SECRETARY JOHANNS: Well, let me start out, if I could, and say thank you, Nancy, for those very nice comments. Some of you may not know this, but before I took on this current assignment, I was the governor of the great State of Nebraska, and Nancy was the director of Health and Human Services in Nebraska, and I was able to convince her to come out to Washington when I took this job. So thanks for your tireless work. Thanks for all you do for these kids and families and for helping – America.

I just had a chance to take a grand tour of the Market with children from General George A. McCall Elementary School, and I started out the tour with a very important question for them. I said, thinking about last year when you started school, and thinking about now, are you smarter now than you were last year? And every one of them said yes. Every single one of them. So whatever you're doing, it's working. (Laughter.) Now, after spending some time together, I can attest to the fact that it's working. I asked them a lot of questions about nutrition and diet and they answered every single question perfectly. So you get – you get straight As from me, you guys. How's that? (Laughter.)

Well, we had a great time. We were all amazed at the produce that seemed to go on and on in this beautiful market. We marveled at Jimmy Iovine's huge corner of the market and the good things that they're doing. These kids are a smart group of consumers and they gave me a few tips on nutrition. (Laughter.)

My thanks to all of you for being here today. This is a great opportunity for me to talk about something that's very important to me. It's very important to the president, and that's our proposals on nutrition that we released January 31st, when we released the whole Farm Bill proposals. We crafted those proposals very carefully to modernize our programs, to better serve the nation's working poor and to increase our support for healthy eating in general. We all know that a healthy America can only happen one city, one community, one school district, one family, one student at a time. That's why partnership is so very important to this effort, and I'm pleased to recognize some of our very strongest partners in the Philadelphia area.

With us we have as panelists Yael Lehman, the executive director of the Food Trust. We so appreciate their strong efforts and their partnership with the USDA. The Food Trust offers nutrition education to 54,000 students in more than 100 schools in the Philadelphia area. That's a remarkable statistic. It manages 20 farmers' markets, it works to bring grocery stores into areas of the city where it's needed most, and does much more to promote nutrition and to make sure people have access to affordable food.

I also want to thank Wayne Grasella from the School District of Philadelphia for beating the drum for increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and eating healthy in the school system. This is a school district where it's very hard for students, and let me, if I might just offer some numbers.

There are 185,000 students in about 300 schools – 185,000. Nancy, if this was back in Nebraska, that would be the third largest city in the entire state by quite a bit. (Laughter.) The entire district has helped develop a wellness policy and put it into effect. We applaud you for those efforts. You've really gone above and beyond to ensure that students have access to healthier foods in school meals across our school campuses here. This is not an easy step. My congratulations for your leadership and caring so deeply about these kids and their future.

My thanks also to Karen Wilson, the director of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, for working closely with us on the Food Stamp Programs and being such a strong advocate for our programs. And Cheryl Cook, the deputy director of Agriculture, for the good work in the state of Pennsylvania. Our state partners are so hugely important. I also want to recognize and say thank you to Paul Steinke, the general manager of this beautiful market. Your hospitality, your gracious welcome are certainly most appreciated.

The Reading Terminal Market dates back to 1892, and it's the oldest farmers' market in the nation to continuously serve the community. Now, Paul, what you may not know is that the USDA actually has 30 years on you. We were founded by a president that everybody knows, Abraham Lincoln, in 1862. And when he founded our department, virtually everyone in the United States was involved in agriculture, so he named us the "People's Department." So it is an honor for me to be the secretary of the People's Department.

Well, we've been running a parallel track with this farmers' market, in some respects. Each of us, in our long and important histories have done some real good for the people of Philadelphia and for the people of this nation. It was right here in the Reading Terminal Market just two years ago that USDA rolled out "My Pyramid." This gives consumers tools that help them personalize healthier food choices based on the growing science behind diet and lifestyle. If I just do a little bit of bragging here. Computer hits to Mypyramid.gov's home page can now count 3 billion hits, and we're getting over 30 million hits each and every week. That's remarkable. The program is an enormous success and now we're delighted to be back in Philadelphia to talk about something that we hope has the same success, and that's our Farm Bill proposals and how they will streamline our programs and strengthen support for a healthier America.

If I might just add a thought to get started, many people look at the USDA and they think to themselves, well, that's the part of the federal government that administers the farmers' programs. And you know, we do some of that. But actually, about 59 percent of our total budget – and our budget this year is about $90 billion – about 59 percent goes to our nutrition programs. So nutrition, for us, is hugely important.

Well, like all of our Farm Bill proposals, these recommendations did not come from inside the Beltway, from a Washington office, if you will. They came directly from the people, as we traveled from coast to coast to hear what is and what isn't working in farm policy. In addition to 52 Farm Bill Forums, we held 11 forums, listening sessions, dedicated specifically to the nutrition title of the Farm Bill. And that gives you an idea of the importance we put on nutrition, but it also gives you an idea of the importance we put on listening to people and hearing their recommendations.

