Overview of Public Policy Priority Issues from 2003 AC

Overview of Public Policy Priority Issues
Presented by Waterman & Associates
at SNE’s 2003 Annual Conference

How SNE Arrived at Their Public Policy Priority Issues

In September 2002, a six-page briefing document and issue ballot were sent via e-mail to SNE’s listserv, SNEEZE. SNE members were asked to review the 30 potential issues and to vote for their top six choices. Seventy SNE members returned ballots. The ACPP reviewed the results of the priority-issue balloting and worked to fine-tune the list of issues. The Board of Directors approved the following specific issues as SNE's public policy priority issues for 2003:

Federal Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Several federal child nutrition programs are being considered for reauthorization by Congress in 2003. These are authorizations ONLY, not appropriations. Eight specific programs fall under the broad reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act of 1996 and Richard Russell National School Lunch Act. Other critical items to be addressed include: Team Nutrition/Nutrition Education and Training and Competitive Foods.*
The Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act
This legislation focuses on improving the quality and availability of nutrition education, increasing opportunities for physical activity and advocating additional research.
Food Guide Pyramid
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is currently revising the Food Guide Pyramid and accepting comments.
Food Stamp Program, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
These are critical programs and each one has an nutrition education component. The goal is to work to ensure that funding for nutrition education is not cut or directed to other areas.
Dietary Guidelines
These guidelines are the cornerstone of federal nutrition policy. The National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 require USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to jointly publish the Dietary Guidelines every five years.
Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program [FANRP]
FANRP addresses research issues involving the nation's food and nutrition assistance policies and programs. The research is designed to meet the critical information needs of the Administration, Congress, program managers, policy officials, clients, the research community and the public.

* Note: Once the Child Nutrition Reauthorization is complete sometime in 2003, the ACPP would like for competitive foods to remain on the priority list as a stand alone issue.

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Programs

Background: Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and Richard Russell National School Lunch Act occurs every five years. The federal child nutrition programs listed below will be considered for reauthorization by Congress in 2003. These are authorizations ONLY, not appropriations.

Note: An authorization establishes or continues a program and authorizes appropriations for a federal program. An appropriation determines how many dollars the federal government will spend on the program in a fiscal year. Authorizations are intended to precede appropriations in enactment. An authorization is acted upon by one congressional committee with jurisdiction over that program, while an appropriation is decided by a separate committee.

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Programs	Background

After School Snack Program	Helps after school programs provide children a nutritional boost and draw them into activities that are safe, fun and filled with learning opportunities.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)	Improves the health of children in child care centers, family child care homes and adult day care centers by improving the nutritional quality of meals and by promoting healthy eating.

Homeless Children’s Nutrition Program	Emergency shelters, which serve homeless children and their families, can participate in this program as a facet of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

National School Lunch Program	Provides per meal cash reimbursements as an entitlement to schools who provide nutritious meals to children.

School Breakfast Program	Assists schools in providing a nutritious morning meal to children. Program provides per meal cash reimbursements as an entitlement to public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions.

Summer Lunch Program	Entitlement program designed to provide funds for eligible sponsoring organizations to serve nutritious meals to low-income children when school is not in session.

Women, Infants and Children Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC)	Program for seeing that pregnant women and their babies have access to the nutritious food and prenatal care they need.

Nutrition Education Programs	Team Nutrition (TN) – integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the nation’s school children. Develops messages and materials that can be used consistently throughout the country. The Nutrition Education and Training Program (NET) – In the past, this program helped subsidize state and local programs that encouraged the dissemination of nutrition information to children participating in the National School Lunch Program and related Child Nutrition Programs. Grants were made to state agencies to provide for the nutritional training of educational and food service personnel, the food service management training of school food service personnel, and to conduct nutrition education activities in schools, child and adult care institutions, and institutions participating in the Summer Food Service Program.

* Note: These child nutrition programs count as a single SNE priority issue because they fall under the broad Child Nutrition Reauthorization issue.

