Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Congressman Farr's amendment that would remove the waiver that would exempt schools from providing even half a cup of fruits and vegetables to their students for lunch. More than 200 education and nutrition organizations oppose the weakening of nutrition standards. While it may be difficult to get kids to eat healthier, it is possible, as 90 percent of schools are already meeting the standards.

Rodney Taylor, the food service director at Riverside Unified School District, which is in my district, sent me a letter about the importance of nutrition standards, saying:

Children in our district and many others are enjoying meals that meet updated school lunch requirements from the USDA, proving that it is possible to have healthy children and healthy budgets. Letting schools opt out of these standards will not help them move forward and will be detrimental to the children they serve.

I thank Congressman Farr for introducing this amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it, so we can move forward in the fight against childhood obesity.

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