119-hres683

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 683 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 683

Supporting the designation of the week of September 8 through September 
 12, 2025, as ``Malnutrition Awareness Week''.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 9, 2025

 Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mr. Bacon, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Lawler, Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Tokuda, and Mr. Carbajal) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
 on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 
Agriculture, Ways and Means, and Education and Workforce, for a period 
 to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
 committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

Supporting the designation of the week of September 8 through September 
 12, 2025, as ``Malnutrition Awareness Week''.

Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a person does not get 
 enough protein, calories, or nutrients;
Whereas malnutrition is a significant problem in the United States and around 
 the world, crossing all age, racial, class, gender, and geographic 
 lines;
Whereas malnutrition can be determined by social drivers of health, including 
 poverty or economic instability, access to affordable health care, and 
 low health literacy;
Whereas there are inextricable and cyclical links between poverty and 
 malnutrition;
Whereas the Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as when a person 
 or household does not have regular, reliable access to the foods needed 
 for good health;
Whereas communities of color, across all age groups, are disproportionately 
 likely to experience both food insecurity and malnutrition;
Whereas American Indian and Alaska Native households are at significantly 
 greater risk for food insecurity than all households in the United 
 States;
Whereas 1 in 18 Asian Americans and 1 in 5 Pacific Islanders experience food 
 insecurity;
Whereas Black children are almost 3 times more likely to live in a food-insecure 
 household than White children;
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 deaths from malnutrition have increased among adults 85 and older since 
 2013;
Whereas, according to the ``National Blueprint: Achieving Quality Malnutrition 
 Care for Older Adults, 2020 Update'', as many as half of older adults 
 living in the United States are malnourished or at risk for 
 malnutrition;
Whereas, according to recent Aging Network surveys, 76 percent of older adults 
 receiving meals at senior centers and other congregate facilities report 
 improved health outcomes, and 84 percent of older adults receiving home-
 delivered meals indicate the same;
Whereas older adults receiving home-delivered meals for 2 to 5 years were 72 
 percent less likely to be at malnutrition risk compared with those 
 receiving meals for less than 6 months;
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 House of Representatives--

    (1) supports the designation of ``Malnutrition Awareness 
 Week'';

    (2) recognizes registered dietitian nutritionists and other 
 nutrition professionals, health care providers, school food 
 service workers, those who provide home-delivered meals, social 
 workers, advocates, caregivers, and other professionals and 
 agencies for their efforts to advance awareness, treatment, and 
 prevention of malnutrition;

    (3) recognizes the importance of existing Federal nutrition 
 programs, like the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 
 et seq.) nutrition programs and Federal child nutrition 
 programs, for their role in combating malnutrition, and 
 supports increased funding for these critical programs;

    (4) recognizes the role of community-based organizations, 
 food banks, faith-based organizations, and local agencies and 
 the need for partnerships among them and with healthcare 
 providers in preventing and addressing malnutrition in 
 underserved areas;

    (5) recognizes--
        (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 
 adequate access to nutrition counseling;

    (6) 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;

    (7) recognizes that malnutrition affects people of all ages 
 and backgrounds, and that early identification and intervention 
 can reduce health care costs, hospital re-admissions, and long-
 term complications;

    (8) encourages the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
 Services to facilitate the implementation of the new 
 Malnutrition Care Score, an electronic clinical quality measure 
 for adults aged 18 and older;

    (9) acknowledges the importance of healthy food access for 
 children, especially in childcare settings and schools, and the 
 benefits of evidence-based nutrition standards; and

    (10) acknowledges that addressing malnutrition is critical 
 to achieving national goals related to chronic disease 
 prevention, healthy aging, and access to good health for all.
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