FEDERAL PRIVACY BOARD ACT -- AMENDMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76M00527R000700140102-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 21, 2001
• Sequence Number: 102
• Publication Date: September 19, 1974
• Content Type: OPEN

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, pterber 19, 1974 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -SENATE
the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946,
as amended, in accordance with its juris-
diction under rule XXV of the Standing
Rules of the mate, the Committee on the
Budget, or an subcommittee thereof, is au-
thorized fro the date this resolution is
agreed to, thr gh February 28, 1975, in its
discretion (1) make expenditures from
the contingent nd of the Senate, (2) to
employ personne and (3) with the prior
consent of the G erninent department or
agency concerned d the Committee on
SEC. 2. The expenses o he committee un-
der this resolution shall exceed $421,000,
of which amount not to ex d $5,000 may be
expended for the prooureme of the services
of individual consultants, o rganizations
thereof (as authorized by sec 202 (1) of
the Legislative Reorganization t of 1946,
!approved by the chairman of the com-
mittee.
A BILL TO THE COURT OF CL
Judiciary.)
ing resolution:
S. RES. 407
"A bill for the relief of Laszlo
pending in the Senate, together
the chief commissioner of the
Court of Claims; and the chief
ticable date, giving such
and conclusions thereon as,
to inform the Congress
character of the demand
equitable, against the
gratuity and the amou
CONCURRE
t3ENATE CONCUR
At the request
was added as
Concurrent Res
Cyprus.
t3ENATE
rent Resol
RESOLUTION 110
Mr. KENNEDY, the
(Mr. TAFT) and the Sen-
essee (Mr. BROCK) were
CONSUMJIR PROTECTION-AGENCY
FOR CONSUMER ADVOCACY
AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENT NO. 1899
(Ordered to be printed and to lie on
the table.)
Mr. ERVIN submitted an amendment
intended to be propoged by him to
ouncil of Con-
xecutive Office
R serve the interests
for other purposes.
sumer Advisers in
of the President, to
AMENDMEN OS. 1900 AND 1901
(Ordered t e printed and to lie on
ments int ed to be proposed by him
to Amen ... , nt No. 1817, proposed to the
AM ENTS NOS. 1902 THROUGH 1909.
M ELMS submitted eight amend-
me intended to be proposed by him
to a bill (S. 707), supra.
AMENDMENT NO. 1910
Mr. AIKEN submitted an amendment
tended to be proposed by him to
AMENDMENT NO. 1911
Mr. NEDY submitted an amend-
ment in ded to be proposed by him to
the bill ( 7), supra.
the table.)
Mr. TAFT s` fitted an amendment
intended to be, 'oposed by him to
Amendment No. 1 proposed to the bill
(S. 707), supra.
AMENDMEN . 1913
(Ordered to be pri and to lie on
Mr. MOSS submittedIft amendment
intended to be propose by him to
Amendment No. 1817, prop _ to the bill
(S. 707), supra.
intended to be proposed by him to
amendment No. 1817 proposed to the bill
(S. 707), supra.
AMENDMENT
AMENDMENT NO. 1914
(Ordered to be printed and referred to
the Committee on Government Opera-
tions.)
HALTING USE OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
AS A UNIVERSAL POPULATION IDENTIFIER
Mr. GOLDWATER. Mr. President, I
am introducing today for myself and the
senior Senator from Illinois (Mr. PERCY)
an amendment to halt the spread of the
social security number as a universal
population identifier. I am delighted that
the Senator from Illinois, who is the
ranking Republican member of the Sen-
ate Committee on Government Opera-
tions, is joining with me-today as a co-
author of this amendment to S. 3418, a
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S 17039
privacy bill which was ordered favorably
reported by that committee on August 20.
Mr. President, the amendment which
we are offering today is similar to S. 2537,
a bill which I introduced last year to pro-
vide that no individual may be compelled
to disclose his social security number for
any purpose not specifically required by
law. An identical bill, H.R. 99 68, had been
introduced in the House of Representa-
tives last year by my son, Congressman
GOLDWATER, Jr., of California.
