108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3873

AN ACT

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School

and for other purposes.restore the integrity of child nutrition programs,to improve children’s nutritional health, and totion assistance, to simplify program operations,to provide children with access to food and nutriLunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966

108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3873

AN ACT

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch

Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide

children with access to food and nutrition assistance,

to simplify program operations, to improve children’s

nutritional health, and to restore the integrity of child

nutrition programs, and for other purposes.
2

•HR 3873 EH

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 and Integrity Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Table of contents.

TITLE I—ENSURING ACCESS TO CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

Sec. 101. Exclusion of military housing allowances.

Sec. 102. Homeless children and runaway youth eligibility.

Sec. 103. Eligibility for severe need assistance.

Sec. 104. Reauthorization of summer food programs.

Sec. 105. Child and adult care food program.

Sec. 106. Review of best practices in the breakfast program.

Sec. 107. Area eligibility demonstration.

Sec. 108. Seamless Summer administration.

Sec. 109. Year round services for eligible entities.

TITLE II—IMPROVING PROGRAM QUALITY AND INTEGRITY

Sec. 201. Eligibility and certification for free and reduced price lunches.

Sec. 202. Duration of eligibility for free and reduced price lunches.

Sec. 203. Certification by local educational agencies.

Sec. 204. Compliance and accountability.

Sec. 205. Technology Improvement.

Sec. 206. Minimum State administrative expense grants.

Sec. 207. District-wide eligibility for special assistance.

Sec. 208. Administrative error reduction.

TITLE III—PROMOTING NUTRITION QUALITY AND PREVENTING

CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Sec. 301. Local school wellness policy.

Sec. 302. Supporting nutrition education, improving meal quality, and access to

local foods.

Sec. 303. Fruits and vegetable commodities.

Sec. 304. Fluid milk.

Sec. 305. Waiver of requirements for weighted averages for nutrient analysis.

Sec. 306. Whole grains.

Sec. 307. Fruit and vegetable pilot programs.

TITLE IV—IMPROVING THE WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN

PROGRAM

Sec. 401. Definition of nutrition education.
3

•HR 3873 EH

Sec. 402. Definition of supplemental foods.

Sec. 403. Improving certification.

Sec. 404. Reviews of available supplemental foods.

Sec. 405. Notification of violations and infant formula benefits.

Sec. 406. Healthy People 2010 initiative.

Sec. 407. Competitive bidding.

Sec. 408. Fruit and vegetable projects.

Sec. 409. Price levels of retail stores.

Sec. 410. Management information systems.

Sec. 411. Infant formula fraud prevention.

Sec. 412. State alliances.

Sec. 413. Limits on expenditures.

Sec. 414. Migrant and community health centers initiative.

Sec. 415. Demonstration projects.

Sec. 416. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE V—REAUTHORIZATION, MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS, AND

EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 501. Training, technical, and other assistance.

Sec. 502. Notice of irradiated food.

Sec. 503. Sense of Congress.

Sec. 504. Reauthorization of programs.

Sec. 505. Effective dates.

1 TITLE I—ENSURING ACCESS TO

2 CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS

3 SEC. 101. EXCLUSION OF MILITARY HOUSING ALLOW4 ANCES.

5 Section 9(b)(7) of the Richard B. Russell National

6 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended by

7 striking ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2002’’ and all that fol8 lows through ‘‘the amount’’ and inserting ‘‘The amount’’.

9 SEC. 102. HOMELESS CHILDREN, RUNAWAY YOUTH, AND MI10 GRATORY CHILD ELIGIBILITY.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b)(6)(A) of the Richard

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

13 1758(b)(6)(A)) is amended—

14 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’;
4

•HR 3873 EH

1 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period and in2 serting a semicolon; and

3 (3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following:

4 ‘‘(iv) a homeless child or youth (as defined in

5 section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As6 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a));

7 ‘‘(v) a youth served by programs under the

8 Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701

9 et seq.); or

10 ‘‘(vi) a migratory child, as such term is defined

11 in section 1309(2) of the Elementary and Secondary

12 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399(2)).’’.

13 (b) DOCUMENTATION.—Section 9(d)(2) of the Rich14 ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.

15 1758(d)(2)) is amended—

16 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’;

17 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period

18 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

19 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol20 lowing:

21 ‘‘(D) documentation has been provided to the

22 appropriate local educational agency showing that

23 the child meets the criteria specified in clauses (iv)

24 or (v) of subsection (b)(6)(A); or
5

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(E) documentation has been provided to the

2 appropriate local educational agency showing the

3 child’s status as a migratory child, as such term is

4 defined in section 1309(2) of the Elementary and

5 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

6 6399(2)).’’.

7 SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY FOR SEVERE NEED ASSISTANCE.

8 Section 4(d) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

9 U.S.C. 1773(d)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking the heading and all that follows

11 through paragraph (1), and inserting:

12 ‘‘(d) SEVERE NEED ASSISTANCE.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational

14 agency shall provide additional assistance to schools

15 in severe need, which shall include only those schools

16 (having a breakfast program or desiring to initiate

17 a breakfast program) in which, during the most re18 cent second preceding school year for which lunches

19 were served, 40 percent or more of the lunches

20 served to students at the school were served free or

21 at a reduced price (or those new schools drawing the

22 majority of their attendance from schools receiving

23 severe need assistance).’’; and

24 (2) in paragraph (2)—
6

•HR 3873 EH

1 (A) by striking ‘‘100 percent’’ and all that

2 follows through ‘‘food, or’’; and

3 (B) by striking ‘‘, whichever is less’’.

4 SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF SUMMER FOOD PRO5 GRAMS.

6 (a) SUMMER FOOD PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 18(f)

7 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

8 U.S.C. 1769(f)) is amended—

9 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through

10 (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively;

11 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL STATES ELIGIBLE.—In addi14 tion to the States meeting the criteria set forth in

15 paragraph (1), the term ‘eligible State’ means a

16 State in which (based on data available in June

17 2003)—

18 ‘‘(A) the percentage obtained by dividing—

19 ‘‘(i) the sum of—

20 ‘‘(I) the average daily number of

21 children attending the summer food

22 service program in the State in July

23 2002; and

24 ‘‘(II) the average daily number of

25 children receiving free or reduced
7

•HR 3873 EH

1 price meals under the school lunch

2 program in the State in July 2002; by

3 ‘‘(ii) the average daily number of chil4 dren receiving free or reduced price meals

5 under the school lunch program in the

6 State during the 2001–2002 school year; is

7 less than 57 percent of

8 ‘‘(B) the percentage obtained by dividing—

9 ‘‘(i) the sum of—

10 ‘‘(I) the average daily number of

11 children attending the summer food

12 service program in all States in July

13 2002; and

14 ‘‘(II) the average daily number of

15 children receiving free or reduced

16 price meals under the school lunch

17 program in all States in July 2002; by

18 ‘‘(ii) the average daily number of chil19 dren receiving free or reduced price meals

20 under the school lunch program in all

21 States during the 2001–2002 school

22 year.’’;

23 (3) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by

24 striking ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep25 tember 30, 2008’’;
8

•HR 3873 EH

1 (4) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), by

2 striking ‘‘(other than a service institution described

3 in section 13(a)(7))’’ both places it appears; and

4 (5) in paragraph (7)(B)(i) (as redesignated by

5 this section), by striking ‘‘paragraph (5)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘paragraph (6)’’.

7 (b) SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHIL8 DREN.—Section 13(q) of the Richard B. Russell National

9 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(q)) is amended by

10 striking ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30,

11 2008’’.

12 SEC. 105. CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM.

13 (a) ELIGIBILITY OF PRIVATE CHILD CARE CEN14 TERS.—Section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National

15 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766) is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘dur17 ing the period’’ and all that follows through ‘‘March

18 31, 2004’’; and

19 (2) by striking subsection (p).

20 (b) DURATION OF DETERMINATION AS TIER 1 FAM21 ILY OR GROUP DAY CARE HOME.—Section

22 17(f)(3)(E)(iii) of the Richard B. Russell National School

23 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(3)(E)(iii)) is amended by

24 striking ‘‘3 years’’ and inserting ‘‘5 years’’.
9

•HR 3873 EH

1 (c) DURATION OF AGREEMENTS.—Section 17(j) of

2 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

3 U.S.C. 1766(j)) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(j) AGREEMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue

6 regulations directing States to develop and provide

7 for the use of a standard form of agreement between

8 each family or group day care sponsoring organiza9 tion and the family or group day care homes partici10 pating in the program under such organization, for

11 the purpose of specifying the rights and responsibil12 ities of each party.

13 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—An agreement under para14 graph (1) shall remain in effect until terminated by

15 either party to the agreement.’’.

16 (d) MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE.—Sec17 tion 17(q)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National School

18 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(q)(3)) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘1999 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2005 and 2006’’.

20 (e) AUDITS.—Section 17(i) of the Richard B. Russell

21 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(i)) is amend22 ed to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(i) AUDITS.—

24 ‘‘(1) FUNDS FOR AUDITS.—The Secretary shall

25 make available for each fiscal year to a State admin-
10

•HR 3873 EH

1 istering the child and adult care food program, for

2 the purpose of conducting audits of participating in3 stitutions, an amount up to 1.5 percent (except in

4 the case of fiscal years 2005 through 2007, 1 per5 cent) of the funds used by the State in the program

6 under this section during the second preceding fiscal

7 year.

8 ‘‘(2) AUDIT PROCEDURES.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara10 graph (B), in conducting management evalua11 tions, reviews, or audits of the program under

12 this subsection, the Secretary or a State agency

13 may disregard any overpayment to an institu14 tion if the total overpayment for any fiscal year

15 does not exceed an amount, consistent with the

16 disregards allowed in other programs under this

17 Act, which recognizes the cost of collecting

18 small claims.

19 ‘‘(B) CRIMINAL OR FRAUD VIOLATIONS.—

20 In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary

21 and a State agency shall not disregard any

22 overpayment for which there is evidence of a

23 violation of a criminal law or civil fraud law.’’.
11

•HR 3873 EH

1 (f) EMERGENCY SHELTERS.—Section 17(t)(5)(A)(i)

2 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

3 U.S.C. 1766(t)(5)(A)(i) is amended—

4 (1) in subclause (I)—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘18’’;

6 and

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon;

8 and

9 (2) by striking subclause (II) and redesignating

10 subclause (III) as subclause (II).