What we heard in those sessions covered not only the programs themselves, but emphasized access to those programs. So we listened carefully, then we put the proposals in a framework of three top goals: First, to give the working poor and the elderly better access to our programs. Second, to move America toward healthier eating habits. And third, to make better use of the taxpayer dollar. Perhaps more than other programs across USDA, the nutrition title reflects the words of the famous educator and agricultural scientist George Washington Carver. He said, "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong, because someday in your life you will have been all of these," end quote. Ladies and gentlemen, we are proposing to reach those who need our programs by making some broad changes to the Food Stamp Program while still maintaining the program's integrity.

We know that the working poor and the elderly, both rural and urban, participate at a lower rate in the Food Stamp Program than the general low-income population. And I suggest it's time we do something about that. So we have a number of proposals. We propose excluding all retirement accounts and the value of IRS-approved college savings plans from the resource limit in determining program eligibility. A need for Food Stamps shouldn't keep individuals from saving for retirement. It shouldn't prevent families from saving for their children's future, and we can't let today's circumstances close off tomorrow's opportunities.

We propose to help working families with children in other ways, as well. You know, I feel very strongly it's been too long – in fact, since 1993 – since the caps on the Dependent Care Deduction were changed or adjusted for inflation. Working families need a stronger helping hand, so we propose not just to change those; we propose to eliminate the cap on the Dependent Child Care Deduction when we determine Food Stamp eligibility in benefit amount; total elimination. We would also allow states to reimburse working-related expense, such as uniforms and tools and licensing, for working participants, as well as for those who are unemployed.

Each of us knows someone who is proudly and bravely serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. As a nation, we deeply appreciate their service and the sacrifice of their families. But our military families should not be penalized when their loved ones are overseas dealing with these issues, so our proposal ensures that families do not lose Food Stamps as a result of additional combat pay.

We're also proposing to do something else that advocates have been asking for for a long time. The name "The Food Stamp Program" -- quite simply, it's out of date. There was a day when we walked around with a coupon you called a stamp. But electronic vending cards replaced coupons several years ago. Moreover, the name represents a stigma, we believe, especially among the elderly. It can sometimes be a personal barrier to their participation. We feel that the "The Food and Nutrition Program," or something like that, better describes the way the program works for the start of this century. We're also recommending other steps to simplify the Food Stamp Program and improve its integrity. We would charge state agencies a 5 percent administration fee, for example, if their payment error rate is more than 50 percent above the national average for two consecutive years.

Altogether, these and other reforms should generate an additional $1.38 billion for participant benefits, and we want to do a more efficient job with other food assistance as well. We would strengthen the Emergency Food Assistance Program by making state plans permanent and requiting the states to use a competitive solicitation process for selecting the local organizations and partners. Most of you are familiar with the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program. It's a terrific program. We talked about it here today. It gives our low-income seniors coupons they exchange for eligible fresh, locally grown produce. But right now, anyone participating in the program has those benefits counted as income when figuring eligibility for the means testing programs. That's counter to all other USDA Nutrition Assistance programs. We want to exclude the value of those benefits for eligibility in any federal or state means-tested program.

Now, the nutrition area. We heard many comments from the Farm Bill forums along the same lines. Folks that say to me, Do you promote eating fruits and vegetables? Are you going to follow up in the Farm Bill with what you're encouraging people to do? I think that was a very polite way of saying, Mike, are you going to put your money where your mouth is? We answered that question with an unconditional yes.

We now know that obesity rates in this country continue at alarming levels. In fact, there's growing awareness that obesity may compare with food insecurity in terms of negative health impacts. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization has said, and again, I'm quoting, "Obesity has the potential to weaken or even undo a nation's developmental gains by diminishing people's capacity to work and diverting resources in health care," unquote. That's why, ladies and gentlemen, we have a real obligation here. In our roles, in our capacities, we must be concerned that only one in five Americans consumes the recommended amount of fruit each day. What's more, children under 18 – kids like the kids in front of us – consume less than half the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. While the steps to a nutritious diet and healthy lifestyle may ultimately be small and very personal, there is a real role for government here.

Through our proposals, we're aiming to promote the health of all Americans and counter the epidemic of obesity in this country. We are putting our money where our mouth is, we would provide $2.75 billion in additional fruit and vegetable purchases for distribution in Food Assistance programs. We'll increase funding by $500 million for schools to buy fruits and vegetables. This is a program where a school may say, we want a bigger snack program. That's great. We're fine with that. They may say, we want it in a breakfast program or a lunch program. And you know what? That's perfectly fine with us too. We want to give the schools discretion to put the program in place as long as they're buying fruits and vegetables that will best serve the needs of the kids. To keep tackling the program of obesity among low-income Americans, we've also put up $100 million in the competitive grants to our states, our partners, to help us come up with innovative solutions. I believe that the states will appreciate some of the measures we are proposing. Everything I've outlined here today is just a quick snapshot of our nutrition proposals, and I encourage you to read about them in greater detail on our USDA web site, usda.gov.

Well, let me just wrap up and say many thanks for the opportunity to be with you today. To these young students, thank you for being here today. We are so proud of what you're doing in school. What a bright group of kids. I'm excited about our future. Thank you all.

(Applause.)