Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3115 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make breakfasts and lunches free for all children, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 11, 2021 Ms. OMAR (for herself, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BOW- MAN, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CARSON, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CORREA, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mrs. HAYES, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JONES, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MORELLE, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. STRICKLAND, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TORRES of New York, Mr. VARGAS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. MENG, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. COHEN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. SUOZZI, and Ms. BARRAGA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make break- fasts and lunches free for all children, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3115 IH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Effective date. TITLE I—SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM Sec. 101. Free school breakfast program. TITLE II—SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM Sec. 201. Apportionment to States. Sec. 202. Nutritional and other program requirements. Sec. 203. Special assistance program. Sec. 204. Price for a paid lunch. Sec. 205. Summer food service program for children. Sec. 206. Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children Program. Sec. 207. Child and adult care food program. Sec. 208. Meals and supplements for children in afterschool care. Sec. 209. Access to local foods: farm to school program. Sec. 210. Fresh fruit and vegetable program. Sec. 211. Training, technical assistance, and Food Service Management Insti- tute. Sec. 212. Reimbursement of school meal delinquent debt program. Sec. 213. Conforming amendments. TITLE III—ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION DATA Sec. 301. Measure of poverty. TITLE IV—AMENDMENTS TO OTHER PROGRAMS AND LAWS Sec. 401. Supplemental nutrition assistance program. Sec. 402. Higher Education Act of 1965. Sec. 403. Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Sec. 404. America COMPETES Act. Sec. 405. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Sec. 406. National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002. Sec. 407. Child care and development block grant. Sec. 408. Children’s Health Act of 2000. Sec. 409. Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3115 IH SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 1 Unless otherwise provided, this Act, and the amend- 2 ments made by this Act, shall take effect 1 year after the 3 date of enactment of this Act. 4 TITLE I—SCHOOL BREAKFAST 5 PROGRAM 6 SEC. 101. FREE SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the Child Nutri- 8 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773(a)) is amended, in the 9 first sentence— 10 (1) by striking ‘‘is hereby’’ and inserting ‘‘are’’; 11 and 12 (2) by inserting ‘‘to provide free breakfast to all 13 children enrolled at those schools’’ before ‘‘in accord- 14 ance’’. 15 (b) APPORTIONMENT TO STATES.—Section 4(b) of 16 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773(b)) is 17 amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 19 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 20 subclause (II) and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(II) the national average pay- 22 ment for free breakfasts, as specified 23 in subparagraph (B).’’; 24 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in- 25 serting the following: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3115 IH ‘‘(B) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The national aver- 2 age payment for each free breakfast shall 3 be $2.72, adjusted annually for inflation in 4 accordance with clause (ii) and rounded in 5 accordance with clause (iii). 6 ‘‘(ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 7 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The annual 8 inflation adjustment under clause (i) 9 shall reflect changes in the cost of op- 10 erating the free breakfast program 11 under this section, as indicated by the 12 change in the Consumer Price Index 13 for food away from home for all urban 14 consumers. 15 ‘‘(II) BASIS.—Each inflation an- 16 nual adjustment under clause (i) shall 17 reflect the changes in the Consumer 18 Price Index for food away from home 19 for the most recent 12-month period 20 for which that data is available. 21 ‘‘(iii) ROUNDING.—On July 1, 2021, 22 and annually thereafter, the national aver- 23 age payment rate for free breakfast shall 24 be— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3115 IH ‘‘(I) adjusted to the nearest 1 lower-cent increment; and 2 ‘‘(II) based on the unrounded 3 amounts for the preceding 12-month 4 period.’’; 5 (C) by striking subparagraphs (C) and 6 (E); and 7 (D) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 8 subparagraph (C); 9 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); 10 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as 11 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 12 (4) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by 13 striking ‘‘paragraph (3) or (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘para- 14 graph (2)’’. 15 (c) STATE DISBURSEMENT TO SCHOOLS.—Section 4 16 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) is 17 amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting the fol- 18 lowing: 19 ‘‘(c) STATE DISBURSEMENT TO SCHOOLS.—Funds 20 apportioned and paid to any State for the purpose of this 21 section shall be disbursed by the State educational agency 22 to schools selected by the State educational agency to as- 23 sist those schools in operating a breakfast program.’’. 24 (d) NO COLLECTION OF DEBT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3115 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 1 provision of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 2 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) or any other provision of law, 3 effective beginning on the date of enactment of this 4 Act, as a condition of participation in the breakfast 5 program under section 4 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 6 1773), a school— 7 (A) shall not collect any debt owed to the 8 school for unpaid meal charges; and 9 (B) shall continue to accrue debt for un- 10 paid meal charges— 11 (i) for the purpose of receiving reim- 12 bursement under section 212; and 13 (ii) until the effective date specified in 14 section 2. 15 (2) CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 4 of the Child 17 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) is 18 amended by striking subsection (d) and insert- 19 ing the following: 20 ‘‘(d) NO COLLECTION OF DEBT.