“Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Gets Unanimous Support in Committee”
Despite some concerns – and discussion – about the budget offsets proposed to pay for the bill – the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously approved the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Wednesday. The bipartisan legislation to reauthorize childhood nutrition programs would invest 4.5-billion dollars in new child nutrition program funding over the next 10 years. Committee Chair Blanche Lincoln called the committee vote a monumental step forward.
Lincoln said she was proud her colleagues on both sides of the aisle voted to support this legislation that puts the nation on the path to ending childhood hunger and addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity.
The bill invests in new initiatives to enroll more children in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs – which currently have 30 million and 10 million children participating respectively. It also includes a provision to create national school nutrition standards for foods sold on school campuses throughout the school day.
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“Vilsack Says Even More Can be Done”
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act approved by the Senate Ag Committee is a significant step toward legislation that reduces hunger, improves the health of our children and supports their academic achievement. But he adds the Administration believes additional access and nutrition goals can and should be accomplished by passing a more robust bill that supports the President’s 10-billion dollar budget request.
Still – Vilsack applauded the efforts of the Committee to develop a strong bill to reauthorize and reform the Child Nutrition Act – and said their action shows there’s bipartisan support for reforming the nation’s school meal programs to improve meal quality and reduce barriers to participation. He called on Congress to continue making progress on this important priority.
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“With Health Care ‘Finished’ Leaders Turn to Financial Overhaul”
As the Senate finishes up with the final piece of health care reform – the White House and top Congressional Democrats are already looking ahead to the next big issue they’ll tackle. It appears overhaul of financial regulations is next on the list. President Obama met with House Financial Services Chair Barney Frank and Senate Banking Chair Christopher Dodd Wednesday to work on a plan to move legislation forward.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would like the Senate to pass the bill – which Dodd’s Committee passed on a party-line vote Monday – by Memorial Day. But even before that – Dodd and Frank will start to work out the differences between the Senate approach and the legislation approved by the House in December.
According to Frank – following the spring recess – the financial overhaul in the Senate will be the number one issue before Congress.
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“Senate Ag May Tack Derivatives Reform On”
The Senate Agriculture Committee may have something to add to the package of financial reforms now on the move. Chairman Blanche Lincoln said the committee hopes to release a bipartisan draft discussion bill in April on regulation for over-the-counter derivatives. Lincoln says that measure could merge with legislation the Banking Committee approved this week – or it could stand on its own. Either way – she believes it’s important to act this year and says Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shares the same goal.
Speaking to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce conference – Lincoln did provide some details on derivatives reform – highlighting several points for reform. For transparency – Lincoln said both standardized and customized swaps should be reported. She said there would be opportunities to list and trade swaps on public exchanges and a new type of exchange – the swaps execution facility. She said clearing would be required for some of the standardized and highly liquid contracts – and Lincoln said swaps dealers and major swaps participants will be registered and subject to capital, margin and regulatory requirements similar to those of a broker or dealer.
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“President Will Participate in Health Insurance Exchange”
President Obama will join other Americans in participating in the health insurance exchange created by the reform legislation signed into law Tuesday. That was the announcement from the White House Wednesday. As a result – they said an amendment introduced by Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley to the pending health care reconciliation bill was unnecessary. Grassley disagreed – stating the principle shouldn’t be voluntary. But the Senate rejected the amendment Wednesday night.
Grassley’s amendment would have required the committee and leadership staff in Congress to live under the same health care law as the other congressional staff and members of Congress. They were covered in the bill signed by the President. It would also have ensured the President, Vice President and other top administration leaders live under the law they enacted – rather than allowing them to choose to do so. Grassley saw it as a matter of not having a double standard.
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“NFU Goes to Vilsack on Behalf of Dairy Producers”
National Farmers Union is asking Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack for an increase in the Dairy Product Price Support Program – as well as help with credit issues the dairy industry is facing. NFU President Roger Johnson says the industry crisis has taken a heavy toll on dairy farm families nationwide – with more than two-thousand dairies going out of business as a result of low producer prices.
A temporary increase in the Dairy Product Price Support Program is action Vilsack took in 2009. At that time – Johnson says the price of milk and dairy products immediately responded with an increase. NFU says it’s an option again for producer support. Another option is to educate lenders that guaranteed loans are available – and encourage them to extend lines of credit to dairy producers.
Johnson says dairy producer prices across the country have remained well below the cost of production for more than a year and something must be done to keep family farms in business and ensure the nation continues to have a viable domestic milk supply.
