Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill is Critical for Nation’s Schoolchildren

Washington, D.C. – The Bipartisan Policy Center applauds Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, for releasing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize national child nutrition programs.

“We are pleased to see that the Improving Child Nutrition Integrity and Access Act of 2016 maintains strong nutrition standards for school lunches, in keeping with a long tradition of bipartisan support for school lunch, breakfast, WIC and other child nutrition programs,” said former USDA Secretary and BPC Senior Fellow Dan Glickman. “We supported these standards in our 2012 report, Lots to Lose: How America’s Health and Obesity Crisis Threatens our Economic Future, and this remains a critical issue today, not only for the physical health of our nation’s schoolchildren, but also ensures a strong and healthy workforce and economy for the future.”

BPC’s ongoing focus on nutrition as a cornerstone of health is warranted. This week a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that poor diet was the largest risk factor for death in the U.S.

“We are encouraged by the strong bipartisan support that led to the creation of this bill and the committee’s commitment to moving it through the ‘regular order’ legislative process,” said former USDA Secretary and former UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “We hope to see continued bipartisan action as it moves through the Senate and the House.”