Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2006 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to revise the definition of "food of minimal nutritional value," the sale of which in areas where school meals are sold or eaten is prohibited as a condition for federal funding of school lunch and breakfast programs.
Applies such definition (and prohibition) to all food sold outside such programs anywhere on school campuses at any time of the day, with the possible limited exemption of food sold at school fundraisers.
Requires the Secretary, when revising such definition, to consider the recommendations of authoritative scientific organizations and evidence concerning the relationship between diet and health.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2592 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2592
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to improve the nutrition and
health of schoolchildren by updating the definition of ``food of
minimal nutritional value'' to conform to current nutrition science and
to protect the Federal investment in the national school lunch and
breakfast programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 6, 2006
Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Bingaman, Ms. Murkowski, Mr.
Durbin, Mr. Chafee, and Mrs. Clinton) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to improve the nutrition and
health of schoolchildren by updating the definition of ``food of
minimal nutritional value'' to conform to current nutrition science and
to protect the Federal investment in the national school lunch and
breakfast programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Child Nutrition Promotion and School
Lunch Protection Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) for a school food service program to receive Federal
reimbursements under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.
1771 et seq.) or the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), school meals served by that
program must meet science-based nutritional standards
established by Congress and the Secretary of Agriculture;
(2) foods sold individually outside the school meal
programs (including foods sold in vending machines, a la carte
or snack lines, school stores, and snack bars) are not required
to meet comparable nutritional standards;
(3) in order to promote child nutrition and health,
Congress--
(A) has authorized the Secretary to establish
nutritional standards in the school lunchroom during
meal time; and
(B) since 1979, has prohibited the sale of food of
minimal nutritional value, as defined by the Secretary,
in areas where school meals are sold or eaten;
(4) Federally-reimbursed school meals and child nutrition
and health are undermined by the uneven authority of the
Secretary to set nutritional standards throughout the school
campus and over the course of the school day;
(5) since 1979, when the Secretary defined the term ``food
of minimal nutritional value'' and promulgated regulations for
the sale of those foods during meal times, nutrition science
has evolved and expanded;
(6) the current definition of ``food of minimal nutritional
value'' is inconsistent with current knowledge about nutrition
and health;
(7) because some children purchase foods other than
balanced meals provided through the school lunch program
established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the school breakfast program
established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1773), the efforts of parents to ensure that their
children consume healthful diets are undermined;
(8) experts in nutrition science have found that--
(A) since 1980, rates of obesity have doubled in
children and tripled in adolescents;
(B) only 2 percent of children eat a healthy diet
that is consistent with Federal nutrition
recommendations;
(C) 3 out of 4 high school students do not eat the
minimum recommended number of servings of fruits and
vegetables each day; and
(D) type 2 diabetes, which is primarily due to poor
diet and physical inactivity, is rising rapidly in
children;
(9) in 1996, children aged 2 to 18 years consumed an
average of 118 more calories per day than similar children did
in 1978, which is the equivalent of 12 pounds of weight gain
annually, if not compensated for through increased physical
activity; and
(10) according to the Surgeon General, the direct and
indirect costs of obesity in the United States are
$117,000,000,000 per year.
SEC. 3. FOOD OF MINIMAL NUTRITIONAL VALUE.
Section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1779) is
amended--
(1) by striking the section heading and all that follows
through ``(a) The Secretary'' and inserting the following:
``SEC. 10. REGULATIONS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary''; and
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the
following:
``(b) Food of Minimal Nutritional Value.--
``(1) Proposed regulations.--
``(A) In general.--Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary
shall promulgate proposed regulations to revise the
definition of `food of minimal nutritional value' that
is used to carry out this Act and the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et
seq.).
``(B) Application.--The revised definition of `food
of minimal nutritional value' shall apply to all foods
sold--
``(i) outside the school meal programs;
``(ii) on the school campus; and
``(iii) at any time during the school day.
``(C) Requirements.--In revising the definition,
the Secretary shall consider--
``(i) both the positive and negative
contributions of nutrients, ingredients, and
foods (including calories, portion size,
saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, and added
sugars) to the diets of children;
``(ii) evidence concerning the relationship
between consumption of certain nutrients,
ingredients, and foods to both preventing and
promoting the development of overweight,
obesity, and other chronic illnesses;
``(iii) recommendations made by
authoritative scientific organizations
concerning appropriate nutritional standards
for foods sold outside of the reimbursable meal
programs in schools; and
``(iv) special exemptions for school-
sponsored fundraisers (other than fundraising
through vending machines, school stores, snack
bars, a la carte sales, and any other
exclusions determined by the Secretary), if the
fundraisers are approved by the school and are
infrequent within the school.
``(2) Implementation.--
``(A) Effective date.--
``(i) In general.--Except as provided in
clause (ii), the proposed regulations shall
take effect at the beginning of the school year
following the date on which the regulations are
finalized.
``(ii) Exception.--If the regulations are
finalized on a date that is not more than 60
days before the beginning of the school year,
the proposed regulations shall take effect at
the beginning of the following school year.
``(B) Failure to promulgate.--If, on the date that
is 1 year after the date of enactment of this
paragraph, the Secretary has not promulgated final
regulations, the proposed regulations shall be
considered to be final regulations.''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3240-3241)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3241-3242)
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