Pride in the Lunch Line Act of 2004

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3873) to amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide children with access to food and nutrition assistance, to simplify program operations, to improve children's nutritional health, and to restore the integrity of child nutrition programs, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3873.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure, which represents months of hard work and commitment to bipartisan cooperation. In that spirit, we have before us a bill that will extend the life of the Federal child nutrition programs while strengthening program integrity, ensuring effective use of Federal resources, and providing continued nutrition services for millions of American children.

First and foremost, I would like to thank the author of this bill and those who have worked closely with him to reach our shared goal of strengthening Federal child nutrition programs. The chairman and ranking member of the Subcommittee on Education Reform, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), deserve a great deal of credit for their hard work and cooperation that have brought this bill before us today. I would also like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the ranking member of the committee, for his continued commitment to a bipartisan, cooperative process.

The Federal child nutrition programs ensure millions of needy children have access to healthy and nutritious meals. The investment in these programs is considerable, and so is our obligation to ensure our Federal resources are being used effectively and efficiently. Children and families depend on the Federal child nutrition programs, and they depend on us to ensure that these programs are being administered with integrity.

The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act reauthorizes the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, Child and Adult Care Food program, After-School Snack program, the Summer Food Service program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. Taken together, the reforms in this bill will help ensure we are making the most of Federal child nutrition resources, while being mindful of program quality and integrity.

The bill before us strikes, I think, an important balance between our desire to promote healthy nutritional choices and physical activity among children, and the need to preserve local control for schools, communities, and States. The gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the author of this bill, has been a leader in our efforts to reduce the epidemic of child obesity by promoting a comprehensive approach that includes nutrition education and physical activity. In particular, the establishment of local wellness policies, written at the local level to reflect local needs, marks significant progress that will promote nutrition education and increase physical activity in schools while maintaining local control.

To improve program integrity within the Federal child nutrition programs and ensure access for eligible children, the legislation makes a number of positive reforms. The bill allows children whose parents are in the Armed Forces and living in privatized military housing to continue to receive free or reduced-price meals in school if they meet the eligibility requirements. It also helps the parents by allowing them to submit a single application for multiple children and ensures enrollment of eligible children through the use of direct certification of school lunch eligibility for those children in families receiving food stamps.

Importantly, the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act also takes steps to reduce paperwork by allowing school lunch certifications to be valid for one full year, preventing situations in which schools are forced to repeatedly certify children within a single school year. The bill also includes a provision originally proposed by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) to help reduce the stigma amongst children receiving free and reduced-price lunches by helping schools make technological improvements such as automated meal card systems that keep students' financial status confidential. That, in fact, will also increase the efficiency of program operations.

These are just a few of the numerous reforms that will ensure eligible children and families access to services and Federal resources that are being effectively leveraged to serve children in need.

I would also like to recognize the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) for their commitment to encouraging partnerships that allow fresh and local produce to go from farms to schools. In recognizing the success and popularity of the fruit and vegetable pilot program, which provides free fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables to children in 25 schools in each of four States and on one Indian reservation, I am pleased that the bill before us authorizes the continuation and expansion of this valuable program.

The act before us will prevent important nutritional programs from expiring, while ensuring that they continue to operate effectively and efficiently. I am pleased to support this measure and encourage my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' and ensuring the availability of nutritional services for millions of vulnerable children and their families.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the author of the bill and the chairman of the Subcommittee on Education Reform.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time.

As we have seen during the debate today, this has been a very cooperative process, very bipartisan process, both sides of the aisle coming together to do what we can do to improve the nutrition services and nutrition programs that the Federal Government operates for millions of American children.

There is a lot more that a lot of people would want to do in the bill that we have before us, many things, unfortunately, that we cannot afford under the current budget to do, but I think it has been demonstrated that there is broad bipartisan support for this bill, and I would encourage Members to not let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

We have a good, sound bill before us that will, in fact, ensure that millions of needy children are served either through the school lunch program, the WIC program or the breakfast program. For many of these children, it may be the only meal that they get all day.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask Members to support the bill. I also thank all of the staff, including Kate Houston on my staff, Stephanie Milburn, Krisann Pearce, Cindy Herrle, Julian Baer, Tyson Redpath who works in my personal office, and Sarah Rittling who works with the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), and all of our staff, Denise and others on the Democrat side for all of their hard work because they went through months and months of discussions and negotiations.