Mr. President, when parents cannot
open bank accounts for their children
without obtaining social security num-
bers for them; when all schoolchildren
in certain ninth grade classes are com-
pelled to apply for social security num-
bers; when a World War I veteran is
asked to furnish his social security num-
ber in order to enter a Veterans' Admin-
istration hospital; and when the account
number is used and required for numer-
ous other purposes totally unrelated with
the social security program; then it is
time for society to stop this drift toward
reducing each person to a number.
There already have been issued a total
of over 160 million social security num-
bers to living Americans. There is no
statute or regulation which prohibits or
limits use of the account number.
To the contrary, a directive President
Roosevelt issued 32 years ago, is still in
effect requiring that any Federal agency
which establishes a new system of per-
sonal identification must use the social
security number.
Numerous Americans deplore this de-
velopmelit. They resent being constantly
asked or required to disclose their social
security number in order to obtain bene-
fits to which they are legally entitled.
They sense that they are losing their
identity as a unique human being and
are reduced to a digit in some bureau-
cratic file.
Scholars who have studied the situa-
tion have fears which run far deeper.
These specialists consider use of the so-
cial security number as a population
number will make us all become marked
individuals.
What is meant is that once the social
security number is set as a universal
identifier, each person would leave a trail
of personal data behind him for all of his
life which could be immediately reassem-
bled to confront him. Once we can be
identified to the administrator in gov-
ernment or in business by an exclusive
number, we can be pinpointed wherever
we are, we can be more easily manipu-
lated, we can be more easily conditioned,
and we can be more easily coerced.
Mr: President, the use of the social se-
curity number as a method of national
population numbering is inseparable
from the rapid advances in the capabili-
ties of computerized personal data equip-
ment. The state of the art in computer
data storage is now so advanced that the
National Academy of Sciences actually
reported in 1972 that-
It is technologically possible today, espe-
cially with recent advances in mass storage
memories, to build a computerized, on-line
file containing the compacted equivalent of
20 pages of typed information about the per-
sonal history and selected activities of every
man, woman, and child in the United States,
 S 17040
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE September 19, 197
arranging the system so that any single rec-
ord could be retrieved in about 30 seconds.
Where will it end? Will we allow every
individual in the United States to be
assigned a unique identification number
for use in all his governmental and busi-
ness activities? Will we permit computer-
ized personal data systems to interlink
nationwide so that all the details of our
personal lives can be assembled instantly
for use by a single person or institution?
The time to think about the future is
now. tie must build into the law safe-
guards for personal privacy while a na-
tional numbering system is still a con-
cept and not an accomplished fact.
Accordingly, I am introducing today
with Senator PEacY an amendment to the
Federal privacy legislation that will im-
pose a moratorium on the use of social
security- numbers for purposes unrelated
to the original social security program.
Our amendment will make it unlawful
for any :-governmental body at the Fed-
eral, State, or local level to deny to any
person a right, benefit, or privilege be-
cause the individual does not want to dis-
close his social security account number.
The amendment also provides that it
shall be unlawful for anyone to discrim-
inate against another person in any busi-
ness or commercial dealings because the
person chooses not to disclose his social
security number.
Recognizing that what we are propos-
ing will cause a significant change in the
identification methods of a great many
agencies and institutions, we provide for
the phasing in of these prohibitions
beginning on January 1, 1975. Any infor-
mation system started after that date will
be subject to the restraints of our amend-
ment and any information system in ex-
istence before then is exempted from the
amendment.
In addition to the prohibitions on the
spread of the social security number in
the future, the amendment includes a re:
quirement that all agencies and persons
who request of a person thedisclosure of
his social security number must inform
the person whether disclosure is manda-
tory or voluntary, state the specific au-
thority for compelling disclosure, tell
what uses will be made of it, and notify
what rules of confidentiality will protect
these uses.
Ir. President. medical and sociological
evidence proves that the need for privacy
is a basic, natural one, essential both to
individual physical and mental health of
each human being and to the creativity
of society' as a whole. It is for us to deter-
mine today just how much privacy shall
remain i or the individual in the future,
and I lic>oe the Senate will shortly have
the opportunity to act favorably upon the
amendment which we have offered to
protect against a national numbering
stem,
J Ili esident. I ask unanimous consent
that a copy of the amendment by myself
and Senator PERCY, as coauthors, be
printec. hi the RECORD.
