Child Nutrition and WIC Legislation in the 106th and 107th Congresses

Publication Date: December 2002

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Health; Population and demographics

Type:

Abstract:

Child nutrition programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program) are governed by: the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the Child Nutrition Act, and Section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935. Reauthorization of appropriations and comprehensive review of the these programs was last done in the 1998 William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act (P.L. 105-336), and the next reauthorization and major review is scheduled for 2003. However, a number of significant changes to child nutrition and WIC law have been enacted since 1998.

In the 106th Congress, seven laws included provisions affecting child nutrition and WIC programs: P.L. 106-65, P.L. 106-170, P.L. 106-224, P.L. 106-398, P.L. 106-472, and P.L. 106-554. The most important of these ? P.L. 106-224 and P.L. 106-554 ? increased commodity support for school lunch programs, incorporated amendments aimed at improving the integrity and management of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), expanded/established demonstrations affecting for-profit child care centers in the CACFP and outside-of-school programs, and created a pilot to increase participation in the Summer Food Service program.

In the 107th Congress, a number of legislative issues arose: CACFP eligibility of for-profit child care centers, rules for day care homes in the CACFP, CACFP afterschool initiatives, commodity support for schools (the level of support and expansion of the presence of fruits and vegetables in school nutrition programs), the purchase of locally produced foods for school meal programs, rules governing the offering of foods in competition with school meals ("competitive foods"), a paperwork reduction initiative for school meal programs, military families' eligibility for free/reducedprice school meals and WIC assistance, expansion of the Summer Food Service program, School Breakfast program expansion and a "before-school" proposal, and a nutrition and physical activity initiative. A number of these areas were addressed in enacted legislation: P.L. 107-76 (the FY2002 Agriculture Department appropriations measure) and P.L. 107-171 (the 2002 "farm bill;" the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act).

In addition: S. 2801 (the Senate Appropriations Committee version of the FY2003 Agriculture Department appropriations measure) touched on several legislative issues, as did S. 940/H.R. 1990; S. 1179 and S. 1246 dealt with commodity support, although the provisions of S. 1246 were overtaken by P.L. 107171; H.R. 3997 affected rules for locally produced foods (in Puerto Rico) and was incorporated in P.L. 107-171; S. 745 and H.R. 2129 proposed changes in "competitive food" rules; S. 1246 dealt with a paperwork reduction issue, which was separately resolved in P.L. 107-76; H.R. 3082, H.R. 3216, and S. 1973 all dealt with the eligibility of military families, which was separately resolved in P.L. 107-171; S. 2660 included provisions to expand summer programs (also in S. 2801); H.R. 4192 proposed a new "before-school" initiative affecting the School Breakfast program; and S. 2821 incorporated nutrition and physical activity initiatives relating to school nutrition programs.