11 (g) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The Secretary of Ag12 riculture, in conjunction with States and participating in13 stitutions, shall examine the feasibility of reducing paper

14 work resulting from regulations and record-keeping re15 quirements for State agencies, family child care homes,

16 child care centers, and sponsoring organizations partici17 pating in the child and adult care food program estab18 lished under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National

19 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766).

20 SEC. 106. REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES IN THE BREAKFAST

21 PROGRAM.

22 (a) REVIEW.—Subject to the availability of funds, the

23 Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into an agreement

24 with a research organization to collect and disseminate a

25 review of best practices to assist schools in addressing ex-
12

•HR 3873 EH

1 isting impediments at the State and local level that hinder

2 the growth of the school breakfast program under section

3 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).

4 The review shall describe model breakfast programs and

5 offer recommendations for schools to overcome obstacles,

6 such as:

7 (1) the length of the school day;

8 (2) bus schedules; and

9 (3) potential increases in costs at the State and

10 local level.

11 (b) DISSEMINATION.—Not later than 12 months

12 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall

13 make the review required under subsection (a) available

14 to local educational agencies via the Internet, including

15 recommendations to improve participation in the school

16 breakfast program. Not later than 12 months after the

17 date of enactment of this Act, the review shall also be

18 transmitted to the Committee on Education of the House

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture of

20 the Senate.

21 SEC. 107. AREA ELIGIBILITY DEMONSTRATION.

22 Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School

23 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended by adding at the

24 end the following:
13

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(r) DEMONSTRATION.—For fiscal years 2004

2 through 2008, in rural areas of the State of Pennsylvania,

3 the threshold for determining ‘areas in which poor eco4 nomic conditions exist’ under subsection (a)(1)(C) for the

5 program authorized by this section shall be 40 percent of

6 children enrolled are eligible for free or reduced price

7 school meals and the State agency shall report to the Sec8 retary on the effect of the demonstration on program par9 ticipation in rural areas.’’.

10 SEC. 108. SEAMLESS SUMMER ADMINISTRATION.

11 (a) SEAMLESS SUMMER WAIVER.—Section 13(a) of

12 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

13 U.S.C. 1761(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph

14 (7) the following:

15 ‘‘(8) Service institutions that are public or pri16 vate nonprofit school food authorities may admin17 ister summer or school vacation food service under

18 the provisions of the school lunch program estab19 lished under this Act and the school breakfast pro20 gram established under the Child Nutrition Act of

21 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), except as determined

22 by the Secretary.’’.

23 (b) PAYMENTS.—Section 13(b)(1) of the Richard B.

24 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
14

•HR 3873 EH

1 1761(b)(1)) is amended by inserting after subparagraph

2 (C) the following:

3 ‘‘(D) Service institutions described in para4 graph (a)(8) of this section shall be reimbursed

5 for meals and meal supplements in accordance

6 with the applicable provisions under this Act

7 (other than subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of

8 this paragraph) and the Child Nutrition Act of

9 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), as determined

10 by the Secretary.’’.

11 SEC. 109. YEAR ROUND SERVICES FOR ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.

12 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School

13 Lunch Act is amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(h) YEAR ROUND SERVICES FOR ELIGIBLE ENTI15 TIES.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A service institution (as de17 fined in section 13(a)(6) or 13(a)(7) of this Act) lo18 cated in California may be reimbursed for up to 3

19 meals and 2 supplements for any day for which serv20 ices are being offered at such institution. Such serv21 ice institution shall be reimbursed for costs con22 sistent with section 13(b)(1) of this Act.

23 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTIONS.—A service institution that

24 receives assistance under this subsection shall com-
15

•HR 3873 EH

1 ply with all provisions of section 13 of this Act other

2 than subsections 13(b)(2) and 13(c)(1).

3 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall provide to

4 the State of California an amount not to exceed

5 $1,000,000 for fiscal years 2004 through 2008, for

6 the additional reimbursement costs for meals and

7 supplements authorized by this subsection.’’.

8 TITLE II—IMPROVING PROGRAM

9 QUALITY AND INTEGRITY

10 SEC. 201. ELIGIBILITY AND CERTIFICATION FOR FREE AND

11 REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B.

13 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is

14 amended by striking ‘‘(b)(1)(A) Not later’’ and all that

15 follows through paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

16 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE

17 LUNCHES.—

18 ‘‘(1) INCOME GUIDELINES.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1

20 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall prescribe

21 income guidelines for determining eligibility for

22 free and reduced price lunches during the 12-

23 month period beginning July 1 of such fiscal

24 year and ending June 30 of the following fiscal

25 year. The income guidelines for determining eli-
16

•HR 3873 EH

1 gibility for free lunches shall be 130 percent of

2 the applicable family size income levels con3 tained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines

4 issued by the Secretary of Health and Human

5 Services, as adjusted annually in accordance

6 with subparagraph (B). The income guidelines

7 for determining eligibility for reduced price

8 lunches for any school year shall be 185 percent

9 of the applicable family size income levels con10 tained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines

11 issued by the Secretary of Health and Human

12 Services, as adjusted annually in accordance

13 with subparagraph (B). Such guidelines shall be

14 revised at annual intervals, or at any shorter in15 terval deemed feasible and desirable.

16 ‘‘(B) FORMULA FOR REVISION.—The revi17 sion required by subparagraph (A) of this para18 graph shall be made by multiplying—

19 ‘‘(i) the official poverty line (as de20 fined by the Secretary of Health and

21 Human Services); by

22 ‘‘(ii) the percentage change in the

23 Consumer Price Index during the annual

24 or other interval immediately preceding the

25 time at which the adjustment is made.
17

•HR 3873 EH

1 Revisions under this subparagraph shall be

2 made not more than 30 days after the date on

3 which the Consumer Price Index data required

4 to compute the adjustment becomes available.

5 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—

6 ‘‘(A) ANNOUNCEMENT BY STATE EDU7 CATIONAL AGENCY.—Following the determina8 tion by the Secretary under paragraph (1) of

9 this subsection of the income eligibility guide10 lines for each school year, each State edu11 cational agency shall announce the income eligi12 bility guidelines, by family size, to be used by

13 schools in the State in making determinations

14 of eligibility for free and reduced price lunches.

15 Local educational agencies shall, each year,

16 publicly announce the income eligibility guide17 lines for free and reduced price lunches on or

18 before the opening of school.

19 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Applications for

21 free and reduced price lunches, in such

22 form as the Secretary may prescribe or ap23 prove, and any descriptive material, in an

24 understandable and uniform format, and

25 to the extent practicable, in a language
18

•HR 3873 EH

1 that parents can understand, shall be dis2 tributed at least annually to the parents or

3 guardians of children in attendance at the

4 school.

5 ‘‘(ii) INCOME LEVELS.—Applications

6 and descriptive material shall contain only

7 the family size income eligibility guidelines

8 for reduced price meal eligibility, with the

9 explanation that households with incomes

10 less than or equal to these values would be

11 eligible for free or reduced price lunches.

12 Such applications and descriptive material

13 may not contain the income eligibility

14 guidelines for free lunches.

15 ‘‘(iii) NOTIFICATION.—Descriptive

16 materials shall contain a notification that

17 participants in the Special Supplemental

18 Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,

19 and Children authorized under Section 17

20 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

21 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), the food stamp pro22 gram established under the Food Stamp

23 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the

24 Food Distribution Program on Indian Res25 ervations (FDPIR) authorized under sec-
19

•HR 3873 EH

1 tion 4(b) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977

2 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)), or a State program

3 funded under part A of title IV of the So4 cial Security Act (if the Secretary deter5 mines the State program complies with

6 standards established by the Secretary that

7 ensure that the standards under the State

8 program are comparable to or more re9 strictive than those in effect on June 1,

10 1995) may be eligible for free or reduced

11 price lunches. Such descriptive materials

12 shall also contain a notice to parents that

13 documentation may be requested for

14 verification.

15 ‘‘(iv) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.—In

16 addition to the distribution of such appli17 cations and descriptive material in paper

18 form as provided for in this paragraph,

19 such applications and material may be

20 made available electronically via the Inter21 net.

22 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.—

23 ‘‘(i) HOUSEHOLD APPLICATIONS.—

24 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If an eligi25 bility determination for a child is not
20

•HR 3873 EH

1 made under clause (ii) or (iii), an eli2 gibility determination shall be made

3 on the basis of a complete household

4 application executed by an adult mem5 ber of the household, or in accordance

6 with other guidance issued by the Sec7 retary.

8 ‘‘(II) ADDITIONAL BASES.—Eligi9 bility may be determined by the local

10 educational agency on the basis of a

11 complete application executed by an

12 adult member of the household, or in

13 accordance with other guidance issued

14 by the Secretary, including an elec15 tronic signature when the application

16 is submitted electronically, and if the

17 application filing system meets con18 fidentiality standards established by

19 the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(III) CHILDREN IN HOUSE21 HOLD.—

22 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—The

23 application shall identify the

24 names of each child in the house25 hold for whom meal benefits are
21

•HR 3873 EH

1 requested, as well as the total

2 number of members of the house3 hold.

4 ‘‘(bb) SEPARATE APPLICA5 TIONS.—A State educational

6 agency or local educational agen7 cy may not request a separate

8 application for each child in the

9 household, if the children in the

10 household attend schools in the

11 same local educational agency.

12 ‘‘(IV) VERIFICATION.—The Sec13 retary, State, or local educational

14 agency may verify any data contained

15 in such application. In accordance

16 with guidance issued by the Secretary,

17 each local educational agency shall

18 verify a sample of approved free and

19 reduced price applications and shall

20 make appropriate changes in the eligi21 bility determination with respect to

22 such applications on the basis of such

23 verification. The sample selected for

24 verification shall be as follows:
22

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(aa) For local educational

2 agencies unable to obtain

3 verification information for no

4 more than 25 percent of all ap5 plications selected for verification

6 in the prior year, or local edu7 cational agencies receiving more

8 than 20,000 applications and

9 that in the prior year had a

10 verification non-response rate

11 that was 10 percent below the

12 verification non-response rate of

13 the second prior year, the sample

14 selected shall be either—

15 ‘‘(AA) the lesser of

16 3,000 or 3 percent of ap17 proved applications selected

18 at random by the local edu19 cational agencies from all

20 approved applications; or

21 ‘‘(BB) the lesser of

22 1,000 or 1 percent of all ap23 proved applications selected

24 from applications that indi25 cate monthly income that is
23

•HR 3873 EH

1 within $100, or annual in2 come that is within $1,200,

3 of the income eligibility lim4 its for free or reduced price

5 meals, plus the lesser of 500

or 1 6 ⁄2 of 1 percent of ap7 proved applications that pro8 vided a case number in lieu

9 of income information show10 ing participation in the food

11 stamp program, the Tem12 porary Assistance for Needy

13 Families program, or the

14 Food Distribution Program

15 on Indian Reservations

16 (FDPIR) selected from

17 those approved applications

18 that provided a case number

19 in lieu of income information

20 verifying such participation.

