[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 22605]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO AMERICAN BEVERAGE ASSOCIATION

  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, today I rise to report on a development 
by the American Beverage Association, ABA, and its members who have 
adopted a new policy aimed at helping parents and schools to promote 
healthy lifestyles for our Nation's students.
  Recently, the association's board of directors established new school 
vending policies for its members. The purpose was to help parents, 
teachers, and children in the school environment make good lifestyle 
choices by providing appropriate beverage choices for each grade level.
  Childhood obesity is a problem facing society, and I believe that 
responsibility for achieving healthy lifestyles is shared by everyone, 
including parents, communities, schools, government, and industry.
  Under the new ABA policy, the beverage industry will provide the 
following: One, only bottled water and 100 percent juice to elementary 
school students; two, nutritious and/or lower calorie beverages to 
middle school students, such as bottled water, 100 percent juice, 
sports drinks, no-calorie and low-calorie soft drinks and low-calorie 
juice drinks--no full-calorie soft drinks or full-calorie juice drinks 
with 5 percent or less juice will be provided to middle school students 
until after school hours; and three, a variety of beverage choices to 
high school students, such as bottled water, 100 percent juice, sports 
drinks, and juice drinks. No more than 50 percent of the vending 
selections made available to high school students will be soft drinks.
  This new policy complements the work the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry completed in the 108th Congress with the Child 
Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. Under the act, local 
school districts were directed to develop wellness policies, address 
physical activity and nutrition education, and implement nutrition 
standards for all food sold on campus. The ABA's new vending policy is 
timely and welcomed, and can serve as a key component for the 
development of local wellness policies by helping set important 
nutrition standards for our students.
  Mr. President, I would like to recognize the American Beverage 
Association and its members for being part of a solution in achieving 
healthy lifestyles and in fighting childhood obesity. This commonsense 
policy does not unfairly single out individual foods or beverages 
through wholesale bans, but instead provides a reasonable balance in 
vending choices and complements the industry's school-based physical 
activity programs.
  I commend The Coca-Cola Company in my home State of Georgia, and the 
entire beverage industry for its leadership on this issue and for its 
commitment to making a substantial and positive impact on the well-
being of our students.

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