FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Daniel Weiss
Thursday,
December 12, 2002 202/225-2095
HOUSE LAWMAKERS WARN ADMINISTRATION AGAINST PLAN
ON SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM
25 Members of Congress Write to OMB Director Charging
“Over-certification” Proposals Threaten Program and Restrict Access of
Low-Income Children
WASHINGTON – Proposals regarding the National School Lunch
Program being discussed by the Bush Administration would adversely impact the
program and the low-income children it is intended to serve, charged
Congressman George Miller (D-CA) and other House Democrats.
The lawmakers based their concern on a proposal being
discussed within the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) to require income documentation from parents
of millions of children who apply for or are already certified for the program.
Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and his colleagues argued in a letter sent to OMB Director Mitch Daniels today that pilot programs of income documentation conducted in the 1980’s to address over-certification had adverse effects on low-income schoolchildren.
“The evaluation found that when income documentation was required at the time of application, five eligible students were deterred from participating in the program for every ineligible student deterred,” the lawmakers wrote. “When income documentation was required later in the school year, six eligible children were deterred for every ineligible child deterred.”
“Certification for the school lunch program – designed to weed out ineligible children – must not impede the access of eligible children,” said Miller. “While I support efforts to control inappropriate use of the program, the cure should not be worse than the disease.”
The lawmakers called on the Administration not to adopt any certification programs that would adversely affect eligible children. The full text of the letter follows.
###
The Honorable
Mitchell Daniels
Director, Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Mr. Daniels:
We understand that the Administration is considering proposals related to the overcertification of children in the National School Lunch Program. We are concerned that certain methods of addressing this issue will have an adverse effect on the school lunch program and specifically, low-income schoolchildren.
We are aware of data suggesting that some ineligible children may be receiving free or reduced-price school meals, and we strongly support efforts to ensure that subsidized meals are provided only to eligible children. However, we understand that USDA and OMB are considering proposals to require income documentation from the parents of millions of children who apply for, or are certified for, such meals. These proposals are likely to have unintended consequences for low-income children who are eligible for this program.
USDA is currently conducting pilot projects on these income documentation approaches. Unfortunately, we understand that these pilots are being conducted in a non-representative sample of schools, and the findings cannot accurately be extrapolated to all schools. Based on the pilot results that are currently available, it is impossible to tell the degree to which the policy changes effectively reduced participation by ineligible children or the degree to which eligible children were impeded from receiving benefits.
We have good reason for our concern. Similar income documentation and requirements were evaluated in a considerably more rigorous demonstration project conducted by USDA during the 1980s. Unlike the current studies, these previous pilots were conducted in a representative sample of schools, and the accompanying evaluation assessed whether children who lost benefits as a result of the pilots were eligible or ineligible.
The evaluation found that when income
documentation was required at the time of application, five eligible students
were deterred from participating in the program for every ineligible student
deterred. When income documentation was
required later in the school year, six eligible children were deterred for
every ineligible child deterred.
Not enough has changed in the school meal programs since these studies to suggest that such approaches would not similarly cause substantial numbers of eligible children to lose benefits today.
Due to these results we believe any proposal regarding overcertification must not adversely affect the participation of eligible children. We believe the most responsible way to proceed would be to develop a number of policy changes designed to improve certification accuracy and test them in a representative sample of schools so Congress and the Administration can identify ways to prevent ineligible children from receiving benefits without impeding access to benefits by eligible children.
As Congress begins reauthorization of our child nutrition programs in the coming year, we hope that we will be able to reach bipartisan agreement with the Administration on this and other critical child nutrition priorities.
Sincerely,
GEORGE MILLER
DALE KILDEE
ROBERT SCOTT
ROBERT ANDREWS
LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD
BOBBY RUSH
MAJOR OWENS
LYNN WOOLSEY
EDOLPHUS TOWNS
DONALD PAYNE
CARRIE MEEK
HAROLD FORD, Jr.
JOHN TIERNEY
DENNIS KUCINICH
RON KIND
HILDA SOLIS
ELIJAH CUMMINGS
RUBEN HINOJOSA
SUSAN DAVIS
STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES
DONNA CHRISTENSEN
LORETTA SANCHEZ
CAROLYN MCCARTHY
CHAKA FATTAH
BETTY MCCOLLUM