SENATE RESOLUTION 716--DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 5 THROUGH OCTOBER 9, 2020, AS ``MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK''; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 166
(Senate - September 24, 2020)
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[Pages S5875-S5876]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 716--DESIGNATING THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 5 THROUGH
OCTOBER 9, 2020, AS ``MALNUTRITION AWARENESS WEEK''
Mr. MURPHY (for himself, Mr. Grassley, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Hassan,
Mr. Booker, Ms. Smith, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Manchin, Mr. King, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mr.
Coons, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Roberts, Ms. Collins, and Mrs.
Capito) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary:
S. Res. 716
Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a
person does not get enough protein, calories, or nutrients;
Whereas the 2020 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic (referred to in this preamble as the ``2020
coronavirus pandemic'')--
(1) has resulted in a significant increase in food
insecurity, which is linked to malnutrition; and
(2) has nearly doubled food insufficiency rates since 2019;
Whereas the 2020 coronavirus pandemic has had a
disproportionate impact on children, as 13,900,000 children
live in a household characterized by child food
insufficiency, and the rate of households with food
insufficient children in 2020 was more than 5 times the rate
of households with food insufficient children in 2019;
Whereas the impact of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic on the
chronically ill has forced the examination of chronic disease
prevention, especially through nutrient consumption and
absorption, which is examined in the 2020-2030 Strategic Plan
for NIH Nutrition Research published by the National
Institutes of Health;
Whereas malnutrition is a significant problem in the United
States and around the world, crossing all age, racial, class,
gender, and geographic lines;
Whereas infants, older adults, people with chronic
diseases, and other vulnerable populations are particularly
at risk for malnutrition;
Whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that
failure to provide key nutrients during early childhood may
result in lifelong deficits in brain function;
Whereas disease-associated malnutrition affects between 30
and 50 percent of patients admitted to hospitals, and the
medical costs of hospitalized patients with malnutrition can
be 300 percent more than the medical costs of properly
nourished patients;
Whereas, according to the National Blueprint: Achieving
Quality Malnutrition Care for Older Adults, 2020 Update, as
many as \1/2\ of older adults living in the community are
malnourished or at risk for malnutrition;
Whereas disease-associated malnutrition in older adults
alone costs the United States more than $51,300,000,000 each
year; and
Whereas the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral
Nutrition established Malnutrition Awareness Week to raise
awareness and promote prevention of malnutrition across the
lifespan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) designates the week of October 5 through October 9,
2020, as ``Malnutrition Awareness Week'';
(2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists and other
nutrition professionals, health care providers, social
workers, advocates, caregivers, and other professionals and
agencies for their efforts to advance awareness, treatment,
and prevention of malnutrition;
(3)(A) recognizes the importance of existing Federal
nutrition programs for their role in combating malnutrition;
and
(B) supports emergency funding for those critical Federal
nutrition programs for the duration of the Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic;
(4) recognizes--
[[Page S5876]]
(A) the importance of medical nutrition therapy under the
Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); and
(B) the need for vulnerable populations to have access to
nutrition counseling;
(5) recognizes the importance of the innovative research
conducted by the National Institutes of Health on--
(A) nutrition, dietary patterns, and the human
gastrointestinal microbiome; and
(B) how those factors influence the prevention or
development of chronic disease throughout the lifespan; and
(6)(A) supports access to a malnutrition screening and
assessment; and
(B) encourages the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
to evaluate--
(i) the provision of a malnutrition screening and
assessment through telehealth during the Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency; and
(ii) the adoption of malnutrition electronic clinical
quality measures.
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