PILOT OPERATIONS

SEC. 19. In the first full fiscal year following the passage of this Act, the Secretary is directed to begin pilot operations in at least ten, school systems, using authorities and funds available under Public Law 91-248, to test and develop the most effective techniques and procedures for effectuating the provisions of this Act and for the purpose of developing appropriate estimates of participation and costs.

ACCOUNTS, RECORDS, AND REPORTS

SEC. 20. (a) States, State educational agencies, schools, and service institutions participating in programs under this Act shall keep such accounts and records as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to determine whether there has been compliance under this Act and the regulations thereunder. Such accounts and records shall at all times be available for inspection and audit by representatives of the Secretary and shall be preserved for such period of time, not in excess of three years, as the Secretary determines to be necessary.

(b) State educational agencies shall provide periodic reports on expenditures of Federal funds, program participation, program costs, and so forth, in such form as the Secretary may prescribe.

EVALUATION

SEC. 21. The Secretary shall provide for the careful and systematic evaluation of the programs conducted under this Act, directly or by contracting for independent evaluations, with a view to measuring specific benefits, as far as practicable, and providing information needed to assess the effectiveness of program procedures, policies, and methods of operation.

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

SEC. 22. (a) There is hereby established a council to be known as the National Advisory Council on Child Nutrition (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "Council") which shall be composed of nineteen members appointed by the Secretary. One member shall be a school administrator, one member shall be a person engaged in child welfare work, one member shall be a person engaged in vocational education work, one member shall be a nutrition expert, one member shall be a State superintendent of schools (or the equivalent thereof), one member shall be a State school food service director (or the equivalent thereof), one member shall be a person serving on a school board, one member shall be a classroom teacher, one member shall be a supervisor of a school lunch program in a school system in an urban area (or the equivalent thereof); one member shall be a supervisor of a school lunch program in a rural area; two members shall be parents of school age children; two members shall be secondary school students participating in the school lunch program, and four members shall be officers or employees of the Department of Agriculture specially qualified to serve on the Council because of their education, training, experience, and knowledge in matters relating to child food programs.

(b) The fifteen members of the Council appointed from outside the Department of Agriculture shall be appointed for terms of three years, except that such members first appointed to the Council shall be appointed as follows: Five members shall be appointed for terms of three years, five members shall be appointed for terms of two years, and five members shall be appointed for terms of one year; thereafter all appointments shall be for a term of three years, except that a person appointed to fill an unexpired term shall serve only for the remainder of such term. Members appointed from the Department of Agriculture shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary.

(c) The Secretary shall designate one of the members to serve as chairman, and one to serve as vice chairman of the Council.

(d) The Council shall met at the call of the chairman but shall meet at least

once a year.

(e) Ten members shall constitute a quorum and a vacancy on the Council shall not affect its powers.

(f) It shall be the function of the Council to make a continuing study of the operation of programs carried out under this Act with a view to determining how such programs may be improved. The Council shall submit to the President and Congress annually a written report of the results of its study together with

such recommendations for administrative and legislative changes as it deems appropriate. For the purpose of obtaining information incident to making the aforesaid recommendations, the Council, by vote of its members present may request the appearance, at any of its meetings, of representatives from governmental or nongovernmental agencies or organizations concerned with the nutrition and welfare of children.

(g) The Secretary shall provide the Council with such technical and other assistance, including secretarial and clerical assistance, as may be required to carry out its functions under this Act.

(h) Members of the Council shall serve without compensation but shall receive reimbursement for necessary travel and subsistence expenses incurred by them in the performance of the duties of the Council.

DEFINITIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACT

SEC. 23. (a) "State" means any of the fifty States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

(b) "State education agency' means the State Board of Education or other agency or officer primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary and secondary schools, or, if there is no such office or agency, an officer or agency designated by the Governor or by State law.

(c) "Nonprofit private school" means any private school exempt from income tax under section 501 (e) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

(d) "Service institution" means private, nonprofit institutions which provide day care or other children services. Children services includes public and private nonprofit institutions providing day care or other child services for handicapped children.

(e) "Operating costs" means the cost of food and nutrition services administration and supervision, labor, supplies, acquisition, storage, preparation, and service of food used in the food service program, utilities, maintenance, repair, and replacement of equipment. This term does not include the cost or value of land or acquisition, construction, or alteration of buildings. The term does not include any part of the general administrative and maintenance expenses for the total school program.

