[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 145 (Wednesday, September 18, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S6149]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 826--SUPPORTING THE DESIGNATION OF THE WEEK OF 
 SEPTEMBER 16 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 20, 2024, AS ``MALNUTRITION AWARENESS 
                                 WEEK''

  Mr. MURPHY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry:

                              S. Res. 826

       Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a 
     person 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 health care, and low health literacy;
       Whereas there are inextricable and cyclical links between 
     poverty and malnutrition;
       Whereas the Department of Agriculture defines food 
     insecurity as when a person or household does not have 
     regular, reliable access to the foods needed for good health;
       Whereas communities of color, across all age groups, are 
     disproportionately likely to experience both food insecurity 
     and malnutrition;
       Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native households are at 
     significantly greater risk for food insecurity than all 
     households in the United States;
       Whereas 1 in 18 Asian Americans and 1 in 5 Pacific 
     Islanders experience food insecurity;
       Whereas Black children are almost 3 times more likely to 
     live in a food-insecure household than White children;
       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 deaths from malnutrition have increased among 
     adults 85 and older since 2013;
       Whereas, according to the ``National Blueprint: Achieving 
     Quality Malnutrition Care for Older Adults, 2020 Update'', as 
     many as half 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 and promote prevention of malnutrition across 
     the lifespan: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) supports the designation of ``Malnutrition Awareness 
     Week'';
       (2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists and other 
     nutrition professionals, health care providers, school food 
     service workers, social workers, advocates, caregivers, and 
     other professionals and agencies for their efforts to advance 
     awareness, treatment, and prevention of malnutrition;
       (3) recognizes the importance of existing Federal nutrition 
     programs, like the nutrition programs established under the 
     Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) and 
     Federal child nutrition programs, for their role in combating 
     malnutrition, and supports increased funding for these 
     critical programs;
       (4) 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;
       (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;
       (6) supports access to malnutrition screening and 
     assessment for all patients;
       (7) encourages the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
     to evaluate the implementation of newly approved malnutrition 
     electronic clinical quality measures;
       (8) supports the ongoing work of the White House Conference 
     on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and its work to address 
     malnutrition; and
       (9) acknowledges the importance of healthy food access for 
     children, especially in childcare settings and schools, and 
     the benefits of evidence-based nutrition standards.

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