Congressional Committees with Jurisdiction:

Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee
- Research, Nutrition and General Legislation Subcommittee
House Education and the Workforce Committee
- Education Reform Subcommittee

SNE Action on Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR):

Developed CNR position paper.
Sent CNR position paper and cover letter to the following Members of Congress:
- Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Sen. Zell Miller (D-GA)
- Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN)
- Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
- Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)
- Rep. George Miller (D-CA)
Jane Voichick, SNE President-Elect (at the time), met with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) to discuss SNE’s CNR position.
Prepared a statement to the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children and Youth for their Workshop: “Strategies for Developing School-Based Policies That Promote Nutrition and Physical Activity Among Children and Youth.” Statement highlighted SNE’s eight child nutrition education priorities and included a physical activity statement.
Signed FRAC letter in December 2002 to urge Congress to increase CNR funding.
Marilyn Briggs participated in a Nutrition Education Workshop in Washington D.C. on behalf of SNE.
ACPP member and co-chair of the CNR Sub-committee, Fern Gale Estrow, testified in May 2002 before a USDA-sponsored listening session on CNR in New York City.
The Senate Agriculture Committee included SNE’s CNR position paper in the public record as a component to the committee’s April 3rd hearing, which focused on CNR.
Signed-on to the national “Call to Congress” as a supporting group asking for improved investments in federal nutrition programs subject to reauthorization legislation in June 2003.
Grassroots letter to all 535 Members of Congress signed at 2003 annual conference.
Included in SNE’s Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, the eight CNR priorities.

Outlook: No committee votes as of July 2003. CNR congressional hearings are occurring during the summer of 2003. Legislative action on the reauthorization is anticipated to take place sometime in the fall of 2003.

Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act

Background: The Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act aims to reduce obesity, particularly among children, by encouraging better nutrition and more physical activity. The legislation authorizes funding for diet and exercise awareness programs in schools and communities, training for healthcare practitioners, funding for research and information campaigns and grants for obesity treatment and prevention programs. Legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate for the 108th Congress. Senators Bill Frist (R-TN), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) introduced S. 1172 in June 2003. The House Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity bill, H.R. 716, was introduced by Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA) in February 2003.

Congressional Committees with Jurisdiction:

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee

Children and Families Subcommittee

House Agriculture Committee
- Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry Subcommittee
House Energy and Commerce Committee
- Health Subcommittee
House Ways and Means Committee
- Health Subcommittee

SNE Action on the Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity Act:

Sent an Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity support letter in May 2003 to Frist, Bingaman and Dodd’s offices. The letter supported and identified key provisions in the bill.
Work on SNE Improved Nutrition and Physical Activity position paper; will move forward soon.

Outlook: No legislation action is scheduled prior to the August recess. We will continue to monitor any action that may occur in the fall of 2003.

Food Guide Pyramid

Background: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that it is reviewing the Food Guide Pyramid first issued in 1992. USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion is currently accepting comments on changes to the pyramid. In preparation for SNE submitting comments to USDA on changes to the pyramid, the ACPP has requested comments from the SNE membership on 13 areas of the Food Guide Pyramid. Those areas included:

Division of food groups (including fats and sweets).
Representation of nutritional variety within each food groups (i.e. – differences in fat and sugar intake within bread group).
Pyramid serving sizes (and other portion size issues).
Graphic representation of foods.
Representation / inclusion of different eating patterns (cultural differences, vegetarian diets).
Research regarding use of pyramid as education tool.
Food system sustainability (how the pyramid design enables or restrains promotion of sustainable food choices).
Use of FGP in government materials.
Representation of fortified foods (i.e. calcium fortified orange juice, soy products with B12).
Connection between adult and children’s pyramids.
Representation of low fat choices.
Representation of fiber.
Representation of fat and sugar group.

SNE Action on the Food Guide Pyramid (FGP):

Created timeline on FGP action.
Requested comments on the FGP from the ACPP and the SNE general membership through the bulletin and SNEEZE.
Compiled the comments on the FGP.

Outlook: The ACPP continues to encourage the SNE membership to submit comments on the FGP. A notice in the Federal Register on USDA accepting changes to the pyramid is expected sometime at the end of summer and is projected to give between a 60 and 120 day timeframe to respond to the notice. Once the notice is issued, a new timeline will be developed to aid the ACPP in gathering further comments, compiling all the comments and preparing a final Board recommendation.