(f) "Universal food service program” means a program designed and operated to offer all children in group situations away from home at least one meal a day which meets at least one-third of the child's daily nutritional requirements. Additional meals and/or supplemental food services may be offered to all children in attendance based on economic and/or nutritional needs. All food service programs conducted under this Act would operate without charge to the child. The children to be covered under this Act include those attending schools of high school grade and under and children in service institutions as defined in this Act. The term also includes a program of nutrition education as an integral part of food service operations to teach all children the basic principles of good nutrition and the importance or good nutrition to health.

EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 24. The effective date of this Act, other than section 19, which is effective with the passage of this Act, is one year subsequent to the fiscal year in which it is passed. Beginning with the first year of operation of this Act, the National School Lunch Act of 1946, as amended, and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, as amended, are hereby superseded.

STAFF EXPLANATION OF S. 894

S. 891 would establish a universal food service program designed and operated to offer all children in group situations away from home at least one meal a day which meets at least one-third of the child's daily nutritional requirements. Additional meals or supplemental food services may be offered to all children in attendance based on economic or nutritional needs (or both). The major provisions of the bill

(1) Provide for pilot programs in at least 10 school systems during the first fiscal year the bill is in effect.

(2) Establish a National Advisory Council on Child Nutrition, composed of 19 members from all phases of the school nutrition field, including State and local program administrators, parents and students, and representatives of the Department of Agriculture.

(3) Provide $200 million per year for agricultural commodity purchases to be distributed through the program, and $100 million for school food service equipment and facilities.

(4) Provide for establishment of child nutrition education services within each State education agency, as part of a Nationwide program to teach children about proper food and nutrition.

(5) Provide the mechanics for the universal free school lunch program itself, in all public schools and to the greatest extent possible in private, nonprofit schools as well.

Except for the pilot programs authorized during the first fiscal year the bill is in effect, the provisions of the bill would be effective one year after the fiscal year the bill is enacted.

Beginning with the first year of operation of the bill, the National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 would be superseded.

[S. 1309, 94th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the National School Lunch Act, as amended, to assure that the school food service program is maintained as a nutrition service to children in public and private schools, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. After the first sentence of section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1779) delete the following sentence: "Such regulations shall not prohibit the sale of competitive food in food service facilities or areas during the time of service of food under this Act or the National School Lunch Act if the proceeds from the sales of such foods will inure to the benefit of the schools or of organizations of students approved by the schools."

SEC. 2. The Child Nutrition Act is further amended by adding at the end thereof a new section as follows:

"SEC. 18. (a) The Secretary shall make cash grants to the education department or comparable agency of each State for the purpose of providing funds to local school districts and private nonprofit school systems to enable schoolchildren within each State to participate in programs which increases their knowledge of the nutritional value of foods and the relationship of nutrition to human health.

"(b) In order to carry out the program provided for under subsection (a) there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as the Congress deems appropriate. These funds shall be apportioned among the States according to the number of people in that State in proportion to the number of people in all the States; however, no State shall receive less than 1 per centum of any funds appropriated by the Congress.

"(c) In the event that a State education or comparable agency is unable to distribute funds provided under this section to provide nonprofit schools, the Secretary shall disburse these funds directly to such school systems in proportion of the total enrollment in these schools to the total enrollment in all schools in the State, and the Secretary shall withhold these funds from the total apportionment allotted to the State agency.

"(d) The Secretary shall withhold not less than 1 per centum of any funds appropriated under this section and shall expend these funds to carry out research and development projects relevant to the purpose of this section, particularly to develop materials and techniques for the innovative presentation of nutritional information."

STAFF EXPLANATION OF S. 1309

S. 1309 would amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to restore the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the sale of competitive food products in schools and institutions participating in the programs authorized by that Act and the National School Lunch Aet. The bill

52-880-73- 3

(1) Strikes the sentence in the Child Nutrition Act which provides that the regulations issued by the Secretary of Agriculture "shall not prohibit the sale of competitive foods in food service faciilties or areas during the time of service of food" under programs authorized by the Child Nutrition Act or the National School Lunch Act if the proceeds from the sales of the competitive foods are realized by the schools or of organizations of students approved by the schools.

(2) Requires that the Secretary make cash grants to State education departments or comparable agencies for programs to teach school children the nutritional value of foods and the relationship of nutrition to human health.

Senator McGOVERN. Senator Dole, did you have anything you would like to add?

STATEMENT OF HON. ROBERT DOLE, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF KANSAS

Senator DOLE. Yes, Mr. Chairman, just very briefly. Of course, I welcome the hearings and am hopeful that after we have heard all of the many witnesses we can begin to shape a more equitable and responsibly funded nutrition program for children. I hope we will fully explore each of the alternative courses of action before us from the administration's block grant child nutrition approach to more comprehensive extensions of current child nutrition laws, such as the ones you have described, Mr. Chairman, and also Senator Humphrey's proposals, S. 850 and S. 894.