There being no objection, the amend-
ment was ordered to be printed in the
Rrcoari. as follows:
AMENDMENT NO. 1914
MORATORIUM ON USE OF SOCIAL SECVR.ITY
NUMBERS
SE:. 307. (s.) It shall be unlawful for-
(1s any Federal, State, or local govern-
ment agency to deny any individual any
right:, benefit, or privilege provided by law
because of such individual's refusal to dis-
close his social security account number, or
(2 i any person to discriminate against any
individual in the course of any business or
comtercial transaction or activity because
of such individual's refusal to disclose his
socieI security account number.
(b) The provisions of subsection (a i shall
not apply with respect to--
(I - any disclosure which is required by
Federal lavv, or
(2) any information system in existence
and operating before January 1, 1975.
(cI Any Federal, State, or local govern-
ment agency which requests an individual to
disclose his social security account number,
and any person who requests, in the course
of any business or commercial transaction
or activity, an Individual to disclose his so-
cial security account number, shall inform
that individual whether that disclosure is
mandatory or voluntary, by what statutory
or ocher authority such number is solicited.
who;; uses will be made of it, and what rules
ofconfidentiality will govern it.
Mr. PERCY. Mr. President, the issue
of the social security number, SSN, as
a universal identifier, which increasingly
is required to be supplied by an indi-
vidual in his transactions with both the
Government and with private businesses,
and which may soon make it possible for
anyone to link and gain access to a wide
variety of different databanks, is a mat-
ter of deep concern to me and to other
Members of the Senate and the House. I
am pleased to join Senator GOLDWATER,
who over an extended period of time has
taken a very active, constructive concern
in this issue, as cosponsor of an alnend-
merct to S. 3418 which addresses this
concern and commend Senator GOLD-
wA7 ER, m;, distinguished colleague, on his
leac.ership in this important matter to
every citizen.
S 3418 is the privacy legislation that I
havs cosponsored with Senators ERviN,
Mu:T{IE, and RIBICOFF. The bill, which
was unanimously reported by the Com-
mit .ee on Government Operations on
August 20, establishes certain rights of
privacy that apply to an individual's per-
sonal information. The bill also estab-
lishss a study commission, the Federal
Pris acy Commission, whose primary
functions will be to oversee and assist
Federal agencies in the implementation
of this Act and to conduct a study of a
wide vari,-Ay of privacy issues that, for
lack: of adequate information and under-
standing. are not covered in S. 3418.
A very important subject that the
Commission will study is the use of the
SSN as a universal identifier. This study
will respond to concerns of a wide vari-
ety of individuals who have expressed
their resentment in letters to Members
of Congress in recent years about hav-
ing to furnish their SSN for purposes
conmpleteiy unrelated to social security.
'he purpose of the amendment we
are proposing is to halt the expansion
of the use of the SSN. Its primary im-
portance is to hold the problem to a fixed
dimension until the Privacy Commission
completes a study and decides upon ap-
propriate legislative recommendations to
Congress. It follows the key recommeii-
dattons of the widely cited Report of
the Secretary of HEW's Committee on
Automated Personal Data System.,,
published in 1973 under the title "Rec-
ords, Computers, and the Rights of
Citizens." On page 126 of the report,
the HEW Committee gives specific rec-
tmmedations on the SSN concerning
he right of an individual to refuse to
siselose the social security number:
' l'RCIFI:^, RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE SOCIAL
SECURITY NUMBER RIGHT OF AN INDIVIDUAL
TO DISCLOSE THE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
Increasing demands are being placed on
_-.dividuals to furnish an SSN in circum-
csaaces when use of the SSN is not required
7.. y the Federal Government for Federal pro-
cam purposes. For example, the SSN is de -
-sanded of Individuals by State motor ve-
utcle departments, by public utility com-
panies, landlords, credit grantors, schools,
colleges, and innumerable other organiza-
t ions.
