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that 
     failure to provide key nutrients during early childhood may 
     result in lifelong deficits in brain function;
       Whereas disease-associated malnutrition affects between 30 
     and 50 percent of patients admitted to hospitals, and the 
     medical costs of hospitalized patients with malnutrition can 
     be 300 percent more than the medical costs of properly 
     nourished patients;
       Whereas, according to the National Blueprint: Achieving 
     Quality Malnutrition Care for Older Adults, 2020 Update, as 
     many as \1/2\ of older adults living in the community are 
     malnourished or at risk for malnutrition;
       Whereas disease-associated malnutrition in older adults 
     alone costs the United States more than $51,300,000,000 each 
     year; and
       Whereas the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral 
     Nutrition established Malnutrition Awareness Week to raise 
     awareness and promote prevention of malnutrition across the 
     lifespan: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week of October 5 through October 9, 
     2020, as ``Malnutrition Awareness Week'';
       (2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists and other 
     nutrition professionals, health care providers, social 
     workers, advocates, caregivers, and other professionals and 
     agencies for their efforts to advance awareness, treatment, 
     and prevention of malnutrition;
       (3)(A) recognizes the importance of existing Federal 
     nutrition programs for their role in combating malnutrition; 
     and
       (B) supports emergency funding for those critical Federal 
     nutrition programs for the duration of the Coronavirus 
     Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic;
       (4) recognizes--

[[Page S5876]]

       (A) the importance of medical nutrition therapy under the 
     Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); and
       (B) the need for vulnerable populations to have access to 
     nutrition counseling;
       (5) recognizes the importance of the innovative research 
     conducted by the National Institutes of Health on--
       (A) nutrition, dietary patterns, and the human 
     gastrointestinal microbiome; and
       (B) how those factors influence the prevention or 
     development of chronic disease throughout the lifespan; and
       (6)(A) supports access to a malnutrition screening and 
     assessment; and
       (B) encourages the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
     to evaluate--
       (i) the provision of a malnutrition screening and 
     assessment through telehealth during the Coronavirus Disease 
     2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency; and
       (ii) the adoption of malnutrition electronic clinical 
     quality measures.

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