Federal Amendment S. 1392 and H.R. 2987

This newly proposed U.S. legislation would reduce the presence of low-nutrition foods in schools nationwide.

The bills would require development of regulations regarding the nutritional quality of foods sold out of vending machines, a la carte lines, fund-raisers, and other venues throughout the campus, throughout the school day.

These regulations would be developed by the Secretary of Agriculture, working with the National Academies' Institute of Medicine.

Senate Bill:  Introduced by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, ranking member on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

House Bill: By Representative Lynn Woolsey of California, ranking member on the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Education Reform.

Find these bills at http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c108query.html.

President Bush’s Plan

Fall 2002: $6 million program, part of 2002 Farm Bill, initiated under Pres. Bush’s Healthy U.S. Campaign, is providing students free fruits and vegetables in 100 middle and high schools in 5 states in order to improve consumption/nutrition.

IRS: Obesity = Disease

Spring 2003:  IRS designated obesity as a disease and expanded medical tax deduction for weight-loss programs. This represents welcome progress toward obesity prevention versus fighting its resulting diseases.