Existing Federal law and Social Security
?egulations are silent on such uses of the
9SN. They provide no clear basis for keep-
_lg State and local government agencies and
rivate organizations from demanding and
-asing the number. As a practical matter, di:;-
.._ osure of one's SSN has been made a condi-
on for obtaining many benefits and serv-
_ces, and leggl challenges to this condition
nder State law have been almost umiformi;r
ssuccessful.
If the SSNis to be stopped from becom-
'uig a "de facto" universal identifier, the indi-
t'idual must have the option not to disclose
its number unless required to do so by the
ederai government for legitimate Federal
^..rogram purposes, and there must be legal
uthority for his refusal. Since existing law
-ffers no such clear authority, we recom-
;uend specific, preemptive, Federal legislation
providing: .
(1) That an individual has the right to
refuse to disclose his SSN to any person or
organization that does .not have specific an-
ilority provided by Federal statute to re-
quest it;
(2) That an individual has the right to
a sdress if his lawful refusal to disclose his
csSN results in the denial of a benefit, or
the threat of denial of a benefit; and that,
should an individual under threat of?loss of
;.enefits supply his SSN under protest to an
Fnauthorized requester, he shall not be con-
:idered to have forfeited his right to redress:
(3) That any oral or written request made
'.o an individual for his SSN must be Re-
ompanied by a clear statement indicating
whether or not compliance with the request
s required by Federal statute, and, if so,
cuing the specific legal requirement."
In response to these recommendations,
nur amendment to S. 3418 prohibits Gov-
t'rnment agencies from conditioning any
right, benefit, or privilege provided by
law upon an individual's decision not to
disclose his. SSN. It would also prohibit
t'iscrimination against any individual
,,who, in the course of any business or
Lommercial transaction or activity,
rllooses not to furnish his number. Fi-
::ally, the amendment requires that
whenever a Federal agency or private
organization requests an individual to
e:upply his SSN, it must infol3n hint
whether disclosure is mandatory or vol-
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September 19, 1974 CONGRESSIONAL. RECORD -SENATE
untary, by what statutory authority the
number is requested, what uses will be
made of it, and what rules of confiden-
tiality will govern it.
I would like to point out that our
amendment fills a void created when an
earlier provision was dropped from S.
3418. It would have prohibited Govern-
ment and private organizations that cur-
rently rely on the SSN from compelling
an individual to furnish his number ex-
cept when specifically required by law.
The members of the Government Opera-
tions Committee voted to delete this pro-
vision after several important objections
were identified. These objections cen-
tered around the disruption of estab-
lished procedures and the uncertain but
large cost involved in changing record-
keeping procedures nationwide. The ear-
lier provision would have meant rede-
signing forms and reprograming com-
puters to an unknown extent. It would
have had the undesirable effect of re-
quiring the Army to change their iden-
tification system for military personnel.
Our amendment overcomes the flaws
In the earlier provision. It does not In-
terfere with existing uses of the number.
It specifically exempts any disclosure
which is required by Federal law and It
exempts any use of the SSN by any infor-
mation system that is in existence and
operating prior to January 1, 1975. Thus
it will not disrupt established procedures
and it will not create unwarranted cost
burdens. Instead, it serves the important
function of blocking further expansion
of the use of the number as a universal
identifier until needed policy recom-
mendations can be developed by the Fed-
eral Privacy Commission. And finally, it
brings needed congressional attention to
an issue of long standing.
AMENDMENTS
AMENDM .I LOS. 1915 AND 1916
NUTRITION AND H .
accept the importance . of nutritio
too, that the prevention of illness rather
than its treatment should be our priority.
Yet, all too frequently we find that nutri-
tional care Is not a covered service in
medical care programs or national health
insurance programs. This omission works
against the public interest.
It. seems a certainty that some for
nedy-Mills national health iffurance
proposal. These amendments of equally
bills.
The first amendment w d change the
provisions of S. 3286 w ch would pro-
hibit reimbursement f a home visit for
nutritional care by a gistered dietician
employed by a home health agency. S.
3286 is very specific about the home
health visits that are a covered service.
