Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2005

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2005 -- (House of Representatives - September 08, 2004)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 754 and rule XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5006.

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AMENDMENT OFFERED BY MR. STUPAK

Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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Mr. STUPAK (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as read and printed in the RECORD.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Michigan?

There was no objection.

Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment to increase funding for seniors' meals programs by $10 million. The Meals on Wheels program is a critical lifeline to our Nation's seniors who are most in need of our assistance.

The bill includes $730 million for senior nutrition programs, $16 million more than last year, or a 2.2 percent increase. I wish to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), for including these additional funds and recognizing the importance of these programs to our seniors. I am offering this amendment because, despite the increase in the bill, the funding falls far too short.

I am sure that all of us have met and spoken with seniors in our districts. I am sure that the seniors have told my colleagues how much they depend on senior meals assistance and the Meals on Wheels program, or the meals they receive at the senior centers. I am sure that if Members, like I have done in the past, would go out and actually deliver senior meals to the homes of homebound seniors, they would realize how important not just these prepared meals are but also the social interaction these homebound seniors have with members of the public.

I have heard from the area agencies on aging in my district that they are cutting meals they are offering. In Michigan, we have had to cut back significantly weekend meals, evening meals, and even the senior lunch meals. The challenges faced by our Meals on Wheels program is compounded by the fiscal problems of the States that have not been able to increase their contributions, despite their acknowledgment that the need for these programs continues to grow.

This amendment would simply increase funding for the Nutrition Services Incentives Program by $10 million to $160 million. The House approved a similar amendment of mine back in 2001. Unfortunately, that amendment back in the 2001 appropriation bill to increase funding for the program to $160 million was dropped in conference. That was 4 years ago, and funding for senior meals programs has stayed basically flat until this year.

Mr. Chairman, we need to make this investment now. Nationally, 4.6 million Meals on Wheels meals were cut last year, and a number of congregate meals were cut by 2.9 million, for a total of 7.5 million meals that had to be cut last year because of lack of funding. These decreases in funding ignore the 25 percent increase in the number of Americans who are expected to be eligible for the Older Americans Act programs in the next 5 years.

It is critical that we include the highest level of funding possible for senior nutrition programs. I understand and I appreciate the work of the committee and what they have done to increase funding. I appreciate the fact that both the ranking member and the chairman have indicated that, if possible, they will try to increase funding in the conference report.

Mr. Chairman, I will ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment with the understanding that we will continue to work to increase funding in the future. This program is critically important to our seniors. While I appreciate the appropriators' work, I think we need to continue to highlight the concerns that we have for the lack of funds for the Senior Meal Program.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.