Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Child Nutrition
Scott, Foxx, Stabenow, and Boozman Announce Bipartisan, Bicameral Agreement to Extend School and Summer Meal Waivers for Kids
06.21.22 WASHINGTON - Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (NC-05), along with Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), announced an agreement to help school and summer providers keep kids fed. The Keep Kids Fed Act (H.R. 8150) will provide important funding and flexibility for communities to provide children healthy meals this summer and provide suppo… Continue Reading
Rep. Hayes Introduces Bill to Improve Access to Infant Formula for Vulnerable Families Amid Shortage
05.17.22 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Member, Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05), introduced the Access to Baby Formula Act (H.R.7791)- legislation to help improve access to infant formula for vulnerable families during the shortage crisis. Regrettably, the baby formula shortage has taken an especially dangerous toll on women and children from underserved communities who use WIC (women, infant and children) benefits to purchase formula. In response, the Access to Baby Formula Act provides … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Senate Republicans Blocking Extension for School Meal Waivers
03.10.22 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked an extension of school meal waivers in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 omnibus spending package. "At the beginning of the pandemic, Congress provided schools with the flexibility they needed to ensure they could serve hungry students. This relief allowed an additional 10 million students to access free school meals each day. While the country is on the road to recovery, schools an… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Additional Funding to Fight Child Hunger in Virginia
01.14.22 WASHINGTON – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Food and Nutrition Service approved Virginia’s plan to participate in the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. The program – established by Congress in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act – allows states to provide additional funding for struggling families with children who cannot access free or reduced-price school meals during … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Increasing Support for School Meal Programs
01.07.22 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced an increase in the amount of money the federal government will reimburse states for school meal programs. "I applaud the Biden Administration for taking an important step to help preserve school meal programs for children and families. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for school meal programs at a time when more families than ever are relyin… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration Effort to Help School Meal Programs Address Supply Chain Challenges
12.17.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to the Biden Administration's action to help school meal programs respond to supply chain disruptions. "I applaud the Biden Administration for taking action to ensure school meal programs can continue to provide children the healthy nutrition they need to learn and grow. The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for school meal programs at a time when more families than ever are… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Remarks at Rules Committee Meeting on Build Back Better Act
10.28.21 WASHINGTON – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks at today’s Rules Committee meeting on the Build Back Better Act. “Thank you, Chairman McGovern and Ranking Member Cole. I’m pleased to speak in support of the Education and Labor Committee’s section of the Build Back Better Act. “Over the past few months, Congressional Democrats and the White House have held a … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises Biden-Harris Administration for Preserving Access to School Meals
06.11.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Biden-Harris Administration withdrew a Trump-era proposal that would have terminated automatic eligibility for free school meals for roughly 1 million students. "When the Trump Administration first proposed denying 1 million children automatic eligibility for free school meals, I raised awareness of the severe impact of this rule and called on the Administration to abandon its counterproductive prop… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on USDA Announcement on School Meal Eligibility Waivers
04.20.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement USDA's announcement that they plan to extend eligibility waivers for the school meals programs. "School meal programs are one of our most powerful tools to prevent child hunger and support struggling families. I am encouraged by USDA's announcement to continue to allow schools the flexibility they need to feed hungry students during this pandemic. However, USDA only has so much authority to expand access to … Continue Reading
Adams, Scott Introduce CARE for Families Act During Black Maternal Health Week
04.16.21 WASHINGTON- Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), co-founder and co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, and House Committee on Education & Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) introduced the Community Access to Resources and Education (CARE) for Families Act today. The CARE for Families Act will help improve maternal and infant health outcomes by strengthening partnerships between health care providers and local nutrition services. A copy of the bill is available here. "We have an unaccep… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises Biden Plan to Increase Food Assistance During Pandemic
01.22.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Biden administration announced a plan to increase benefits under the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program by 15 percent. The program provides additional funding for struggling families with children who cannot access free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has created a devastating nationwide hunger crisis that is affecting one in eight Amer… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Responds to USDA Proposal to Resurrect Overturned Child Nutrition Rule
11.25.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture re-proposed a rule to weaken standards in child nutrition programs: "As more than a quarter of our nation's households with children head into the Thanksgiving holiday struggling to put food on the table, the Department of Agriculture's rule to undermine nutrition standards for child nutrition programs will only make it harder for childr… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Demands Answers from USDA Distributors Pushing Religious Activity onto People Seeking Food Boxes
10.08.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) demanded answers from Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Perdue about a troubling report that some faith-based organizations participating in the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which has already been plagued by mismanagement, are subjecting participants to unsolicited religious activity. The reports include instances of faith-based organizations placing religious messages in food boxes, directi… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Key Child Nutrition Provisions in Continuing Resolution
09.22.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to the final text of the Continuing Resolution, which extended and expanded key child nutrition measures. "The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered several parallel crises for communities and industries across this country, but few are as urgent as the current child hunger crisis. Despite the two substantial COVID-19 relief packages that Congress passed in the early weeks of the pandemic, as many as 17… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds USDA’s Reversal on School Meal Waivers
08.31.20 WASHINGTON -Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s decision to extend waivers allowing states and schools the flexibility to more easily operate emergency summer meal programs until December 31, 2020. The announcement came days after USDA told Congress that it did not have the authority or money to extend the waivers. "After a summer in which as many as 17 million children went hungry, the federal govern… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Stabenow Denounce USDA Inaction to Provide School Meals to Children
08.26.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Labor, Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reverse its decision and take action to provide healthy meals to students for the duration of the school year. "The Department's refusal to extend all school meal waivers is inconsistent and baffling during this national crisis, especially consi… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: USDA Refusal to Extend Waivers Will Increase Child Hunger
08.20.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to a letter from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue stating that the Department will not extend waivers that allowed states and schools to more seamlessly operate emergency summer meal programs. The waivers - which expire at the end of August - allow schools to locate food service sites in more accessible locations and serve all children, regardless of paperwork. "… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Stabenow Urge USDA to Take Action to Provide School Meals to Children in Need
08.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use its full authority to provide healthy meals to students for the duration of the school year. In the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Congress granted authority to the USDA to provide w… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Calls for Extension of Pandemic Food Assistance Program
07.31.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement calling for the extension of the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program, which provides additional funding for struggling families with children who cannot access free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. Yesterday, a Brookings Institution study found that P-EBT, which Congress passed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, prevented at least 2.7 million children from going hungry in the week… Continue Reading
Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act: What People Are Saying
07.30.20 WASHINGTON - The Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act is House Democrats' plan to expand access to free school meals for all children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to prevent the collapse of school nutrition programs. Here's what the nation's leading anti-hunger and child nutrition organizations are saying about the bill. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND): "The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics believes that school meals are as important to learning as textbooks and pencils. In the… Continue Reading