21 If, for any local educational

22 agency, the total number of

23 applications that indicate

24 monthly income that is with25 in $100, or annual income
24

•HR 3873 EH

1 that is within $1,200, of the

2 income eligibility limits for

3 free or reduced price meals

4 is less than 1,500 or 1 and

1 5 ⁄2 percent of all approved

6 applications, the local edu7 cational agency shall select

8 additional applications at

9 random from all approved

10 applications in order to ob11 tain a total sample for

12 verification of 1,500 or 1

and 1 13 ⁄2 percent of all ap14 proved applications.

15 ‘‘(bb) For all other local

16 educational agencies, the sample

17 selected shall be the lesser of

18 3,000 or 3 percent of all ap19 proved applications selected from

20 applications that indicate month21 ly income that is within $100, or

22 annual income that is within

23 $1,200, of the income eligibility

24 limits for free or reduced price

25 meals. If, for any local edu-
25

•HR 3873 EH

1 cational agency, the total number

2 of such applications is less than

3 3,000 or 3 percent of all ap4 proved applications, the local

5 educational agency shall select

6 additional applications at random

7 from all approved applications in

8 order to obtain a total sample for

9 verification of 3,000 or 3 percent

10 of all approved applications.

11 ‘‘(V) SUBSTITUTIONS.—

12 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—In ac13 cordance with the regulations

14 prescribed by the Secretary, the

15 local educational agency may,

16 upon individual review, decline to

17 verify any application selected

18 under subclause (IV) and replace

19 it with another application to be

20 verified. Such agency may decline

21 to verify no more than 2 percent

22 of the applications selected for

23 verification under this subclause.

24 ‘‘(bb) SUBSTITUTE CRITERIA

25 IN CASES OF EMERGENCIES.—
26

•HR 3873 EH

1 The Secretary may substitute al2 ternative criteria for the sample

3 size and sample selection criteria

4 in subclause (IV) to address a

5 natural disaster, civil disorder,

6 strike, or other local condition.

7 ‘‘(VI) DIRECT VERIFICATION.—

8 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—In ac9 cordance with regulations pro10 mulgated by the Secretary, in

11 verifying the sample selected in

12 accordance with subclause (IV),

13 the local educational agency may

14 first obtain from certain public

15 agencies administering the pro16 grams identified in item (bb) of

17 this subclause, and similar in18 come-tested programs, informa19 tion to verify eligibility for free or

20 reduced price meals.

21 ‘‘(bb) PUBLIC AGENCY

22 RECORDS.—Public agency

23 records that may be used to

24 verify eligibility for free meals

25 shall include income information
27

•HR 3873 EH

1 relied upon within 12 months

2 prior to verification under sub3 clause (IV) in the administration

4 of the following programs: the

5 food stamp program established

6 under the Food Stamp Act of

7 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); the

8 State program funded under part

9 A of title IV of the Social Secu10 rity Act; the Food Distribution

11 Program on Indian Reservations

12 (FDPIR) authorized under sec13 tion 4(b) of the Food Stamp Act

14 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)); and

15 the State Medicaid program

16 under title XIX of the Social Se17 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et

18 seq.) in a State in which the in19 come eligibility limit described in

20 section 1902(l)(2)(C) of the So21 cial Security Act is no higher

22 than 133 percent of the income

23 official poverty line as specified

24 in section 1902(l)(2)(A) of such

25 Act, in the case of eligibility for
28

•HR 3873 EH

1 free meals, and 185 percent of

2 the income official poverty line as

3 specified in such section in the

4 case of reduced price meals.

5 ‘‘(VII) PLAIN, UNDERSTANDABLE

6 LANGUAGE.—Any and all communica7 tions to parents regarding verification

8 under subclause (IV) shall be in an

9 understandable and uniform format,

10 and, to the extent practicable, in a

11 language that parents can under12 stand.

13 ‘‘(ii) DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR

14 CHILDREN IN FOOD STAMP HOUSE15 HOLDS.—

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Each State

17 agency shall, to the extent practicable,

18 enter into an agreement with the

19 State agency conducting eligibility de20 terminations for the food stamp pro21 gram established under the Food

22 Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et

23 seq.).

24 ‘‘(II) PROCEDURES.—Subject to

25 clause (iv), the agreement shall estab-
29

•HR 3873 EH

1 lish procedures under which a child

2 who is a member of a household re3 ceiving assistance under the program

4 referred to in subclause (I) shall be

5 certified as eligible for free meals

6 under this Act, without further appli7 cation.

8 ‘‘(III) DIRECT CERTIFICATION.—

9 Subject to clause (iv), under the

10 agreement, the local educational agen11 cy conducting eligibility determina12 tions for a school meal program con13 ducted under this Act shall certify a

14 child who is a member of a household

15 receiving assistance under the pro16 gram referred to in subclause (I) as

17 eligible for free meals under this Act

18 without further application.

19 ‘‘(IV) NOTICE.—The appropriate

20 local educational agency shall provide

21 annually to the parents or guardians

22 of all students who are members of a

23 household receiving assistance under

24 the program referred to in subclause

25 (I), notification, in an understandable
30

•HR 3873 EH

1 and uniform format, and, to the ex2 tent practicable, in a language that

3 parents can understand, that any

4 school-aged child in that household is

5 eligible for free lunches or breakfasts.

6 ‘‘(iii) DIRECT CERTIFICATION OF

7 CHILDREN IN OTHER HOUSEHOLDS.—Sub8 ject to clause (iv), any local educational

9 agency may certify any child as eligible for

10 free lunches or breakfasts, without further

11 application, by directly communicating

12 with the appropriate State or local agency

13 to obtain documentation of such child’s

14 status as a migratory child, as such term

15 is defined in section 1309(2) of the Ele16 mentary and Secondary Education Act of

17 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399(2)), or a member of

18 a family that is receiving assistance under

19 a State program funded under part A of

20 title IV of the Social Security Act if the

21 Secretary determines the State program

22 complies with standards established by the

23 Secretary that ensure that the standards

24 under the State program are comparable
31

•HR 3873 EH

1 to or more restrictive than those in effect

2 on June 1, 1995.

3 ‘‘(iv) DISCLOSURE OF INFORMA4 TION.—The use or disclosure of any infor5 mation obtained from an application for

6 free or reduced price meals, or from a

7 State or local agency referred to in clauses

8 (ii) and (iii), shall be limited to—

9 ‘‘(I) a person directly connected

10 with the administration or enforce11 ment of this Act or the Child Nutri12 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et

13 seq.), or a regulation issued pursuant

14 to either Act;

15 ‘‘(II) a person directly connected

16 with the administration or enforce17 ment of—

18 ‘‘(aa) a Federal education

19 program;

20 ‘‘(bb) a State health or edu21 cation program administered by

22 the State or local educational

23 agency (other than a program

24 carried out under title XIX of
32

•HR 3873 EH

1 the Social Security Act (42

2 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); or

3 ‘‘(cc) a Federal, State, or

4 local means-tested nutrition pro5 gram with eligibility standards

6 comparable to the program under

7 this section;

8 ‘‘(III)(aa) the Comptroller Gen9 eral of the United States for audit

10 and examination authorized by any

11 other provision of law; and

12 ‘‘(bb) notwithstanding any other

13 provision of law, a Federal, State, or

14 local law enforcement official for the

15 purpose of investigating an alleged

16 violation of any program requirements

17 under paragraph (1) or this para18 graph; and

19 ‘‘(IV) a person directly connected

20 with the administration of the State

21 Medicaid program under title XIX of

22 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.

23 1396 et seq.) or the State children’s

24 health insurance program under title

25 XXI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et
33

•HR 3873 EH

1 seq.) solely for the purpose of identi2 fying children eligible for benefits

3 under, and enrolling children in, such

4 programs, except that this subclause

5 shall apply only to the extent that the

6 State and the local educational agency

7 so elect.

8 ‘‘(v) LIMITATION.—Information pro9 vided under clause (iv)(II) shall be limited

10 to the income eligibility status of the child

11 for whom application for free or reduced

12 price meal benefits was made or for whom

13 eligibility information was provided under

14 clause (ii) or (iii), unless the consent of the

15 parent or guardian of the child for whom

16 application for benefits was made is ob17 tained.

18 ‘‘(vi) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED

19 DISCLOSURE.—A person described in

20 clause (iv) who publishes, divulges, dis21 closes, or makes known in any manner, or

22 to any extent not authorized by Federal

23 law (including a regulation), any informa24 tion obtained under this subsection shall be
34

•HR 3873 EH

1 fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned

2 not more than 1 year, or both.

3 ‘‘(vii) REQUIREMENTS FOR WAIVER

4 OF CONFIDENTIALITY.—A State that elects

5 to exercise the option described in clause

6 (iv)(IV) shall ensure that any local edu7 cational agency acting in accordance with

8 that option—

9 ‘‘(I) has a written agreement

10 with the State or local agency or

11 agencies administering health insur12 ance programs for children under ti13 tles XIX and XXI of the Social Secu14 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq. and

15 1397aa et seq.) that requires the

16 health agencies to use the information

17 obtained under clause (iv) to seek to

18 enroll children in those health insur19 ance programs; and

20 ‘‘(II)(aa) notifies each household,

21 the information of which shall be dis22 closed under clause (iv), that the in23 formation disclosed will be used only

24 to enroll children in health programs

25 referred to in clause (iv)(IV); and
35

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(bb) provides each parent or

2 guardian of a child in the household

3 with an opportunity to elect not to

4 have the information disclosed.

5 ‘‘(viii) USE OF DISCLOSED INFORMA6 TION.—A person to which information is

7 disclosed under clause (iv)(IV) shall use or

8 disclose the information only as necessary

9 for the purpose of enrolling children in

10 health programs referred to in clause

11 (iv)(IV).

