Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1081 - National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1988

(House)
(Bingaman (D) New Mexico and 32 others)

The Administration opposes enactment of S. 1081 because it is unnecessary and is potentially very harmful to the Government's comprehensive and well-coordinated National Nutrition Monitoring System which is currently being implemented jointly by the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS). If this legislation were passed by the Congress, both the Secretaries of Agriculture and HHS and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget would recommend its disapproval to the President.

S. 1081 would:

—    establish a National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council with members appointed by both the President and Congress, which appears to violate the requirements of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution and erodes the important structural separation of powers ordained by the Constitution.

—    require new grant programs, an interagency board, and expanded data collection which are unwarranted and serve only to detract from ongoing activities, and are potentially costly.

—    duplicate existing activities being accomplished under current law by the National Nutrition Monitoring System, managed jointly by USDA and HHS; and

—    establish a management structure and mandate reporting requirements which would be unnecessarily complex and burdensome, causing delays in the Departments' meeting their monitoring goals.