[Senate Report 111-178]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 363
111th Congress Report
2d Session SENATE 111-178
=======================================================================
HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010
_______
May 5, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mrs. Lincoln, from the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry, submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL AND SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS
[To accompany S. 3307]
The Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry,
having considered an original bill (S. 3307) to reauthorize
child nutrition programs, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of the Legislation....................................... 1
Background and Need.............................................. 2
Summary of Major Provisions...................................... 5
Legislative History.............................................. 10
Roll Call Vote................................................... 13
Estimated Costs and Unfunded Mandates............................ 13
Congressionally-Directed Spending................................ 30
Regulatory Impact................................................ 30
Section-by-Section Summary....................................... 31
Additional Views................................................. 54
Changes in Existing Law.......................................... 56
Purpose of the Legislation
The purpose of this legislation is to extend and improve
the nation's policies and programs pertaining to child
nutrition. Congress most recently addressed these programs
comprehensively in the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization
Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-134). The programs that must be
reauthorized include: (1) The Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); (2) the Summer
Food Service Program; (3) the State Administrative Expense
Program; and (4) the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. The
National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program,
and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) are permanent
law. However, this legislation provides Congress with an
opportunity to revise and improve those programs as well.
In brief, the objectives of this bill are to expand access
to the child nutrition programs to reduce childhood hunger,
improve the nutritional quality of meals to promote health and
address childhood obesity, and to simplify program management
while strengthening program integrity. The Healthy, Hunger-Free
Kids Act of 2010 reauthorizes and improves Federal programs
contained in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 through fiscal year 2015.
Background and Need
The National School Lunch Program, established in 1946, is
the largest of the child nutrition programs administered by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The National School
Lunch Program provides nutritionally balanced lunches to more
than 31 million children each school day in over 101,000 public
and private nonprofit schools and residential child care
institutions. Participating schools receive cash reimbursement
and a commodity entitlement for USDA purchased foods for each
lunch served that meets the program's nutrition requirements.
In fiscal year 2009, approximately 5.18 billion lunches were
served through the National School Lunch Program at a total
federal cost of $9 billion. Of the total lunches served, more
than 62 percent were served to children free or at a reduced
price. The program also reimburses schools for snacks served to
children in after-school educational or enrichment programs.
The School Breakfast Program, which was created as a pilot
project in 1966 and permanently authorized in 1975, provides
nutritionally balanced breakfasts to 11 million children in
more than 88,000 public and private nonprofit schools and
residential child care institutions. Participating schools
receive cash reimbursement for each breakfast served that meets
the program's nutritional requirements. In fiscal year 2009,
the School Breakfast Program provided approximately 1.86
billion breakfasts to 11 million children at a federal cost of
$2.6 billion. Of the 1.86 billion breakfasts served, 82 percent
were served free or at a reduced price to children from low-
income households.
The Child and Adult Care Food Program, which was created as
a pilot program in 1968 and permanently authorized in 1975,
plays a critical role in providing nutrition to young children
in preschool settings such as child care centers and home-based
day care, as well as to children participating in afterschool
programs. In fiscal year 2009, the Child and Adult Care Food
Program provided approximately 1.9 billion meals to over 3.3
million participating children and adults at a federal cost of
$2.5 billion. Of those 1.9 billion meals served, 1.2 billion
were served in child care centers, 600 million were served in
child care homes, and 70 million were served in adult day care
centers. Over 80 percent of the meals served through the Child
and Adult Care Food Program are served free or at reduced
price.
The Summer Food Service Program provides nutritious meals
and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer
months and long vacation periods for schools on year-round
schedules when children do not have access to school lunch or
breakfast. The Summer Food Service Program was created as a
pilot program in 1968 and permanently authorized in 1975.
Participating sponsors, including schools, local government
agencies, residential and non-residential camps, and private
nonprofit organizations, receive cash reimbursement for up to
two meals per day served to children age 18 and under at
eligible sites. In fiscal year 2009, the Summer Food Service
Program provided 133.1 million meals to over 2.2 million
children at more than 34,000 sites at a federal cost of $356
million. Almost 60 percent of meals served were lunches,
approximately 25 percent were breakfasts, and the remaining 15
percent were snacks. All meals are served free through the
Summer Food Service Program.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants and Children (WIC) provides nutritious supplemental
foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health
and social services referrals at no charge to low-income
pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, and infants and
children up to the age of five. WIC, which was created in 1972
as a pilot program and has operated as a permanent program
since 1974, is operated by all 50 States, 6 U.S. Territories,
and 34 Indian tribal organizations through 2,200 local agencies
and 9,000 clinic sites. WIC provides participants in most
States with monthly checks or vouchers to buy specific foods
designed to supplement their diet with particular nutrients. In
fiscal year 2009, 9.1 million people participated in WIC at a
total federal cost of $6.9 billion. All WIC participants are
from households with incomes at or below 185 percent of
poverty.
Despite advances made in strengthening Federal child
nutrition programs, significant challenges remain for the low-
income children and families who benefit from those programs as
well as for the schools and community-based institutions that
actually provide food to those children.
First, and most importantly, the need for Federal food
assistance has increased dramatically in recent years.
According to USDA's November 2009 report, Household Food
Security in the United States, 14.6 percent of U.S. households
(17 million households representing 49.1 million people,
including 16.7 million children) were food insecure at least
some time during the year. Of that number, 6.7 million
households were classified as having very low food security,
meaning that the food intake of one or more household members
was reduced and their eating patterns were disrupted at times
during the year because the household lacked money and other
resources for food.
These statistics represent significant increases from prior
years, and were the highest recorded since 1995, when the first
national food security survey was conducted. For low-income
households, households with children that were headed by single
women or single men, and black and Hispanic households, rates
of food insecurity were substantially higher than the national
average. Most notably, 55 percent of all food-insecure
households participated in one or more of the three largest
Federal nutrition programs (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, National School Lunch Program, and the WIC Program),
underscoring the important role that these programs play in
providing individuals with critical nutrition benefits.
The recent increases in food insecurity are consistent with
larger socioeconomic trends related to poverty and household
income. In December 2007, the United States economy fell into a
recession, as indicated by the National Bureau of Economic
Research. During this time period, real median incomes fell,
and both the percentage and aggregate number of Americans
living in poverty increased. According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, real median household income fell by 3.6 percent
between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303, offsetting the
gain in income experienced over the past three years.
Additionally, between 2007 and 2008 the official poverty rate
increased from 12.5 percent (37.3 million persons) to 13.2
percent (39.8 million persons), the first statistically
significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004 and
the highest poverty rate since 1997. For children under 18
years of age, the poverty rate was higher than the national
average, increasing from 18 percent in 2007 to 19 percent in
2008.
In addition to their importance in addressing food
insecurity, Federal child nutrition programs play a critical
role in providing nutritious, balanced meals to children and
promoting healthy lifestyles. Major strides have been made in
recent years to improve the quality of meals served to children
through child nutrition programs. According to the third USDA
School Nutrition Dietary Assessment (SNDA III), in school year
2004-2005, over 95 percent of NSLP lunches offered and served
by most schools met USDA goals for cholesterol over a typical
week and were lower in saturated fat than meals served in
school year 1998-1999, when the last SNDA was conducted. Larger
proportions of elementary schools met the standards for total
fat and saturated fat, and a larger proportion of secondary
schools met the standard for saturated fat.
Despite this significant progress, however, considerable
work remains to be done to improve children's diets and to
bring Federally-subsidized meals in line with USDA nutritional
guidelines. According to USDA, roughly 99 percent of lunches
included amounts of sodium above the recommended levels. And,
only 26 percent and 34 percent of schools served lunches that
met USDA guidelines for total fat and saturated fat,
respectively. Additionally, available research has consistently
shown that the diets of U.S. children do not meet current
national dietary recommendations for nutrition and health.
Overall, children today have diets that are low in fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and dairy foods, and high in sodium,
fat and added sugars. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines recommend
that Americans consume half of their grains as whole grains,
but according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services report, Healthy People 2010, only 7 percent of
children ages two to 19 years currently meet this
recommendation.
Statistics on the nutritional profile of school meals and
the diets of Americans are often set against broader
information about the overall health of American adults and
children. The Department of Health and Human Services notes
that 18.2 million Americans have diabetes, with nearly one-
third of those unaware that they have the disease, and more
than 64 percent of the U.S. adult population is overweight or
obese. Additionally, childhood obesity has increased steadily
in recent years, especially during the past two decades.
According to the Institute of Medicine report, Progress in
Preventing Childhood Obesity, ``Obesity rates among American
children and youth have increased dramatically. Between 1963
and 2004, obesity rates quadrupled for older children, those
ages 6 to 11 years (from 4 to 19 percent), and tripled for
adolescents, those ages 12 to 19 years (from 5 to 17 percent).
Between 1971 and 2004, obesity rates increased from 5 to 14
percent in 2- to 5-year olds.''
Available health research shows a strong association
between obesity and other chronic diseases, including
cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in
America, resulting in 500,000 annual deaths. Risk factors for
cardiovascular disease occur with much greater frequency among
obese children than they do among normal weight children. One
quarter of children ages five to 10 show early warning signs
for heart disease, such as elevated blood pressure or high
cholesterol.
In summary, it is evident that tremendous needs exist to
reduce childhood hunger and food insecurity, as well as to
improve the diets and overall health of American children more
generally. The purpose of this bill is to address those needs
in order that fewer low-income children have to go without
food, and to ensure that more children from all income levels
adopt the kind of healthful eating habits and lifestyles that
will enable them to live longer, more productive lives.
Summary of Major Provisions
Direct certification for children receiving medicaid benefits
Under current law, local educational agencies are required
to directly certify children in households receiving benefits
under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for
free school meals. At the discretion of the local educational
agency, direct certification may also be conducted based on
receipt of cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) program or receipt of benefits under the
Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations.
Prior to 2004, direct certification of Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program participants was a state option.
In the 2004 reauthorization legislation, Congress required the
use of direct certification based on receipt of Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The requirement was
phased in based on the size of the school district and took
effect nationwide beginning with the 2008-2009 school year.
Research has consistently shown that direct certification
is highly accurate and reduces paperwork for families and
school districts. This provision will expand the use of direct
certification to include the Medicaid program. Direct
certification will be conducted in areas selected by the USDA
based on optional applications submitted by interested states.
The size of the pool of eligible local educational agencies
will increase gradually each year, going from local educational
agencies that collectively represent 2.5 percent of the
students currently certified for free or reduced price school
meals nationwide during the 2012-2013 school year, to 5 percent
during the 2013-2014 school year, and finally to 10 percent
during the 2014-2015 school year and subsequent years.
Participating local educational agencies will use the income
information collected by the Medicaid program to directly
certify eligible children for free school meals. The
Congressional Budget Office estimates that, by 2015,
approximately 115,000 additional students will be certified for
free school meals through this provision.
Eliminating individual applications through community eligibility
Under current law, school districts located in high poverty
areas which participate in the National School Lunch Program
may elect to serve all meals free to students and receive
federal reimbursement through alternative counting and claiming
options, commonly known as Provision 2 and Provision 3. Under
these alternative counting and claiming options, schools
establish a base year using paper applications and direct
certification, and count meals by category to determine the
percentage of meals served free or at a reduced price. The data
from the base year is used to establish claiming percentages
for federal reimbursements in subsequent years. After a four or
five year period, schools must establish another base year or
produce socioeconomic data which shows minimal change in the
school's income demographic. Participating schools often
struggle to collect paper applications and adequately document
individual student eligibility in communities and schools that
have not done so for several years, which can negatively affect
their future federal reimbursement. Of the more than 101,000
schools in the National School Lunch Program, only about 3,000
(less than 3 percent) are Provision 2 or Provision 3 schools.
This provision establishes two new options by which schools
or local educational agencies with very high proportions of
low-income children can receive federal reimbursement without
collecting individual paper applications from households and
tracking student eligibility in the cafeteria. Reimbursement
for these low-income schools will instead be based on other
sources of available data, including the results of direct
certification and the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community
Survey. There are more than 10,000 schools in which more than
80 percent of the students are certified for free or reduced
price meals. These schools serve more than 5 million children,
who represent more than one in ten students nationwide. Under
either of these new options, such schools will benefit from
reduced paperwork, parents will not have to fill out
duplicative forms, and low-income children will not face stigma
in the cafeteria. In exchange, schools participating under
either of these two options would agree to serve all meals free
of charge, essentially creating a ``hunger free zone.'' The
Committee expects the Secretary and State agencies to promote
these new options and provide outreach and technical assistance
to schools that qualify to make it as easy as possible for them
to offer all meals free of charge.
Expansion of afterschool meals for at-risk children
In the vast majority of states throughout the country, the
Child and Adult Care Food Program At-Risk Afterschool Snack
Program provides reimbursement to eligible institutions for a
snack served to children participating in an afterschool
program. For the past several years, appropriations bills have
modified the program to permit several states to receive
reimbursement for a full meal in addition to a snack. For the
2009-2010 school year, the free reimbursement level for a snack
is $0.74, compared with $2.68 for a meal. Currently, only the
District of Columbia, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois,
Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are
permitted to receive reimbursement for a meal. Participating
institutions in all other states may only receive reimbursement
for a snack.
This provision will expand reimbursement for a meal in
afterschool programs to all 50 states, which will ensure that
more low-income children have access to a nutritious meal
during after school hours.
Performance-based reimbursement rate increase for new meal patterns
The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine
(IOM) released recommendations in October 2009 for updating the
meal patterns for the National School Lunch and School
Breakfast Programs to make them consistent with the 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Implementing IOM's
recommendations and raising the quality of school meals will
mean significant changes for virtually all schools in the
program. Schools will be required to serve increased portions
of fruits and vegetables, which may come in a variety of forms,
including from food products derived out of pulse crops such as
dry beans, dry peas, lentils, and chick peas, which are
important food crops that play an important role in a balanced
diet due to their low fat content, and high protein and fiber
content. In addition to more fruits and vegetables, increased
servings of whole grains, and low-fat or non-fat dairy products
will be required, all of which the IOM estimates will increase
the food cost per lunch.
