National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition Establishment Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill

(S. 1275) to establish a National Foundation on Physical Fitness and Sports to carry out activities to support and supplement the mission of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise, extend and insert extraneous material on S. 1275 into the Record.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of S. 1275, which establishes a National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition to carry out activities to support and supplement the mission of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

According to a 2009 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 33 States currently have an obesity prevalence rate of 25 percent or greater, and roughly 25 million children, one in three kids, over the age of six are obese or overweight. These numbers represent a dramatic and concerning increase in obesity in the United States over the past 20 years.

These growing rates require that we take some action. The creation of this foundation is a move in that direction.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, adults 18 and older need 30 minutes of physical activity. Unfortunately, 25 percent of American children do not participate in any free-time physical activity, and 92 percent of our youth have no year-round daily physical education or activity. It is vital that we encourage our children to be healthy and active individuals.

The President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition is a volunteer advisory committee created by President Eisenhower in 1956. The council collaborates with Federal, State, and local agencies, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations to promote physical fitness in sports. However, despite its critically important mission, the council's budget has been reduced over time and is now approximately just $1.2 million per year.

This legislation would establish a foundation to work in conjunction with the council to bring much-needed private resources to the fight against youth inactivity and obesity. Not only will this foundation increase the reach and impact of the council in promoting physical fitness, sports, and nutrition programs across the country; it will not use any taxpayer resources.

With the support of private funds, the foundation will make strategic grants and increase public awareness of Federal policies and programs to improve physical fitness and nutrition. To oversee such activities, the foundation will be governed by a bipartisan, 11-member board of directors.

Establishing this independent foundation will contribute to our national efforts to end childhood obesity and improve child nutrition. Yesterday, the President signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act to dramatically improve children's access to nutritious meals and enhance the quality of meals they eat in and out of school.

Additionally, the First Lady's Let's Move campaign has set a goal of ending childhood obesity in a generation. The Let's Move campaign is a collaborative and community-oriented initiative which engages every sector of our society that impacts the health of children. It seeks to provide schools, families, and communities the simple tools they need to help kids be more active, eat better, and get healthy. The bill adds to these efforts by enhancing the tools available to improve the health and well-being of our children.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the sponsor of the Senate bill, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, and the sponsor of its companion legislation in the House, Representative John Sarbanes of Maryland, for their leadership in bringing this important legislation to the floor.

I also want to thank Chairman Waxman of the Energy and Commerce Committee for working with the Education and Labor Committee to allow this bill to move quickly to the floor.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to establish a National Foundation on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC, December 14, 2010.

Hon. George Miller,

Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor, Rayburn House

Office Building, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Miller: I am writing to confirm our

understanding regarding S. 1275, the ``National Foundation on

Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition Establishment Act.'' The

Committee on Energy and Commerce has jurisdictional interest

in the bill. In light of the interest in moving this bill

forward promptly, I am not exercising the jurisdiction of the

Committee on Energy and Commerce regarding S. 1275, with the

understanding that taking this course does not prejudice the

Committee's jurisdictional interests and prerogatives on this

or similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your including this letter during

consideration of the bill on the House floor. Thank you for

your cooperation on this matter.

Sincerely,

Henry A. Waxman,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Sarbanes), the sponsor of the companion legislation in the House.

I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in strong support. It's a privilege to rise today in support of S. 1275 and its companion, H.R. 4322, which is an act to create the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, which is designed to support the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

I want to thank the many cosponsors of this legislation. It's a bipartisan bill. We have strong support from both Republicans and Democrats and have done so all the way through this process. I want to thank Congressman George Miller for his efforts in moving this from the Education and Labor Committee, and I want to salute his staff for working so closely with us. And of course Senator Mark Warner, who is the sponsor on the Senate side of this legislation. I, too, want to salute former Congressman Tom McMillen who has been just a tireless advocate for establishing this foundation which can support the mission of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. This council was first established, as has been indicated a couple of times, by President Eisenhower back in 1956, who understood that we needed to create a focus here at the Federal level on the issue of healthy lifestyles, on fitness, on physical activity, and getting people outside into regular activity. And today we have the council with the same mission, a very important mission, more important I think than ever before.