12 ‘‘(D) FREE AND REDUCED PRICE POLICY

13 STATEMENT.—After the initial submission, a

14 local educational agency shall not be required to

15 submit a free and reduced price policy state16 ment to a State educational agency under this

17 Act unless there is a substantive change in the

18 free and reduced price policy of the local edu19 cational agency. A routine change in the policy

20 of a local educational agency, such as an annual

21 adjustment of the income eligibility guidelines

22 for free and reduced price meals, shall not be

23 sufficient cause for requiring the local edu24 cational agency to submit a policy statement.’’.
36

•HR 3873 EH

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9(b)(6)(B)

2 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

3 U.S.C. 1758(b)(6)(B) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or docu4 mentation showing the child’s status as a migratory child,

5 as such term is defined in section 1309(2) of the Elemen6 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

7 6399(2))’’ after ‘‘subparagraph (A)(iii)’’.

8 SEC. 202. DURATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND RE9 DUCED PRICE LUNCHES.

10 Section 9(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National

11 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(3)) is amended to

12 read as follows:

13 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND REDUCED

14 PRICE LUNCHES.—

15 ‘‘(A) FREE LUNCHES.—Any child who is a

16 member of a household whose income, at the

17 time the application is submitted, is at an an18 nual rate which does not exceed the applicable

19 family size income level of the income eligibility

20 guidelines for free lunches, as determined under

21 paragraph (1), shall be served a free lunch.

22 ‘‘(B) REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any child who is a

24 member of a household whose income, at

25 the time the application is submitted, is at
37

•HR 3873 EH

1 an annual rate greater than the applicable

2 family size income level of the income eligi3 bility guidelines for free lunches, as deter4 mined under paragraph (1), but less than

5 or equal to the applicable family size in6 come level of the income eligibility guide7 lines for reduced price lunches, as deter8 mined under paragraph (1), shall be served

9 a reduced price lunch.

10 ‘‘(ii) MAXIMUM PRICE.—The price

11 charged for a reduced price lunch shall not

12 exceed 40 cents.

13 ‘‘(C) DURATION.—Except as otherwise

14 specified in section 11(a) or section

15 9(b)(2)(C)(i)(IV), eligibility for free or reduced

16 price meals for any school year shall remain in

17 effect—

18 ‘‘(i) beginning on the date of eligi19 bility approval for the current school year;

20 and

21 ‘‘(ii) ending on the date of the begin22 ning of school in the subsequent school

23 year or as otherwise specified by the Sec24 retary.’’.
38

•HR 3873 EH

1 SEC. 203. CERTIFICATION BY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN2 CIES.

3 (a) CERTIFICATION BY LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN4 CY.—Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School

5 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is further amended—

6 (1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘Local

7 school authorities’’ and inserting ‘‘Local educational

8 agencies’’; and

9 (2) in subsection (d)(2)—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘local school food author11 ity’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘local

12 educational agency’’; and

13 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘such

14 authority’’ and inserting ‘‘the local educational

15 agency’’.

16 (b) DEFINITION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN17 CY.—Section 12(d) of the Richard B. Russell National

18 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(d)) is amended—

19 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through

20 (8) as paragraphs (4) through (9), respectively; and

21 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol22 lowing:

23 ‘‘(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘local edu25 cational agency’ has the meaning given the

26 term in section 9101 of the Elementary and
39

•HR 3873 EH

1 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

2 7801).

3 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘local edu4 cational agency’ includes, in the case of a pri5 vate nonprofit school food authority, an appro6 priate entity determined by the Secretary.’’.

7 (c) SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM.—Section

8 4(b)(1)(E)) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

9 1773(b)(1)(E)) is amended by striking ‘‘school food au10 thority’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘local edu11 cational agency’’.

12 SEC. 204. COMPLIANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

13 Section 22 of the Richard B. Russell National School

14 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c) is amended by inserting

15 ‘‘and local educational agencies’’ after ‘‘food service au16 thorities’’ each place it appears.

17 SEC. 205. TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT.

18 (a) PRIORITY FOR REALLOCATED FUNDS.—Section

19 7(a)(5)(B)(ii) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

20 U.S.C. 1776(a)(5)(B)(ii)) is amended by inserting the fol21 lowing new sentence at the end: ‘‘The Secretary shall give

22 special consideration to States that will use the funds for

23 improvements in technology and information management

24 systems described in subsection (e)(2).’’.
40

•HR 3873 EH

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7(b) of the

2 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(b)) is

3 amended by striking ‘‘and for staff development’’ and in4 serting ‘‘for staff development; and technology and infor5 mation management systems’’.

6 SEC. 206. MINIMUM STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE

7 GRANTS.

8 Section 7(a) of the Child Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C.

9 1776(a)(1)) is further amended—

10 (1) by striking the heading and all that follows

11 through paragraph (1), and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 7. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.

13 ‘‘(a) AMOUNT AND ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—

14 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT AVAILABLE.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

16 subparagraph (B), each fiscal year the Sec17 retary shall make available to the States for

18 their Administrative costs an amount equal to

not less than 11 19 ⁄2 percent of the Federal funds

20 expended under sections 4, 11, 17, and 17A of

21 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 1753, 1759a) 1766, and

23 1766a)) and sections 3 and 4 of this Act during

24 the second preceding fiscal year.
41

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—In the case of

2 each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007, the

3 Secretary shall make available to each State for

4 their administrative costs not less than the ini5 tial allocation made to the State under this sub6 section for fiscal year 2004.

7 ‘‘(C) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall

8 allocate the funds so provided in accordance

9 with paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this sub10 section.

11 ‘‘(D) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA12 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated

13 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the

14 purposes of this section.’’; and

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’

16 and inserting ‘‘$200,000’’.

17 SEC. 207. DISTRICT-WIDE ELIGIBILITY FOR SPECIAL AS18 SISTANCE.

19 Section 11(a)(1) of the Richard B. Russell National

20 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)) is amended—

21 (1) in subparagraph (C)—

22 (A) in clause (i)—

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

24 after ‘‘in the case of any school’’;
42

•HR 3873 EH

1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

2 after ‘‘in the school’’ both times it appears;

3 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

4 after ‘‘in the case of a school’’; and

5 (iv) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

6 after ‘‘with respect to the school’’;

7 (B) in clause (ii)—

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

9 after ‘‘served by a school’’; and

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

11 after ‘‘served by the school’’; and

12 (C) in clause (iii) by inserting ‘‘or school

13 district’’ after ‘‘a school’’;

14 (2) in subparagraph (D)—

15 (A) in clause (i)—

16 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

17 after ‘‘any school’’; and

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

19 after ‘‘the school’’;

20 (B) in clause (ii)—

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

22 after ‘‘A school’’; and

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

24 after ‘‘the school’’;

25 (C) in clause (iii)—
43

•HR 3873 EH

1 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

2 after ‘‘a school’’; and

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

4 after ‘‘the school’’; and

5 (D) in clause (iv) by inserting ‘‘or school

6 district’’ after ‘‘levels, a school’’; and

7 (3) in subparagraph (E)—

8 (A) in clause (i)—

9 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

10 after ‘‘In the case of any school’’;

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

12 after ‘‘in the school’’ both times it appears;

13 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

14 after ‘‘in the case of a school’’;

15 (iv) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

16 after ‘‘with respect to the school’’;

17 (v) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

18 after ‘‘received by the school’’; and

19 (vi) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

20 after ‘‘for which the school’’; and

21 (B) in clause (ii)—

22 (i) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

23 after ‘‘A school’’;
44

•HR 3873 EH

1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

2 after ‘‘for which the school’’ both times it

3 appears; and

4 (iii) by inserting ‘‘or school district’’

5 after ‘‘population of the school’’ both times

6 it appears.

7 SEC. 208. ADMINISTRATIVE ERROR REDUCTION.

8 (a) FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR TRAINING AND TECH9 NICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 21 of the Richard B. Russell

10 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1) is

11 amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub13 section (g); and

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE TRAINING AND TECHNICAL

17 ASSISTANCE MATERIALS.—In collaboration with State

18 educational agencies, school food authorities, and local

19 educational agencies of varying sizes, the Secretary shall

20 develop and distribute training and technical assistance

21 materials relating to the administration of school meal

22 programs that are—

23 ‘‘(1) prepared by the Secretary (based on re24 search or other sources), a State educational agency,
45

•HR 3873 EH

1 a school food authority, or a local educational agen2 cy; and

3 ‘‘(2) representative of the best management and

4 administrative practices of State agencies, school

5 food authorities, and local educational agencies as

6 determined by the Secretary.

7 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—

8 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in

10 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the

11 Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the

12 Secretary of Agriculture to carry out this

13 subsection—

14 ‘‘(i) on October 1, 2004 and October

15 1, 2005, $3,000,000; and

16 ‘‘(ii) on October 1, 2006, and October

17 1, 2007, $2,000,000.

18 ‘‘(B) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The

19 Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac20 cept, and shall use to carry out this subsection

21 the funds transferred under subparagraph (A),

22 without further appropriation.

23 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds

24 transferred under subparagraph (A) shall re25 main available until expended.
46

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may use

2 funds provided under this subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) to provide training and technical as4 sistance related to administrative practices de5 signed to improve program integrity and admin6 istrative accuracy in school meals programs (in7 cluding administrative requirements established

8 by the Child Nutrition Improvement and Integ9 rity Act and amendments made by that Act) to

10 State educational agencies and, to the extent

11 determined by the Secretary, to school food au12 thorities and local educational agencies;

13 ‘‘(B) to assist State educational agencies

14 in reviewing the administrative practices of

15 school food authorities, to the extent deter16 mined by the Secretary; and

17 ‘‘(C) to carry out the activities described in

18 subsection (e).’’.

19 (b) SELECTED ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWS.—Section

20 22(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c(b)) is amended by adding at the

22 end the following:

23 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REVIEW REQUIREMENT FOR

24 SELECTED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—
47

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF SELECTED LOCAL

2 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—In this paragraph, the

3 term ‘selected local educational agency’ means a

4 local educational agency that has a dem5 onstrated a high level of, or a high risk for, ad6 ministrative error, as determined by the Sec7 retary.

8 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE RE9 VIEW.—In addition to any review required by

10 subsection (a) or paragraph (1), each State

11 educational agency shall conduct an administra12 tive review of each selected local educational

13 agency during the review cycle established

14 under subsection (a).

15 ‘‘(C) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In carrying out

16 a review under subparagraph (B), a State edu17 cational agency shall only review the adminis18 trative processes of a selected local educational

19 agency, including application, certification,

20 verification, meal counting, and meal claiming

21 procedures.

