Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

Floor Speech

Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman from California. I thank him for his entire career as a Member of this House of Representatives and in the past as being a leading champion on what happens to our kids, their well-being, their nutrition, and their best interests. And this bill is another example of his commitment to that effort.

The Hunger-Free Kids Act represents an overdue, a much-needed recommitment to the health and the well-being of our schoolchildren. Our kids today are threatened by a growing obesity epidemic. Far too many kids are struggling and families are struggling with gnawing and unyielding hunger.

Today, people want to talk about ``food insecurity'' and ``food hardship.'' Don't let them use those nice words. It's about one out of four kids going hungry in the United States of America every single day. We have an opportunity to move forward to address that issue today.

The Hunger-Free Kids Act will add 115,000 new students into the school meals program by using Medicaid data to certify eligible kids. It will provide an additional 21 million meals a year by reimbursing providers for after-school meals to low-income children.

While expanding access to meal programs, the bill works to improve the nutritional quality of all of the food in our schools. It sets national nutrition standards. We're going to get junk food that infiltrates our classrooms and cafeterias out the door. For the schools that comply with the revised nutrition standards, it says that there's a first time reimbursement rate increase. Six cents a meal is what we're talking about. The first we've seen in over 30 years. And it does it--all of this that it does is all being fully paid for.

I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle: How many programs that get passed in this Congress are fully paid for? We are paying in order to feed our kids.

Our kids consume roughly 35 to 50 percent of their daily calories during the school day. We can pass this bill. They will get enough nutritious food to stay healthy, to grow, to learn, and to succeed. For those who say how can we afford this bill right now, we say how can we afford not to pass it?

Leaving millions of children hungry, leaving millions of children malnourished in the name of budget cutting is penny wise, it's pound foolish, and it is unconscionable. Vote for this bill.

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