You have heard the discussion about the increasing incidence of obesity among the next generation, the importance of encouraging regular physical activity, of paying attention to nutrition. I, myself, am very focused on research that shows that the average young person today spends about 7\1/2\ hours a day on television, video games, Internet, and handheld electronic devices, and about 4 minutes a day-- that's minutes a day--outside in unstructured physical recreation. That's a real changeover from the way things used to be, and it means that we really have to focus our young people on engaging in regular physical activity. And there is a lot of attention on that, and that's what the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition is all about.

Now, as was mentioned, the Federal dollars that are available to support the President's council are relatively limited, and I think we can expect that that is going to be the case going forward. Luckily, though, there are many people in the private sector, private citizens, others, who are ready to step forward and contribute to this effort because they understand how critically important the mission of the President's council is. So they are ready to do that. They are, in fact, very excited about the newly appointed commissioner to the President's council and I think the outpouring of support that that is going to generate. And they are ready to step forward and help.

Unfortunately, up until now, up until the creation of this act, of this foundation, there hasn't really been a mechanism by which private parties could step forward and support the mission of the council. And that's exactly what this legislation is designed to do. The foundation that is created by this bill makes it possible for the foundation, upon behalf of the President's council, to solicit, receive, and administer private contributions. So this is going to give people a chance to step forward and say, This mission is a critical one, and we want to support it with our private dollars.

This is a very accepted model. We have seen it work with the National Park Service, with the National Institutes of Health, with the Centers for Disease Control. And I think it's a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the council's mission going forward. For that reason, I urge support of this bill.

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

Today, we consider S. 1275, the National Foundation on Physical Fitness and Sports Establishment Act. This legislation would establish a charitable and nonprofit foundation to raise private funds to carry out new initiatives by the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. The bill establishes a board of directors to govern the activities of the foundation appointed by the Speaker, the majority leaders of the House and Senate, and the minority leaders of the House and Senate.

First established in 1965, the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition has been renewed by every President for the last 45 years. The council is made up of 25 volunteer citizens, including New Orleans Saints

quarterback and Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees, three-time Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, Billie Jean King, Grant Hill, and Michelle Kwan.

The council advises the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on opportunities to develop accessible, affordable, and sustainable physical activity, fitness, sports, and nutrition programs for all Americans regardless of age, background, or ability.

The council has played an important role over the years in raising the awareness of Americans about the need to become physically active. It sponsors an array of programs, events, and initiatives, including the establishment of May as National Physical Fitness and Sports Month; runs the Presidential Physical Fitness Award; recognizes national and local contributions to physical activities; and has played an instrumental role in the development of physical activity guidelines, dietary guidelines, and the National Physical Activity Plan.

Currently, the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition lacks any grant making or regulatory authority, which has limited its activities to providing consultation and technical assistance, general publications, a Web site, and guidance to schools, government agencies, and other interested parties on how to improve physical activity.

The bill before us, S. 1275, would establish a charitable and nonprofit foundation to raise private funds so that the council can award grants to carry out and support its activities. The foundation is similar to those established for the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control. Foundations created by Congress allow these programs to create partnerships with the private sector, leverage funds, and expand their work without increasing Federal expenditures. Consistent with this belief, the bill prohibits the foundation from accepting or competing for any Federal funds.

As has been stated on this floor in the past, childhood and adult obesity is an issue that has now reached epidemic proportions in the United States. In 2008, 17 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 19 were obese, and approximately 70 to 80 percent of overweight or obese children remain obese in adulthood. These children are more likely to develop diseases such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. In order to reverse these dangerous trends, Americans need information and support to improve their diet and promote exercise in their daily lives. The bill will establish the President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and will ensure that it continues to play an important role in attacking the obesity crisis that is negatively impacting the health of all Americans.

I would also like to mention at this point the contributions of our former colleague from Maryland, Tom McMillen, in urging that we attempt this important matter before the end of this Congress, and I urge my colleagues to join me in doing so.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 677, S. 1275.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee- reported substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.