22 ‘‘(D) RESULTS OF REVIEW.—If the State

23 educational agency determines (on the basis of

24 a review conducted under subparagraph (B))

25 that a selected local educational agency fails to
48

•HR 3873 EH

1 meet performance criteria established by the

2 Secretary, the State educational agency shall—

3 ‘‘(i) require the selected local edu4 cational agency to develop and carry out

5 an approved plan of corrective action;

6 ‘‘(ii) except to the extent technical as7 sistance is provided directly by the Sec8 retary, provide technical assistance to as9 sist the selected local educational agency in

10 carrying out the corrective action plan; and

11 ‘‘(iii) conduct a follow-up review of

12 the selected local educational agency under

13 standards established by the Secretary.

14 ‘‘(4) RECOVERING FUNDS AFTER ADMINISTRA15 TIVE REVIEWS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graphs (B) and (C), if the local educational

18 agency fails to meet administrative performance

19 criteria established by the Secretary in both an

20 initial review and a follow-up review under

21 paragraph (1) or (3) or subsection (a), the Sec22 retary may require the State educational agency

23 to recover funds from the local educational

24 agency that would otherwise be paid to the

25 school food authority or local educational agen-
49

•HR 3873 EH

1 cy for school meals programs under procedures

2 prescribed by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of funds re4 covered under subparagraph (A) shall equal the

5 value of any overpayments made to the school

6 food authority or local educational agency as a

7 result of an erroneous claim during the time pe8 riod described in subparagraph (C).

9 ‘‘(C) TIME PERIOD.—The period for deter10 mining the value of any such overpayments

11 under subparagraph (B) shall be the period—

12 ‘‘(i) beginning on the date the erro13 neous claim was made; and

14 ‘‘(ii) ending on the earlier of the date

15 the erroneous claim is corrected or—

16 ‘‘(I) in the case of the first re17 view conducted by the State edu18 cational agency of the local edu19 cational agency under this section

20 after July 1, 2005, the date that is 60

21 days after the beginning of the period

22 under clause (i); or

23 ‘‘(II) in the case of any subse24 quent review conducted by the State

25 educational agency of the local edu-
50

•HR 3873 EH

1 cational agency under this section, the

2 date that is 90 days after the begin3 ning of the period under clause (i).

4 ‘‘(5) USE OF RECOVERED FUNDS.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), funds recovered under paragraph

7 (4) shall—

8 ‘‘(i) be returned to the Secretary

9 under procedures established by the Sec10 retary, and may be used—

11 ‘‘(I) to provide training and tech12 nical assistance related to administra13 tive practices designed to improve pro14 gram integrity and administrative ac15 curacy in school meals programs (in16 cluding administrative requirements

17 established by the Child Nutrition Im18 provement and Integrity Act and

19 amendments made by that Act) to

20 State educational agencies and, to the

21 extent determined by the Secretary, to

22 school food authorities and local edu23 cational agencies;

24 ‘‘(II) to assist State educational

25 agencies in reviewing the administra-
51

•HR 3873 EH

1 tive practices of school food authori2 ties, to the extent determined by the

3 Secretary; and

4 ‘‘(III) to carry out section 21(e);

5 or

6 ‘‘(ii) be credited to the child nutrition

7 programs appropriation account.

8 ‘‘(B) STATE SHARE.—Subject to subpara9 graph (C), a State educational agency may re10 tain not more than 25 percent of an amount re11 covered under paragraph (4), to carry out

12 school meals program integrity initiatives to as13 sist school food authorities and local edu14 cational agencies that have repeatedly failed (as

15 determined by the Secretary) to meet adminis16 trative performance criteria.

17 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to re18 tain funds under subparagraph (B), a State

19 educational agency shall—

20 ‘‘(i) submit to the Secretary a plan

21 describing how the State educational agen22 cy will use the funds to improve school

23 meals program integrity, including meas24 ures to give priority to school food authori25 ties and local educational agencies from
52

•HR 3873 EH

1 which funds were retained under para2 graph (4); and

3 ‘‘(ii) obtain the approval of the Sec4 retary for the plan.’’.

5 (c) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Sec6 tion 7 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

7 1776) is amended—

8 (1) in subsection (e)—

9 (A) by striking ‘‘(e) Each’’ and inserting

10 the following:

11 ‘‘(e) PLANS FOR USE OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE

12 FUNDS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘After submitting’’ and all

15 that follows through ‘‘change in the plan.’’, and

16 inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(2) UPDATES AND INFORMATION MANAGE18 MENT SYSTEMS.—After submitting the initial plan, a

19 State shall be required to submit to the Secretary

20 for approval only a substantive change in the plan.

21 Each State plan shall at a minimum include a de22 scription of how technology and information man23 agement systems will be used to improve program

24 integrity by—
53

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(A) monitoring the nutrient content of

2 meals served;

3 ‘‘(B) training schools and school food au4 thorities how to utilize technology and informa5 tion management systems for activities such as

6 menu planning, collecting point of sale data,

7 processing applications for free and reduced

8 price meals and verifying eligibility for free and

9 reduced price meals using existing databases to

10 access program participation or income data

11 collected by State or local educational agencies;

12 and

13 ‘‘(C) using electronic data to establish

14 benchmarks to compare and monitor program

15 integrity, program participation, and financial

16 data across schools and school food authorities.

17 ‘‘(3) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

18 Each State shall submit to the Secretary for ap19 proval a plan describing the manner in which the

20 State intends to implement subsection (g) and sec21 tion 22(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National

22 School Lunch Act (as added by section 208 of the

23 Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act).’’;

24 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub25 section (i); and
54

•HR 3873 EH

1 (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol2 lowing:

3 ‘‘(g) STATE TRAINING.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At least annually, each

5 State shall provide training in administrative prac6 tices (including training in application, certification,

7 verification, meal counting, and meal claiming proce8 dures) to school food authority administrative per9 sonnel and other appropriate personnel, with empha10 sis on the requirements established by the Child Nu11 trition Improvement and Integrity Act and the

12 amendments made by that Act.

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL ROLE.—The Secretary shall—

14 ‘‘(A) provide training and technical assist15 ance (including training materials and informa16 tion developed under subsections (e) and (f) of

17 section 21 of the Richard B. Russell National

18 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b-1)) to a

19 State to assist the State in carrying out para20 graph (1); or

21 ‘‘(B) at the option of the Secretary, di22 rectly provide training and technical assistance

23 described in paragraph (1).

24 ‘‘(3) THIRD-PARTY CONTRACTING.—In carrying

25 out this subsection, the Secretary or a State may
55

•HR 3873 EH

1 contract with a third party under procedures estab2 lished by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(4) REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—Under proce4 dures established by the Secretary that consider the

5 various needs and circumstances of school food au6 thorities, each school food authority or local edu7 cational agency shall ensure that an individual con8 ducting or overseeing administrative procedures de9 scribed in paragraph (1) receives training at least

10 annually, unless determined otherwise by the Sec11 retary.

12 ‘‘(h) FUNDING FOR TRAINING AND ADMINISTRATIVE

13 REVIEWS.—

14 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2004,

16 and on each October 1 thereafter, out of any

17 funds in the Treasury not otherwise appro18 priated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall

19 transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry

20 out this subsection $4,000,000, to remain avail21 able until expended.

22 ‘‘(B) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The

23 Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac24 cept, and shall use to carry out this subsection
56

•HR 3873 EH

1 the funds transferred under subparagraph (A),

2 without further appropriation.

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

5 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall use

6 funds provided under this subsection to assist

7 States in carrying out subsection (g) and ad8 ministrative reviews of selected school food au9 thorities and local educational agencies under

10 section 22(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell Na11 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.

12 1769c(b)(3)).

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may re14 tain a portion of the amount provided to cover

15 costs of activities carried out by the Secretary

16 in lieu of the State.

17 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall allo18 cate funds provided in this subsection to States

19 based on the number of local educational agencies

20 that have demonstrated a high level of or a high risk

21 for administrative error, as determined by the Sec22 retary, taking into account the requirements estab23 lished by the Child Nutrition Improvement and In24 tegrity Act and the amendments made by that Act.
57

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(4) REALLOCATION.—The Secretary may re2 allocate, to carry out this section, any amounts made

3 available to carry out this subsection that are not

4 obligated or expended, as determined by the Sec5 retary.’’.

6 TITLE III—PROMOTING NUTRI7 TION QUALITY AND PRE8 VENTING CHILDHOOD OBE9 SITY

10 SEC. 301. LOCAL SCHOOL WELLNESS POLICY.

11 Not later than the first day of the school year begin12 ning after June 30, 2006, local educational agencies par13 ticipating in the programs authorized by the Richard B.

14 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et

15 seq.) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771

16 et seq.) shall establish a local school wellness policy for

17 such local agency that at a minimum—

18 (1) includes goals for nutrition education, phys19 ical activity and other school-based activities de20 signed to promote student wellness that the local

21 educational agency determines are appropriate;

22 (2) includes nutrition guidelines selected by the

23 local educational agencies for all foods available on

24 school campus during the school day with the objec-
58

•HR 3873 EH

1 tive of promoting student health and reducing child2 hood obesity;

3 (3) provides an assurance that guidelines for re4 imbursable school meals shall not be less restrictive

5 than regulations and guidance issued by the Sec6 retary pursuant to section 10(a) and (b) of the Child

7 Nutrition Act (42 U.S.C. 1779(a) and (b)) and sec8 tion 9(f)(1) and section 17(a) of the Richard B.

9 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.

10 1758(f)(1) and 1766(a)), as those regulations and

11 guidance apply to schools;

12 (4) establishes a plan for ensuring implementa13 tion of the local wellness policy, including designa14 tion of a person or persons within the local edu15 cational agency, or at each school as appropriate,

16 charged with operational responsibility for ensuring

17 that such school meets the local wellness policy; and

18 (5) involves parents, students, representatives

19 of the school food authority, the school board, school

20 administrators, and public in the development of the

21 school wellness policy.
59

•HR 3873 EH

1 SEC. 302. SUPPORTING NUTRITION EDUCATION, IMPROV2 ING MEAL QUALITY, AND ACCESS TO LOCAL

3 FOODS.

4 Section 19 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

5 U.S.C. 1788) is amended—

6 (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol7 lows:

8 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to

9 support effective nutrition education through assistance to

10 State agencies, schools, and nonprofit entities for Team

11 Nutrition and other nutrition education projects that im12 prove student understanding of healthful eating patterns,

13 including an awareness and understanding of the Dietary

14 Guidelines for Americans, the quality of school meals and

15 access to local foods in schools and institutions operating

16 programs under the Richard B. Russell National School

17 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and section 4 of this

18 Act.’’;

19 (2) by striking subsections (c) through (h) and

20 inserting after subsection (b) the following:

21 ‘‘(c) TEAM NUTRITION NETWORK.—

22 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Team Nu23 trition Network is to—

24 ‘‘(A) promote the nutritional health of the

25 Nation’s school children through nutrition edu26 cation, physical activity and other activities that
60

•HR 3873 EH

1 support healthy lifestyles for children based on

2 the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued

3 jointly by the Secretary of Agriculture and the

4 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and

5 the physical fitness guidelines issued by the

6 Secretary of Health and Human Services;

7 ‘‘(B) provide assistance to States for the

8 development of State-wide, comprehensive, and

9 integrated nutrition education and physical fit10 ness programs; and

11 ‘‘(C) provide training and technical assist12 ance to States, school and community nutrition

13 programs, and child nutrition food service pro14 fessionals.

