Date: 2001-10-04
Speaker: EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. Chairman. my amendment is to increase the funding for the child nutrition programs by $25 million. These programs are actually in need of $55 million. This often is the only meal that poor children have. Seventyfive percent of these meals go to the poorest of children. Mr. Chairman. this funding will offset part of the proposed $90 million increase that doubles funding for the market access program. known as the MAP program. and it helps producers and exporters finance promotional opportunities abroad. putting farmlands first and our preschool and schoolaged children last. Mr. Chairman. I simply want to ask that this amendment be considered. Mr. Chairman. I rise today to offer an amendment to provide $25 million for child nutrition programs. These programs provide funding for our nations schools to purchase commodities for their National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The National School Lunch Program serves more than 27 million children every day. slightly over half to children who live at or near the poverty level in this country. More than 85 percent of the 7 million breakfasts served in schools each day go to poor children. For these children. our federal school meal programs are their most secure link to good nutrition. These .commodity food programs also allow school districts to offset the costs of lunches for children who do not participate in the program. In essence. these programs benefit the child receiving the free or reduced cost meal as well as the child who pays full price. Research has confirmed a link between nutrition and childrens cognitive development.. cognitive performance. and ability to concentrate. Preschool and school age children need to receive proper and adequate nutrition. Studies also show that these nutritional programs have contributed positively to scores on test of basic skills. reduced tardiness and absenteeism. Also clear is the link between our federal nutrition programs and our agricultural communities. The United States began providing agricultural commodities to our schools more than a decade before we started grants in aid to schools to provide meals. and three decades before we recognized the special needs of our poorest children through the free and reduced price meal subsidies. In 1994. Congress amended the National School Lunch Act to require that at least 12 percent of all federal support for school meals must be in the form of commodities. However. in 1998 the Congress again amended the National School Lunch Act to count bonus commodities. food products purchased under separate authorizations and for a very different purpose. to meet the 12 percent statutory requirement. While some thought this was merely an. accounting change. the effect was a real cut in support for our school lunch program. The commodities. which will not be purchased under the entitlement authorization. are the ones best suited to meet the menu and nutritional requirements of our school meal programs. The impact of the change was not felt last year or this because Congress yet again passed another statute that corrected the error. but only for FY 2000 and 2001. But our schools will lose more than $55 million dollars in entitlement commodities in 2002 unless we act to correct the problem. Over the next eight years. this cut will exceed $440 million. That is a very real and significant cut to our school programs. Make no mistake. this is a school lunch budget cutthis is more than $55 million per year that schools will not receive. It is also a $440 million cut in the amount of agricultural commodities purchased by USDA. I have spoken with several of my colleagues and they share my interest in this matter. After all. this money is used by USDA to purchase agricultural commodities. and these purchases have a significant impact on producer incomes. The magnitude of this cut is even more dramatic when you consider the amount of food that it represents. This cut means that USDA will reduce its overall purchases by 660 million pounds. One of the best ways we can move forward as a society is to meet our obligations to our children. The Federal Government must follow through on its commitment to work in partnership with states. schools. and the agricultural community to administer a major program designed to improve childrens diets and. in tum their overall health and well being. We can be proud that these school meal programs promote the well being of some of our Nations most vulnerable children by providing them with the nourishment they need to develop healthy bodies and sound minds. Nutritious meals help students reach their full potential by keeping them alert and attentive in the classroom. As both common sense and extensive scientific research confirm. a hungry child cannot focus on schoolwork as well as one who has been fed a nutritious meal. Mr. Chairman. recognizing the many needs being addressed in this bill. I will withdraw the amendment. but would like to draw attention to how we. the representatives of our preschool and school age children across America. have neglected them. And in the spirit of National School Lunch Week. which begins the second week of October every year. I would also like to express my interest in working together with members of both the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and the Workforce to explore this issue and seek ways to support our nations preschool and school age children by providing additional agricultural commodities. Finally. Mr. Chairman. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues who share my concern to amend this problem and provide for our preschool and school age children at home first.