I also thank all of the groups, the outside groups from the food service administrators to all of those involved in helping us forge this bipartisan agreement. This was not a very easy bill, but it did become easy because there was good cooperation between both sides of the aisle, good understanding of the issues of what we could and could not do. And in the end, bipartisanship does work when Members put their minds together and try to come up with a product that is in the best interest of American children. I would encourage Members to vote for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3873, the Child Nutritional Improvement and Integrity Act. As a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, I am pleased with the process in which this bill moved through the Committee; it is a critical bill that will greatly benefit our nation's children as well as family farmers.

Specifically, I am pleased that several provisions were included in the base bill, which I coauthored in previous legislation, H.R. 3250, the Child Nutrition Improvement Act of 2003, with Representatives Bennie Thompson, Gil Gutknecht, and tom Petri, that will combat the increasing problem of child obesity through increased child milk consumption by preventing commercial beverage companies from pressuring schools to remove milk vending machines.

With 90 percent of teenage girls and 70 percent of teenage boys currently not getting enough calcium, it is imperative to provide increased availability of milk products in schools. This provision is necessary in light of recent stories about school districts being pressured to remove milk vending machines at a time when kids need milk more than ever. This amendment will ensure milk vending has a chance and that machines are not ripped out of schools; yet at the same time it does not force soda companies to sell milk. Wise choices can only be made when choice is provided and real milk vending is a logical part of a healthy school environment.

Another provision included in the base bill, from H.R. 3250, will improve child nutrition by making it easier for schools to offer milk in a

variety of flavors and fat contents to better meet students' varying tastes and needs, thereby increasing milk consumption by children. It is important to maintain milk's unique role in the reimbursable school milk programs. Since 1946, schools have offered milk with each school meal. The natural calcium found in milk plays a vital role in minimizing the risk of students developing calcium deficiency--which is already a serious problem, especially for our teenage girls, as I mentioned earlier.

During Committee consideration, I also offered an amendment that would have augmented the reimbursement rate for school meals in schools implementing a plan to increase milk consumption. Under this amendment schools would have been allowed to use various measures to enhance milk products sold in schools. The National Dairy Council and the American School Food Service Association conducted a school milk pilot test to specifically measure the impact of an enhanced milk product on milk consumption and student attitudes towards milk in schools.

The milk enhancements included: Plastic packaging and various sizes; a third flavor; improved storage and refrigeration; and better milk product merchandising.

The results of this pilot were significant in that they showed milk sales increased 18 percent in all participating schools and milk consumption increased 28 percent in elementary schools. I withdrew this amendment, however, with the Chairman's agreement to continue working on it between now and conference. I hope we will be able to work out a compromise and include it in reauthorization.

Numerous studies have proven how important milk is in young people's diets. A study published in 2002 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that teens who drink flavored milk drink fewer soft drinks and juice drinks, and have an overall better nutritional profile. Another study released recently found that children with the lowest intakes of dairy products gained much more body fat over an 8-year period and that a diet low in calcium may increase the levels of certain circulating hormones that in turn promote the storage of energy in fat cells.

Additionally, H.R. 3873 includes legislation that I sponsored with Representative Upton, H.R. 2626, the Farm-to-Cafeteria Projects Act of 2003. This provision focuses on connecting local agriculture to schools in every State, through a competitive, one-time matching grant directly to local communities. This allows each locality to design a farm-to- cafeteria project tailored to specific farm and school community needs. Experience has shown that kids' food choices can be improved by connecting farms to the lunchroom. This program directly benefits the food and health needs of our Nation's children. At the same time, the program will help family farms, and provide markets and community support for agriculture.

A final amendment I offered in Committee authorized a 3-year pilot project in elementary schools that links the school breakfast program with morning educational activities, similar to those authorized in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The goal is to increase participation by removing the stigma that accompanies the current school breakfast program. If the school breakfast program is perceived as an enrichment program that will benefit all students, it is suggested that more students will participate.