15 ‘‘(2) STATE COORDINATOR.—The State Team

16 Nutrition Network Coordinator shall—

17 ‘‘(A) administer and coordinate a com18 prehensive integrated statewide nutrition edu19 cation program; and

20 ‘‘(B) coordinate efforts with the Food and

21 Nutrition Service and State agencies respon22 sible for children’s health programs.

23 ‘‘(3) TEAM NUTRITION NETWORK.—Subject to

24 the availability or appropriations to carry out this

25 subsection, the Secretary, in consultation with the
61

•HR 3873 EH

1 Secretary of Education, shall, on a competitive basis,

2 provide assistance to States for the purpose of cre3 ating model nutrition education and physical activity

4 programs, consistent with current dietary and fit5 ness guidelines, for students in elementary schools

6 and secondary schools.

7 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE PARTICIPA8 TION.—To be eligible to receive assistance under this

9 subsection, a State Coordinator shall submit an ap10 plication to the Secretary at such time, an in such

11 manner, and containing such information as the Sec12 retary may require, including—

13 ‘‘(A) a description of how the proposed nu14 trition and physical activity program will pro15 mote healthy eating and physical activity and

16 fitness and address the health and social con17 sequences of children who are at risk of becom18 ing overweight or obese;

19 ‘‘(B) information describing how nutrition

20 activities are to be coordinated at the State

21 level with other health activities conducted by

22 education, health and agriculture agencies;

23 ‘‘(C) information describing how initiatives

24 to promote physical activity are to be coordi25 nated at the State level with other initiatives to
62

•HR 3873 EH

1 promote physical activity conducted by edu2 cation, health, and parks and recreation agen3 cies;

4 ‘‘(D) a description of the consultative proc5 ess that the State Coordinator employed in the

6 development of the model nutrition and physical

7 activity programs, including consultations with

8 individuals and organizations with expertise in

9 promoting public health, nutrition, or physical

10 activity, and organizations representing the ag11 riculture, food and beverage, fitness, and sports

12 and recreation industries;

13 ‘‘(E) a description of how the State Coor14 dinator will evaluate the effectiveness of its pro15 gram; and

16 ‘‘(F) a description of how any and all com17 munications to parents and guardians of all

18 students who are members of a household re19 ceiving or applying for assistance under the

20 program shall be in an understandable and uni21 form format, and, to the extent practicable, in

22 a language that parents can understand.

23 ‘‘(5) DURATION.—Subject to the availability of

24 funds made available to carry out this subsection, a
63

•HR 3873 EH

1 State Coordinator shall conduct the project for a pe2 riod of 3 successive school years.

3 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible ap4 plicant that receives assistance under this subsection

5 may use funds to carry out one or more of the fol6 lowing activities—

7 ‘‘(A) collecting, analyzing, and dissemi8 nating data regarding the extent to which chil9 dren and youth in the State are overweight or

10 physically inactive and the programs and serv11 ices available to meet those needs;

12 ‘‘(B) developing and implementing model

13 elementary and secondary education curricula

14 to create a comprehensive, coordinated nutrition

15 and physical fitness awareness and obesity pre16 vention program;

17 ‘‘(C) developing and implementing pilot

18 programs in schools to increase physical activity

19 and to enhance the nutritional status of stu20 dents, including through the increased con21 sumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains,

22 and lowfat dairy products;

23 ‘‘(D) developing and implementing State

24 guidelines in health, which include nutrition

25 education, and physical education and empha-
64

•HR 3873 EH

1 size regular physical activity during school

2 hours;

3 ‘‘(E) collaborating with community based

4 organizations, volunteer organizations, State

5 medical associations, and public health groups

6 to develop and implement nutrition and physical

7 education programs targeting lower income chil8 dren, ethnic minorities, and youth at a greater

9 risk for obesity;

10 ‘‘(F) collaborating with public or private

11 organizations that have as a mission the raising

12 of public awareness of the importance of a

13 balanced diet and an active lifestyle; and

14 ‘‘(G) providing training and technical as15 sistance to teachers and school food service pro16 fessionals consistent with the purpose of this

17 section.

18 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION.—Materials prepared under

19 this subsection regarding agricultural commodities,

20 food, or beverages must be factual and without bias.

21 ‘‘(8) REPORT.—Within 18 months of comple22 tion of the projects and the evaluations, the Sec23 retary shall submit to the Committee on Education

24 and the Workforce of the House of Representatives

25 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
65

•HR 3873 EH

1 and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on

2 Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry of the Senate a

3 report describing the results of the evaluation of the

4 demonstration programs and shall make such re5 ports available to the public, including through the

6 Internet.

7 ‘‘(9) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

9 enter into an agreement with an independent,

10 non-partisan science-based research organiza11 tion to conduct a comprehensive independent

12 evaluation of the effectiveness of the Team Nu13 trition initiative and the Team Nutrition Net14 work authorized by this subsection and to iden15 tify best practices in—

16 ‘‘(i) improving student understanding

17 of healthful eating patterns;

18 ‘‘(ii) engaging students in regular

19 physical activity and improving physical

20 fitness;

21 ‘‘(iii) reducing diabetes and obesity

22 rates in school children;

23 ‘‘(iv) improving student nutrition be24 haviors on the school campus including

25 healthier meal choices evidenced by greater
66

•HR 3873 EH

1 inclusion of fruits, vegetables, whole

2 grains, and lean dairy and protein in meal

3 and snack selections;

4 ‘‘(v) providing training and technical

5 assistance for food service professionals re6 sulting in the availability of healthy meals

7 that appeal to ethnic and cultural taste

8 preferences;

9 ‘‘(vi) linking meals programs to nutri10 tion education activities; and

11 ‘‘(vii) successfully involving school ad12 ministrators, the private sector, public

13 health agencies, non-profit organizations,

14 and other community partners.

15 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than October 1,

16 2007, the Secretary shall transmit the findings

17 of the independent evaluation to the Committee

18 on Education and the Workforce of the House

19 of Representatives, the Committee on Health,

20 Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Com21 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

22 of the Senate.

23 ‘‘(d) LOCAL NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

24 PROJECT.—
67

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability

2 of appropriations to carry out this subsection, the

3 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Edu4 cation, shall provide assistance to not more than 100

5 local educational agencies, at least one per State, for

6 the establishment of pilot projects for purposes of

7 promoting healthy eating habits and increasing

8 physical activity, consistent with the Dietary Guide9 lines for Americans issued jointly by the Secretary

10 of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and

11 Human Services, among elementary and secondary

12 education students.

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR PARTICIPATION IN

14 PILOT PROJECT.—To be eligible to receive assistance

15 under this subsection, a local educational agency

16 shall, in consultation with individuals who possess

17 education or experience appropriate for representing

18 the general field of public health, including nutrition

19 and fitness professionals, submit to the Secretary an

20 application that shall include—

21 ‘‘(A) a description of the local educational

22 agency’s need for nutrition and physical activity

23 programs;

24 ‘‘(B) a description of how the proposed

25 project will improve health and nutrition
68

•HR 3873 EH

1 through education and increased access to phys2 ical activity;

3 ‘‘(C) a description of how funds under this

4 subsection will be coordinated with other pro5 grams under this Act, the Richard B. Russell

6 National School Lunch Act, or other Acts, as

7 appropriate, to improve student health and nu8 trition;

9 ‘‘(D) a statement of the local educational

10 agency’s measurable goals for nutrition and

11 physical education programs and promotion;

12 ‘‘(E) a description of how the proposed

13 project will be aligned with the local wellness

14 policy required under the Act;

15 ‘‘(F) a description of the procedures the

16 agency will use for assessing and publicly re17 porting progress toward meeting those goals;

18 and

19 ‘‘(G) a description of how communications

20 to parents and guardians of participating stu21 dents regarding the activities under this sub22 section shall be in an understandable and uni23 form format, and, to the extent practicable, in

24 a language that parents can understand.
69

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—Subject to the availability of

2 funds made available to carry out this subsection, a

3 local educational agency receiving assistance under

4 this subsection shall conduct the project during a pe5 riod of 3 successive school years.

6 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An eligible ap7 plicant that receives assistance under this

8 subsection—

9 ‘‘(A) shall use funds provided to—

10 ‘‘(i) promote healthy eating through

11 the development and implementation of nu12 trition education programs and curricula

13 based on the Dietary Guidelines for Ameri14 cans; and

15 ‘‘(ii) increase opportunities for phys16 ical activity through after school programs,

17 athletics, intramural activities, and recess;

18 and

19 ‘‘(B) may use funds provided to—

20 ‘‘(i) educate parents and students

21 about the relationship of a poor diet and

22 inactivity to obesity and other health prob23 lems;
70

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(ii) develop and implement physical

2 education programs that promote fitness

3 and lifelong activity;

4 ‘‘(iii) provide training and technical

5 assistance to food service professionals to

6 develop nutritious, more appealing menus

7 and recipes;

8 ‘‘(iv) incorporate nutrition education

9 into physical education, health education,

10 and after school programs, including ath11 letics;

12 ‘‘(v) involve parents, nutrition profes13 sionals, food service staff, educators, com14 munity leaders, and other interested par15 ties in assessing the food options in the

16 school environment and developing and im17 plementing an action plan to promote a

18 balanced and healthy diet;

19 ‘‘(vi) provide nutrient content or nu20 trition information on meals served

21 through the school lunch or school break22 fast programs and items sold a la carte

23 during meal times;

24 ‘‘(vii) encourage the increased con25 sumption of a variety of healthy foods
71

•HR 3873 EH

1 through new initiatives such as salad bars

2 and fruit bars; and

3 ‘‘(viii) provide nutrition education, in4 cluding sports nutrition education, for

5 teachers, coaches, food service staff, ath6 letic trainers, and school nurses.

7 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—Materials prepared under

8 this subsection regarding agricultural commodities,

9 food, or beverages must be factual and without bias.

