[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 788--DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 19 THROUGH 
         SEPTEMBER 23, 2022, AS ``MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK''

  Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Cardin, Ms. 
Sinema, Ms. Hassan, and Mr. Blumenthal) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 788

       Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when an 
     individual does not get enough protein, calories, or 
     nutrients;
       Whereas malnutrition is a significant problem in the United 
     States and around the world, crossing all age, racial, class, 
     gender, and geographic lines;
       Whereas malnutrition can be driven by social determinants 
     of health, including poverty or economic instability, access 
     to affordable healthcare, and low health literacy;
       Whereas there are inextricable and cyclical links between 
     poverty and malnutrition;
       Whereas communities of color, across all age groups, are 
     disproportionately likely to experience both food insecurity 
     and malnutrition;
       Whereas the Department of Agriculture defines food 
     insecurity as when an individual or household does not have 
     regular, reliable access to the foods needed for good health;
       Whereas Black children are almost 3 times more likely to 
     live in a food-insecure household than White children;
       Whereas infants, older adults, individuals 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 United States are 
     malnourished or at risk for malnutrition;
       Whereas, according to recent Aging Network surveys, 76 
     percent of older adults receiving meals at senior centers and 
     other congregate facilities report improved health outcomes, 
     and 84 percent of older adults receiving home-delivered meals 
     indicate the same;
       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 about, and promote the prevention of, malnutrition 
     across the lifespan: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the week of September 19 through September 
     23, 2022, as ``Malnutrition Awareness Week'';
       (2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists and other 
     nutrition professionals, health care providers, school 
     foodservice workers, social workers, advocates, caregivers, 
     and other professionals and agencies for their efforts to 
     advance awareness about, treatments for, and the prevention 
     of malnutrition;
       (3) recognizes the importance of existing Federal nutrition 
     programs, such as the nutrition programs under title III of 
     the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) and 
     Federal child nutrition programs, for their role in combating 
     malnutrition;
       (4) supports increased funding for the critical programs 
     described in paragraph (3);
       (5) recognizes--
       (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;
       (6) 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;
       (7) supports access to malnutrition screening and 
     assessment for all patients;
       (8) encourages the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
     Services to evaluate the implementation of newly-approved 
     malnutrition electronic clinical quality measures; and
       (9) acknowledges--
       (A) the importance of access to healthy food for children, 
     especially in child care settings and schools; and
       (B) the benefits of evidence-based nutrition standards.

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