FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    Contact: Adriana Surfas
Thursday, March 13, 2008                         (202) 225-3661    

DeLauro Presses USDA on Oversight of National School Lunch Program

1/3 of recalled Hallmark/Westland beef had gone to student lunches

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3), chairwoman of the House Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following opening statement during a subcommittee hearing on the proposed Fiscal Year 2009 budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at which Nancy Montanez Johner, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, testified.

DeLauro also announced her intention to hold a follow-up hearing on nutrition with government officials and outside experts.

Below is the text of her statement, as prepared for delivery.

The committee is called to order.  Thank you and let me welcome all of you today, particularly Undersecretary Johner. I am glad we had the opportunity to meet earlier this year to discuss our priorities.  Like you, I always find these meetings and discussions productive.

Families and children should never be forced to choose between securing adequate food for their kids and other basics they need just to get by. One of government’s most critical responsibilities is providing children and low-income families with access to quality food, a healthy diet, and a positive education about nutrition.  The Food and Nutrition Service does exactly that, serving nearly one in five Americans.  

Perhaps the most important program under the Food and Nutrition Service is the School Lunch Program.  That became very clear last month with the historic meat recall involving a Westland/Hallmark plant in California . Of the more than 140 million pounds of meat that was recalled, approximately 47 million were distributed to the School Lunch Program.  There are no reports of any children becoming sick from consuming this meat, but it is no less alarming to think just how many students were put at risk. This should not have been allowed to happen. And must not be allowed to happen again.

I realize that the Food Safety and Inspection Service shoulders much of the responsibility for allowing this recalled meat to reach the School Lunch Program. Nevertheless, I do have some serious questions about the Food and Nutrition Service’s role. We have a responsibility to determine what could have been done to stop these dangerous practices and subsequent recall.

I also intend address some questions about this year’s budget. While you appear to fully fund critical nutrition assistance programs – such as food stamps and WIC, I remain concerned about some recycled proposals that would again limit food program participation.

For instance – in what has now become a tiresome annual ritual – the administration is once again proposing to zero out the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in FY 2009. This is a program on which more than 473,000 seniors, women, infants, and children rely.

When it comes to the Women, Infants, and Children program or WIC, the President’s budget again proposes to cap grants to state agencies for nutrition service and administration expenses at the FY 2007 level.  This reduces program costs by $145 million. However, if this cap is not enacted, we will have to add that amount back to the appropriation level in the budget.

I also want to express my disappointment at the administration’s efforts on WIC last year. While the administration did request a 3.5 percent increase for the WIC program in fiscal year 2008, it still failed to acknowledge the increased participation and food costs.  Worse still, the President threatened to veto any bill that increased total spending levels above his request.  At the time, it was clear to everyone, except the Administration, that increased funding above the president’s request was essential to carry out the program this year.

As you know, Secretary Johner, I am also very concerned about the Food and Nutrition Service’s approval of Indiana ’s decision to contract out virtually the entire administration of its food stamp program.

I understand that earlier this week several groups held a news conference pointing to serious flaws in Indiana’s privatization plan – including a dysfunctional and wasteful eligibility system; difficulty in reaching call centers and navigating web pages; even loss of benefits.   

The Food and Nutrition Service and the state of Indiana must take these complaints seriously and investigate.  According to initial news reports, it sounded like state officials were dismissive of these groups’ claims. If these allegations are proven true, it would seem like we are heading for a repeat of the debacle that occurred in Texas .  I know do not have to remind anyone of the chaos that experiment in privatization led to, with reduced enrollments and decreased services.  

I have said this before, but I want to emphasize it again – our citizens need to know they will have access to the food assistance and health care programs during a time of crisis. While private companies serve their shareholders, the American people must be able to count on genuine oversight and strict accountability. We must be able to guarantee our most vulnerable citizens get the adequate care they deserve.

Our government has an obligation to its citizens to check private abuse and set standards in the public interest. That principle must apply in all our efforts. Whether it is food stamps or the school lunch program, when comes to creating real opportunity and protecting the public health, it is our responsibility to get it right. We cannot afford to fail.

So, as always, we have much to talk about today and I look forward to discussing some of these critical issues with you.  Thank you.  I recognize the Ranking Member, Mr. Kingston.

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