June 10, 2004

FRAC Action Alert

1. FY 2005 Agriculture Appropriations
2. Child Nutrition Reauthorization
3. House Budget Process Bill

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1. FY 2005 Agriculture Appropriations
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The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee will be marking-up its funding bill on Monday, June 14th. Given the tight Federal budget constraints, it is particularly important for advocates to call members of both the House and Senate Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittees and weigh-in on a few key provisions.

WIC BACKGROUND: Rising WIC food package costs and increasing participation have pushed the need for FY 2005 WIC funding to $354 million above the President's $4.817 billion request, which included $20 million to support the WIC Farmer's Market Program. (The President's $4.817 billion request includes a $198 million increase over FY 2004.) The $354 million includes up to $229 million needed to cover increased food package costs and participation and $125 million to replenish the WIC contingency fund.

1. The additional $229 million is needed to cover:
   
• Increased WIC food package costs due primarily to rapidly rising dairy product and egg prices (accounts for $195 million of the increase) and, to a lesser extent, to increases in infant formula costs caused by lower rebates and higher prices for new types of formula. Updated estimates by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities project FY 2005 average monthly food package costs of $38.61, considerably higher than the $36.55 assumed in the President's budget.
• Increased WIC participation, which is projected to reach a monthly average of 7.89 million persons instead of the 7.86 million anticipated in the President's budget.
2. The $125 million will be used to replenish the WIC contingency fund, which is being depleted this year because of rising food costs and shortfalls created by low infant formula rebate contracts.

• MESSAGE: Urge the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees to increase WIC funds by $354 million above the President's request for a total of $5.161 billion to support WIC in FY 2005.

CACFP AUDIT FUNDING BACKGROUND: Advocates and program operators are concerned by the negative impact on program expansion, integrity and management that will result from the pending reduction in CACFP state audit funds from 1.5% to 1% in FY 2005. These audit funds are critical for the performance of program audits and monitoring local agencies providing direct program services. The loss of these funds will forces State CACFP agencies to lay-off staff and curtail on-site inspections. These reductions will hamper the successful expansion of afterschool, preschool and homeless shelter programs using CACFP. This is particularly problematic given the important CACFP expansions pending in the current Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation. Congress should make good on its promise to restore these cuts before they are implemented. In 1998 when the reduction was passed, Congress stated that the reduction was "only for the purpose of complying with the budget rules. It is the intention of the conferees that the audit funds be restored before the 2005 deadline."

• MESSAGE: Urge the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees to maintain the current 1.5% level of funding for State CACFP audit funds.

Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP)

• MESSAGE: Urge the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees to include $134 million to expand services to existing CSFP states and to add 8 new states to the program. In any event, funding cannot drop below $115 million in order to maintain the current CSFP caseload.

TEFAP

• MESSAGE: Urge the House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees to support $140 million to maintain TEFAP mandatory funding for commodity purchases; plus $60 million for storage and distribution grants.

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2. Child Nutrition Reauthorization
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BACKGROUND:
House and Senate congressional staff continue to hammer out differences in the Senate Agriculture Committee-passed child nutrition reauthorization bill (S. 2507, summary) and the House-passed version (H.R. 3873, summary). Key issues still in play are "competitive foods" (i.e. foods sold in competition with school meals programs) and cost containment proposals for "WIC-only" stores. For more background on the legislation, go to FRAC's Child Nutrition Reauthorization website.

• MESSAGE: Urge ALL Senators to support and "vote yes" when S. 2507, "The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004," reaches the Senate floor.

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3. House Budget Process Bill
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BACKGROUND:
In the next two weeks, the House is expected to take up a "budget process" initiative based on House Budget Committee Chairman Nussle's (R-IA) bill (H.R. 3973). In addition to H.R. 3973's unrealistically tight caps on discretionary programs, a cap on total entitlement spending (except Social Security) is expected to be offered during floor debate (based on provisions contained in H.R. 3800 and H.R. 3925). Setting the cap as low as proposed would require an estimated $1.8 trillion in entitlement cuts over ten years. Programs affected would include Food Stamps, Child Nutrition, TANF, Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, unemployment insurance, SSI, child care, child support, EITC, child welfare, SSBG, student loans, veterans benefits, federal retirement, and many others. For more information, go to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Key Issues and Threats in the House Budget Process Debate.

• MESSAGE: It is critical to keep Members from voting in favor of entitlement caps and setting dangerous precedents. Urge ALL House Members (especially moderate Republicans and conservative Democrats) to reject any entitlement cap amendment and vote "no" on final passage of H.R. 3973.

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Click here to return to FRAC's Child Nutrition Reauthorization website.

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