The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S1654-S1655 on March 5, 2008.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
NATIONAL SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM
Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 474, submitted earlier today by Senator Feingold.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A resolution (S. Res. 474) expressing the sense of the Senate that providing breakfast in schools through the National School Breakfast Program has a positive impact on the lives and classroom performance of low-income children.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I rise today in support of a Senate resolution that expresses the Senate's esteem for and commitment to the National School Breakfast Program. I am pleased to be joining Senator Feingold in both recognizing the good that this program accomplishes for low-income children and encouraging more States to participate.
The United States is experiencing a hunger crisis. In 2006 alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, reported that 35.5 million Americans did not have the money or resources needed to provide food for themselves or their families, and this number is sadly on the rise. Between 2005 and 2006, the number of hungry people in the United States increased by over 400,000. As we continue through hard economic times, we can only assume the number of hungry people in America will continue to increase.
Hunger is not just a problem that plagues adults. Of the 35.5 million people who go hungry each year in America, 12.6 million of them are children. This means that 17.2 percent of all children are unsure where their next meal will come from--which poses a real problem. Hunger hinders growth and development and negatively affects health, leading to increased illness, fatigue, and even hospitalizations. Studies have also shown that hunger impairs cognitive function; hungry children are more likely to perform poorly on tests and repeat grades.
Recognizing the relationship between good nutrition and the ability to learn and be healthy, Congress established a pilot National School Breakfast Program in 1966. Because of its success in raising the nutrition level of needy children, Congress permanently authorized the program in 1975. Since its inception, the School Breakfast Program has experienced tremendous growth. According to the USDA, the number of participating students has increased from 0.5 million children in 1970 to 9.7 million in 2006. This means that each day, more and more children receive a breakfast that provides them with one-fourth of the recommended dietary allowance for protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and calories. And because of improvements in implementation, including initiatives that provide breakfasts both in classrooms, in hallways, and as students exit buses, the number of students participating in the programs has doubled and in some cases tripled. Yet the number of students participating in the Breakfast Program is still much less than half of the number participating in the National Lunch Program. It is vitally important that we keep up the National Breakfast Program's momentum and provide the States with the tools they need to encourage as many needy children to take part as can.
Appreciating the importance of the program, Pennsylvania has helped increase the number of schools that take advantage of this important program. Each year, Pennsylvania invests nearly $35.5 million in school breakfast and lunch, paying school districts 10 cents for each breakfast served and 10 cents for each lunch served. To increase the number of students receiving both breakfast and lunch, Pennsylvania pays an additional 2 cents per lunch if breakfast is offered in the school and an additional 4 cents per lunch if the school serves breakfast to at least 20 percent of enrolled students. As with national participation, Pennsylvania's participation is on the rise; over 100 more schools participated in the program between 2005 and 2006 than the previous year. Through this resolution, we hope to encourage States, like Pennsylvania, to continue to work toward our common goal of reducing child hunger.
This Senate resolution recognizes the positive impact the National School Breakfast Program has on needy children. The program not only gives students a balanced breakfast, it provides a solid foundation on which they can start their day. Eating breakfast alone increases student attentiveness and improves overall performance and wellness. The National School Breakfast Program is making great inroads into child hunger. This resolution recognizes the efforts of the States in implementing the program and encourages them to expand their efforts.
Mr. PRYOR. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the resolution be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The resolution (S. Res. 474) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Res. 474
Whereas participants in the National School Breakfast Program established under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) include public, private, elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as schools in rural, suburban, and urban areas;
Whereas access to nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch Program and the National School Breakfast Program helps to create a stronger learning environment for children and improves children's concentration in the classroom;
Whereas missing breakfast and the resulting hunger has been shown to harm the ability of children to learn and hinders academic performance;
Whereas students who eat a complete breakfast have been shown to make fewer mistakes and to work faster in math exercises than those who eat a partial breakfast;
Whereas implementing or improving classroom breakfast programs has been shown to increase breakfast consumption among eligible students dramatically, doubling and in some cases tripling numbers of participants in school breakfast programs, as evidenced by research in Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin;
Whereas providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown in several instances to improve attentiveness and academic performance, while reducing absences, tardiness, and disciplinary referrals;
Whereas studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to the time students arrive in the classroom and take tests improves the students' performance on standardized tests;
Whereas studies show that students who skip breakfast are more likely to have difficulty distinguishing among similar images, show increased errors, and have slower memory recall;
Whereas children who live in families that experience hunger are likely to have lower math scores, receive more special education services, and face an increased likelihood of repeating a grade;
Whereas making breakfast widely available in different venues or in a combination of venues, such as by providing breakfast in the classroom, in the hallways outside classrooms, or to students as they exit their school buses, has been shown to lessen the stigma of receiving free or reduced-price school breakfasts, which sometimes prevents eligible students from obtaining traditional breakfast in the cafeteria;
Whereas, in fiscal year 2006, 7,700,000 students in the United States consumed free or reduced-price school breakfasts provided under the National School Breakfast Program;
Whereas less than half of the low-income students who participate in the National School Lunch Program also participate in the National School Breakfast Program;
Whereas almost 17,000 schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program do not participate in the National School Breakfast Program;
Whereas studies suggest that children who eat breakfast take in more nutrients, such as calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A, E, D, and B-6;
Whereas studies show that children who participate in school breakfast programs eat more fruits, drink more milk, and consume less saturated fat than those who do not eat breakfast; and
Whereas children who do not eat breakfast, either in school or at home, are more likely to be overweight than children who eat a healthy breakfast on a daily basis: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the importance of the National School Breakfast Program established under section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and the positive impact of the Program on the lives of low-income children and families and on children's overall classroom performance;
(2) expresses strong support for States that have successfully implemented school breakfast programs in order to alleviate hunger and improve the test scores and grades of participating students;
(3) encourages all States to strengthen their school breakfast programs, provide incentives for the expansion of school breakfast programs, and promote improvements in the nutritional quality of breakfasts served; and
(4) recognizes the need to provide States with resources to improve the availability of adequate and nutritious breakfasts.
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