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This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Supporting the designation of the week of September 14 through September 18, 2026, as "Malnutrition Awareness Week"., committees such as Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Issued
September 14, 2026
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Download official Senate Record PDFReturn to issue contextSUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
SEPTEMBER 14 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 18, 2026, AS “MALNUTRITION AWARENESS
WEEK”
Mr. MURPHY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:
S. Res. 850
Whereas malnutrition is the condition that occurs when a
person does not get enough protein, calories, or nutrients
and is a significant public health problem in the United
States and around the world that can affect people across the
lifespan and across geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds;
Whereas malnutrition can be determined by social or
environmental influences, including poverty or economic
instability, access to affordable health care, and low health
literacy and there are inextricable and cyclical links
between poverty, food insecurity, 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, children, 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 effects on brain function and development;
Whereas disease-associated malnutrition affects between 30
and 50 percent of patients admitted to hospitals, and is
associated with substantially higher healthcare costs,
complications, and hospital readmissions, including over
$51,300,000,000 each year for disease-associated malnutrition
in older adults;
Whereas deaths from malnutrition have more than doubled
since 2018, especially among adults 85 and older;
Whereas, according to the “National Blueprint for
Achieving Quality Malnutrition Care for Older Adults, 2026
Update”, while access to malnutrition care has greatly
expanded since 2020, 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, home-
and community-based nutrition services can play an important
role in improving health outcomes and reducing malnutrition
risk among older adults; 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) supports the designation of “Malnutrition Awareness
Week”;
(2) recognizes the contributions of 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 working to prevent,
identify, and address malnutrition;
(3) recognizes the importance of existing Federal nutrition
programs, like the nutrition programs established under the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) and
Federal child nutrition programs, for their role in providing
healthy food and nutrition interventions, preventing food
insecurity and malnutrition, and supporting the
health and well-being of people across the lifespan;
(4) recognizes the role of community-based organizations,
including 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 the importance of access to evidenced-based
nutrition care, especially for vulnerable populations,
including medical nutrition therapy under the Medicare
Program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1395 et seq.);
(6) recognizes the importance of continued Federal research
into nutrition, dietary patterns, and the human
gastrointestinal microbiome and how those factors influence
the prevention or development of chronic disease and
malnutrition throughout the lifespan;
(7) recognizes the importance of Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services facilitating the implementation of the
mandatory Malnutrition Care Score, an electronic clinical
quality measure for adults aged 18 and older; and
(8) acknowledges that malnutrition affects people of all
ages and backgrounds, and that preventing, identifying, and
treating malnutrition can reduce avoidable health care costs
and complications and is critical to achieving national goals
related to chronic disease prevention, healthy aging, and
access to good health for all.