[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17054]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     SENATE RESOLUTION 634--RECOGNIZING JULY 30, 2008, AS THE 40TH 
ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENACTMENT OF THE RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE SENATE 
              SELECT COMMITTEE ON NUTRITON AND HUMAN NEEDS

  Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Kerry, Mr. 
Sanders, Mrs. Lincoln, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Roberts, Mrs. Dole, Mr. Pryor, 
Mr. Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Clinton, and Mr. Feingold) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry:

                              S. Res. 634

       Whereas on April 26, 1968, after viewing the CBS Emmy-award 
     winning documentary ``Hunger in America,'' Senator George 
     McGovern introduced a resolution to establish a Senate Select 
     Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs;
       Whereas the resolution establishing the Select Committee on 
     Nutrition and Human Needs was enacted on July 30, 1968;
       Whereas Senator George McGovern served as the Chairman of 
     the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs from 1968 
     to 1977;
       Whereas July 30, 2008, marks the 40th anniversary of the 
     enactment of the resolution establishing the Select Committee 
     on Nutrition and Human Needs, which later became the 
     foundation of the current Subcommittee on Nutrition and Food 
     Assistance, Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, and General 
     Legislation Jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on 
     Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry;
       Whereas Senator George McGovern was committed to exposing 
     the failure of Federal food assistance programs to reach 
     citizens lacking in adequate quantities and quality of food;
       Whereas Senators George McGovern and Robert Dole worked 
     tirelessly in their respective roles on the Select Committee 
     on Nutrition and Human Needs to develop a bipartisan Federal 
     response to hunger;
       Whereas the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs 
     played a key role in educating Congress, the Federal 
     government, and the Nation at large about the magnitude of 
     hunger in the United States;
       Whereas the work of the Select Committee on Nutrition and 
     Human Needs was vital to reforming the Federal food stamp 
     program, culminating in the passage of the Food Stamp Act of 
     1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), which made the program more 
     efficient and more accessible to those most in need by 
     finally eliminating the requirement that Americans pay for a 
     portion of their food stamps;
       Whereas the work of the Select Committee on Nutrition and 
     Human Needs was essential to expanding the school lunch 
     program established under the National School Lunch Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and permanently establishing the school 
     breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act 
     of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), the child and adult care food 
     program under section 17 of the National School Lunch Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1766), and the summer food service program for 
     children under section 13 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1761);
       Whereas the work of the Select Committee on Nutrition and 
     Human Needs was instrumental in the establishment of the 
     special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, 
     and children established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition 
     Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) (WIC);
       Whereas the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry remains committed to continuing the important work 
     begun by Senators George McGovern and Robert Dole of 
     providing a Federal response to hunger;
       Whereas the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry provided a record-level amount of nutrition funding 
     in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 
     110-246; 122 Stat. 1651) to reform and strengthen Federal 
     nutrition assistance programs;
       Whereas, through the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
     2008 (Public Law 110-246; 122 Stat. 1651), the Senate 
     Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry made key 
     improvements to the food stamp program, including--
       (1) increasing the food purchasing ability of low-income 
     households by accounting for food cost inflation;
       (2) increasing the minimum benefit;
       (3) encouraging retirement and education savings; and
       (4) allowing families to account for child care costs in 
     calculating food assistance;
       Whereas, through the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 
     2008 (Public Law 110-246; 122 Stat. 1651), the Senate 
     Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry helped to 
     strengthen the domestic food assistance safety net by 
     providing significant funding to increase commodity purchases 
     for local area food banks;
       Whereas, in 2008, more than 28,000,000 people in the United 
     States participate in the food stamp program;
       Whereas, in 2008, more than 17,500,000 low-income children 
     receive free or reduced-price meals through the national 
     school lunch program;
       Whereas despite Federal food assistance programs, 
     35,500,000 people in the United States, including 12,600,000 
     children, continue to live in households considered to be 
     food insecure;
       Whereas children who live in households lacking access to 
     sufficient food are more likely to be in poorer physical 
     health than children from food secure households; and
       Whereas children are particularly vulnerable to the effects 
     of food insecurity because undernutrition can have adverse 
     impacts on emotional health, behavior, school performance, 
     and cognitive development: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes July 30, 2008, as the 40th anniversary of 
     the enactment of the resolution establishing the Senate 
     Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs;
       (2) recognizes the substantial contributions the Select 
     Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs made in ensuring that 
     effective and efficient Federal food assistance programs were 
     accessible to those most in need;
       (3) recognizes that hunger continues to be an issue 
     plaguing the United States; and
       (4) supports the continued efforts of Federal, State, and 
     local governments and private non-profit organizations to 
     eradicate hunger in the United States.

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