It includes nursing services, physical
therapy, occupational therapy, speech
therapy, and medical social services;
but, not nutritional care. My amendment
would remedy this deficiency by includ-
ing nutritional care in the definition of
home health services. The amendment
would not increase the number of home
health visits that are authorized nor
change the conditions of eligibility for
home health services.
-My second amendment would make it
clear that registered dietitians could
serve as physician extenders. Under the
provisions of S. 3286 as introduced the
national health insurance program
would cover reimbursement for services
of physician assistants, nurse practi-
tioners and "other individuals" under
the supervision and control-of a physi-
cian but not necessarily in his office. My
amendment would make it clear that the
registered dietitians. They would
specifically named In the legislation.
The physician extender provi ns
should contribute greatly to imp ved
utilization of health manpower w ch is
The amendments that I intr ce to-
day would significantly im ve the
health care system and the h th status
of our citizens. Both ame ments are
suported by the America ietetic As-
I ask unanimous cons to include at
the conclusion of th remarks the
testimony of the Ame an Dietetic As-
sociation on nation ealth insurance
before the House W s and Means Com-
mittee:
There being n objection, the testi-
mony was ordercff to be printed in the
RECORD, as folloAT:
CIATION ON 11hONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
of human jugs; to advance the science of
dietetics d nutrition and to improve. edu-
sb you today. In November 1971, you
gra listened to our opinions on Na-
tio 1 H Insurance. Since that time
t, a have b everal additional develop-
Well aware of the value of tN4bjLnd with
every desire to comply with yo true-
we will confine our remarks to changes
which have taken place since 1971. Any
review of the past will be brief and will be
presented only for information and em-
phasis.
Progress has been made in meeting the
nutritional needs of some segments of the
population. Since 1967 when the National
Nutrition Survey was authorized both the
government and the public have become in-
creasingly aware of the importance of nutri-
tion to health. The work of the Senate
Select Committee on Nutrition and Human
Needs, the recommendations of the 1969
White House Conference on Food, Nutri-
S 17041
tion and Health, the 1971 ite House
Conference on Aging, the 197 bite House
Conference on Children, the ansion of the
child feeding programs, an he food stamp
program are all evidence oth recognition
of nutrition related pr ms and concern
The steps that hay een taken to solve
the problems are hi y commendable but
the emphasis has b on curative and re-
habilitative meas . We believe that this
can become a nev ending process if meas-
ures are not emp ed to prevent many of the
known conditio that predispose individuals
and groups to tritional problems.
The conce underlying each of the bills
under consi anon today appears to be the
expansion more comprehensive health
benefits t 11 of the population. Coverage,
benefits, ministration and financing vary
to som egree in each of the proposals. In
our re rks today we want to state the posi-
tion The American Dietetic Association
rel a to the 'benefits, standards for pro-
vi s of services and reimbursement of pro-
se rs of rvices that we consider essential
the supervision of qualified nutrition per-
sonnel should be a component of all health
and health related programs and should be
designed to reach the total population with
priority to such, nutritionally vulnerable
groups as infants, children and youth in the
growing years, women in the child bearing
years and the older age population?
H.R. 1, does not make such provision. For
this reason we supported a bill in the pre-
vious Congress that would have amended
H.R. 1, to authorize reimbursement for the
home health visits of dietitians. The full
range of nutrition services is available to the
Medicare patient as long as he is In the
hospital. Upon discharge to a home health
agency his eligibility for the services of a
dietitian through home health visits is de-
nied under existing law.a
A Medicare patient must first be hospital-
ized to become eligible for home health
services but is eligible only for services for
the condition related to the hospitalization.
Elderly persons who are afflicted with several
chronic conditions may be treated for only
the illness that required hospitalization. The
ten State nutrition survey indicated that the
elderly suffered from secondary malnutrition
rather than primary. We also know that this
same age group Is prone to underuse of
health care services and overuse of fads and
quackery.
According to the Annual Statistical Sup-
plement,' 1971, of the Social Security Bul-
letin, between 1969 and 1971, reimbursement
for home health services dropped from $48.5
million to $40.6 million while reimbursements
for inpatient hospital care increased from
$4.6 billion to $5.2 billion. Under the present
conditions of the Hospital Insurance Program
of Medicare the utilization of home health
services has declined while the cost of In-
patient hospital care has risen sharply.
