CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 1975 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, AND GENERAL LEGISLATION OF THE Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:10 a.m., in room 324, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. George S. McGovern presiding. Present: Senators McGovern, Leahy, and Dole. STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE MCGOVERN, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA Senator McGOVERN. If the subcommittee will be in order, I would just like to make a brief opening statement before we turn to our witnesses. We have a number of witnesses to be heard today, and we will have to put some time limitation on as we move along, with the exception of the major witness from the administration, Mr. Feltner. I would like to ask the other witnesses to hold their testimony to not more than 10 minutes. We have some 22 people to be heard, so if we are going to get through, we will have to respect the time limitation. This morning we are going to consider legislation designed to strengthen 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 on June 30; and second, the administration has proposed a plan for funding child nutrition programs that would set back 30 years' worth of progress in child nutrition. I am very much concerned about this proposal, and I am hopeful that Congress will reject it. Most of us know that its impact would be devastating. Eliminated entirely would be diet supplementation for some 800,000 low-income women, infants, and children in some 49 States: 21 billion lunches-the number of paid for lunches served each school year, would be priced beyond the reach of children. The special milk program would be eliminated entirely and all meals for any of the millions of children in day care centers and Head Start centers would be terminated. Finally, all school breakfasts for some 2 million children would be ended. I am not sure of the reasoning behind these proposals, but I think the obvious suggestion is that it is an effort to reduce the budget, in (1) an area where the budget can least withstand reductions. Anything we do to reduce the commitment to the health and strength of our children is, in my opinion, self-defeating. The legislation that I have introduced with the cosponsorship of a number of Senators on both sides of the aisle would accomplish the following things: First, it extends the school breakfast program, which I hope will soon begin to enjoy greater participation; second, it extends and improves the Head Start nutrition program, the day care nutrition program, the summer feeding program, primarily by adding many of the provisions which have helped the school lunch program grow. Beyond this, it extends and expands the so-called WIC program, for women, infants, and children, which has developed truly phenomenal support in our communities. The legislation also extends and improves the distribution of commodities to the school lunch program. Since introducing this legislation, S. 850, I have added two amendments, one of which has already passed the House on a voice vote, and that would simply mandate that all schools at least offer the option of reduced-price lunches to their students. The second amendment extensively improves, I believe, the summer food program, which provides a very important service but which needed some improvements. The second part of this amendment directs the Department to do a study of the staffing needs of the States in light of the nutrition program in S. 850. Before beginning the hearing I would like to introduce for the record two Nutrition Committee prints, which are being released today. I have found them invaluable in giving us the opinion of those States who administer these nutrition programs, and I think they can be an important part of our hearing record. I would also ask that Senate bills 850, 882, 891, 894, and 1309 and the staff explanation of each one, be printed in the record at this point. Without objection, so ordered. [The information referred to follows:] [S. 850, 94th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts in order to extend and revise the special food service program for children, the special supplemental food program, and the school breakfast program, and for other purposes related to strengthening the school lunch and child nutrition programs Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Act Amendments of 1975." SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM SEC. 2. Section 4 (a) of the Child Nutrition Act is amended by inserting after "and June 30, 1975," "and subsequent fiscal years". SEC. 3. Section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is amended by adding the following subsection: "(c) As a national nutrition and health policy, it is the purpose and intent of the Congress that the school breakfast program be made available in all schools where it is needed to provide adequate nutrition for children in attendance. The Secretary is hereby directed, in cooperation with State educational agencies, to carry out a program of information to the schools in furtherance of this policy. Within ninety days after the enactment of this legislation, the 1 The material referred to can be found in the files of the committee. Secretary shall report to the committee of jurisdiction in the Congress his plans and those of the cooperating State agencies, to bring about the needed expansion in the school breakfast program.". MATCHING SEC. 4. Section 7 of the National School Lunch Act is amended by adding the following sentence at the end of such section: “Provided, however, That the total State matching of $3 for $1, as required in the third sentence of this section with adjustments for the per capita income of the State, shall not apply with respect to the payments made to participating schools under section 4 of this Act for free and reduced price meals: Provided further, That the foregoing proviso does not apply in the case of State level matching as required under the sixth sentence of this section.". INCOME GUIDELINES FOR REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES SEC. 5. Section 9(b) of the National School Lunch Act is amended by deleting “75 per centum" in the last sentence of said section and substituting 100 per centum.". NONPROFIT PRIVATE SCHOOLS SEC. 6. Section 10 of the National School Lunch Act is amended to read as follows: "If, in any State, the State educational agency is not permitted by law to disburse the funds paid to it under this Act to nonprofit private schools in the State, or is not permitted by law to match Federal funds made available for use by such nonprofit private schools, the Secretary shall disburse the funds directly to the nonprofit private schools within said State for the same purposes and subject to the same conditions as are authorized or required with respect to the disbursements to schools within the State by the State