I am particularly interested in the experience over the past several months in my State of Kansas, where our schools have been receiving cash payments in lieu of commodities in the administration of school feeding programs. The initial experience strongly indicates that Kansas schools have been able to realize substantial cost savings in administration while continuing to make economical bulk purchases of a wide variety of nutritious food. In that vein I am particularly pleased that Mrs. Ione George, Director of School Food Services for the Kansas Department of Education, is here today to relate the Kansas experience with cash in lieu of commodities to the committee.

As a matter of fact, the Kansas experience has led me to request that my staff and the staffs of the Agricultural and Nutrition Committees explore the possibility of legislation which would extend present child nutrition programs for another year so that the Kansas experience can be fully tested. If the results of the first several months of cash in lieu of commodities are duplicated in future months, it may be advisable to make this alternative method of Federal assistance available to other States.

I am confident that if the desired nutritional results can be achieved in a manner that saves money and at the same time increases local control over food purchases, other jurisdictions would welcome this approach. I hope that we can pay specific attention to that. I would also like to acknowledge the presence of another witness from Kansas at today's hearings, Mr. Ed Scott of Parsons.

Mr. Scott represents a company which has devised equipment which may be of benefit to schools in meeting the full accounting requirements of the School Lunch Act, which go into effect this July, and I am certain that his testimony will be of interest, as will be the testimony of each of the other witnesses who appear here today.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman. I ask consent that the entire statement be included in the record.

Senator MCGOVERN. Thank you, Senator Dole.

Without objection, the entire statement will be made part of the record.

I would also like to ask that my prepared statement, and also Senator Humphrey's and Senator Huddleston's statements be made a part of the record.

The prepared statements of Senators McGovern, Dole, Humphrey, and Huddleston follow:]

STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE MCGOVERN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

This morning we are going to consider legislation designed to strengthen all of our child nutrition programs.

This legislation is necessary for two reasons: first, the authorization for many of these programs expires at the end of this fiscal year; second, and much more importantly, the Administration has proposed a reduction, elimination, and cutback in these programs that would, if it became law, set back 30 years worth of progress in child nutrition.

I'm more than a little alarmed at this proposal, and confident that Congress will reject it totally.

I think, however, it accurately reflects Secretary Butz' dislike for feeding programs within the Department of Agriculture.

I had the opportunity several weeks ago to discuss this problem rather bluntly with Secretary Butz. Our discussion then, during a hearing of the Committee on Agriculture focused primarily on the food stamp program. Fortunately, the Congress has already put a resounding stop to the regulation signed by him to cut back the food stamp program.

I told Mr. Butz that I believed he had an essentially negative attitude toward his Department's feeding programs. He did not deny that; in fact, he said that he believed the growth of the Nation's feeding program somehow threatened the well being of his Department's basic agricultural programs.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the viability of the Department of Agriculture depends on a healthy mix of programs serving the farmer, the consumer, needy families and all the Nation's children.

Although the Secretary's attempt to cut back the food stamp program received more publicity, the proposed cutback in the child nutrition programs is an equally ill-advised and dangerous move.

I know we will soon hear from Undersecretary Feltner and other representatives of the Department, who, I assume will outline in detail the elements of the bloc grant proposal.

Most of us already know, however, what its devastating impact would be. Eliminated entirely would be:

First, diet supplementation for 800,000 low-income women, infants, and children in 49 states;

Second, 2 billion school lunches for children from middle-income homes; Third, milk for tens of millions of young schoolchildren:

Fourth, all meals for any of the millions of children in day care centers and Head Start Centers, and

Fifth, all school breakfasts, taking food away from almost 2 million young children each day.

I'm not sure I understand the reasoning behind this move.

Apparently, the Administration has decided that with the budget under pres sure from increased costs, including nearly $100 billion for the military, child nutrition is a proper place to make budget reductions. I think this is a mistaken notion of public needs. We cannot have a strong and healthy nation unless our children are strong and healthy.

I think it is necessary to insist on a safe future for our child nutrition programs. That is what S. 850 is intended to do.

The school children of America are our constituents, and we must continue to act in their best interests. And good nutrition is in their best interest.

The true test of programs like the school lunch. breakfast, special food services, and WIC programs is not how well they function when the economy is riding high, but how well they function when the economy is undergoing difficulties, and the people need their benefits the most.