This provision requires the Department of Agriculture to
issue regulations to update the meal patterns based on the IOM
recommendations, and provides an increase in the federal
reimbursement to help schools meet the new meal patterns, which
the IOM estimates will increase food costs between four and
nine percent for participating schools. Once interim or final
regulations are promulgated, the Secretary of Agriculture will
provide an additional 6 cents per lunch, adjusted annually for
inflation, in reimbursement for local educational agencies that
the State agency certifies are in compliance with the new meal
patterns. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that nearly
all schools would be able to comply with the new requirements
and receive the higher reimbursement rate.
Local school wellness policy implementation
One of the initiatives included in the Child Nutrition and
WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-265) required
each local educational agency participating in the National
School Lunch Program to establish a local wellness policy. The
2004 initiative was designed to encourage local school
districts to come up with their own plans to promote, among
other things, sound nutrition and physical activity at the
local level.
This section continues and updates the requirements of the
local wellness policy included in the 2004 reauthorization by
requiring that all local wellness policies include, at a
minimum, goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and
other school-based policies that promote student wellness;
nutrition guidelines for all foods available on school campuses
during the school day; participation by the local community in
the development and periodic review of the wellness policy;
public notification; and periodic assessment and reporting.
Nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools
Reimbursable school meals must meet nutrition standards
(which include limits on fat, saturated fat and content
requirements for protein, vitamins, and minerals) in order for
a school district to claim reimbursement through the National
School Lunch or School Breakfast Program. In contrast, foods
sold individually outside of these programs, such as through
vending machines, snack bars and a la carte lines are not
required to meet comparable nutrition standards. The Department
of Agriculture has very limited authority to set nutrition
standards for these foods--limited to just the time and the
place of meal service. Existing regulations stemming from this
authority are very narrow and have not been updated in 30
years, despite major changes in nutritional science, changes in
food consumption patterns, and rapid growth in childhood
obesity, overweight, and diet-related chronic diseases.
Foods served outside of school meal programs are widely
available in American schools. According to the Government
Accountability Office, 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent
of middle schools, and 83 percent of elementary schools have
vending machines, snack bars, a la carte lines, and the like.
Numerous scientific studies show that foods offered through
these outlets are low in nutritional quality. In addition,
research shows that when children gain access to such foods in
schools, the quality of their diets decreases significantly.
The widespread availability of unhealthy foods in our schools
not only undermines children's health, but also undermines
annual taxpayer investments of over $15.5 billion in the
National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
To promote healthful eating and to protect taxpayer
investments in school meals, this provision requires the
Secretary of Agriculture to establish science-based nutrition
standards for all foods sold in schools other than foods
currently reimbursed through the school lunch or breakfast
programs. Such standards will apply on the entire school campus
until the end of the school day. In establishing nutrition
standards, the Secretary is directed to adopt measures that are
consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, consider
authoritative scientific research and the practical application
of nutrition standards, as well as existing voluntary
agreements, and provide for exemptions for school sponsored
fundraisers if they are sanctioned by the school. The Secretary
is also required to update the standards, as practicable and
necessary, following the publication of new editions of the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Nutrition and wellness goals for meals served through the Child and
Adult Care Food Program
Child care facilities are a natural setting in which to lay
the foundation for good nutrition and wellness in children.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in
2005 9.1 million pre-school aged children participated in some
form of child care. At the federal level, one opportunity to
promote better health in child care settings is USDA's Child
and Adult Care Food Program. The program serves approximately 3
million children each day and represents a tremendous
opportunity to promote healthy lifestyles to children across
the country.
This provision makes several changes to the nutritional
requirements of the Child and Adult Care Food Program. It will
require that CACFP meal patterns be based on the most recent
Dietary Guidelines, similar to what is currently required for
school lunches and breakfasts. The provision also requires that
child care providers serve only low-fat or fat-free milk to
children age two and up, consistent with recommendations of the
Dietary Guidelines and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and
to make fresh, safe drinking water available to children
throughout the day to ensure proper hydration and develop
positive attitudes toward water as a healthy, acceptable fluid
for consumption.
In addition to encouraging the adoption of certain
nutrition practices, this provision requires the Department of
Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to
encourage physical activity and to limit sedentary activity,
both of which are recommended by public health organizations
and the Dietary Guidelines. Further, it requires the Department
to provide training and technical assistance for states,
sponsors and providers so that they have the tools they need to
help children learn healthy nutrition and wellness habits.
Support for breastfeeding in the WIC Program
Though the promotion of breastfeeding among WIC
participants has long been an objective of the WIC Program,
rates of breastfeeding among WIC participants continue to be
significantly lower than for the population as a whole. In
2003, only 54 percent of women participating in the WIC Program
initiated breastfeeding compared to 76 percent of non-WIC
participants. Rates of breastfeeding at six months of age
similarly lag behind the general population, with 43 percent of
non-WIC participants continuing to breastfeed their infants at
6 months of age, compared to just 21 percent of WIC
participants. In recent years, WIC has accelerated its effort
to promote breastfeeding in the WIC Program, notably through
increasing funding for breastfeeding peer counselors and by
changing WIC food packages to increase the attractiveness of
breastfeeding and decrease the attractiveness of infant
formula.
This provision seeks to reward excellence at both the local
agency and local clinic level, as well as at the state agency
level. For local clinics and local agencies, this provision
would require the Secretary of Agriculture to create a program
to recognize exemplary breastfeeding support practices. For
state agencies, this provision would establish a set of high
performance bonuses to state agencies that have demonstrated
either the highest proportion of breastfed infants or the
greatest improvement in the proportion of breastfed infants,
with an emphasis on fully breastfed infants. In addition, this
provision would expand the collection of WIC program data on
breastfeeding rates by requiring the WIC Program to collect and
publish breastfeeding data annually, rather than biannually,
and also to publish rates of breastfeeding not just at the
state agency level, but for local agencies as well.
Nationwide implementation of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)
technology in the WIC program
One of the major success stories in the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been the transition to
electronic benefit transfer (EBT) technology for the delivery
of program benefits. Prior to EBT, benefits were delivered in
the form of paper coupons that were used by SNAP participants
in exchange for food at authorized SNAP vendors. The transition
from paper coupons to EBT has created a much more positive
experience for SNAP participants in the retail setting, as well
as a more efficient way to process benefits for SNAP vendors.
In the vast majority of states participating in the WIC
program, benefits are still provided to participants in the
form of paper vouchers. In order to facilitate a similar
transition from paper to EBT in the WIC program, this section
mandates WIC EBT implementation nationwide by October 1, 2020.
Exemptions are granted to State agencies in the case of unusual
technological barriers or operational costs.
Updating technology in the WIC Program will allow State WIC
staff at all levels to perform operations more effectively and
efficiently, increasing accountability and streamlining program
monitoring and business practices through electronic solutions.
At the clinic level it will enhance client services by
improving clinic efficiencies. EBT will improve access to
prescribed WIC foods by allowing the participant to shop for
benefits when they want to and in the amounts they wish to
purchase. EBT will also simplify the retail point-of-sale
transaction and will reduce participant stigma and improve the
shopping experience. WIC benefit redemption and payment for WIC
transactions will be vastly improved for retailers using EBT.
Legislative History
COMMITTEE ACTION
(1) HEARINGS
Child Nutrition Programs in the economic downturn
On December 8, 2008, the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing to assess the
effectiveness of USDA's food assistance and child nutrition
programs in promoting health, preventing chronic disease and
fighting hunger in the economic downturn. During this hearing,
testimony was heard from a panel that included: Dr. Eileen
Kennedy, Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts; Mary Kay Fox,
Mathematica Policy Research, Cambridge, MA; Dr. Mariana
Chilton, Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Project,
Philadelphia, PA; and Carolyn Duff, A.C. Moore Elementary
School, Columbia, SC.
Improving nutrition for America's children in difficult economic times
On March 4, 2009, the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing to discuss how to improve
nutrition for children during times of economic difficulty. The
hearing included two panels of witnesses. The first panel
focused on improving nutrition through the National School
Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Witnesses testifying
included: Dr. Katie Wilson, Onalaska Public Schools, Onalaska,
WI; Dr. Susan Bartlett, ABT Associates, Cambridge, MA; and
Connie Boldt, Knoxville Community School District, Knoxville,
IA. The second panel addressed improving nutrition for children
when they are not in school. Witnesses for this panel included:
Dr. David Paige, John Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, MD;
Kenneth Hecht, California Food Policy Advocates, Oakland, CA;
and Lucy Nolan, End Hunger Connecticut, Hartford, CT.
Reforming nutrition for kids in schools
On March 31, 2009, the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing to discuss how to improve
nutrition for kids in schools beyond improvements in the
federal school meal programs. The hearing included two panels
of witnesses. The first panel provided perspectives from
schools and included: Dr. Pat Cooper, Early Childhood and
Family Learning Foundation, New Orleans, LA; Nancy
Huehnergarth, New York State Healthy Eating and Physical
Activity Alliance, Chappaqua, NY; Byron Garrett, National
Parent Teacher Association, Chicago, IL; and Reginald Felton,
National School Boards Association, Alexandria, VA. The second
panel offered perspectives from health professionals and the
food and beverage industry. Witnesses included: Karen Ehrens,
North Dakota Dietetic Association, Bismarck, ND; Miriam
Erickson Brown, Anderson Erickson Dairy Company, Des Moines,
IA; Hank Izzo, Mars Snackfood U.S., Hackettstown, NJ; and Susan
Neely, American Beverage Association, Washington, D.C.
Field Hearing to consider the benefits of Farm-To-School projects,
healthy eating and physical activity for school children
On May 15, 2009, the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry held a field hearing in Atlanta, Georgia
to consider the benefits of farm-to-school projects, healthy
eating and physical activity to school children. Witnesses
included: Dr. David Satcher, Morehouse School of Medicine,
Atlanta, GA; Dr. William Dietz, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, Atlanta, GA; Cindy Long, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Alexandria, VA; and Glyen Holmes, New North
Florida Cooperative Association, Inc., Marianna, FL.
Reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs
On November 17, 2009, the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry held a hearing to consider opportunities
to fight hunger and improve child health in the pending
reauthorization of U.S. child nutrition programs. The first
witness was Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Following
Secretary Vilsack, a panel of witnesses gave testimony
including: Dr. Margaret Boyle, USDA Agricultural Research
Service, Little Rock, AR; Rich Huddleston, Arkansas Advocates
for Children and Families, Little Rock, AR; Rhonda Sanders,
Arkansas Hunger Alliance, Little Rock, AR; and Jennifer Smith,
Walmart, Bentonville, AR.
(2) COMMITTEE MARKUP
On March 24, 2010, the Senate Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry met in open session to mark up the 2010
child nutrition reauthorization bill. Members of the Committee
in attendance included: Senators Lincoln, Chambliss, Harkin,
Leahy, Stabenow, Nelson, Brown, Casey, Klobuchar, Bennet,
Gillibrand, Lugar, Cochran, Roberts, Johanns, Grassley and
Thune. The Chairman's mark was presented at 9:34 a.m. by
Chairman Lincoln. Opening statements were made. The Chairman's
mark was unanimously adopted by voice vote subject to the
amendments to be offered by members of the Committee later in
the markup. The Committee then considered a number of
amendments to the Chairman's mark.
Senator Thune offered an amendment to designate a portion
of the research and demonstration project funding made
available under the school lunch program for research focused
on child nutrition issues on Native American reservations. The
amendment was unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Senator Lincoln offered an enbloc amendment containing both
technical and substantive, but bipartisan, changes to the
Chairman's mark. The amendment was unanimously adopted by voice
vote.
Senator Stabenow offered an amendment that directs the
Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study of states
participating in afterschool supper programs. The amendment was
unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Senator Bennet offered an amendment that directs the
Secretary of Agriculture to assist states in developing and
implementing a continuous improvement plan for direct
certification in the school lunch program as well as require
states to include improvements in technology and information
systems in a continuous improvement plan. The amendment was
unanimously adopted by voice vote.
Senator Chambliss offered an amendment that would use the
Conservation Stewardship Program as a funding offset as well as
provide additional funding for the Emergency Food Assistance
Program and Summer Food Service Program. The amendment failed
on a roll call vote of 10 yeas and 11 nays.
Senator Brown offered an amendment to provide grants for
summer food service as well as an amendment to establish an
organic food pilot program within the school lunch program.
Both amendments were adopted unanimously by voice vote.
Senator Bennet offered an amendment to create state
childhood hunger challenge grants. The amendment was
unanimously adopted by voice vote.
The Committee adjourned at 11:00 a.m.
Rollcall Vote
Senator Chambliss offered an amendment to the Chairman's
mark that would use the Conservation Stewardship Program as a
funding offset in lieu of the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program as well as provide additional funding for the Emergency
Food Assistance Program and Summer Food Service Program. By
rollcall vote of 10 yeas and 11 nays as follows, the amendment
was defeated.
YEAS--10 NAYS--11
Mr. Chambliss Mr. Leahy
Mr. Lugar Mr. Harkin
Mr. Cochran Mr. Conrad
Mr. McConnell Mr. Baucus
Mr. Roberts Ms. Stabenow
Mr. Johanns Mr. Brown
Mr. Grassley Mr. Casey
Mr. Thune Ms. Klobuchar
Mr. Cornyn Mrs. Gillibrand
Mr. Nelson Mr. Bennet
Mrs. Lincoln
Estimated Costs and Unfunded Mandates
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 20, 2010.
Hon. Blanche L. Lincoln,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Madam Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for the Healthy, Hunger-
Free Kids Act of 2010.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Kathleen
FitzGerald and Emily Holcome.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director.
