Newly minted Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln (AR) mentioned more than once in a conference call with reporters yesterday the importance of reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act. Yet, with the September 30, 2009 reauthorization deadline approaching and Congress wrapped up in debates over health care and climate change, Congress may have to settle for an extension of the current bill, giving the government more time to look at potential changes to the current structure of the legislation.Currently, the Child Nutrition Act costs the government $15 billion a year, and President Obama has proposed a $1 billion annual increase for the act that reimburses school districts for meals; after-school food programs; summer-food programs; and food served at child and adult day-care facilities. Additionally, the bill funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provides food aid for low-income children and pregnant women. Adding more money to the bill will pose a challenge for lawmakers as the money would be subject to pay-as-you-go rules.
More than 8 million people received food from these programs in 2007. The school lunch program feeds 30 million children daily. According to the story in CQ Politics, the bill has a history of bipartisan support (in 2004 the Senate and House renewed the legislation by a voice vote—typically reserved for non-controversial measures), which in theory should make reauthorization easier. However, some nutrition advocates and lawmakers like Rep. George Miller (CA) would like to see changes made to the bill to strengthen the legislation and address issues like childhood obesity.
With the current legislative calendar packed, it looks like lawmakers will have to settle for a short-term extension—particularly since a committee bill hasn’t come forward and the deadline to reauthorize is in twenty days.
To read the story from CQ Politics click here.
Posted: 09/10/09