Mr. Speaker, again, I am pleased to support this bill on the floor today and I look forward to continuing to working on it as we move towards conference. Our goal in the 21st century should be to ensure that every child receives proper nutrition needed to succeed in school. It is a simple fact: good nutrition is an educational tool that improves children's performances in school.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3873, the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act, which reauthorizes the Federal Child Nutrition programs. This is a bipartisan bill. It was unanimously reported out of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and I thank the chairman of the full committee and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), chairman of the Subcommittee on Education Reform, for working in good faith with the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) and myself in getting to this point.

But I want to say that we would not be here without the great staffs on both sides of the aisle. I thank the staffs so much.

While there is more that I would have liked to do in this reauthorization such as a full expansion of the free breakfast program for all kids, no matter their economic status, and tighter restrictions on the junk food that is sold in schools, the Child Nutrition and Improvement and Integrity Act does improve the Federal Child Nutrition programs in many important ways.

H.R. 3873 improves accuracy in school meals programs without dropping eligible children; makes it easier for eligible students to get free and reduced-price meals by making the application process easier; makes homeless and migrant youth and children, whose families receive food stamps, automatically eligible for free meals; allows youth up to age 18 to participate in meal programs if they are living in domestic violence or homeless shelters; increases start-up and expansion grants for school breakfast programs; and includes a study for the best ways to overcome common barriers to offering breakfast at schools; helps students make better food choices, and fight obesity with Team Nutrition which provides nutrition education to students and training and support to improve the nutrition of foods sold in school; requires school districts to develop a local ``wellness policy'' which addresses both what students eat at school and the role that physical activity plays in good health.

This bill creates greater opportunities for schools to include fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables in school meals, gets our very youngest children off to a healthy start with the new WIC Fruit and Vegetable pilot program that will study the benefits of including fruits and vegetables in the WIC food package.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act improves the nutritional well-being of low-income children by improving the Federal child nutrition programs. H.R. 3873 proves that child nutrition truly is bipartisan and it is a priority of this Congress. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), who has very effectively added the irradiation part of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, how much time remains on both sides?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), a member of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews), a very important member of the committee.

(Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Again, I thank the staff for a bipartisan bill that was unanimously reported out of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

I also thank ASFSA, FRAC, NEA, AFT, the Hispanic Education Coalition, the Food Policy Working Group, the National Association of State WIC Directors, who all played a major role. And to name the staff, Kate Houston, Stephanie Milburn, Krisann Pearce, Julian Baer and Sara Rittling on our side of the aisle; Lynda Theil, Denise Forte and Joe Novotny, on the other side of the aisle. They worked really hard to represent us well, and I thank them so very much.

There is something missing in this bill. We all know that if a child enters the classroom having had a nourishing breakfast, that child learns better, has better attendance and better discipline and tests better. But we have not ensured in this bill that every child will enter the classroom having had a nutritious breakfast. We have expanded the breakfast program by making it easier for those who are eligible or who want to participate in the program, making it easier for them to do that.

But, Mr. Speaker, some day this country's going to have to step up to the plate, understand children are 25 percent of our population. They are 100 percent of the future of this country, and unless they learn to the best of their ability, we are not going to have the country we want in the future.

So, in the future, and my colleagues can count on me, I am going to continue to talk about a universal school breakfast program for every single child in this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me such time as I may consume, as long as I do not go on and on.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the majority for working with us and for bringing this bill to the floor today. I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), and the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle), the chairman of the subcommittee, for their efforts, as well as the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), for her participation and effort in arriving at this compromise, which I think is a very good bill on child nutrition. I also want to thank the American School Food Service Association for all of their years of effort to improve the quality of this program, to expand its coverage of this program, and for continuously looking after the nutritional state of our schoolchildren, especially since we now so clearly understand the link between nutrition and school performance among children.

Over 27 million schoolchildren take advantage of the school meals program every day. More than 2 million children receive meals during the summer, and the Child and Adult Care Food program provides over 1.5 million meals to children in child care programs. The Women, Infants and Children program provides information on healthy eating and nutritious foods for nearly 7.5 million poor women and their children. Clearly, families still struggle to provide their children with healthy meals, and the need for quality nutrition continues to exist in this country.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3873 acknowledges these needs, and it contains significant program improvements to allow more and more low-income children to access these programs in schools, after-school programs, child care centers, and through the Women, Infants and Children program. These policies reflect common sense in these programs. If a child is deemed to be eligible for both the Federal assistance programs, they should be eligible for free and reduced-price meals. The bill removes barriers for migrant children and homeless and runaway youth by making them automatically eligible for school meal programs. It continues a provision to allow children in low-income and military families to participate in these programs.