Enclosure.
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
Summary: The legislation would reauthorize--through 2015--
and amend child nutrition programs, primarily the National
School Lunch Program (NSLP), the School Breakfast Program
(SBP), and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). CBO estimates that enacting
this legislation would increase direct spending by $68 million
over the 2010-2015 period and decrease direct spending by $11
million over the 2010-2020 period. (The bill would increase
revenues by less than $500,000 over the 2010-2020 period.) Pay-
as-you-go procedures would apply because enacting the
legislation would affect direct spending and revenues.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Different time periods apply for the current pay-as-you-go rules
in the House of Representatives and the Senate. CBO estimates that
enacting the bill would reduce direct spending by $2 million over the
2010-2014 period, but increase direct spending by $33 million over the
2010-2019 period. (The legislation would increase revenues by
insignificant amounts over both of those periods.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additionally, CBO estimates that implementing this bill
would have discretionary costs of $35.9 billion over the 2011-
2015 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Most of these costs are for the reauthorization of WIC, which
received an appropriation of $7.3 billion in fiscal year 2010.
The bill would impose new requirements on states and
schools that implement child nutrition programs. Those
requirements would be intergovernmental mandates as defined in
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). Beginning the first
year that the mandates take effect, CBO estimates that the
aggregate costs of the mandates to states and schools would
exceed the threshold established in UMRA for intergovernmental
mandates ($70 million in 2010, adjusted annually for
inflation).
The bill would impose a mandate, as defined in UMRA, on the
private sector, by requiring entities selling food on a school
campus or at any time during the school day to comply with
science-based standards established by the Secretary of
Agriculture. Because of uncertainties about the standards that
the Secretary would establish under this bill, CBO cannot
estimate whether the costs to the private sector would exceed
the threshold established in UMRA ($141 million in 2010,
adjusted annually for inflation).
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of the legislation is shown in the following
table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget
function 600 (income security).
TABLE 1.--BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF THE HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2010-2015 2010-2020
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDINGEstimated Budget Authority.................................. 0 -165 -362 74 23 -19 -17 -24 -25 -33 -40 -449 -588
Estimated Outlays........................................... 0 -92 -166 115 141 70 33 -1 -29 -38 -44 68 -11 CHANGES IN REVENUEEstimated Revenues.......................................... 0 * * * * * * * * * * * * NET CHANGE IN THE DEFICIT FROM
CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING AND REVENUESImpact on the Deficit\1\.................................... 0 -92 -166 115 141 70 33 -1 -29 -38 -44 68 -11 CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONEstimated Authorization Level............................... 1 7,688 7,650 7,740 7,834 7,959 0 0 0 0 0 38,872 38,872
Estimated Outlays........................................... 0 5,674 6,865 7,694 7,783 7,900 1,970 792 0 0 0 35,916 38,678
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Positive numbers indicate increases in deficits; negative numbers indicate decreases in deficits.
Note * = less than $500,000.
Basis of estimate: For the purpose of this estimate, CBO
assumes the bill will be enacted by the end of the fiscal year.
The bill specifies that most provisions would become effective
on October 1, 2010.
Direct spending and revenues
CBO estimates that enacting the bill would increase direct
spending by $68 million over the 2011-2015 period and decrease
direct spending by $11 million over the 2011-2020 period. Table
2 details the components of the estimated effects. CBO
estimates that enacting the bill also would increase revenues
by less than $500,000 over both the 2011-2015 and 2011-2020
periods. (We estimate no direct spending or revenue effects for
2010.)
Performance-Based Rate Increase. Section 201 would increase
federal reimbursements to schools, beginning in fiscal year
2013, by 6 cents for all lunches in schools that serve both
breakfasts and lunches that meet regulations concerning meal
patterns and nutrition standards. The increase of 6 cents would
be adjusted each year for inflation. Under the legislation,
states would be responsible for certifying that schools comply
with the guidelines. Additionally, the bill would provide $50
million per year for two years for state administrative
expenses related to certifying schools.
CBO estimates that nearly all schools would receive the
higher reimbursement rate. Including interactions with other
provisions in the bill, CBO estimates that this provision would
increase direct spending by $1.1 billion over the 2011-2015
period and $3.2 billion over the 2011-2020 period.
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). EQIP
provides financial assistance to agricultural producers to
implement conservation practices. The Food, Conservation, and
Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-246) provided funding of
$1.588 billion for 2011 and $1.750 billion for 2012 for new
contracts each year. Section 442 would reduce those annual
amounts to $1.447 billion beginning in 2011, for a total
savings of $746 million over the 2011-2015 period and $2.2
billion over the 2011-2020 period.
Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program.
Section 241 would establish a new grant program for nutrition
education proposes as part of the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill would eliminate the current
practice by which state spending (both cash and in-kind) on
approved activities for nutrition education is matched by the
federal government as part of their SNAP administrative costs.
The bill would provide $375 million for grants in fiscal year
2011, and adjust that amount for inflation in future years.
Those funds would be distributed by formula to the states and
there would no longer be a requirement for states to provide
matching funds. States could use the money to provide nutrition
education and obesity prevention programs to SNAP recipients
and other low-income individuals.
TABLE 2.--ESTIMATED DIRECT SPENDING UNDER THE HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2011-2015 2011-2020
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDINGPerformance-Based Rate
Increase\1\:
Estimated Budget Authority 0 0 400 410 376 387 398 410 422 434 1,186 3,237
Estimated Outlays......... 0 0 340 408 381 385 397 408 420 432 1,129 3,171
EQIP:
Estimated Budget Authority -141 -303 -303 -303 -303 -303 -303 -303 -303 -303 -1,353 -2,868
Estimated Outlays......... -41 -116 -164 -197 -228 -258 -287 -303 -303 -303 -746 -2,200
Nutrition Education:
Estimated Budget Authority 10 -15 -50 -80 -115 -145 -180 -210 -245 -275 -250 -1,305
Estimated Outlays......... 10 -15 -50 -50 -115 -145 -180 -210 -245 -275 -250 -1,305
Commodity Support:
Estimated Budget Authority -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -500 -1,000
Estimated Outlays......... -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -100 -500 -1,000
CACFP:
Estimated Budget Authority 31 45 54 63 70 82 90 100 106 111 263 752
Estimated Outlays......... 27 43 53 62 69 81 89 98 105 110 254 737
Direct Certification:
Estimated Budget Authority 5 7 15 24 42 47 52 54 59 61 93 366
Estimated Outlays......... 1 8 16 23 40 46 52 54 58 60 88 358
Technical Assistance,
Demonstration Projects, and
Grants:
Estimated Budget Authority 23 2 57 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 96 131
Estimated Outlays......... 7 10 17 23 19 17 17 7 7 7 76 131
Eliminating Applications:
Estimated Budget Authority 5 1 2 3 6 10 14 19 24 28 17 113
Estimated Outlays......... 1 3 4 3 5 9 13 18 23 28 16 108
Independent Review:
Estimated Budget Authority -3 -4 -6 -6 -7 -7 -7 -7 -8 -8 -26 -63
Estimated Outlays......... -2 -4 -6 -6 -7 -7 -7 -7 -8 -8 -25 -62
Reauthorization of Expiring
Provisions:
Estimated Budget Authority 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 15 51
Estimated Outlays......... 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 26 51
Total Changes:
Estimated Budget -165 -362 74 23 -19 -17 -24 -25 -33 -40 -449 -588
Authority............
Estimated Outlays..... -92 -166 115 141 70 33 -1 -29 -38 -44 68 -11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Estimate includes interactions with other provisions.
Notes: Components may not sum to totals because of rounding EQIP = Environmental Quality Incentives Program; CACFP = Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Based on historical spending patterns and the ability of
states to use in-kind resources toward the federal match, CBO
estimates that spending under current law will grow by 8
percent per year on average over the next decade, significantly
higher than the proposed funding under the bill. Thus, CBO
estimates that enacting this proposal would reduce direct
spending by $1.3 billion over the 2011-2020 period.
Commodity Support. Under current law, the Food and
Nutrition Service (FNS) is required to spend at least 12
percent of the total cash assistance in the NSLP on
commodities. Through fiscal year 2010, the value of bonus
commodities can be counted toward this requirement. Bonus
commodities are purchases made by the Department of Agriculture
and donated to the NSLP. Section 401 would extend the authority
to count the value of bonus commodities toward the 12 percent
requirement through fiscal year 2020. Based on recent levels of
donations, CBO estimates that the NSLP would receive $100
million per year in bonus commodities, reducing spending in the
program by that amount. Therefore, CBO estimates that enacting
this provision would save $1 billion over the 2011-2020 period.
Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The bill makes
several changes to the Child and Adult Care Food Program that
would expand participation or alter the way the program is
administered. In total, CBO estimates that this legislation
would increase direct spending for CACFP by $737 million over
the 2011-2020 period.
Expansion of Afterschool Meals for At-Risk Children.
Section 122 would allow more organizations participating in the
CACFP at-risk snack program to serve suppers after school in
addition to the snacks already served. Currently, an after-
school program that has an educational component and is located
in an area where at least half of the student body is certified
for free or reduced-price meals can be reimbursed for snacks
served free to students. In fiscal year 2009, almost 33 million
after-school snacks were served.
Under current law, organizations that participate in CACFP
at-risk snack programs in 13 states and the District of
Columbia also can be reimbursed for suppers. Just over 19
million reimbursable suppers were served to students in 2009.
The provision would allow programs nationwide to be reimbursed
for suppers.
Based on data from the states that currently participate in
the supper option, we assume that there would be some
additional growth in the number of sites in the at-risk program
and that roughly 60 percent of sites would begin to serve
suppers. CBO estimates that each site would serve, on average,
7,000 suppers per fiscal year. However, in some states, after-
school programs may already serve suppers through the CACFP if
the site qualifies as a day care center. Based on data on meals
in day care centers and information from states, CBO estimates
that about 25 percent of the meals that are now served through
day care providers would be served through the at-risk program
under the bill. By 2015, CBO estimates that there would be
almost 21 million additional suppers served, rising to 29
million by 2020. Enacting this provision would increase direct
spending by $215 million over the 2011-2015 period and $641
million over the 2011-2020 period, CBO estimates.
Simplifying Area Eligibility Determinations in CACFP. Homes
that provide day care services can participate in the CACFP and
are divided into two tiers. Reimbursement rates are higher for
meals served in tier 1 homes, which are either located in low-
income areas, serve low-income children, or have low-income
providers. Current law defines a low-income area as one in
which at least half the students in the local elementary school
qualify for free or reduced-price meals. All other meals are
reimbursed at the lower tier 2 rate. Section 121 would allow
day care homes to qualify for tier 1 status as long as any
school in the district meets the low-income qualifications. CBO
estimates that when this provision is fully phased in,
approximately 2,250 tier 2 homes would switch to tier 1 status
and 225 new day care homes would join the program. Based on the
average costs for this program, CBO estimates that enacting
this provision would cost about $6 million per year, totaling
$29 million over the 2011-2015 period and $61 million over the
2011-2020 period.
CACFP Administrative Provisions. Section 334 would alter
the way organizations that sponsor day care homes in eh CACFP
are reimbursed for administrative costs. Section 335 would
provide an opportunity for states to receive additional funding
to conduct audits of institutions participating in the CACFP.
CBO estimates that enacting those provisions would increase
direct spending on administrative and audit costs in the CACFP
by $10 million over the 2011-2015 period and $35 million over
the 2011-2020 period.
Direct Certification. The bill has several provisions
related to direct certification. In total, CBO estimates that
enacting those provisions would cost $358 million over the
2011-2020 period. Since 2008, all school food authorities
(SFAs) have been required to obtain documentation directly from
the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to directly
certify students in SNAP households for free meals. Directly
certified students do not have to complete applications and do
not have to verify their incomes. CBO expects that increasing
direct certification would lead to schools serving more
reimbursable meals.
Direct Certification for Children Receiving Medicaid
Benefits. Section 103 would establish a pilot program to allow
selected school districts to directly certify certain students
who receive Medicaid benefits for free school meals. By 2015,
CBO estimates that about 115,000 students annually would be
newly certified for free school meals.
Schools currently do not have the authority to use Medicaid
data to directly certify students. Under the bill, the pilot
program would expand over three years beginning on July 1,
2012, so that by the 2014-2015 school year, the Secretary of
Agriculture could select districts that collectively serve up
to 10 percent of students certified for free and reduced-price
meals nationwide.
The pilot would allow schools to directly certify students
of Medicaid for free meals provided their income as measured by
the Medicaid program is below 133 percent of poverty. Because
Medicaid uses a different measure to determine eligibility,
students who are currently eligible for paid or reduced-price
meals based on their gross household income would become newly
eligible for free meals. In addition, because direct
certification relieves the requirement to complete a paper
application, CBO assumes some students who are income-eligble
for free meals but currently do not participate would become
newly certified for free meals and begin to use the program.
The bill also would provide $5 million in fiscal year 2011
for a study of direct certification with Medicaid. In total,
CBO estimates that enacting section 103 would increase direct
spending by $328 million over the 2011-2020 period.
Improving Direct Certification. Section 101 would set new
standards for direct certification in the NSLP and provide $12
million for state performance awards. The bill would establish
a target for SFAs to directly certify 80 percent of eligible
students in the 2011-2012 school year, with that target rising
to 95 percent two years later. SFAs directly certified, on
average, about 70 percent of students in SNAP households in the
2008-2009 school year. Under the bill, the Secretary of
Agriculture would require states that do not meet those targets
to develop and implement improvement plans. CBO expects that
this policy would lead to a modest increase in the number of
children directly certified.
Currently, some SFAs directly certify students by requiring
them to submit a letter from the he SNAP office to the school.
The bill would prohibit that method for direct certification.
