DeLauro Statement on the Senate Markup of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill

WASHINGTON, DC (January 20, 2016) — Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) today released the following statement on the Senate Agriculture Committee’s markup of the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016, legislation that reauthorizes federal childhood nutrition programs throughout the country. DeLauro is the senior Democrat on the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee, which funds these programs, as well as a leading fighter to increase support for children’s nutrition programs.

“The child nutrition reauthorization bill under consideration in the Senate makes a number of positive steps in expanding access to nutritional programs for those who need it most, America’s children. Given that 31 million students depend on these programs for nutritious and accessible meals, it is critical that Congress reauthorize these childhood nutrition programs. However, reauthorization should not be done at the expense of what is best for our kids’ health.

“I was pleased to see inclusion of a bill I have fought for, the Wise Investment in our Children (WIC) Act, which raises the age of eligibility for children receiving WIC benefits from five to six. Many children do not start school until after their fifth birthday, and by expanding WIC to age six, we close a nutrition gap and ensure that children have a strong health foundation. No child should be placed at a nutritional disadvantage simply because of his/her birthdate.

“I was also pleased to see expansions in a number of programs, including the Child and Adult Care Food and Summer Meals Programs. However, while the Senate bill makes a greater investment in improving access to summer meals by including an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card program, I am deeply concerned with how the program will be operated. The Senate’s solution is to run the program through WIC, cap the number of eligible children to a dramatically low number, and limit the amount a child can spend to only $30 a month. This is not the answer. We need the summer EBT program to fully function through SNAP, where children have access to a greater number of stores that accept the card. We also need to ensure that there is no cap on the number of eligible children, given that for every 6 children who get a lunch at school each day, only 1 receives a meal in the summer. And we need to ensure that children have more than $30 to spend on meals.

“I also have great concerns with the Senate bill’s overhaul of the school meal verification requirements, namely increasing the requirement to 10 percent. We are losing children from these programs because verification and follow-up requests are often a burden for vulnerable households, including those who are low-income or do not speak English as a first language. We can do better to ensure that all of our children are receiving nutritional meals. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to expand access to these critical programs and I urge the Obama Administration to fight for these changes.”

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