In 1971, forty-five percent of the health
bills in this country were paid by those
sixty-five and over while this group repre-
sented only ten percent of the population.
Wel ervices that would assist in keep
ing pat =that
or rehos-
pitalization inly are worthy of serious
The American D Association's posi-
tion is that the incl f nutrition as a
component of health ca ill significantly
reduce the number of people requiring sick
care service .3
Home . health services account for less
than one percent of the Medicare dollar. It is
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE September 19, 1 9~I
estimated that the extension of home health
benefits to include nutritional care would
cost less than $5 million. Offering such
service should offset this cost by decreased
hospital utilization.
DietiliarV would be the first to tell you
Supportive o his viewpoint is an article
written by Dr. wrence Power, Chief of
Medicine and Chi of Endocrinology at De-
troit General Hos al, published in the
titled "New Approache o the Old Problem
of Diabetes Education.' will quote from
this only in part: ". . . average patient
today is disabled by a dice a that has been
ing causes of death in the ed States are
now coronary artery disease, o Ity,
hypertension, diabetes d cerebral
vascular disease. They are all racterized
by progressive (often a symptom ) stages
of development evolving over m years.
Yet 'the system' continues to addr itself
to 'the crisis.' Its emphasis, for exa le, is
on the heart attack and its manageme not
the coronary artery disease that leads it
grumbling disabilities that are manageable
for protracted periods of time. Diabetes and
arthritis come readily to mind. Such pa-
tients require the kind of supportive services
that few existing health care centers are able
to give. Such patients need a new kind of
health provider. They need new ways of being
instructed In the management of their dis-
orders.:in addition of course, they need new
ways to finance these services."
I3r. Powers describes the population whom
he serves as mostly elderly, slow to learn or
change, the majority black with a few Appa-
lachian whites. Chicanos or European immi-
grants. As for the average outpatient depart-
ment be says "fit) provides the diabetic
with much opportunity for waiting and little
patient realize that there are more important
shortcomings in his care than waiting. The
average patient is taught little or nothing
about his medication and even less about
the aims of therapy. As an example of these
shortcomings in the diabetic area, many pa-
tients recently selected at random from
within our own waiting population could not
In de.icribing nutrition services in a s ne
which he paints as "an area of tie,
records and framentary care" Dr. owers
says: "The dietitian's handicaps i is ar-
rangement simply compound prob-
lem.... She Is routinely called the last
hospitalized for several weeks nd are now
dressed for discharge with w ing relatives
"Even without these rou a impediments,
the dietition is expected 1 consultation or
two to change the life ong habits of a
group of slowly compre nding patients for
H.R. 11.870, Title
tion 1883, does pro
provided in the
qualifying for b,
that It be kept as a part of the statutory
regc?ireme,ts.
Further, we recommend that "nutritional
care," the application of nutrition science to
the health care of people, be integrated into
preventive, diagnostic, curative and restora-
tive health services provided under any na-
tional hearth insurance program and that
nutritional care, as a component of health
care, be available to all people on a continu-
ing and coordinated basis*
Ir. a po,.ition statement adopted by The
American Dietetic Association in 1971, our,
members recommended that "Any national
health Insurance program adopted include
incentives for the development of preventive
health services. 'Nutritional care should be
ider..tified in the legislation as an essential
component of preventive health care
service." 6
The Ten State National Nutrition Survey
authorized by Congress which was completed
in 1970, pointed up the need not only for
we are not to continue past mistakes.
