Sarbanes Joins More Than 100 Members of Congress to Express Concerns with House Republicans’ Child Nutrition Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today joined a group of 111 Members of Congress in writing a letter to House Republican leaders on the Education and Workforce Committee and its Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education to raise concerns with the House Republican Child Nutrition Bill and to call on each committee to improve nutrition programs for millions of American children.

The letter comes as Congress considers the reauthorization of many child nutrition programs. In that debate, House Republican leadership has proposed the so-called “Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016,” a bill that makes significant cuts to school meals programs and weakens school nutrition standards – changes that would cause too many children, especially low-income children, to lose access to vital programs and healthier meals.

Specifically, the Republican-sponsored bill would make it harder for thousands of schools to qualify for federal school-meal funding, and would lead to more low-income children going hungry every day. The bill would also create new nutrition guidelines that allow junk food to be counted as an acceptable snack, which undermines children’s health.

“It is imperative that we continue to improve school nutrition and the hunger safety net for millions of children because hunger and under-nourishment prevent our kids from reaching their full potential, both physically and academically,” the Members wrote.

The full letter is available here.

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