Based on information from FNS, CBO expects that this proposal
would increase direct certification rates.
In total, CBO estimates that about 4,500 students a year,
on average, would be newly certified for free meals as result
of those changes. Enacting section 101 would increase direct
spending by $20 million over the 2011-2015 period and by $30
million over the 2011-2020 period, CBO estimates.
Technical Assistance, Demonstration Projects, and Grants.
The bill would provide funding for technical assistance,
demonstration projects, and several grant programs that would
increase direct spending by the amounts specified in the
legislation. In total, those provisions would cost $131 million
over the 2011-2020 period.
Section 141 would provide $50 million in 2013 for
research on the causes and consequences of childhood hunger and
characteristics of households that experience childhood hunger,
and demonstration projects to test new strategies to end
childhood hunger.
Section 221 would provide $10 million in 2011 for
technical assistance to develop regulations for the nutritional
content of meals served through CACFP and guidance for physical
activity in child care settings.
Section 223 would provide $5 million in 2011 for
the Secretary to study the nutritional quality of food served
and opportunities for physical activity in day care homes and
centers.
Section 243 would provide $5 million per year
starting in 2013, for grants and technical assistance so that
schools can implement farm-to-school programs to provide local
produce in schools, build school gardens, and conduct other
similar activities.
Section 306 would provide $5 million in fiscal
year 2011 and $1 million in each year thereafter for the
Secretary to establish a program of required education,
training, and certification for those responsible for the
management of school food authorities and to establish
standards for selection of State agency directors responsible
for the NSLP and the SBP.
Section 307 would provide $2 million for fiscal
year 2011 to conduct a study of, issue guidance on, and
promulgate regulations on the allocation and impact of costs
other than food or labor charged to school food authorities.
Section 352 would provide $1 million per year for
fiscal year 2011 and every year thereafter for the Secretary to
establish a product codes database for use in implementing an
electronic benefits transfer system in WIC.
Eliminating Applications. Section 104 would give local
educational agencies (LEAs) two new options for establishing
the percentage of meals served that are reimbursed at the free
and reduced price rate. LEAs that participate in either option
would not need to collect household applications from students
to determine free or reduced price meal eligibility and would
be required to serve meals free of charge to all students.
The two new options would allow schools to use alternate
procedures for claiming meal reimbursement in exchange for
serving meals free of charge. CBO estimates the impact of each
option independently and then estimated the interaction between
the two. After accounting for the interaction between those two
options, CBO estimates that enacting section 104 would cost 16
million over the 2011-2015 period and $108 million over the
2011-2020 period.
Direct Certification Option. Under section 104,
participating LEAs would receive reimbursements for free meals
based on their direct certification rates according to a
formula specified in the bill. The remaining meals would be
reimbursed at the rate for paid meals. The bill would allow a
limited number of states to participate through July 1, 2014,
at which point any state could participate. Prior to July 1,
2014, participating schools or school districts would need to
directly certify at least 40 percent of their students; after
that date, the Secretary could set a different minimum
threshold.
CBO expects that schools and school districts with high
percentages of students eligible for free or reduced price
meals would be the most likely to participate. Based on
administrative data from FNS and information on participation
in existing alternative options for eliminating yearly
applications, CBO estimates that by the end of the 10-year
period, about 300 schools would participate in this option. At
those schools, CBO estimates that a slightly higher percentage
of meals would be reimbursed at the free rate. Because all
meals would be served free of charge, CBO also anticipates
increased participation in both the NSLP and the SBP.
Survey Option. Section 104 also would direct the Secretary
of Agriculture to identify and implement alternatives means of
establishing the percentages of meals served to students
eligible for free and reduced price meals. The bill would allow
the Secretary to use the American Community Survey or other
data sources to approximate the actual makeup of students and
replace the collection of household applications for free and
reduced price meal eligibility. Schools that participate in
this option would be required to serve breakfasts and lunches
free of charge to all students.
CBO expects that schools that would participate have high
percentages of students eligible for free or reduced price
meals. Based on data on the percentage of students eligible for
free and reduced price meals in all schools and information on
the number of schools that currently participate in other
alternate meal counting provisions, CBO estimates that
approximately 2,200 schools would participate in this option by
2020. We expect increased participation among students in the
NSLP and SBP due to meals being served free of charge.
Independent Review. Section 304 would require local
educational agencies that demonstrate high levels of
administrative error to have a second person review eligibility
determinations for free and reduced price meals. CBO estimates
that a second review would lead to, on net, a reduction in meal
benefits. Using data from FNS, CBO estimates that enacting this
provision would reduce direct spending by $25 million over the
2011-2015 period and $62 million over the 2011-2020 period.
Reauthorization of Expiring Provisions. Sections 402
through 422 would reauthorize a number of expiring provisions
in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966. Consistent with the budget
projection rules in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act, the costs of extending the provisions in sections
402, 404, 405, and 422 are included in CBO's baseline and are
therefore not included in the tally of incremental spending
attributed to this bill. Those amounts total roughly $3 billion
over the 2011-2015 period.
The bill would provide an additional $5 million per year
for program management above current-law levels. Funding for
the information clearinghouse would be extended through 2015
and would cost $1 million over the 2011-2015 period. In
addition, the bill would increase funding for the Food Service
Management Institute by $1 million per year and provide $4
million per year for federal administrative support. In total,
enacting those provisions would cost $51 million over the 2011-
2020 period, CBO estimates.
Provisions with Insignificant Costs, Savings, or Revenues.
CBO estimates that many other provisions in the bill could
affect outlays or revenues but would total less than $500,000
in any year and over the 2011-2020 period. (Some provisions
would authorize the appropriation of funds to provide grants to
states for activities related to mandatory spending for the
child nutrition programs, but the expected interactions between
potential appropriations and the mandatory programs would be
small and are not included below.)
Section 102 would make certain foster children
categorically eligible for free meals.
Section 111 would align the eligibility criteria
for public and private sponsoring organizations who participate
in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and eliminate the
current size restriction on for-profit sponsors.
Section 112 would require state agencies to ensure
that school food authorities that participate in the NSLP
inform families of the availability of meals through the SBP
and SFSP.
Section 143 would require the Secretary to examine
the practices of states and local educational agencies
regarding credit for children's costs of school lunches and
breakfasts, and would then implement and test new standards.
Section 205 would establish rules for the prices
school food authorities can charge for paid lunches. Because
this provision would require some schools to raise their lunch
prices, participation in the NSLP would decline modestly.
Section 303 would give the Secretary the authority
to impose fines against an SFA, school, or state agency that
fails to correct severe mismanagement of a child nutrition
program, disregards a program requirement of which the
institution has been informed, or fails to correct repeated
violations of program requirements. CBO estimates that this
provision would increase revenues by less than $500,000.
Section 332 would direct the Secretary to
promulgate regulations to ensure that state agencies use a fair
and timely hearing process to reduce the amount of time between
a state's action and the hearing in cases where an action of
the state affects an institution's participation or
reimbursement rates.
Section 333 would allow family or group day care
homes that participate in the CACFP to assist in the
transmission of data concerning the household income of the
children they serve, in accordance with a policy developed by
the Secretary and with written consent of the children's
parents or guardians.
Section 337 would direct FNS to carry out a study
of the states currently participating in the afterschool supper
program through CACFP and report to the Congress within a year
of enactment.
Section 362 specifies that any institution or
person that has been terminated from any child nutrition
program may not be approved to participate in any other child
nutrition program.
Spending subject to appropriation
The bill would reauthorize and amend discretionary programs
previously authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and would
authorize additional new discretionary programs through 2015.
As shown in Table 3, CBO estimates that implementing this
legislation would result in new discretionary outlays of $35.9
billion--primarily for the WIC program--over the 2011-2015
period, assuming the appropriation of the necessary amounts.
The projected annual funding of $7.7 billion to $8.0 billion
per year under the bill compares to the level of roughly $7.3
billion that was appropriated for WIC in 2010.
TABLE 3.--SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION UNDER THE HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2010-2015
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATIONReauthorize WIC:
Estimated Authorization Level........ 0 7,317 7,390 7,470 7,557 7,673 37,407
Estimated Outlays.................... 0 5,451 6,604 7,405 7,489 7,597 34,546
Other WIC Provisions:
Estimated Authorization Level........ 0 240 243 253 260 269 1,265
Estimated Outlays.................... 0 181 219 250 256 265 1,171
New Grants:
Estimated Authorization Level........ 0 85 5 5 5 5 105
Estimated Outlays.................... 0 21 21 21 21 21 105
Administrative Costs:
Estimated Authorization Level........ 1 36 11 11 11 11 81
Estimated Outlays.................... 0 17 16 16 16 16 81
Studies and Demonstrations:
Estimated Authorization Level........ 0 10 1 1 1 1 14
Estimated Outlays.................... 0 4 5 3 1 1 13
Total Changes:
Estimated Authorization Level.... 1 7,688 7,650 7,740 7,834 7,959 38,872
Estimated Outlays................ 0 5,674 6,865 7,694 7,783 7,900 35,916
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WIC Reauthorization. This bill would reauthorize and make
changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children. WIC provides supplemental foods,
health care referrals, and nutrition education to pregnant and
post-partum women with low income and infants and children up
to 5 years of age.
The bill would reauthorize the appropriation of such sums
as may be necessary for WIC. For fiscal year 2010, the Congress
appropriated about $7.3 billion for WIC. Based on historical
spending patterns and adjusting for anticipated inflation, CBO
estimates that reauthorizing WIC would cost about $34.5 billion
over the 2011-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the
authorized amounts.
Other WIC Provisions. The bill would make several other
changes to the WIC program that CBO estimates would cost $1.2
billion over the 2011-2015 period.
Certification. The bill would allow states to certify
children participating in WIC for a period of up to one year.
Under current law, children are only certified for six months
and must be re-certified to continue receiving benefits. CBO
expects this provision would increase the number of children in
the program at any one time by retaining children who might not
have been re-certified. CBO estimates that implementing this
provision would cost $372 million over the 2011-2015 period,
assuming the appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Infrastructure. The bill would authorize the appropriation
of $134 million for 2010 for infrastructure and management
information systems and would further allow the authorization
of appropriations to grow by inflation from 2011 through 2015.
(In 2010, the Congress provided $157 million for those
activities.) The bill also would require states to implement
electronic benefits transfer systems by 2020, unless granted an
exemption from the Secretary. CBO expects that the funds
necessary to implement the electronic benefits transfer systems
would be provided from the funds authorized for infrastructure
and management information systems. CBO estimates that
implementing this provision would cost $652 million over the
2011-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized
amounts.
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program. The bill would authorize
the appropriation of such sums as are necessary for the
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP). The FMNP operates in
45 states and Indian Tribal Organizations and provides benefits
to WIC participants to purchase fresh, unprepared, locally
grown products at farmers' markets. The program received an
appropriation of $20 million in fiscal year 2010. CBO estimates
that reauthorizing the FMNP would cost $101 million over the
2011-2015 periods, assuming appropriation of the estimated
amounts.
Evaluation. The bill also would authorize appropriations
for WIC evaluation funds and would increase the maximum cap on
expenditure from $5 million to $15 million. CBO estimates that
funding for this provision would cost $46 million over the
2011-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized
amounts.
New Grants. Several provisions in the bill would authorize
a combined $105 million in funding for new grant programs
related to nutrition and school means. CBO estimates that
implementing those grant programs would cost $105 million over
the 2011-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary
amounts.
Section 113 would authorize the appropriation of
$20 million for competitive grants to provide technical
assistance and improve retention of sponsors in the SFSP.
Section 142 would authorize the appropriation of
such sums as are necessary for 2011 through 2014 for a
competitive grant program to combat childhood hunger. Based on
the costs of similar grant programs, CBO estimates that
implementing the State Childhood Hunger Challenge Grants would
cost $50 million over the 2011-2015 period.
Section 210 would authorize the appropriation of
$10 million for the Secretary to provide competitive grants to
school food authorities for a pilot program to increase the
availability of organic foods in the NSLP.
Section 243 would authorize the appropriation of
such sums as are necessary for a grant program to increase
access to locally grown foods in school meal programs. This
authority would be in addition to the annual $5 million in
mandatory funds provided for the same purpose in this bill. CBO
estimates that implementing this provision would cost $25
million over the 2011-2015 period.
Administrative Costs. Three provisions would reauthorize
existing authority for the appropriation of funds for
administrative costs at a total cost of $81 million over the
2010-2015 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary
amounts, CBO estimates.
Section 403 would authorize funding of $1 million
per year for procurement training beginning in 2010.
Section 408 would authorize funding for
compliance and accountability reviews for institutions
participating in any child nutrition program. It also would
increase the authorization of appropriations from $6 million to
$10 million per year, beginning in 2011.
Section 421 would authorize the appropriation of
such sums as are necessary for technology infrastructure
grants. CBO estimates that implementing this provision would
cost $25 million over the 2011-2015 period.
Studies and Demonstrations. The bill also would authorize
funding for studies and demonstrations at a total cost of $13
million over the 2011-2015 period, CBO estimates, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts.
Section 204 would authorize $3 million in fiscal
year 2011 for the Department of Agriculture to conduct a study,
in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, on the effectiveness of school wellness policies.
Section 209 would authorize such sums as are
necessary to provide information to the public on the school
nutrition environment. Based on similar programs, CBO estimates
that implementing this provision would cost $8 million over the
2011-2015 period.
Section 244 would authorize the appropriation of
such sums as are necessary for the Department of Agriculture,
in consultation with the Department of Health and Human
Services, to establish a research and demonstration project on
behavioral economics as it relates to food service in schools.
Based on spending patterns in similar projects, CBO estimates
that implementing this provision would cost $2 million over the
five-year period.
Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. The net changes in outlays and revenues that are
subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the
following table.