10 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Within 18 months of comple11 tion of the projects and evaluations, the Secretary

12 shall transmit to the Committee on Education and

13 the Workforce of the House of Representatives and

14 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and

15 Pensions and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri16 tion and Forestry of the Senate a report describing

17 the results of the evaluation of the pilot projects and

18 shall make such reports available to the public, in19 cluding through the Internet.

20 ‘‘(e) NUTRITION EDUCATION SUPPORT.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the purpose

22 of this section to support nutrition education, the

23 Secretary may provide for technical assistance and

24 grants to improve the quality of school meals and

25 access to local foods in schools and institutions.
72

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(2) SCHOOL MEALS INITIATIVE.—The Sec2 retary may provide assistance to enable State edu3 cational agencies to—

4 ‘‘(A) implement the recommendations of

5 the Secretary’s School Meals Initiative for

6 Healthy Children;

7 ‘‘(B) increase the consumption of fruits,

8 vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and whole

9 grains;

10 ‘‘(C) reduce saturated fat and sodium in

11 school meals;

12 ‘‘(D) improve school nutritional environ13 ments; and

14 ‘‘(E) conduct other activities that aid

15 schools in carrying out the Secretary’s School

16 Meals Initiative for Healthy Children.

17 ‘‘(3) ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS.—The Secretary

18 may provide assistance, through competitive match19 ing grants and technical assistance, to schools and

20 nonprofit entities for projects that—

21 ‘‘(A) improve access to local foods in

22 schools and institutions participating in pro23 grams under the Richard B. Russell National

24 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and

25 Section 4 of this Act through farm-to-cafeteria
73

•HR 3873 EH

1 activities that may include the acquisition of

2 food and appropriate equipment and the provi3 sion of training and education;

4 ‘‘(B) are, at a minimum, designed to pro5 cure local foods from small- and medium-sized

6 farms for school meals;

7 ‘‘(C) support nutrition education activities

8 or curriculum planning that incorporates the

9 participation of schoolchildren in farm and agri10 culture education activities;

11 ‘‘(D) develop a sustained commitment to

12 farm-to-cafeteria projects in the community by

13 linking schools, agricultural producers, parents,

14 and other community stakeholders;

15 ‘‘(E) require $100,000 or less in Federal

16 contributions;

17 ‘‘(F) require a Federal share of costs not

18 to exceed 75 percent;

19 ‘‘(G) provide matching support in the form

20 of cash or in kind contributions (including fa21 cilities, equipment, or services provided by State

22 and local governments and private sources); and

23 ‘‘(H) cooperate in an evaluation to be car24 ried out by the Secretary.’’; and
74

•HR 3873 EH

1 (3) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection

2 (f), and amending paragraph (1) of such subsection

3 to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

5 appropriated such sums as may be necessary for car6 rying out this section for fiscal years 2004 through

7 2008.’’.

8 SEC. 303. FRUITS AND VEGETABLE COMMODITIES.

9 Section 6(c)(1)(D) of the Richard B. Russell Na10 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(c)(1)(D)) is

11 amended by inserting ‘‘, and fruits and vegetables’’ before

12 the period.

13 SEC. 304. FLUID MILK.

14 Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National

15 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)) is amended to

16 read as follows:

17 ‘‘(2) FLUID MILK.—

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

19 schools participating in the school lunch pro20 gram under this Act—

21 ‘‘(i) shall offer students fluid milk in

22 a variety of fat contents;

23 ‘‘(ii) may offer students flavored and

24 unflavored fluid milk and lactose-free fluid

25 milk; and
75

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(iii) shall provide a substitute for

2 fluid milk for students whose disability re3 stricts their diet, upon receipt of a written

4 statement from a licensed physician that

5 identifies the disability that restricts the

6 student’s diet and that specifies the sub7 stitute for fluid milk.

8 ‘‘(B) SUBSTITUTES.—

9 ‘‘(i) STANDARDS FOR SUBSTI10 TUTION.—Schools may substitute for the

11 fluid milk provided under subparagraph

12 (A), a non-dairy beverage that is nutrition13 ally equivalent to fluid milk and meets nu14 tritional standards as established by the

15 Secretary (which shall, among other re16 quirements to be determined by the Sec17 retary, include fortification of calcium, pro18 tein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to levels

19 found in cow’s milk) for students who can20 not consume fluid milk because of a med21 ical or other special dietary need other

22 than a disability described in subparagraph

23 (A)(iii).

24 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—Such substitutions

25 may be made if the school notifies the
76

•HR 3873 EH

1 State agency that it is implementing a var2 iation allowed under this subparagraph,

3 and if such substitution is requested by

4 written statement of a medical authority or

5 by a student’s parent or legal guardian

6 that identifies the medical or other special

7 dietary need that restricts the student’s

8 diet, provided that the school shall not be

9 required to provide beverages other than

10 those it has identified as acceptable sub11 stitutes.

12 ‘‘(iii) EXCESS EXPENSES BORNE BY

13 THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.—Expenses in14 curred in providing substitutions pursuant

15 to this subparagraph that are in excess of

16 those covered by reimbursements under

17 this Act shall be paid by the school dis18 trict.

19 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTIONS ON SALE OF MILK

20 PROHIBITED.—A school or institution that par21 ticipates in the school lunch program under this

22 Act shall not directly or indirectly restrict the

23 sale or marketing of fluid milk products by the

24 school (or by a person approved by the school)

25 at any time or any place—
77

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(i) on the school premises; or

2 ‘‘(ii) at any school-sponsored event.’’.

3 SEC. 305. WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS FOR WEIGHTED

4 AVERAGES FOR NUTRIENT ANALYSIS.

5 Section 9(f)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National

6 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C 1758(f)(5)) is amended to

7 read as follows:

8 ‘‘(5) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS FOR WEIGHT9 ED AVERAGES FOR NUTRIENT ANALYSIS.—State

10 educational agencies may grant waivers to school

11 food authorities to the requirement for weighted

12 averages for nutrient analysis of menu items and

13 foods offered or served as part of a meal offered or

14 served under the school lunch program under this

15 Act or the school breakfast program under section 4

16 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773)

17 if—

18 ‘‘(A) the school food authority has an

19 equivalent system for conducting a nutrient

20 analysis, subject to State agency approval; and

21 ‘‘(B) the equivalent system adequately doc22 uments the extent to which the school food au23 thority is meeting the Dietary Guidelines for

24 Americans and other nutrition standards.
78

•HR 3873 EH

1 In addition, the Secretary may waive, on a case by

2 case basis, the requirement for a State agency to use

3 weighted averages when conducting a nutrient anal4 ysis as part of a review (of compliance with the Die5 tary Guidelines and other nutrition standards) of a

6 school food authority not using nutrient standard

7 menu planning, when, in the Secretary’s determina8 tion, an alternative analysis would yield results that

9 would adequately measure a school food authority’s

10 compliance with current nutrition standards for

11 school meals.’’.

12 SEC. 306. WHOLE GRAINS.

13 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment

14 of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate rules, based

15 on Federal nutrition guidelines, to increase the presence

16 of whole grains in foods offered in school nutrition pro17 grams under the Richard B. Russell National School

18 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) and the Child Nutri19 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.).

20 SEC. 307. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PILOT PROGRAM.

21 Section 18(g) of the Richard B. Russell National

22 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In the school

24 year beginning’’ and inserting ‘‘Beginning’’;
79

•HR 3873 EH

1 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and redesignating

2 paragraphs (2) and (4) as paragraphs (5) and (6),

3 respectively, and inserting after paragraph (1) the

4 following:

5 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL STATES.—In addition to the

6 States participating under subsection (1), the Sec7 retary shall make available free fresh and dried

8 fruits and fresh vegetables to students in 25 elemen9 tary or secondary schools in each State or Indian

10 reservation selected for participation.

11 ‘‘(3) SELECTION OF SCHOOLS.—In selecting ad12 ditional schools to participate in the pilot program

13 under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Sec14 retary shall—

15 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable,

16 ensure that the majority of schools selected are

17 those in which not less than 50 percent of stu18 dents are eligible for free or reduced price

19 meals under this Act;

20 ‘‘(B) solicit applications from interested

21 schools that include—

22 ‘‘(i) information pertaining to the per23 centage of students enrolled in the school

24 submitting the application who are eligible
80

•HR 3873 EH

1 for free or reduced price school lunches

2 under this Act;

3 ‘‘(ii) a certification of support for par4 ticipation in the pilot program signed by

5 the school food manager, the school prin6 cipal, and the district superintendent (or

7 their equivalent positions, as determined by

8 the school); and

9 ‘‘(iii) a plan for implementation of the

10 pilot program that includes a partnership

11 with an entity or entities of the fruit and

12 vegetable industry, which shall contribute

13 not less than 15 percent, in cash or in

14 kind, for the acquisition, handling, pro15 motion, and distribution of fresh and dried

16 fruits and fresh vegetables provided under

17 this program; and

18 ‘‘(iv) such other information as may

19 be requested by the Secretary; and

20 ‘‘(C) for each application received, deter21 mine whether the application is from a school

22 in which not less than 50 percent of students

23 are eligible for free or reduced price meals

24 under this Act.
81

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—Schools participating in

2 the program described in paragraph (1) shall receive

3 a priority in the receipt of assistance under this sub4 section and shall not be subject to the requirements

5 of paragraph (3).’’; and

6 (3) by amending paragraph (6) (as redesig7 nated by this section) to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

9 There is authorized to be appropriated $11,000,000

10 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be nec11 essary for fiscal years 2005 through 2008, to carry

12 out this subsection.’’.

13 TITLE IV—IMPROVING THE

14 WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHIL15 DREN PROGRAM

16 SEC. 401. DEFINITION OF NUTRITION EDUCATION.

17 Section 17(b)(7) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966

18 (42 U.S.C. 1786(b)(7)) is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘and physical activity’’ after

20 ‘‘dietary habits’’; and

21 (2) by striking ‘‘nutrition and health’’ and in22 serting ‘‘nutrition, health, and child development’’.

23 SEC. 402. DEFINITION OF SUPPLEMENTAL FOODS.

24 Section 17(b)(14) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966

25 (42 U.S.C. 1786(b)(14)) is amended by inserting after
82

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘children’’ the following: ‘‘and foods that promote the

2 health of the population served by the program authorized

3 by this section, as indicated by relevant nutrition science,

4 public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns’’.