T:ie renarts from this survey promp
the establishment by DHEW of a contin g
national nutrition surveillance system e
Health and Nutrition Examination vey
(HANES) has been conducted by Na-
tional Center for Health Statistics a 1971
as a continuing national system easure
and then to monitor nutrition status in
A preliminary report was r aced In late
Feb-uary of this year on tBr most recent
p qns designed to be resentative of the
ci JWn, noninstituti al population 1-74
Ti rolimnary ort covers dietary in-
talc( o .Jories, p ein, iron, calcium, vita-
mins A d C, aigiff biochemical findings for
hen:oglo he tocrit, and percent trans-
ferr:.n sat M i all related to iron levels-
and for vitamin A. protein and
B:.ochem' alysis of iron levels in the
blocd sho h on deficiency with anemia
is riost arke mong persons aged 1-17
years, wJh the eat problem among very
Ra ve calcium , ake (mean intake per
1,00
alories) is to for blacks than for
why s in each of th e, sex, and income
proportion of black women reported cal-
ciurn intakes below the Stan d was clearly
grester especially in the low ome group,
ported are intake of less than 1,000 c les
for the twsnty-four hour period prior
emn-
age,persons with incomes above poverty Is
Intake of less than 1,000 calories was
dren aged 1-5 years than for white children
of t:aese ages.
These fissures represent individuals who are
"noainstit-.mtional" but certainly they could
profit health-wise from appropriate dietary
cou:iselin; and prescribed preventive meas-
uref, if they were available as a covered serv-
ice :o those who needed them. A comprehen-
sive health insurance plan Cannot ignore
such data.
In a Di-IEW publication, "Malnutrition,
F otnot s at end of article.
[:earning and Intelligence" publishe 1973,
I-ler-bert Q. Birch, M.D., Ph.D., of Albert
Einstein College of Medicines "It has
tong been recognized that th utrition of
i.he individual is perhaps t os't ubiqui-
t,ous factor affecting growt ealth, and de-
velopment. Inadequate ition results in
;'tuntiug, reduced res ce to infectious
disease, apathy and rai behaviorial un-
responsiveness. In undamental sense it
nccupies a central sition in the multitude
rr,f factors affect the child's development
c.nd functional:gco achy "
After revs nsiderable data and re-
search Dr. RiTiTh concludes: "On the basis of
the evade so far set forth it. may be ar-
gued wf .considerable justification that one
can re mably construct a chain of comse-
quen starting from the malnutrition of
the ther when she was a child, to her
it 1ng, to her reduced efficiency as a re -
ion in. functional adaptive capacity."
Reports such as this have served to make
the public aware of their nutritional needs
and the gaps that exist in services that could
help to meet these needs and thus become
vital preventive measures.
The report of Forum No. 10, of the 1970
White House Conference on Children was en-
titled, "Keeping Children Healthy: Health
Protection and Disease Prevention." In sum-
ming up their discussion of the Forum re-
ported, "This Forum considers preventive
health care to include not only good phy-
sician and dental care but also adequate
housing, quality education, sufficient cloth-
ing, good nutrition, good sanitation, as well as
opportunities to experience love, achieve self-
respect, participate in play and become
meaningfully Involved with others."
In this Forum's recommendations related
to preventive and constructive health serv-
ices they urge that there be a comprehensive
child health care program rather than the
fragmented, isolated programs that now
exist. Specifically in regard tonutrition they
said: "Nutrition concern is seen as an Indis-
pensable component in programs for chil-
dren and families, and hopefully, with nutri-
tionists as part of the health teams in direct
service or consultant roles."
One recommendation from the 1971 White
House Conference on aging was "It is recom-
mended that nutrition services and nutrition
counseling be a required component of
all health delivery systems, including such
plans as Medicare, Medicaid, health mainte-
nance organizations, home health services,
extended care facilities and prevention pro-
grams."
There appears to be sufficient evidence that
the need for nutritional care exists; that the
consumer views this as a legitimate, desira-
ble service for all age groups and expects to
find this as a covered benefit in any accepta-
ble and viable health care legislation. We
recommend, therefore, that the "Part A-
Scope of Benefits-Benefits Provided-Covered
Services" In H.R. 13870 be amended to in-
clude "Nutrition Services." These services to
be provided on both an outpatient or con-
sultation basis and so eligible for reimburse-
ment to the beneficiary.
We believe that it is not only nutritionally
unsound to offer treatment for only a part
pr 'son for nutritional care when accumu-
at upportive data is available appears to
be a ovresight that needs prompt atten-
tion, neglect the opportunity to insure
.more itive health for the population is
not be totally responsive to a major
health c ern in this country.
"Nutrit al Assessment in Health Pro-
Approved For Release 2006/10/20: CIA-RDP76M00527R00070