TABLE 4.--CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR THE HEALTHY, HUNGER-FREE KIDS ACT OF 2010, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON
AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY ON MARCH 24, 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010- 2010-
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2015 2020
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICIT
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Impact..... 0 -92 -166 115 141 70 33 -1 -29 -38 -44 68 -11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated impact on state, local, and tribal governments:
For large entitlement programs like child nutrition programs,
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act defines an increase in the
stringency of conditions as an intergovernmental mandate if the
affected governments lack authority to offset those costs while
continuing to provide required services. The bill would alter,
and in several cases increase, conditions for receiving
assistance under child nutrition programs. Because states and
schools have limited flexibility to amend their programmatic or
financial responsibilities in the program, the new requirements
would be intergovernmental mandates. In aggregate, CBO
estimates that the costs to governmental entities would exceed
the annual threshold established in UMRA ($70 million in 2010,
adjusted annually for inflation) beginning in 2012.
Mandates
The bill would impose a mandate on schools by requiring
schools to comply with nutrition standards for all foods sold
in schools and on school campuses, at any time during the
school day. Those standards also would apply to meals served
outside the school meal program (for instance, foods sold
through vending machines, school stores, snacks bars, and a la
carte sales). Sales from those foods account for the majority
of revenues--over $2 billion annually--that schools generate
from foods sold outside the school meal program. To comply with
the nutrition standards, CBO estimates that schools would lose
revenues of more than $100 million, annually, beginning the
first year the regulations took effect.
The bill also would require schools to comply with new
standards for operating school meal programs as well as new
standards for activities conducted outside the current
regulatory authority of the child nutrition program. For
example, the bill would require schools to:
Make potable water available, free of
charge, to children at meal times,
Provide meals that comply with new menu
planning and nutrition standards,
Extend food safety standards to any
facilities that store, prepare, or serve food, and
Comply with new federal pricing standards
for school meals that are provided to children who are
not approved for federal benefits.
Schools would incur costs to comply with these new
requirements. The most significant cost would result from
increases in food and labor costs associated with meeting the
new nutrition standards. Based on data from schools that have
adopted policies that improved the nutritional quality of
meals, CBO estimates schools would incur costs between $200
million and $400 million annually in the first year the
requirements took effect. Schools that comply with the new menu
planning and nutrition standards would, however, received an
increase in federal reimbursement, approximately $300 million
beginning in 2013. In addition, some schools would generate
additional revenues from the increase in prices charged to
children who are not approved for federal benefits.
Finally, states that implement the school lunch and
breakfast programs are responsible for carrying out
administrative duties including overseeing schools that operate
the programs. The bill would require states to increase the
number of eligible children who are approved for free meals
because of their participation in other federal programs. It
also would require states to meet new standards for hiring and
training staff, and certify schools that meet new federal
requirements for meals. CBO estimates that the costs to states
to comply with these mandates would be less than $50 million
annually. The bill also would provide federal funds to states
for implementing some of those responsibilities.
Other impacts
States and schools would benefit from other provisions in
the bill that authorize grant funds and reauthorize the WIC
program. New requirements on state WIC programs, including cost
containment measures and electronic benefit transfers, would
not constitute intergovernmental mandates because they would
result from voluntary participation in a federal program.
Estimated impact on the private sector: The bill would
impose a mandate, as defined in UMRA, on the private sector
requiring entities selling food on the school campus or at any
time during the school day to comply with science-based
standards established by the Secretary of Agriculture. Because
of uncertainties about the standards that the Secretary would
establish under this legislation, CBO cannot determine whether
the costs to the private sector would exceed the threshold
established in UMRA ($141 million in 2010, adjusted annually
for inflation).
Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Nutrition programs--
Kathleen FitzGerald, Emily Holcombe, and Jennifer Reynolds
EQIP--Jim Langley; Impact on state, local, and tribal
governments: Lisa Ramirez-Branum; Impact on the private sector:
Keisuke Nakagawa.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director
for Budget Analysis.
Congressionally-Directed Spending
In accordance with rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the
Senate, on March 18 2010, the Chairman and Ranking Member
notified each Senate office of the need to supply information
concerning any congressionally-directed spending request
associated with the markup of this bill. No such requests were
made.
Regulatory Impact
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the
legislation, as reported:
Individuals and businesses affected
The Committee anticipates no major increase in regulatory
burden to individuals, and believes that many children who are
members of households receiving benefits through the Medicaid
program, who are enrolled in schools with high proportions of
students participating in school meal programs at no charge or
reduced price, foster children who are currently not
participating in school meals, as well as others, will benefit
economically and nutritionally from the bill. Other
requirements of the bill that would mandate changes to current
operations will fall mainly on school food authorities and
other eligible community-based operators of child nutrition
programs, as well as vendors in the WIC program who will be
required to utilize electronic benefit transfer systems to
redeem WIC benefits. The Committee believes that, overall, the
changes made by the bill will modestly increase the
administrative burden for some school food authorities and
other institutions, and ultimately ease burden for WIC vendors
as electronic benefit systems are implemented.
Economic impact on individuals, consumers and businesses
As noted above, in those instances where an increase in
regulatory burden does result from provisions in the bill, the
incremental increase in regulatory burden would fall mainly on
school food authorities and other eligible community-based
operators of child nutrition programs. The Committee believes
that the increased cost in compliance with the additional
requirements would in many cases be offset by the additional
funding provided in the bill as well as reductions in
administrative and paperwork and increased technical assistance
associated with other provisions. For the WIC electronic
benefit transfer mandate, the bill prohibits the cost of
certain equipment or systems from being imposed on WIC vendors.
Impact on personal privacy
The Committee believes that the bill would have minimal
impact on personal privacy.
Amount of additional paperwork
The Committee does not anticipate a major increase in
paperwork burdens resulting from the passage of this
legislation. For certain schools, institutions, and families,
the Committee anticipates a decrease in paperwork associated
with participation in child nutrition programs as a result of
provisions included in the Committee bill.
Section-by-Section Summary
TITLE I--A PATH TO END CHILDHOOD HUNGER
SUBTITLE A--NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
Section 101. Improving direct certification
This section amends section 9(b)(4) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(4)) to
make a technical amendment and to (1) require that the
Secretary provide performance awards (funded at $4 million for
each of fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014) to States with
``outstanding performance'' or ``substantial improvement'' in
direct certification for free school meals of children
receiving other public assistance benefits; (2) establish
performance benchmarks and add a requirement for ``continuous
improvement plans'' for States with direct certification rates
below these benchmarks; and (3) clarify that direct
certification for free school meals must require no action on
the part of a child's household, including return of a letter
to the school.
Section 102. Categorical eligibility of foster children
This section amends sections 9(b) and 9(d) of the Richard
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b) and
(d)) to confer categorical eligibility for free school meals on
foster children whose care and placement is the responsibility
of a State foster care agency or a court.
Section 103. Direct certification for children receiving Medicaid
benefits
This section amends section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) by adding a new
paragraph (15) to establish a demonstration project to
determine the effectiveness of directly certifying children for
free school meals using household income data from Medicaid.
Local educational agencies selected for the demonstration
project will directly certify for free school meals all
children who are receiving Medicaid and whose household income
(as measured by Medicaid before the application of any expense
disregard, block disregard, or other income disregard), does
not exceed 133 percent of the federal poverty line. State
educational agencies with local educational agencies selected
for participation in the demonstration project will enter into
an agreement with the Medicaid state agency no later than July
1 of their first year of participation. The demonstration
project is phased in as follows: (1) During the 2012-2013
school year, areas selected by the Secretary for the
demonstration will, in the aggregate, serve 2.5% of the
students currently certified for free or reduced price school
meals nationally; (2) in the 2013-2014 school year, the
selected areas will serve a total of 5% of students certified
for free or reduced price meals; and (3) in the 2014-2015
school year and subsequent school years, selected areas will
serve a total of 10% of these students. The Committee
recognizes the Secretary is unlikely to be able to select local
educational agencies with enrollments that collectively equal
the specified percentage exactly, but expects the Secretary to
come as close as possible in order to fulfill the goals of this
section.
This section also requires the Secretary to estimate the
cost of direct certification with Medicaid for each of two
years of the demonstration project, and to submit a report no
later than October 1, 2014, on the results of the demonstration
project. $5 million in mandatory funds is provided for the
report.
This section also provides the Secretary with access to the
educational and other records of State and local educational
and other agencies receiving funds or providing benefits under
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966, and income and program participation
information from Medicaid agencies, to carry out the
demonstration project. This section makes technical amendments
to Section 1902(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1396a(a)(7)) and Section 444(b)(1) of the General Education
Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1)) to facilitate
implementation.
Section 104. Eliminating individual applications through community
eligibility
Subsection (a) amends section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)) by
creating a new subparagraph (F), which establishes a new
mechanism by which schools or local educational agencies with
high proportions of low-income children may be reimbursed for
meals they provide based on their percentage of ``identified
students''. For the purposes of this section, ``identified
students'' are students who are certified for the free school
meals based on documentation of their receipt of other
benefits, including students directly certified based on
receipt of benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash
assistance program, or the Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservations, as well as students whose free meal eligibility
is determined based on information from the homeless or migrant
liaison, information from a provider of services under the
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, or based on participation in
Head Start or Early Head Start. The number of ``identified
students'' is reported annually to the Secretary by State
agencies on the Form FNS-742 (School Food Authority
Verification Summary Report) under the category ``free eligible
who are not subject to verification'', which should minimize
any additional reporting burden of this provision.
Subsection (b) amends section 11 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a) by adding a new
subsection (g), which provides that schools with high
proportions of low-income children may be reimbursed for meals
they provide based upon data gathered through sources other
than school meal applications, including income data provided
through the U.S. Census Bureau. To the maximum extent
practicable, the Secretary must identify alternatives to daily
counting of meals served by category (free, reduced-price,
paid) and the use of annual applications as the basis for
eligibility for free or reduced-price school meals. These
alternatives must consider recommendations relating to the use
of the Census Bureau's American Community Survey for use by
schools that provide accurate and effective means of providing
meals consistent with the eligibility status of students. Such
recommendations may be carried out through changes in program
rules or demonstration projects.
SUBTITLE B--SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM
Section 111. Alignment of eligibility rules for public and private
sponsors
This section amends section 13(a)(7) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)(7)) to
eliminate an existing limitation on private nonprofit Summer
Food Service Program sponsors pertaining to the number of sites
that they may operate. Under current law, private nonprofit
sponsors may not operate more than 25 sites and each site is
restricted to not more than 300 children. Eliminating the
existing site limit on private nonprofit sponsors aligns
sponsoring rules for both public and private nonprofit Summer
Food Service Program sponsors.
Section 112. Outreach to eligible families
This section amends section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)) to require State
agencies administering the National School Lunch Program to
ensure that school food authorities conduct various types of
outreach to inform families of the availability and location of
summer food service program meal sites and the availability of
the School Breakfast Program. The Committee recognizes that,
despite the availability of the School Breakfast Program in
most schools throughout the country, many eligible children do
not participate in this valuable program. The Committee urges
the Secretary to utilize this provision, and to conduct other
appropriate outreach, in order to improve participation in the
School Breakfast Program among eligible children.
Section 113. Summer food service support grants
This section amends section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)) by adding a new
paragraph (12) which authorizes appropriations of $20 million
for fiscal years 2011 through 2015 for competitive grants to
States for the Summer Food Service Program. Grants may be used
to provide summer program sponsors with technical assistance,
assistance with site improvement costs, and other innovative
activities that improve and encourage sponsor retention. In
making grants, the Secretary if required to give priority to
applicant States with (1) significant low-income child
populations; and (2) plans that include innovative approaches
to retain and support programs after the grant funds expire.
SUBTITLE C--CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM
Section 121. Simplifying area eligibility determinations in the Child
and Adult Care Food Program
This section amends section 17(f)(3)(A)(ii)(I)(bb) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1766(f)(3)(A)(ii)(I)(bb)) to expand the types of income data
which are allowed to make area eligibility determinations in
the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Under current law,
``tier I'' family day care homes--homes served by a low-income
provider or located in a geographic area in which at least 50
percent of the children residing in that area are eligible to
receive free or reduced price meals--receive higher
reimbursement for meals served. A variety of income data
sources may be used for purpose of establishing this
eligibility, including elementary school enrollment data,
census tracts, the child care provider's income, or household
income of the child. This section expands the allowable sources
of income information to include data from secondary schools.
Section 122. Expansion of afterschool meals for at-risk children
This section amends section 17(r) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(r)) to expand to all
state agencies the authority for the Secretary to reimburse
child care providers participating in the Child and Adult Care
Food Program at-risk afterschool program for meals served to
children during afterschool hours. This section also requires
the Secretary, within 180 days of enactment and each year
thereafter, to issue guidelines and a handbook for at-risk
afterschool programs.
SUBTITLE D--SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS,
AND CHILDREN
Section 131. Certification periods
This section amends section 17(d)(3)(A) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(A)) to allow state
WIC agencies to certify participant children for up to one year
if the child receives regular health and nutrition assessments.
SUBTITLE E--MISCELLANEOUS
Section 141. Childhood Hunger Research
This section amends the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) by adding a new section 23,
Childhood Hunger Research, to establish a grant program to
conduct research on the causes and consequences of childhood
hunger and food insecurity, as well as the characteristics of
households with childhood hunger and food insecurity. The
Secretary is authorized to enter into competitively awarded
contracts or cooperative agreements, or provide grants to other
entities under terms and conditions established by the
Secretary in order to conduct the research. Mandatory funding
of $10 million is provided for this program.
