I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3250

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish 

programs to promote increased consumption of milk in schools and to 

improve the nutrition and health of children. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2003

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. PETRI, Mr. GUTKNECHT, and 

Mr. KIND) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

Act to establish programs to promote increased consumption of milk in schools and to improve the nutrition 

and health of children.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Nutrition Im5 provement Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONSUMPTION OF MILK IN SCHOOLS. 

7 (a) FLUID MILK.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(a) of the Richard 

2 B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 1758(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) FLUID MILK.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Lunches served by 

7 schools participating in the school lunch pro8 gram under this Act—

9 ‘‘(i) shall offer students fluid milk; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) shall offer students a variety of 

12 flavored and unflavored milk, as deter13 mined by the school. 

14 ‘‘(B) FLUID MILK PRODUCTS.—A school or 

15 institution that participates in the school lunch 

16 program under this Act—

17 ‘‘(i) may offer a la carte fluid milk 

18 products to be sold in addition to and, at 

19 the option of the school, adjacent to fluid 

20 milk offered as part of a reimbursable 

21 meal; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall not directly or indirectly re23 strict the sale or marketing of fluid milk 

24 products by the school (or by a person ap-
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1 proved by the school) at any time or any 

2 place—

3 ‘‘(I) on the school premises; or 

4 ‘‘(II) at any school-sponsored 

5 event.’’. 

6 (2) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by 

7 paragraph (1) applies to an agreement or contract 

8 entered into on or after the date of enactment of 

9 this Act. 

10 (b) INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF MILK IN

11 SCHOOLS.—Section 12 of the Richard B. Russell National 

12 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(q) INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF MILK IN

15 SCHOOLS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To encourage healthier nu17 tritional environments in schools and institutions re18 ceiving funds under this Act and the Child Nutrition 

19 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) (other than 

20 section 17 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1786)), the Sec21 retary shall establish a program under which any 

22 such school or institution may (in accordance with 

23 paragraph (3)) receive an increase in the reimburse24 ment rate for free and reduced price meals otherwise 

25 payable under this Act and the Child Nutrition Act 
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1 of 1966, if the school or institution implements a 

2 plan for improving the nutritional value of meals 

3 consumed in the school or institution by increasing 

4 the consumption of fluid milk in the school, as ap5 proved by the Secretary in accordance with criteria 

6 established by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(2) PLANS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of the 

9 program established under paragraph (1), the 

10 Secretary shall establish criteria for the ap11 proval of plans of schools and institutions for 

12 increasing consumption of fluid milk. 

13 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—An approved plan may—

14 ‘‘(i) establish targeted goals for in15 creasing fluid milk consumption through16 out the school or institution or at school or 

17 institution activities; 

18 ‘‘(ii) improve the accessibility, presen19 tation, positioning, or promotion of fluid 

20 milk throughout the school or institution 

21 or at school or institution activities; 

22 ‘‘(iii) improve the ability of a school or 

23 institution to tailor the plan to the customs 

24 and demographic characteristics of—
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1 ‘‘(I) the population of the school 

2 or institution; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the area in which the school 

4 or institution is located; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) provide—

6 ‘‘(I) packaging, flavor variety, 

7 merchandising, refrigeration, and han8 dling requirements that promote the 

9 consumption of fluid milk; and 

10 ‘‘(II) increased standard serving 

11 sizes for fluid milk consumed in mid12 dle and high schools. 

13 ‘‘(C) ADMINISTRATION.—In establishing 

14 criteria for plans under this subsection, the Sec15 retary shall—

16 ‘‘(i) take into account relevant re17 search; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) consult with school food service 

19 professionals, nutrition professionals, food 

20 processors, agricultural producers, and 

21 other groups, as appropriate. 

22 ‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT RATES AND INCEN23 TIVES.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of ad25 ministering the program established under 
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1 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall annually pro2 vide reimbursement rates and incentives for 

3 free and reduced price meals otherwise payable 

4 under this Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 

5 1966 of not less than 2 cents and not more 

6 than 10 cents per meal, to reflect the additional 

7 costs incurred by schools and institutions in in8 creasing the consumption of fluid milk under 

9 the program. 

10 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The Secretary may vary 

11 the increase in reimbursement rates and incen12 tives for free and reduced price meals based on 

13 the degree to which the school or institution 

14 adopts the criteria established by the Secretary 

15 under paragraph (2).’’. 

16 SEC. 3. IMPROVED NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY 

17 LEVEL OF CHILDREN. 

18 Section 12 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

19 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) (as amended by section 2(b)) 

20 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(r) IMPROVED NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

22 LEVEL OF CHILDREN.—

23 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF HEALTHY SCHOOL ENVI24 RONMENT PROGRAM.—In this subsection, the term 
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1 ‘healthy school environment program’ means a pro2 gram that—

3 ‘‘(A) is designed to improve the environ4 ment of a school with respect to the nutrition 

5 and physical activity level of children enrolled in 

6 the school; and 

7 ‘‘(B) includes steps to improve and make 

8 available healthy food choices (including fruits, 

9 vegetables, and dairy products). 

10 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall carry out 

11 a program to provide grants to schools that imple12 ment healthy school environment programs. 

13 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION.—In carrying out the 

14 program, the Secretary may enter into cooperative 

15 agreements with—

16 ‘‘(A) nonprofit organizations; 

17 ‘‘(B) educational and scientific institutions; 

18 ‘‘(C) Federal, State, and local agencies; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(D) other entities that contribute funds 

21 or in-kind services for the program. 

22 ‘‘(4) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—Notwith23 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 

24 may accept funds from an entity referred to in para-
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1 graph (3) solely for use in carrying out the program 

2 under this subsection.’’.

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