III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 788 

Designating the week of September 19 through September 23, 2022, as 

‘‘Malnutrition Awareness Week’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 

Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. 

SINEMA, Ms. HASSAN, and Mr. BLUMENTHAL) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating the week of September 19 through September 

23, 2022, as ‘‘Malnutrition Awareness Week’’. 

Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when an 

individual does not get enough protein, calories, or nutrients; 

Whereas malnutrition is a significant problem in the United 

States and around the world, crossing all age, racial, 

class, gender, and geographic lines; 

Whereas malnutrition can be driven by social determinants of 

health, including poverty or economic instability, access 

to affordable healthcare, and low health literacy; 

Whereas there are inextricable and cyclical links between poverty and malnutrition; 


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•SRES 788 IS 

Whereas communities of color, across all age groups, are disproportionately likely to experience both food insecurity 

and malnutrition; 

Whereas the Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as when an individual or household does not have 

regular, reliable access to the foods needed for good 

health; 

Whereas Black children are almost 3 times more likely to live 

in a food-insecure household than White children; 

Whereas infants, older adults, individuals with chronic diseases, and other vulnerable populations are particularly 

at risk for malnutrition; 

Whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that 

failure to provide key nutrients during early childhood 

may result in lifelong deficits in brain function; 

Whereas disease-associated malnutrition affects between 30 

and 50 percent of patients admitted to hospitals, and the 

medical costs of hospitalized patients with malnutrition 

can be 300 percent more than the medical costs of properly nourished patients; 

Whereas, according to the ‘‘National Blueprint: Achieving 

Quality Malnutrition Care for Older Adults, 2020 Update’’, as many as 1⁄2 of older adults living in the United 

States are malnourished or at risk for malnutrition; 

Whereas, according to recent Aging Network surveys, 76 percent of older adults receiving meals at senior centers and 

other congregate facilities report improved health outcomes, and 84 percent of older adults receiving home-delivered meals indicate the same; 


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•SRES 788 IS 

Whereas disease-associated malnutrition in older adults alone 

costs the United States more than $51,300,000,000 each 

year; and 

Whereas the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral 

Nutrition established Malnutrition Awareness Week to 

raise awareness about, and promote the prevention of, 

malnutrition across the lifespan: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the week of September 19 

3 through September 23, 2022, as ‘‘Malnutrition 

4 Awareness Week’’; 

5 (2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists 

6 and other nutrition professionals, health care pro7 viders, school foodservice workers, social workers, 

8 advocates, caregivers, and other professionals and 

9 agencies for their efforts to advance awareness 

10 about, treatments for, and the prevention of mal11 nutrition; 

12 (3) recognizes the importance of existing Fed13 eral nutrition programs, such as the nutrition pro14 grams under title III of the Older Americans Act of 

15 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3021 et seq.) and Federal child nu16 trition programs, for their role in combating mal17 nutrition; 

18 (4) supports increased funding for the critical 

19 programs described in paragraph (3); 

20 (5) recognizes— 


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1 (A) the importance of medical nutrition 

2 therapy under the Medicare program under title 

3 XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 1395 et seq.); and 

5 (B) the need for vulnerable populations to 

6 have access to nutrition counseling; 

7 (6) recognizes the importance of the innovative 

8 research conducted by the National Institutes of 

9 Health on— 

10 (A) nutrition, dietary patterns, and the 

11 human gastrointestinal microbiome; and 

12 (B) how those factors influence the preven13 tion or development of chronic disease through14 out the lifespan; 

15 (7) supports access to malnutrition screening 

16 and assessment for all patients; 

17 (8) encourages the Centers for Medicare and 

18 Medicaid Services to evaluate the implementation of 

19 newly-approved malnutrition electronic clinical qual20 ity measures; and 

21 (9) acknowledges— 

22 (A) the importance of access to healthy 

23 food for children, especially in child care set24 tings and schools; and 


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1 (B) the benefits of evidence-based nutrition 

2 standards. 

Æ 


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