This section also requires the Secretary to carry out
demonstration projects that test innovative strategies to end
childhood hunger, including alternative models for service
delivery and benefit levels that promote the reduction or
elimination of childhood hunger and food insecurity. The
Secretary is authorized to enter into competitively awarded
contracts or cooperative agreements with or provide grants to
various entities to carry out the projects. At least one of the
demonstration projects will be carried out on a rural Indian
reservation with a high prevalence of diabetes. Each
demonstration project awarded funding under the program shall
be independently evaluated. Mandatory funding of $40 million is
provided for these projects. The Committee encourages the
Secretary to utilize a portion of the funds provided by this
section to test innovative projects during hours when children
are out of school, including weekends and holiday breaks.
Section 142. State Childhood Hunger challenge grants
This section amends the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) by adding a new section 24.
Subject to appropriations, funds provided under this section
will be used by the Secretary to award competitive grants or
cooperative agreements with Governors to carry out
comprehensive and innovative strategies to end childhood
hunger, including alternative models for service delivery and
benefit levels that promote the reduction or elimination of
childhood hunger. Each project awarded a grant or cooperative
agreement shall provide for (1) a baseline and annual
assessments of the prevalence of childhood hunger in the State;
(2) a collaborative planning process in the State; (3) an
annual budget; (4) performance goals; and (5) an independent
outcome evaluation. In developing criteria for these grants,
the Secretary is required to consult with Secretaries from the
U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor,
Education, and Housing and Urban Development. The Secretary
will provide a status report annually beginning December 31,
2011, and ensure that evaluation results are shared broadly to
promote the wide use of successful strategies.
Section 143. Review of local policies on meal charges and provision of
alternate meals
This section requires the Secretary, in conjunction with
States and participating local educational agencies, to examine
the current policies and practices of States and local
educational agencies regarding extending credit to children to
pay for their reimbursable meals, and providing non-
reimbursable meals to children without cash on hand. Based on
this review, the Secretary will prepare a report and may
implement national standards for meal charges and the provision
of alternate meals. In determining whether to implement
national standards, the Secretary must consider the impact on
overt identification of low-income children, the manner in
which the affected households will be provided assistance in
establishing eligibility for free or reduced price meals, and
the potential financial impact on local educational agencies.
TITLE II--REDUCING CHILDHOOD OBESITY AND IMPROVING THE DIETS OF
CHILDREN
SUBTITLE A--NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
Section 201. Performance-based reimbursement rate increases for new
meal patterns
This section amends section 4(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)) to establish a
timeframe for the Secretary to promulgate proposed, as well as
interim or final regulations to update the meal patterns and
nutrition standards for the school lunch and school breakfast
programs based on recommendations made by the Food and
Nutrition Board of the National Research Council of the
National Academy of Sciences. It provides an increase of 6
cents per lunch in federal cash reimbursements, adjusted for
inflation in future years, for those schools that meet the new
meal patterns. $50,000,000 in mandatory funds is provided in
each of two fiscal years for State activities related to
training, technical assistance, certification, and oversight
activities, of which the Secretary may reserve $3,000,000 per
fiscal year to support Federal administrative activities to
carry out this section.
Section 202. Nutrition requirements for fluid milk
This section amends section 9(a)(2)(A) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)(A)) to
require that meals served under the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act offer a variety of fluid milk that is
consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Section 203. Water
This section amends section 9(a) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act by adding a new paragraph (5), which
requires schools participating in the National School Lunch
Program to offer free, potable water for consumption in the
place of meal service during meal time.
Section 204. Local school wellness policy implementation
Subsection (a) amends the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) by adding a new
Section 9A, which establishes a requirement that each local
educational agency participating in a program authorized by the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 establish a local wellness policy for all
schools under its jurisdiction. In accordance with regulations
promulgated by the Secretary, local wellness policies must
include, at a minimum, goals for nutrition education, physical
activity, and other school-based policies that promote student
wellness; nutrition guidelines for all foods available on
school campus during the school day; participation by the local
community in the development and periodic review of the
wellness policy; public notification; and periodic assessment
and reporting. The Secretary is required, in consultation with
the Department of Education and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, to provide technical assistance to local
educational agencies for use in establishing healthy school
nutrition environments. Subject to the availability of
appropriations, the Secretary is required to issue a report not
later than January 1, 2014, on the implementation, strength,
and effectiveness of the local school wellness policies carried
out in accordance with this section.
Subsection (b) repeals section 204 of the Child Nutrition
and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 1751 note;
Public Law 108-265), which established a requirement for local
wellness policies.
Section 205. Equity in school lunch pricing
This section amends section 12 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) to establish
requirements pertaining to the nonfederal contribution required
of school districts receiving federal reimbursement through the
National School Lunch Program. To ensure that children
receiving free and reduced price lunches receive the full value
of federal funds, this section requires participating school
districts which have a paid lunch price that is less than the
difference between the free lunch reimbursement rate and the
paid lunch reimbursement rate to eventually set paid lunch
prices such that the total per meal revenue received for those
lunches is equal to the per meal revenue provided by the
federal government for free lunches. For those school districts
in which an increase in the paid lunch price applies, paid
lunch prices must increase annually by the same inflation
adjustment factor applied to the federal reimbursement rate,
plus an additional two percentage points. This section also
allows school districts to round paid lunch prices down to the
nearest five cents, and to vary paid lunch prices by school so
long as on average the revenue requirement is met across the
district. It also caps the maximum annual price increase
required in districts which have a paid lunch price that is
less than the difference between the free lunch reimbursement
rate and paid lunch reimbursement rate at 10 cents. However,
the section also permits school districts to increase paid
lunch prices by more than 10 cents at the option of the school
district. School districts that charge at least the difference
between the free lunch reimbursement rate and the paid lunch
reimbursement rate for paid meals must adjust their prices on
an annual basis by the inflation adjustment factor used for
federal reimbursement rates. Participating school food
authorities may reduce the average price of a paid lunch
required under this section if the State agency ensures that
sufficient funding from non-Federal sources (other than in-kind
contributions) is added to the nonprofit school food service
account to compensate for the reduction.
Section 206. Revenue from non-program foods sold in school food
authorities
This section amends section 12 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) by adding subsection
(q), which requires the percentage of revenues obtained from
the sale of non-program foods purchased using funds of the
nonprofit school food service account to equal or exceed the
percentage of costs associated with obtaining such non-program
foods. The method set forth in this section to make this
determination is intended to ease the potential administrative
burden that separate accounting could entail. This section also
requires that all revenues from non-program foods accrue to the
school food service account.
Section 207. Reporting and notification of school performance
This section amends section 22 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c) by extending the
unified accountability system to the school breakfast program
and specifically requiring that the system review compliance
with the nutritional requirements established in the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 for the school lunch and school breakfast programs.
These reviews must be conducted on a three-year cycle and
schools must be selected for review based on criteria
established by the Secretary. Reports of local review findings
must be made available to the Secretary and the public.
Section 208. Nutrition standards for all foods sold in school
This section amends section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1779) and requires the Secretary to
establish by regulation, science-based nutrition standards for
all foods sold in schools other than foods currently reimbursed
under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act. Such standards will apply on the
entire school campus until the end of the school day. In
establishing nutrition standards, the Secretary is directed to
establish standards that are consistent with the goals of the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, consider authoritative
scientific research, existing voluntary agreements, and the
practical application of nutrition standards, and provide for
exemptions for school sponsored fundraisers if they are
sanctioned by the school. The Secretary is also required to
update the standards, as practicable and necessary, following
the publication of new editions of the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans.
Section 209. Information for the public on the school nutrition
environment
This section amends section 9 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) by adding a new
subsection (k) that requires the Secretary to establish
requirements for local educational agencies participating in
the School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs to report
information about the school nutrition environment to the
Secretary and to the public on a periodic basis. The
requirements must include information for all schools on school
food safety inspections, local wellness policies, meal program
participation, the nutritional quality of program meals, and
other information determined by the Secretary. The Secretary
also must provide training and technical assistance to State
and local educational agencies on the assessment and reporting
on the school nutrition environment requirements. This section
authorizes such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years
2011 through 2015.
Section 210. Organic Food Pilot Program
This section amends section 18 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) by adding a new
subsection (j) that, subject to appropriations, authorizes $10
million for fiscal years 2011 through 2015 for the Secretary to
carry out a pilot program of competitive grants to school food
authorities to increase the quantity of organic foods provided
to children through the National School Lunch Program. In
selecting grant recipients, the Secretary shall give preference
to applicant school food authorities with greater than 50
percent of the households in the district at or below the
Federal poverty line.
SUBTITLE B--CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM
Section 221. Nutrition and wellness goals for meals served through the
Child and Adult Care Food Program
This section establishes new guidelines pertaining to
health and nutrition promotion in institutions participating in
the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
Paragraph (1) amends section 17(a) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(a)) to add a
findings section and modify the purpose of the program to
provide aid to child and adult care institutions and family or
group day care homes for the provision of nutritious foods and
the maintenance of an overall wellness environment that
contributes to the healthy growth and development of young
children, and the health and wellness of older adults and
chronically impaired disabled persons.
Paragraph (2) amends section 17(g) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(g)) to
establish nutritional requirements for reimbursable meals
provided under the CACFP. The Secretary is required to review
and, as appropriate, update meal patterns for the Child and
Adult Care Food Program not less frequently than once every 10
years to ensure that the meals are consistent with the goals of
the most recent Dietary Guidelines of Americans and the
recommendations made by authoritative scientific organizations
concerning appropriate nutrition standards for foods served to
children in child care settings. Milk served as a component of
a reimbursable meal must be provided in accordance with the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Paragraph (3) amends section 17 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766) to add a new
subsection (u) which establishes requirements for the Secretary
related to the promotion of nutrition, health and wellness in
child care centers and homes participating in the Child and
Adult Care Food Program. The Secretary is required to encourage
and provide guidance to providers to offer children daily
opportunities for physical activity, and to limit the use of
electronic media to an appropriate level. Child care centers
and homes are required to make drinking water available to
children throughout the day, including at meal times. Further,
$10 million in mandatory funds is provided for the Secretary to
provide technical assistance to sponsoring organizations and
providers related to nutrition and physical activity, including
the development of a handbook containing guidelines and best
practices to promote improved nutrition, health and wellness of
young children.
Section 222. Interagency coordination to promote health and wellness in
child care licensing
This section requires the Secretary to coordinate with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to encourage State child
care licensing agencies to include nutrition and wellness
standards within State child care licensing standards.
Section 223. Study on nutrition and wellness quality of child care
settings
This section requires the Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to conduct a
nationally representative study of child care centers and
family or group day care homes to assess the nutritional
quality of foods served to children, as well as the quantity
and types of physical activity and sedentary activity in which
children are engaged. It also requires an assessment of the
barriers and facilitators to: Providing foods that meet the
Dietary Guidelines, providing opportunities for physical
activity, and participating in the Child and Adult Care Food
Program. $5 million in mandatory funds is provided for this
section.
SUBTITLE C--SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS,
AND CHILDREN
Section 231. Support for breastfeeding in the WIC Program
This section amends section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) to clarify that breastfeeding support
and promotion are core program goals and activities in the
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and
Children.
It also amends section 17(h) of the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)) by striking the existing paragraph (4)
and replacing it with a new paragraph (4), which includes
several new program responsibilities pertaining to
breastfeeding promotion in the WIC Program. Clause (vii) of the
new paragraph (4)(A) requires the Secretary to annually compile
and publish breastfeeding performance measurements for each
state agency and each local agency. Clause (viii) of the new
paragraph (4)(A) requires the Secretary to implement a program
to recognize exemplary breastfeeding support practices at local
agencies or clinics participating in the WIC Program. Clause
(ix) of the new paragraph (4)(A) requires the Secretary to
implement a program to provide performance bonuses to state
agencies that achieve the highest proportion of breastfed
infants or the greatest improvement in the proportion of
breast-fed infants. Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of the new
section (4) provide additional direction to the Secretary
regarding the programs required to be established under clauses
(viii) and (ix) of paragraph (4)(A).
This section also amends section 17(h) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)) by striking paragraph
(10) and replacing it with a new paragraph (10). The new
paragraph (10) amends funding levels for set-asides for (1)
infrastructure and special projects; (2) management information
systems; and (3) special nutrition education projects,
including breastfeeding peer counselors and breastfeeding
performance bonuses authorized under clause (ix) of section
17(h)(4)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The new
paragraph (10) also indexes each of the set-asides for
inflation.
Section 232. Review of available supplemental foods
This section amends section 17(f)(11)(D) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(11)(D)) to specify
that the Secretary shall conduct a review of supplemental foods
provided in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children no less than every 10 years.
SUBTITLE D--MISCELLANEOUS
Section 241. Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program
This section amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) by removing the existing nutrition
education program under section 11(f) and adding a new section
28 at the end. It permits State agencies administering the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to implement a
nutrition education and obesity prevention program for eligible
individuals that promotes healthy food choices consistent with
the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. State
agencies may use funds provided through this section for any
evidence-based allowable use of funds identified by the
Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service of the
Department of Agriculture in consultation with the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the
Department of Health and Human Services, including individual
and group-based nutrition education as well as community and
public health approaches. Mandatory funding for this section is
set at $375,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and indexed for
inflation each fiscal year thereafter. The initial allocation
of nutrition education funding provided for under this section
is intended to be proportional for each State to its share of
total Federal reimbursement for Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program nutrition education activities in fiscal
year 2009. This determination will be based on the State's
final fiscal year 2009 SNAP SF-269 reports, which were due to
the Secretary in February 2010 and serve as the basis for the
annual close out of the State Administrative Cost grants.
Section 242. Procurement and processing of food service products and
commodities
This section amends section 9(a)(4) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(4)) by
adding a new subparagraph (C) that requires the Secretary to
develop and disseminate model product specifications and
practices for foods offered in the school nutrition programs
under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to ensure that the foods reflect
the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It also
requires the Secretary, no later than one year after enactment,
to conduct a study on the quantity and quality of nutritional
information available to school food authorities about food
service products and commodities and to submit a report to
Congress on the results, including legislative recommendations
to ensure that school food authorities have access to the
nutritional information needed for menu planning and compliance
assessments. This section requires the Secretary to purchase
the widest practicable variety of healthful foods that reflect
the most recent Dietary Guidelines when purchasing and
processing commodities for use in the school nutrition
programs.