educational agency, including the requirement that any such payment or payments shall be matched, in the proportion specified in section 7 for such State, by funds from sources within the State expended by nonprofit private schools within the State participating in the school lunch program under this Act. Such funds shall not be considered a part of the funds constituting the matching funds under the terms of section 7: Provided. That beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1974, the Secretary shall make payments from the sums appropriated for any fiscal year for the purposes of section 4 of this Act directly to the nonprofit private schools in such State for the same purposes and subject to the same conditions as are authorized or required under this Act with respect to the disbursements by the State educational agencies.". MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS SEC. 7. Section 12(d) (7) of the National School Lunch Act is amended to read as follows: “ School' means any public or nonprofit private school of high school grade or under and any public or licensed nonprofit private residential child caring institution, including, but not limited to orphanges, homes for the mentally retarded, homes for the emotionally disturbed, homes for unmarried mothers and their infants, temporary shelters for runaway children, temporary shelters for abused children, hospitals for children who are chronically ill, and juvenile detention centers.". COMMODITIES SEC. 8. Section 14 of the National School Lunch Act is amended by striking out "June 30, 1975" and inserting in lieu thereof "September 30, 1978" and by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph: "(3) Among the products to be included in the food donations to the school lunch program shall be such cereal and shortening and oil products as were provided in the fiscal year 1974. Such products shall be provided to the school lunch program in the same or greater quantities as were provided in the fiscal year 1974 and shall be in addition to the value of commodity donations, or cash in lieu thereof, as provided for in section 6 of this Act.". SEC. 9. Section 6(e) of the National School Lunch Act is amended by adding the following language at the end of said section: "Provided further, That not less than 75 per centum of the assistance provided under this subsection shall be in the form of foods purchased by the United States Department of Agriculture for the school lunch program.". SEC. 10. Section 6(a)(3) of the National School Lunch Act is amended by adding the following at the end of said section: "The value of assistance to children under this Act shall not be considered to be income or resources for any purposes under any Federal or State laws, including laws relating to taxation and welfare and public assistance programs.". SEC. 11. Section 3 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 is amended by deleting the second sentence and inserting in lieu thereof: "For the purposes of this section 'United States' means the fifty States, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.". SUMMER FOOD PROGRAM SEC. 12. Section 13 of the National School Lunch Act is amended by deleting subsection 13 (g) and revising subsections 13 (a), 13 (b), and 13 (c) (2) to read as follows: "(a) (1) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1976, and June 30, 1977, to enable the Secretary to formulate and carry out a program to assist States through grantsin-aid and other means, to initiate, maintain, or expand nonprofit food service programs for children in service institutions. For purposes of this section, the term 'service institutions' means public institutions or private, nonprofit institutions that develop special summer programs providing food service similar to that available to children under the national school lunch or school breakfast programs during the school year. To the maximum extent feasible, consistent with the pur poses of this section, special summer programs shall utilize the existing food service facilities of public and nonprofit private schools. Any eligible institution shall receive the summer food program upon its request. "(2) Service institutions eligible to participate under the program authorized under section 13 of the National School Lunch Act shall be limited to those which conduct a regularly scheduled program for children for areas in which poor economic conditions exist and from areas in which there are a high concentration of working mothers. Summer camps that otherwise qualify as institutions under this subsection shall be eligible for the summer food program if attending children are maintained in continuous residence for no more than one month. "(b) The Secretary shall publish proposed regulations relating to the implementation of the summer food program by January 1 of each fiscal year, and shall publish final regulations, guidelines, applications, and handbooks by March 1 of each fiscal year.". "(c) (2) In circumstances of severe need where the rate per meal established by the Secretary under subsection (c) (1) is insufficient to carry on an effective feeding program, the Secretary may authorize financial assistance not to exceed 80 per centum of the operating costs of such a program, including the cost of obtaining, preparing, and serving food. Non-Federal contributions may be in cash or kind, fairly evaluated, including but not limited to equipment and services. In the selection of institutions to receive assistance under this subsection, the State educational agency shall require the applicant institutions to provide justification of the need for such assistance. The maximum allowable reimbursement for service institutions authorized to receive assistance under this subsection shall be set at 80 cents for lunches and suppers served, 45 cents for breakfasts served, and 25 cents for meal supplements served, with the above maximum amounts being adjusted each March 1 to the nearest one-fourth cent in accordance with charges for the twelve-month period ending the prior January 31 in the series for food away from home of the Consumer Price Index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. The initial such adjustment shall be made on March 1, 1976, and shall reflect the change in the series food away from home during the period January 31, 1975, to January 31, 1976.". SPECIAL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM SEC. 13. The National School Lunch Act is amended by adding the following section: "SEC. 16. (a) (1) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to enable the Secretary of Agriculture to formulate and carry out a program to assist States through grants-in-aid and other means to initiate, maintain, or expand nonprofit food service programs for needy children in institutions providing child care. Any funds appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section shall remain available until expended. |