While many of us would have liked to go further to eliminate the reduced-price category of meals so that more children could eat for free, this bill makes headway in assuring that children who are eligible for these programs are, in fact, receiving the meals. These program improvements are laudable, and I support the bill for all of these reasons.

I am, however, disappointed that at a time when the trends in childhood obesity rates reveal a disturbing health crisis, we did not take the opportunity presented to us to improve the quality of foods available to children in the school meals program.

Obesity rates have doubled for children and tripled for adolescents in just for over the last two decades. More children are experiencing adults' health problems such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type II diabetes, all of which is contributed to the threefold increase in annual hospital costs for obesity-related diseases in children over the past 20 years. This Nation can no longer ignore the cost of this problem to our children and to the health care system in this country.

We can all agree that there are no simple solutions to the issue of childhood obesity. The local wellness policy that will now be required of schools is a good start, as is a new emphasis on physical activity. However, this is not an adequate response to the health problems facing millions of children and youth.

The Federal Government can and should address the nutritional quality of food available in schools. Without Federal guidelines on this issue, the overall quality of the school meal programs is significantly undermined and children will continue to be surrounded by unhealthy food choices in schools. I will continue to press for action on this area, and I hope that the chairman will

join me, as will the members of the committee.

This is a significant reauthorization. It is a substantial improvement in the existing programs and I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

The bill before us today represents several months of hard work, cooperation and dedication to strengthening nutritional services for vulnerable children. I am pleased to have this bill before us and to have the support of so many members of committee, including the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) and gentlewoman of California (Ms. Woolsey) and obviously the great help of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and all the work that he did.

The fact that this is on a 40-minute calendar situation does not show the kind of work that went into getting it ready for the floor here today. I thank all those people.

The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act makes a number of positive reforms focusing on reaching three main goals: ensuring eligible children have access to services, promoting comprehensive solutions to the health and nutrition of children, and strengthening program integrity to ensure Federal resources are being effectively leveraged to serve children who qualify.

The bill reauthorizes the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, Child and Adult Care Food program, After-School Snack program, Summer Food Service program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program For Women, Infants and Children, which we know as WIC, and I think it goes a long way in strengthening these programs on behalf of disadvantaged children and their families.

While the bill includes a variety of important reforms, there are a few I would like to mention specifically. With little money to work with, we were able to increase access to child nutrition programs for eligible children. For example, the bill extends participation for eligible children whose parents are in the Armed Forces and living in privatized military housing so these children may continue receiving free or reduced-price meals. This provision alone would benefit 250 children in my home State of Delaware and up to 100,000 children nationwide.

The Federal Government invests roughly $16 billion annually in child nutrition programs. Ensuring the effective use of these resources by enhancing program integrity has been a top priority for me during the reauthorization process to ensure that children who deserve these services are receiving them and those who do not are not. To this end, we have taken steps to reduce administrative error, improve accuracy, and enhance accountability for program administration.

Finally, I would like to highlight an issue of particular concern to me, childhood obesity. During visits to schools over the past several years, I have noticed a growing number of obese children. We all recognize the fact that obesity has reached epidemic proportions in our Nation. Defeating this crisis will require the work of many, including schools, parents, government, the health community, and industry.

The bill before us today also includes important steps to promote comprehensive solutions to child health and nutrition, including provisions to promote nutritional education and physical activity at the State and local level.

H.R. 3873 also asks that local educational agencies have a local wellness policy. The policy will include goals for nutrition education and physical activity and include nutrition guidelines for foods sold in schools. Developed in consultation with parents, students, school food service professionals, school boards and administrators, and the public, the wellness policies will serve as a catalyst for encouraging a larger dialogue on how to combat obesity.

The Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act is the result of cooperative efforts to strengthen nutritional services provided to needy children and families through the various child nutrition programs. I would like to thank my colleagues for their cooperation in bringing this bill forward, and I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter).

(Mr. CARTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).