—A school partici- 21 pating in the free breakfast program under this section 22 shall not collect any debt owed to the school for unpaid 23 meal charges.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3115 IH (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1 23(a) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 2 U.S.C. 1793(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘school 3 in severe need, as described in section 4(d)(1)’’ 4 and inserting the following: ‘‘school— 5 ‘‘(1) that has a free breakfast program under 6 section 4 or seeks to initiate a free breakfast pro- 7 gram under that section; and 8 ‘‘(2) of which not less than 40 percent of the 9 students are identified students (as defined in para- 10 graph (8) of section 1113(a) of the Elementary and 11 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 12 6313(a)))’’. 13 (e) NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER PROGRAM REQUIRE- 14 MENTS.—Section 4(e) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 15 (42 U.S.C. 1773(e)) is amended— 16 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), in the second sentence, 17 by striking ‘‘free or’’ and all that follows through 18 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘free to all chil- 19 dren enrolled at a school participating in the school 20 breakfast program.’’; and 21 (2) in paragraph (2), in the second sentence, by 22 striking ‘‘the full charge to the student for a break- 23 fast meeting the requirements of this section or’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3115 IH (f) PROHIBITION ON BREAKFAST SHAMING, MEAL 1 DENIAL.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning on the 3 date of enactment of this Act, a school or school 4 food authority— 5 (A) shall not— 6 (i) physically segregate or otherwise 7 discriminate against any child participating 8 in the breakfast program under section 4 9 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 10 U.S.C. 1773); or 11 (ii) overtly identify a child described 12 in clause (i) by a special token or ticket, 13 an announced or published list of names, 14 or any other means; and 15 (B) shall provide the program meal to any 16 child eligible under the program. 17 (2) CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966.—Section 4 18 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) 19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON BREAKFAST SHAMING.—A 21 school or school food authority shall not— 22 ‘‘(1) physically segregate or otherwise discrimi- 23 nate against any child participating in the free 24 breakfast program under this section; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3115 IH ‘‘(2) overtly identify a child described in para- 1 graph (1) by a special token or ticket, an announced 2 or published list of names, or any other means.’’. 3 (g) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OVERSEAS DEPEND- 4 ENTS’ SCHOOLS.—Section 20(b) of the Child Nutrition 5 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1789(b)) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘and reduced-price’’; and 7 (2) by striking ‘‘and shall’’ and all that follows 8 through ‘‘section’’. 9 (h) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Child Nutri- 10 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) is amended— 11 (1) by striking ‘‘or reduced price’’ each place it 12 appears; 13 (2) by striking ‘‘and reduced price’’ each place 14 it appears; and 15 (3) by striking ‘‘a reduced price’’ each place it 16 appears. 17 TITLE II—SCHOOL LUNCH 18 PROGRAM 19 SEC. 201. APPORTIONMENT TO STATES. 20 Section 4(b) of the Richard B. Russell National 21 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)) is amended— 22 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 23 following: 24 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3115 IH ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The national average 1 payment for each free lunch shall be $3.81, ad- 2 justed annually for inflation in accordance with 3 subparagraph (C) and rounded in accordance 4 with subparagraph (D). 5 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PAYMENT FOR LOCAL 6 FOOD.— 7 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF LOCALLY- 8 SOURCED FARM PRODUCT.—In this sub- 9 paragraph, the term ‘locally-sourced farm 10 product’ means a farm product that— 11 ‘‘(I) is marketed to consumers— 12 ‘‘(aa) directly; or 13 ‘‘(bb) through intermediated 14 channels (such as food hubs and 15 cooperatives); and 16 ‘‘(II) with respect to the school 17 food authority purchasing the farm 18 product, is produced and distrib- 19 uted— 20 ‘‘(aa) in the State in which 21 the school food authority is lo- 22 cated; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3115 IH ‘‘(bb) not more than 250 1 miles from the location of the 2 school food authority. 3 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL PAYMENT ELIGI- 4 BILITY.—During a school year, a school 5 food authority shall receive an additional 6 payment described in clause (iii) if the 7 State certifies that the school food author- 8 ity served meals (including breakfasts, 9 lunches, suppers, and supplements) during 10 the last school year of which not less than 11 25 percent were made with locally-sourced 12 farm products. 13 ‘‘(iii) PAYMENT AMOUNT.— 14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The addi- 15 tional payment amount under this 16 subparagraph shall be— 17 ‘‘(aa) $0.30 for each free 18 lunch and supper; 19 ‘‘(bb) $0.21 for each free 20 breakfast; and 21 ‘‘(cc) $0.08 for each free 22 supplement. 23 ‘‘(II) ADJUSTMENTS.—Each ad- 24 ditional payment amount under sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3115.IH H3115 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3115 IH clause (I) shall be adjusted annually 1 in accordance with subparagraph (C) 2 and rounded in accordance with sub- 3 paragraph (D). 4 ‘‘(iv) DISBURSEMENT.—The State 5 agency shall disburse funds made available 6 under this clause to school food authorities 7 eligible to receive additional reimburse- 8 ment. 9 ‘‘(C) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The annual infla- 11 tion adjustment under subparagraphs (A) 12 and (B)(iii) shall reflect changes in the 13 cost of operating the free lunch program 14 under this Act, as indicated by the change 15 in the Consumer Price Index for food away 16 from home for all urban consumers. 17 ‘‘(ii) BASIS.—Each annual inflation 18 adjustment under subparagraphs (A) and 19 (B)(iii) shall reflect the changes in the 20 Consumer Price Index for food away from 21 home for the most recent 12-month period 22 for which that data is available. 23 ‘‘(D) ROUNDING.—On July 1, 2021, and 24 annually thereafter, the national average pay- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 0 [Text truncated for display. 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