HJR 24: Urging the United States Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture to extend the basic housing allowance exclusion to all military families for purposes of the school nutrition program.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 24 01 Urging the United States Congress and the United States Department of Agriculture to 02 extend the basic housing allowance exclusion to all military families for purposes of the 03 school nutrition program. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS all children need healthful meals for cognitive development, perception, 06 thinking, and learning; and 07 WHEREAS studies show that malnutrition results in decreased activity levels, 08 decreased social interaction, decreased curiosity, and decreased cognitive functioning in 09 children; and 10 WHEREAS research shows that poorly nourished children have more problems 11 fighting infections and, therefore, may become sick more often, miss more school, and fail to 12 keep up with classmates; and 13 WHEREAS studies show that children who regularly eat breakfast have better 14 standardized test scores and better behavior and are less hyperactive than children who do not 15 have breakfast; and
01 WHEREAS eating a healthful lunch helps keep a child's mind sharp all afternoon; 02 and 03 WHEREAS children benefit from the federal nutrition programs that include the 04 National School Lunch Program (42 U.S.C. 1751), the After School Snack Program (42 05 U.S.C. 1788), and the School Breakfast Program (42 U.S.C. 1773) that offer free or reduced 06 price meals to eligible school age children whose household size and income are below the 07 eligibility level established for those programs; and 08 WHEREAS the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act was amended by the 09 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(13)) to exclude a 10 specified housing allowance from consideration as income in making an eligibility 11 determination for federal school nutrition programs; and 12 WHEREAS the exclusion from income of a military housing allowance applies only 13 to private housing located on-base; and 14 WHEREAS an income exclusion is not available for children of service members 15 living in housing off-base that is part of the general commercial and private real estate market; 16 and 17 WHEREAS the basic housing allowance for off-base housing makes many military 18 families ineligible for the federal school nutrition programs; and 19 WHEREAS, because service members are expected to be available 24 hours a day, 20 they are unable to hold second jobs, and their income is limited to military income; 21 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 22 Department of Agriculture, Western Region, and the United States Congress to extend the 23 military housing allowance exclusion from income in establishing eligibility for school 24 nutrition programs to all military families receiving a military housing allowance, whether 25 they live on-base or off-base. 26 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States 27 Secretary of Agriculture, the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, 28 U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 29 delegation in Congress.