Section 243. Access to local foods: Farm to School Program
This section amends section 18(g)(4) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)(4)) to
provide $5 million in mandatory funding for fiscal year 2013
and each fiscal year thereafter for a program to provide grants
and technical assistance to schools and nonprofit entities for
the purpose of establishing farm to school programs. The
Committee requests that the Secretary review price information
for produce purchased through Farm-to-School programs, DoD
Fresh, and general procurement under new local preference
regulations. To the extent possible, the Committee requests
that the Secretary report any trends or indicators of the best
price option among these procurement choices.
Section 244. Research on strategies to promote the selection and
consumption of healthy foods
This section authorizes the Secretary, in consultation with
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to establish a
research, demonstration, and technical assistance program to
promote healthy eating and reduce the prevalence of obesity by
applying the principles of behavioral economics research in
schools, child care programs, and other settings. The Secretary
may enter into competitively awarded contracts or cooperative
agreements or provide grants to States or public or private
agencies or organizations to carry out the program and must
submit annual reports to Congress that include the policies,
priorities, and operations of the program, the results of any
evaluations completed, and the efforts undertaken to
disseminate successful practices through outreach and technical
assistance. This section authorizes the appropriation of such
sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2011 through
2015 to carry out this section.
TITLE III--IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT AND INTEGRITY OF CHILD NUTRITION
PROGRAMS
SUBTITLE A--NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
Section 301. Privacy protection
This section amends section 9(d)(1) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(d)(1)) to
specify, as a condition of eligibility, that applications for
free- or reduced-price lunches must include the last four
digits of the social security number of the primary wage earner
responsible for the child for whom the application is made.
Section 302. Applicability of food safety program on entire school
campus
This section amends section 9(h)(5) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act to specify that the school
food safety program established for meals served through the
National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program
applies to any facility or part of a facility in which foods
are stored, prepared, or served for the purposes of the school
nutrition programs under the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
Section 303. Fines for violating program requirements
This section amends section 22 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c) by adding a new
subsection (e).
Paragraph (1) of subsection (e) provides authority to the
Secretary to establish regulations to impose a fine against any
school food authority, school, or service institution if the
Secretary determines that it has (1) failed to correct severe
mismanagement of the program; (2) disregarded a program
requirement of which it had been informed; or (3) failed to
correct repeated violations of program requirements. Fines
imposed under this subsection are graduated, with up to one
percent of total fiscal year reimbursements imposed for the
first violation or violations, up to 5 percent of total fiscal
year reimbursements imposed for the second violation or
violations, and up to 10 percent of fiscal year reimbursements
imposed for the third violation or violations.
Paragraph (2) of subsection (e) provides similar authority
to the Secretary to impose fines on state agencies
administering the child nutrition programs by reducing their
payments for administrative expenses.
Paragraph (3) of subsection (e) specifies that funds to pay
fines imposed under paragraphs (1) and (2) must come from non-
federal sources.
Section 304. Independent review of applications
This section amends section 22(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42.U.S.C. 1769(b)) by adding a new
paragraph (6) which requires error prone local educational
agencies, as determined by the Secretary, to conduct a second,
independent review of the eligibility determination of each
free and reduced price application prior to notifying the
household of the determination. The independent review must be
completed in a timely manner. It also requires these error
prone local educational agencies to submit a report on the
results of independent reviews to the State agency.
Section 305. Program evaluation
This section amends section 28 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769i) by adding a new
subsection (c) to require State and local agencies,
institutions and contractors receiving funding under the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 to cooperate with the Secretary in the
conduct of evaluations and studies.
Section 306. Professional standards for school food service
This section amends section 7 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1776) by replacing
subsection (g). It requires the Secretary to establish a
program of required education, training, and certification for
all local school food service directors, including minimum
educational requirements, minimum training and certification
criteria, and minimum periodic training requirements. This
section also requires the Secretary to establish criteria for
states to use in the selection of state agency directors
responsible for the School Lunch Program and School Breakfast
Program. For both school food service managers and state agency
directors, the Secretary is required to establish a date of
mandatory compliance with the new requirements. Compliance with
selection criteria for state agency directors shall apply only
to those state directors selected and hired after the effective
date of the criteria.
This section also authorizes the Secretary to provide
financial assistance to one or more professional food service
management organizations to establish and manage the training
and certification program. It provides $5 million in mandatory
funding on October 1, 2010, and $1 million each year
thereafter, for development and maintenance of the training and
certification programs. Additionally, it requires the Secretary
to provide training designed to improve (1) the accuracy of
approvals for free and reduced price meals; and (2) the
identification of reimbursable meals at the point of service.
Local food service personnel, under specifications established
by the Secretary, are required to complete annual training and
certification. The Committee expects the training and education
requirements will not be burdensome, and will be easily
accessible and available to local school food service
professionals.
Section 307. Indirect costs
Subsection (a) requires the Secretary, within 180 days of
enactment, to issue guidance to school food authorities
participating in the National School Lunch Program and the
School Breakfast Program on existing program rules pertaining
to charging the nonprofit school food service account for
indirect costs (e.g., trash collection, phone service).
Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to conduct a study to
assess (1) the allocation of indirect costs to school food
authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program
and the School Breakfast Program; (2) the methodologies used to
establish such indirect cost rates; and (3) the impact of
indirect costs on the nonprofit food service account. Following
the publication of the study, the Secretary may promulgate
regulations to address (1) any identified deficiencies in the
allocation of indirect costs; and (2) the authority of school
food authorities to reimburse only those costs identified by
the Secretary as reasonable and necessary. Mandatory funding of
$2 million is provided to conduct the study.
Section 308. Ensuring safety of school meals
This section amends the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) by adding a new section 29
that requires the Secretary, no later than one year after
enactment, to (1) develop guidelines to determine the
circumstances under which it is appropriate for the Secretary
to institute an administrative hold on suspect foods purchased
by the Secretary for use in the school meal programs; (2) work
with States to explore ways to increase the timeliness of
notification of food recalls to schools; (3) improve the
timeliness of communication between the Food and Nutrition
Service and States about holds and recalls; and (4) establish a
timeframe to improve the commodity hold and recall procedures
of the USDA to address the role of processors and distributors.
This section also requires the Secretary, no later than one
year after enactment, to revise the procedures of the Food
Safety and Inspection Service to ensure that schools are
included in effectiveness checks.
SUBTITLE B--SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM
Section 321. Summer Food Service Program permanent operating agreements
This section amends section 13(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(b)) to require
service institutions participating in the Summer Food Service
Program to enter into permanent operating agreements with the
applicable State agency. It also establishes parameters for the
termination of the agreements, and requires that each
participating institution submit an annual budget for program
administrative costs, which shall be subject to approval by the
State agency.
Section 322. Summer Food Service Program disqualification
This section amends section 13 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) by adding a new
subsection (q) to require the Secretary to establish procedures
for terminating the participation of institutions in the Summer
Food Service Program. The procedures must include a provision
for fair and prompt hearings when a State action limits an
institution's participation in or reimbursement under the
program. The Secretary also is required to maintain a list of
institutions and individuals that have been disqualified from
participation in the program. The list must be made available
to States for use in approving or renewing program
applications.
SUBTITLE C--CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM
Section 331. Renewal of application materials and operating agreements
This section amends sections 17(d) and 17(j)(3) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1766(d), 42 U.S.C. 1766(j)(3)) to (1) require permanent
operating agreements between sponsoring organizations and State
agencies, as well as between sponsoring organizations and
sponsored child care centers; and (2) modify the frequency with
which initial applications and follow-up applications must be
submitted by sponsoring organizations to State agencies; (3)
eliminate the current on-site review requirements related to
the submission of block claims by providers; and (4) provide
the Secretary authority to develop a policy to detect and deter
false claims submitted by institutions and providers in the
program.
Section 332. State liability for payments to aggrieved child care
institutions
This section amends section 17(e) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(e)) to require State
agencies to provide a fair hearing to any participating
institution aggrieved by actions taken by the State agency
which affect the institution's participation in, or claims
submitted for reimbursement under the Child and Adult Care Food
Program. In the event that a State agency does not provide such
hearing in accordance with the timeframes established by the
Secretary, such State agency will be required to pay, out of
non-federal sources, valid reimbursement claims submitted by
the aggrieved institution until such hearing is held.
Section 333. Transmission of income information by sponsored family or
group day care homes
This section amends section 17(f)(3)(A)(iii)(III) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1766(f)(3)(A)(iii)(III)) to permit family day care home
providers to assist families in transmitting program forms
which contain income information to the family day care home
sponsoring organization.
Section 334. Simplifying and enhancing administrative payments to
sponsoring organizations
This section amends section 17(f)(3) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(3)) to
modify the structure of, and formula used to determine,
administrative payments made to sponsoring organizations of
family day care homes. Under current law, sponsoring
organizations are not allowed to carry over unspent
administrative funds into the next fiscal year. Additionally,
sponsors receive the lesser of three different administrative
formulas: (1) Actual costs incurred in administering the
program during the fiscal year; (2) the amount specified in an
administrative budget developed by the sponsoring organization
for the fiscal year; or (3) the number of homes served by the
sponsoring organization multiplied by administrative rates
determined by the Secretary (the ``homes times rate'' formula).
This section requires all sponsoring organizations to be
reimbursed according to the ``homes times rate'' formula.
Additionally, the section permits sponsoring organizations to
carry over not more than ten percent of their administrative
funding from the previous fiscal year into the next fiscal
year. All carryover funds must be used by sponsors within the
next fiscal year.
Section 335. Child and Adult Care Food Program audit funding
This section amends section 17(i) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(i)) to permit the
Secretary to increase administrative funding to State agencies
for the purpose of conducting audits of participating Child and
Adult Care Food Program institutions for fiscal year 2016 and
each fiscal year thereafter. Under current law, each State
agency administering the Child and Adult Care Food Program
receives audit funding in amounts up to 1.5 percent of total
funds spent on the program in the state during the second
preceding fiscal year. This section permits the Secretary to
increase audit funding for State agencies beyond the current
1.5 percent cap, to no more than 2 percent, provided that the
State agency can effectively demonstrate to the Secretary that
such funding would improve program management.
Section 336. Reducing paperwork and improving program administration
This section requires the Secretary to continue to examine
the feasibility of reducing unnecessary or duplicative
paperwork resulting from regulations and recordkeeping
requirements for State agencies, institutions, family and group
day care homes, and sponsored centers participating in the
Child and Adult Care Food Program. Additionally, the Secretary
is provided discretion, in conjunction with States and
institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food
Program, to examine any other aspect of administration of the
program. It also requires the Secretary to submit a report to
Congress no later than four years after enactment detailing the
results of the examination.
Section 337. Study relating to the Child and Adult Care Food Program
This section requires the Secretary to carry out a study of
States participating in an afterschool supper program under the
Child and Adult Care Food Program established under section 17
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1766). It requires the Secretary to submit a report to
Congress, no later than one year after enactment, that
describes (1) the results of the study; (2) best practices of
States in soliciting sponsors for an afterschool supper
program; and (3) any Federal or state laws or requirements that
may be barriers to participation in the program.
SUBTITLE D--SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS,
AND CHILDREN
Section 351. Sharing of materials with other programs
This section amends section 17(e)(3) of the Child Nutrition
Act (42 U.S.C. 1786(e)(3)) to authorize State agencies
administering WIC to permit local WIC agencies or clinics to
share nutrition education materials with institutions
participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program at no
cost to the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The Committee
requests that the Secretary advise WIC state agencies that the
current Dietary Guidelines for Americans urges Americans to
increase their fruit and vegetable intakes regardless of type
(fresh, frozen, canned and dried). The Committee also urges the
Secretary to, within reason, allow various package sizes of WIC
approved foods that provide greater value than specific sizes
that are not readily available or purchased by non-WIC
customers.
Section 352. WIC Program management
Section 352 makes several amendments to section 17 of the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) for purposes of
improving WIC Program management.
Subsection (a) amends section 17(g)(5) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(g)(5)) by increasing the
amount of funds available for program evaluation.
Subsection (b) amends section 17(h)(8) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(8)) by adding
subparagraph (K) which requires State agencies to report WIC
rebate payments from infant formula manufacturers in the month
the payments are received.
Subsection (c) amends section 17(h)(9) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(9)) to require State
agencies which institute cost containment measures for
authorized WIC foods to verify that no additional States are
added to the State alliance after the initial submission of a
competitive bid, to have a system in place to ensure that
rebate invoices under competitive bidding provide a reasonable
estimate of the number of units sold to participants in the WIC
program, to open and read aloud all bids at a public
proceeding, and to provide a minimum of 30 days between the
publication of the bid solicitation and the day on which the
bids are due.
Subsection (d) amends section 17(h)(12) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(12)) to make a number
of changes designed to improve program operations through
improvements in technology. This subsection mandates WIC
electronic benefit transfer (EBT) implementation nationwide by
October 1, 2020. It also provides new cost sharing provisions
for State agencies and retailers and requires the development
of WIC EBT technical standards for States, contractors, and
vendors. The Committee encourages the Secretary to work closely
with State agencies to determine their resource needs to
achieve the goal of nationwide EBT implementation.
Subsection (e) amends section 17(h)(13) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(13)) by requiring
State agencies to use the national universal product code (UPC)
database established by the Secretary. Mandatory funding of $1
million each year is provided to develop and support the
database.
Subsection (f) amends section 17(i) of the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(i)) by adding paragraph (8) which
permits WIC State agencies to use rebates of food funds
received from infant formula manufacturers during the current
fiscal year to pay for allowable food expenditures incurred
during the previous fiscal year. This authority is limited to
each of fiscal years 2012 and 2013.
