November 7, 2003

Child Nutrition Reauthorization
Focus Shifts to the Administration's
Fiscal Year 2005 Budget

Background:

Congress has extended the reauthorization period for child nutrition programs for another six months. This action sets the stage for child nutrition programs to potentially be included in another round of federal budget negotiations. Efforts to expand and improve these critical programs were frustrated this year in part due to the lack of any "new" federal funding to pay for program improvements. Now there is a chance to remedy that problem.

Currently the President and others in the Administration are hammering out their FY2005 budget, which will be released in early February. Advocates have an opportunity in the next few weeks to pressure the White House to include in the President's budget new federal funding for child nutrition program improvements. Final decisions on the President's budget proposal are expected before year's end.

Message and Action on Child Nutrition Reauthorization:

1. Message to the Administration: It is critical that advocates and others interested in improving and expanding the child nutrition programs immediately write, fax, call or email President George W. Bush and urge the Administration to reserve additional ("new") funding in the FY 2005 budget to fund improvements in Child Nutrition Programs.
   

• President George W. Bush
  The White House
  1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  Washington, DC 20500
  202-456-1414 (tel)
  202-456-2461 (fax)
  email: president@whitehouse.gov
  
  
2. Message to Congress: Urge Members and their staff (especially those on the House Budget Committee, Senate Budget Committee, Senate Agriculture Committee and House Education and the Workforce Committee) to use this period prior to a House and Senate mark up to:
   
   • Work for new federal funding in the President's and Congressional budgets next year in order to create a pathway for positive improvements in the child nutrition programs; and
     
   • Oppose efforts that will result in any harm to these programs.
     

3. Visit the FRAC Child Nutrition Reauthorization Website for specific messages and summaries of "The Healthy Children through Better Nutrition Act of 2003" introduced by Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) (H.R. 3416) and a package of bills introduced by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) (S. 1020, S. 1021, S. 1022).
   

Factsheets on Child Nutrition Programs School Breakfast  |  School Lunch  |  Afterschool  |  Summer Food Women, Infants, and Children  |  Child and Adult Care Food Program

Prepared by the Food Research & Action Center, 1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20009; 202-986-2200; www.frac.org