Update, 1:00 PM: An East Wing spokesperson advises that the Hill tipster is wrong, and First Lady Michelle Obama will not testify next Tuesday, when the House Education & Labor Committee is having their first full committee hearing of 2010 on the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. Instead, Mrs. Obama will be at a kick-off celebration at the Library of Congress for the National Education Association's 2010 Read Across America Day. The First Lady will be joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, NEA president Dennis Van Roekel, and Congressional leaders, as well as a bunch of excited kids. The Cat in the Hat will be a very special guest, too, because Tuesday is Dr. Seuss's 106th birthday; Mrs. Obama will read a Dr. Seuss book to the kids. Mrs. Obama likes Dr. Seuss; in January, she read Green Eggs & Ham to a gang of pre-schoolers when she visited the Department of Labor (above).The original post:
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sterday, the House Education & Labor Committee, chaired by Rep. George Miller (D-CA) announced a full committee hearing for next Tuesday, March 2, on strengthening the federal nutrition and school meal programs. It could be the day First Lady Michelle Obama makes her first appearance before Congress, to testify in support of the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity. An official witness list has not yet been announced, and the East Wing has not made an announcement, but signs are pointing to the hearing being Mrs. Obama's debut as a Congressional witness.Improving the federal nutrition programs, especially school breakfasts and lunches, has been dubbed one of the four "pillars" of Let's Move, the First Lady's national campaign to end child obesity. The federal program reaches 31 million children, and Mrs. Obama has gone on the record that she'd be willing to testify before Congress for the reauthorization, which as currently designed is seeking a multi-billion dollar investment of funds, as well as dramatically improved standards for the foods served in school settings.
“I’d be willing to do whatever it would take to further an agenda,” Mrs. Obama told reporters in January, about appearing before Congress. “If it’s helpful, I wouldn’t say no."
Mrs. Obama's senior advisers, including Jocelyn Frye and Melody Barnes, and East Wing aides also told reporters that Mrs. Obama would be willing to testify before Congress. (Above: Mrs. Obama speaking about Let's Move, last week in Philadelphia)
A First Lady appearing before Congress is not without precedent. First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Roslyn Carter, and Hillary Rodham Clinton each testified before Congress while living in the White House. And First Lady Laura Bush was the first incumbent Republican First Lady to testify before Congress, appealing to lawmakers to increase funding for libraries. Other First Ladies have made Congressional appearances after leaving the White House; First Lady Nancy Reagan is among these post-1600 Pennsylvania Avenue advocates.
Yesterday, the media advisory sent out by Chairman Miller's press secretary announcing Tuesday's hearing included the fact that Let's Move is a "key piece of First Lady's campaign" (sic). Chairman Miller has long been a supporter of improved federal nutrition programs, and he was among the lawmakers and Cabinet Secretaries who met with Mrs. Obama at the White House on Feb. 2 to discuss Let's Move, in advance of the formal launch of the campaign on Feb. 9. (Above: Mrs. Obama at the meeting; Chairman Miller is second from her right)Chairman Miller was so excited about the meeting that he created a special YouTube video about it, featuring a White House apple. along with Mrs. Obama, other Congressional leaders, and a huge number of school nutrition advocates, a revamping of the program would include less sugar, fat and salt in meals; and more fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products as part of regular offerings. Portion sizes are also under debate, as are nutritional information for parents, and eliminating junk foods from school cafeterias and vending machines.
The White House Press Office has become a Let's Move film studio...and the media campaign has been comprehensive
Since January, there's been a full-court press by Mrs. Obama and other senior administration officials in support of Let's Move. It's her signature campaign as First Lady, and Mrs. Obama has stumped for the project extensively. In less than a month, the White House has posted six videos on its official website featuring Mrs. Obama and the Let's Move campaign, more than any other viedeos featuring Mrs. Obama and a single subject (the most recent White House video, about food deserts, debuted yesterday). Even the wildly popular (and world famous) White House Kitchen Garden, now regarded as the starting point for the Let's Move campaign, only got one official White House video featuring Mrs. Obama (other White House videos about the garden were made, but these feature Sam Kass).
Mrs. Obama has had a series of meetings with lawmakers, and she's appealed to America's governors and to America's mayors and to community leaders to join her campaign.
The First Lady has also done a series of print media interviews with Let's Move as the main topic, and interviews with major television outlets, including Fox Network's Mike Huckabee, ABC's Good Morning America, NBC's Today show, CNN's Larry King, PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Major sports stars have joined the campaign, as have major entertainment companies, and major food corporations. Even the White House chefs have made TV appearances supporting Let's Move, of course. Assistant chef and Mrs. Obama's Food Initiative Coordinator, Sam Kass, gave a healthy cooking lesson on Today show simultaneous with Mrs. Obama's appearance, and Executive Chef Cris Comerford and Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses appeared together on The Martha Stewart Show, and chatted about Let's Move with Martha.
President Obama even mentioned Mrs. Obama's campaign in his State of the Union address, more than a week before the campaign formally launched. And let's not forget the Child Obesity Task Force; the President signed a memorandum to create this on Feb. 9. The first "position paper" released by Surgeon General Regina Benjamin was also in support of the campaign.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has also been on the campaign trail for a vigorous reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. It's been his single subject for months, when he's not discussing international Ag exports. This week, he spoke at the National Press Club to explain Obama administration priorities for the federal nutrition programs, and he's been holding press calls with traditional reporters as well as with bloggers. Last week, he visited Philadelphia with Mrs. Obama, for the first road trip for Let's Move, and improving school meals was, or course, a component of the trip. Sec. Vilsack is in the latest White House video about food deserts, too. Cabinet Secretaries Timothy Geithner, Kathleen Sebelius, and Arne Duncan have all been on the stump for Let's Move, too, with Mrs. Obama, and on their own.
Next week is a big week in general on the Hill for school nutrition initiatives. The Chicago-based non-profit Healthy Schools Campaign is sponsoring a special luncheon for members of Congress, on March 2, which features award-winning high school chefs who won a competition for creating healthy school meal options, as part of the Cooking up Change contest. Christie Vilsack, wife of Sec. Vilsack, and Karen Duncan, wife of Sec. Duncan, are the honorary chairs of the campaign, and they'll be speaking to Congressional leaders, too. Last Fall, both Mrs. Vilsack and Mrs. Duncan visited DC-area schools with Sam Kass, to observe school food programs that were using best practices for health and nutrition. Next Monday, The School Nutrition Association, which is the professional organization for school food professionals, begins its 38th annual Legislative Action Conference in Washington. They'll be sending people onto the Hill to lobby for support of the Child Nutrition reauthorization, through Wednesday.
Mrs. Obama not only has the ear of many members of Congress, but she also has the ear of Congressional spouses, who provide the kind of soft-power push for things like the importance of nourishing kids. The First Lady has hosted the spouses at the White House for special luncheons, and encouraged them to join her in community service--food centric, of course: One of these group activities was packing foods for a DC-local food bank.
The Education & Labor Committee hearing will take place at 2:30 in the afternoon, at the Rayburn Office Building. A livestream will be available on the website for the Committee.
Other Let's Move videos from the White House: A video of Mrs. Obama's remarks at the White House campaign launch is here; a video of the President signing the Child Obesity Task Force memo is here; a video of Mrs. Obama making remarks about the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, in Philadelphia, is here; a video of the First Lady introducing Let's Move on the campaign website is here; Mrs. Obama speaking about the campaign at a pre-launch event is here.
*AP photos