Section 353. Efficacy of foods eligible for use under the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
This section amends section 17(f)(11) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) by adding a new
subparagraph (E) to provide the Secretary a mechanism by which
to ensure that food products offered through the WIC program
provide benefits relative to their cost.
SUBTITLE E--MISCELLANEOUS
Section 361. Full use of Federal funds
This section amends section 12 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) by specifying in
subsection (b) that agreements between the Secretary and State
agencies administering programs authorized under the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 shall include a provision that supports full use of
Federal funds provided to State agencies for the administration
of the programs and excludes the Federal funds from State
budget restrictions or limitations including, at a minimum,
hiring freezes, work furloughs, and travel restrictions.
Section 362. Disqualified schools, institutions, and individuals
This section amends section 12 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) by adding a new
subsection (r) that specifies that any school, institution,
service institution, facility, or individual that has been
terminated from any program authorized under the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 and is on a list of disqualified institutions or
individuals under the Summer Food Service Program or the Child
and Adult Care Food Program may not be approved to participate
in any program under the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS
SUBTITLE A--REAUTHORIZATION OF EXPIRING PROVISIONS.
PART I--RICHARD B. RUSSELL NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT
Part I of subtitle A of title IV reauthorizes expiring
provisions of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act
(42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
Section 401. Commodity support
This section amends section 6(e)(1)(B) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(e)(1)(B)) to
extend through September 30, 2020, authority to classify bonus
commodity purchases as support which meets the requirement that
not less than 12 percent of the assistance provided to schools
participating in the National School Lunch Program be provided
in the form of commodities.
Section 402. Food safety audits and reports by states
Paragraph (1) amends section 9(h)(3) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(h)(3)) to
extend through fiscal year 2015 a requirement for States to (1)
audit the food safety inspections which schools participating
in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast
Program are required to conduct; and (2) submit to the
Secretary a report of the results of the audit.
Paragraph (2) amends section 9(h)(4) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(h)(4)) to
extend through fiscal year 2015 a requirement for the Secretary
to conduct annual audits of food safety reports submitted to
the Secretary by States.
Section 403. Procurement training
This section amends section 12(m)(4) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(m)(4)) to
extend through fiscal year 2015 an authorization of
appropriations to carry out a procurement training program for
States, State agencies, schools, and school food authorities
participating in the National School Lunch Program and School
Breakfast Program.
Section 404. Authorization of the Summer Food Service Program for
children
This section amends section 13(r) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(r)) to extend through
fiscal year 2015 the authority to provide appropriations for
activities carried out under the Summer Food Service Program.
Section 405. Year-round services for eligible entities
This section amends section 18(i)(5) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(i)(5)) to
extend through fiscal year 2015 authorization for the Secretary
to provide to the State of California such sums as are
necessary to reimburse service institutions for year-round meal
services provided through the Summer Food Service Program.
Section 406. Training, technical assistance, and Food Service
Management Institute
This section amends section 21 (e) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-19(e)) to
strike an authorization of appropriations and to make various
conforming amendments. Mandatory funding is increased by an
additional $1 million per year for the Food Service Management
Institute.
Section 407. Federal administrative support
This section amends section 21(g)(1)(A) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1(g)(1)(A))
to provide mandatory funding of $4 million per year for the
Secretary to conduct training and technical assistance related
to improving program integrity and administrative accuracy in
school meals programs, as well as to assist State educational
agencies in reviewing the administrative practices of local
educational agencies.
Section 408. Compliance and accountability
This section amends section 22(d) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c(d)) to authorize
appropriations of $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011
through 2015 for the purposes of carrying out the unified
system of compliance and accountability for local food service
authorities that participate in the National School Lunch
Program.
Section 409. Information clearinghouse
This section amends section 26(d) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769g(d)) to provide
$250,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2015 for the
purposes of maintaining an information clearinghouse.
PART II--CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966
Part II of subtitle A of title IV reauthorizes expiring
provisions of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771
et seq.).
Section 421. Technology infrastructure improvement
This section amends section 7(i)(4) of the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(i)(4)) to extend through fiscal
year 2015 an authorization of appropriations for management
information systems and technology infrastructure improvements
related to the school meals programs.
Section 422. State administrative expenses
This section amends section 7(j) of the Child Nutrition Act
of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1766(j)) to extend through fiscal year 2015
an authorization of appropriations for state expenses related
to the administration of the Special Milk Program, School
Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, and Child and
Adult Care Food Program.
Section 423. Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children
This section amends section 17(g)(1)(A) of the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(g)(1)(A)) to extend
through fiscal year 2015 an authorization of appropriations for
the purposes of operating the Special Supplemental Nutrition
program for Women, Infants, and Children.
Section 424. Farmers Market Nutrition Program
This section amends section 17(m)(9) of the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(m)(9)) to extend through 2015 an
authorization of appropriations for the WIC Farmers Market
Nutrition Program.
SUBTITLE B--TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS
Subsection (a) of Subtitle (B) of title IV makes technical
changes to remove obsolete provisions of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
Section 441. Technical amendments
Paragraph (1) of subsection (a) amends section 9(f) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1758(f)) to require that schools that participate in the
National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program serve
lunches and breakfasts that consider the nutrient needs of
children who may be at risk for inadequate food intake and food
insecurity.
Paragraph (2) of subsection (a) amends section 11(a)(3)(B)
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1759a(a)(3)(B)) to strike obsolete language pertaining to
rounding rules for the annual adjustment in average payment
rates for breakfasts, lunches, and supplements served through
the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
Paragraph (3) of subsection (a) amends section 11 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a)
to strike subsection (f), which authorized the Secretary to
provide grants to 10 State agencies in fiscal years 2000 and
2001 for the purpose of identifying schools likely to benefit
from participating in the National School Lunch Program through
provisions 2 and 3.
Paragraph (4) of subsection (a) amends section 12 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760)
to strike subsection (k), which required the Secretary to issue
final regulations to conform the nutrition requirements of the
National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program with
the most recent Dietary Guidelines no later than June 1, 1995.
Paragraph (5) of subsection (a) amends section 13 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761)
to make various technical amendments in order to reformat
subsection 13(a).
Paragraph (6) of subsection (a) amends section 14(d) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1762a(d)) to strike a provision which requires the Secretary to
provide a report to Congress on the impact of procedures
established to ensure that state and school input is secured in
the selection of school commodity offerings. The report was
completed and provided to Congress in 1978.
Paragraph (7) of subsection (a) amends section 17 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766)
to strike subsection (p), which authorizes the Secretary to
conduct a pilot program in Nebraska in fiscal years 2006 and
2007 to determine alternative eligibility thresholds for rural
area day care home providers to participate in the Child and
Adult Care Food Program.
Paragraph (8) of subsection (a) amends section 17(q) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1766(q)) to strike paragraph (3), which authorizes the
Secretary to reserve $1 million for Child and Adult Care Food
Program training and technical assistance for each of fiscal
years 2005 and 2006 in order to assist State agencies in
improving their program management and oversight.
Paragraph (9) of subsection (a) amends section 18 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769)
to strike subsection (a), which authorizes the Secretary to
conduct pilot projects in not more than three states in which
the Secretary is administering programs to evaluate the effects
of contracting with private nonprofit organizations to act as a
State agency under the National School Lunch Act and Child
Nutrition Act.
Paragraph (10) of subsection (a) amends section 18(c) of
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1769(c)) to strike paragraphs (1) and (2), which authorize the
Secretary to conduct a pilot project to identify alternatives
to the standard application and meal counting process.
Paragraph (11) of subsection (a) amends section 18 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769)
to strike subsection (d), which authorizes the Secretary to
conduct a pilot program in at least 25 districts under which
the milk offered by schools meets the fortification
requirements for low fat, skim and other forms of milk.
Paragraph (12) of subsection (a) amends section 18 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769)
to strike subsection (e), which authorizes the Secretary to
provide grants to States to conduct pilot projects in
elementary schools offering free school breakfasts.
Paragraph (13) of subsection (a) amends section 18 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769)
to strike subsection (f), which authorizes the Secretary to
conduct a pilot project to modify residential camp eligibility
for the Summer Food Service Program at 1 private nonprofit
residential camp in not more than two states.
Paragraph (14) of subsection (a) amends section 27 of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769h)
to repeal the section, which authorizes funding for the
Secretary to carry out activities to help accommodate special
dietary needs for fiscal years 1999 through 2003.
Subsection (b) of Subtitle (B) of title IV makes technical
changes to remove obsolete provisions of the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.).
Paragraph (1) of subsection (b) amends section 7(a)(1) of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(a)(1)) to
repeal language relating to State administrative costs in
fiscal years 2005 through 2007.
Paragraph (2) of subsection (b) amends section 17(f)(11) of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(11)) to
strike subparagraph (C), which authorizes the Secretary to
award grants to not more than 10 local sites to evaluate the
feasibility of including fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and
vegetables.
Section 442. Environmental Quality Incentives Program
This section amends section 1241(a)(6) of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(6)) to provide $1,447,000,000
for each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012 for the Commodity Credit
Corporation to carry out the Environmental Quality Incentives
Program.
Section 443. Budgetary effects
This section requires that the budgetary effects of this
Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-
You-Go-Act of 2010, be determined by reference to the latest
statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for
this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by
the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that such
statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Section 444. Effective date
This section requires that the provisions included in the
Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 take effect on October 1,
2010, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act or
any of the amendments made by this Act.
Additional, Supplemental, or Minority Views
ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF SENATORS CHAMBLISS, GRASSLEY, ROBERTS, THUNE, AND
JOHANNS
While we were pleased the committee was able to unanimously
report the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, we remain
concerned about using funding from the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP) as an offset for this bill. EQIP is
highly popular and widely used by farmers, ranchers and private
forest landowners. It is so popular it had $1.3 billion is
unfunded applications in fiscal year 2009.
EQIP was created to help producers comply with local, state
and federal environmental regulations. It has successfully met
this goal. For example, in fiscal year 2009, EQIP was used to
develop more than 2,000 comprehensive nutrient management
plans. These plans are used by livestock producers to comply
with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Concentrated
Animal Feeding Operation regulation.
Unfortunately, agriculture is facing many new environmental
regulations from EPA. For example, the agency has proposed a
new, unworkable regulation regarding drift from pesticide
applications. EPA also wants farmers and ranchers to get
permits to control the greenhouse gas emissions attributed to
their operations. Further, the agency is planning to require
producers to get duplicative permits under the Clean Water Act
in order to apply pesticides.
The Administration argues that the cuts to EQIP will have
no practical effect on the ground. This is not accurate. The
cut will mean fewer producers will receive assistance to
address the conservation and environmental challenges they
face. We believe this is not a good time to reduce assistance
available to producers to deal with current challenges and
future regulations required by EPA.
SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS OF SENATOR GILLIBRAND
I would like to take this opportunity to state my support
of the strongest possible child nutrition reauthorization bill.
This is especially important considering that in a recent
report the USDA found that 16 percent of households with
children reported food insecurity. Alongside this deprivation,
we are also witnessing an obesity rate that is skyrocketing.
Currently 17 percent of young children are obese. A recent
report by the Centers for Disease and Control estimates that
obesity enacts nearly $150 billion a year in increased health
care costs and lost productivity for our nation.
President Obama has identified his priority in working with
Congress to significantly increase funding for child nutrition
programs. The administration has proposed an increase of $10
billion, which would help make necessary and urgent strides
towards improving quality and access to nutritious food for our
nation's neediest children. I support the President's target.
I would also like to take this opportunity to state my
position on the urgent need to ban trans fats from school
lunches. Many schools still serve foods containing artificially
created trans fats, an artery clogging product originally used
to extend the shelf life of food, provide texture and decrease
cost. The American Heart Association recommends that an
individual should have, at most, 2 grams of trans fats a day.
Small amounts of trans fats occur naturally in meat and dairy
products, so a typical diet leaves virtually no room for
artificial trans fats. Although a person may not get heart
disease until they are in their 40s, research by the University
of Maryland has shown that kids as young as 8, 9 and 10 already
have the high cholesterol and blood fats that clog arteries.
The American Heart Association states that trans fats cost this
country $500 million per year, and the New England Journal of
Medicine reports that 6-19% less heart attacks would occur each
year if trans fats were banned. Currently, there are no trans
fat guidelines or requirements for the School Meal Programs,
and this is harming our children's health. The time is now for
USDA to remove artificial trans fats from school lunches.
I am also concerned with the SNAP-Ed program offset since
it would eliminate federal government matching for state funded
nutrition education activities. Nutrition education is an
essential component of promoting healthy eating and living for
today's children, which are the future of our country. We
cannot afford to maintain our current obesity rates, which
currently cost this country $150 billion per year. Just as our
obesity rates are rising, these associated costs are rising.
This vital component of the food stamp program helps families
gain more control over their lives, and promotes good behaviors
that can reduce obesity and other diet-related disease. We need
to invest in nutrition today, to save our nation's health and
dollars in the future.
SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS OF SENATORS GILLIBRAND AND STABENOW
EQIP is a highly popular program that is widely used by
farmers, ranchers and forest landowners nationwide. The fact
that there were $1.3 billion in unfunded applications in 2009
is testament to the program's potential in conserving our
nation's agricultural lands and private forests. This voluntary
program helps farmers improve air quality, forest health,
grazing lands health, groundwater quality, wildlife habitat,
plant population health, soil quality, surface water quality,
water quantity, wetlands health, and provides other invaluable
benefits. The community health benefits of maintaining clean
recreational space, the economic benefits of keeping our
agricultural community thriving, and the urban/rural benefits
of clean watersheds for safe drinking water should not be
sacrificed. We do not support the precedent of using
conservation funds as a bank account to pay for other projects.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee states that, in its
opinion, it is necessary to dispense with the requirements of
that paragraph in order to expedite the business of the Senate.