5 SEC. 403. IMPROVING CERTIFICATION.

6 (a) CERTIFICATION OF WOMEN WHO ARE

7 BREASTFEEDING.—Section 17(d)(3)(A) of the Child Nu8 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(A)) is amended

9 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘A State may certify

10 breast-feeding women for up to 1 year, or until women

11 stop breast-feeding, whichever is earlier.’’

12 (b) PHYSICAL PRESENCE REQUIREMENT.—Section

13 17(d)(3)(C)(ii) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

14 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(C)(ii)) is amended—

15 (1) in subclause (I)(bb), by striking ‘‘from a

16 provider other than the local agency; or’’ and insert17 ing a semicolon;

18 (2) in subclause (II)(cc), by striking the period

19 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (3) by inserting after subclause (II) the fol21 lowing:

22 ‘‘(III) an infant under 8 weeks of

23 age—

24 ‘‘(aa) who cannot be present

25 at certification for a reason de-
83

•HR 3873 EH

1 termined appropriate by the local

2 agency; and

3 ‘‘(bb) for whom all necessary

4 certification information is pro5 vided.’’.

6 (c) PROCESSING APPLICATIONS UNDER SPECIAL

7 CIRCUMSTANCES.—Section 17(f)(1)(C) of the Child Nu8 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(1)(C)) is amended

9 by—

10 (1) redesignating clauses (ix) and (x) as clauses

11 (x) and (xi), respectively; and

12 (2) inserting after clause (viii) the following:

13 ‘‘(ix) procedures whereby a State

14 agency may accept and process vendor ap15 plications outside of the established time16 frames, such as in situations in which a

17 previously authorized vendor changes own18 ership under circumstances that do not

19 permit timely notification to the State

20 agency of such change in ownership;’’.

21 (d) RESCHEDULING POLICIES.—Section 17(f)(19) of

22 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(19))

23 is amended—

24 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; and’’

25 and inserting a semicolon;
84

•HR 3873 EH

1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period

2 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(C) require local agencies that schedule certification

5 appointments to permit an applicant or participant to re6 schedule an appointment to apply or be recertified for the

7 program.’’.

8 SEC. 404. REVIEWS OF AVAILABLE SUPPLEMENTAL FOODS.

9 (a) SCIENTIFIC REVIEW.—Section 17(f)(11) of the

10 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(11)) is

11 amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(11)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe by regulations

13 the supplemental foods to be made available in the pro14 gram under this section. To the degree possible the Sec15 retary shall assure that the fat, sugar, and salt content

16 of the prescribed foods is appropriate.

17 ‘‘(B) Beginning in 2013 and every 10 years there18 after, or more frequently if determined by the Secretary

19 to be necessary to reflect current scientific knowledge, the

20 Secretary shall conduct a scientific review of the supple21 mental foods available in the program and recommend, as

22 necessary, changes to reflect nutrition science, current

23 public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns.’’.

24 (b) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary shall promulgate

25 a final rule updating the prescribed supplemental foods
85

•HR 3873 EH

1 available through the program authorized under section

2 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786)

3 within 18 months of receiving the review of the food pack4 age for such program undertaken by the National Acad5 emy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine in September 2003.

6 SEC. 405. NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATIONS AND INFANT FOR7 MULA BENEFITS.

8 Section 17(f) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

9 U.S.C. 1786(f)) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(25) NOTIFICATION OF VIOLATIONS.—If a

12 State agency finds that a vendor has committed a

13 violation that requires a pattern of occurrences in

14 order to impose a sanction, the State agency shall

15 notify the vendor of the initial violation in writing

16 prior to documentation of another violation, unless

17 the State agency determines that notifying the ven18 dor would compromise an investigation.

19 ‘‘(26) INFANT FORMULA BENEFITS.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State agency may

21 round up to the next whole can of formula to

22 ensure that all participants receive the full-au23 thorized nutritional benefit specified by regula24 tion.
86

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—For formula covered

2 by infant formula contracts, subparagraph (A)

3 shall take effect as contracts are awarded under

4 bid solicitations made on or after October 1,

5 2004.’’.

6 SEC. 406. HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 INITIATIVE.

7 Section 17(h)(4) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966

8 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(4)) is amended—

9 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘; and’’

10 and inserting a semicolon;

11 (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period

12 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

13 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(F) partner with communities, State and

16 local agencies, employers, health care profes17 sionals, and the private sector to build a sup18 portive breastfeeding environment for women

19 participating in the program under this section

20 to support the breastfeeding goals of the

21 Healthy People 2010 initiative.’’.

22 SEC. 407. COMPETITIVE BIDDING.

23 Section 17(h)(8)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of

24 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(8)(A)) is amended by adding at

25 the end the following:
87

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(iv) REBATE INVOICES.—Each State

2 agency shall have a system to ensure that

3 infant formula rebate invoices, under com4 petitive bidding, provide a reasonable esti5 mate or an actual count of the number of

6 units sold to participants in the program

7 under this section.

8 ‘‘(v) CENT-FOR-CENT ADJUST9 MENTS.—A bid solicitation for infant for10 mula under the program made on or after

11 October 1, 2004 shall require the manufac12 turer to adjust for price changes subse13 quent to the opening of the bidding process

14 in a manner that requires—

15 ‘‘(I) a cent-for-cent increase in

16 the rebate amounts if there is an in17 crease in the lowest national wholesale

18 price for a full truckload of the par19 ticular infant formula; or

20 ‘‘(II) a cent-for-cent decrease in

21 the rebate amounts if there is a de22 crease in the lowest national wholesale

23 price for a full truckload of the par24 ticular infant formula.’’.
88

•HR 3873 EH

1 SEC. 408. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROJECTS.

2 Section 17(h)(10)(B)(ii) of the Child Nutrition Act

3 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(10)(B)(ii)) is amended by in4 serting after ‘‘under this section’’ the following: ‘‘, which

5 may include demonstration projects in up to 10 local sites,

6 determined to be geographically and culturally representa7 tive of local States and Indian agencies, to evaluate the

8 inclusion of fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables

9 (to be made available through private funds) as an addi10 tion to the supplemental food provided under this section’’.

11 SEC. 409. PRICE LEVELS OF RETAIL STORES.

12 Section 17(h)(11) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966

13 is amended by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—

15 ‘‘(i) The State agency shall evaluate a

16 vendor applicant based on its shelf prices

17 or on the prices it bids for supplemental

18 foods, which may not exceed its shelf

19 prices.

20 ‘‘(ii) The State agency shall establish

21 price limitations on the amount that it will

22 pay vendors for supplemental foods. The

23 State agency shall ensure that price limita24 tions do not result in inadequate partici25 pant access by geographic area.
89

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(iii) In establishing competitive price

2 and price limitation requirements, the

3 State agency may exclude pharmacy ven4 dors that supply only exempt infant for5 mula or medical foods that are eligible

6 under the program.

7 ‘‘(iv) The State agency shall establish

8 competitive price requirements and price

9 limitations for vendor peer groups, as nec10 essary to ensure that prices paid to ven11 dors are competitive. Vendor peer group

12 competitive price requirements and price

13 limitations may reflect reasonable esti14 mates of varying costs of acquisition of

15 supplemental foods.

16 ‘‘(D) INCENTIVE ITEMS.—The State agen17 cy shall not authorize a retail food store that

18 provides incentive items or other free merchan19 dise to program participants if funds available

20 under this program were used to purchase such

21 items or merchandise.

22 ‘‘(E) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing

23 in this section may be construed to authorize

24 violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act (15
90

•HR 3873 EH

1 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) or the Robinson-Patman Act

2 (15 U.S.C. 13 et seq.).’’.

3 SEC. 410. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS.

4 Section 17(h)(12) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1996

5 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(12)) is amended—

6 (1) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as

7 follows:

8 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER

9 SYSTEMS.—

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All States that re11 ceive Federal funds for design or imple12 mentation of electronic benefit transfer

13 (EBT) systems for the program under this

14 section shall use technical specifications or

15 standards, as applicable, as determined by

16 the Secretary, except as provided in clause

17 (ii).

18 ‘‘(ii) EXISTING SYSTEMS.—EBT sys19 tems for the program under this section

20 that are in development or are issuing ben21 efits as of the date of enactment shall be

22 required to submit within 6 months after

23 the date of enactment of this subparagraph

24 a plan for compliance.
91

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(iii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may

2 waive compliance with this subparagraph

3 for State EBT systems for the program

4 under this section that are issuing benefits

5 as of the date of enactment of this sub6 paragraph until such time that compliance

7 is feasible.’’; and

8 (2) by amended subparagraph (C) to read as

9 follows:

10 ‘‘(C) UNIVERSAL PRODUCT CODES DATABASE.—The

11 Secretary shall implement a national Universal Product

12 Code Database for use by all State agencies in carrying

13 out the program and shall make available from appro14 priated funds such sums as may be required for hosting,

15 hardware, and software configuration, and support.’’.

16 SEC. 411. INFANT FORMULA FRAUD PREVENTION.

17 Section 17(h) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

18 U.S.C. 1786(h)) is further amended by adding at the end

19 the following:

20 ‘‘(13) APPROVED PROVIDERS OF INFANT FOR21 MULA.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State agency shall

23 maintain a list of infant formula manufacturers,

24 wholesalers, distributors, and retailers approved to

25 provide infant formula to vendors.
92

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(B) LIST.—The list required under subpara2 graph (A) shall include food manufacturers, whole3 salers, distributors, and retailers licensed in the

4 State in accordance with State law and regulations

5 to distribute infant formula and food manufacturers

6 registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administra7 tion that provide infant formula.

8 ‘‘(C) PURCHASE REQUIREMENT.—Vendors au9 thorized to participate in the program under this

10 section shall purchase infant formula from the list

11 required under subparagraph (A).’’.

12 SEC. 412. STATE ALLIANCES.

13 Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

14 U.S.C. 1786) is further amended—

15 (1) in subsection (b) by adding at the end the

16 following:

17 ‘‘(22) ‘State alliance’ means 2 or more State

18 agencies that join together for the purpose of pro19 curing infant formula by soliciting competitive

20 bids.’’; and

21 (2) in subsection (h)(8)(A) by adding at the

22 end the following:

23 ‘‘(vi) SIZE OF STATE ALLIANCES.—No

24 State alliance may form among States

25 whose infant participation exceeds 200,000
93

•HR 3873 EH

1 based on program participation as of Octo2 ber 2003, except that—

3 ‘‘(I) an alliance among States

4 with a combined 200,000 infant par5 ticipants as of October 2003 may con6 tinue, and may expand to include

7 more than 200,000 infants, but may

8 not expand to include any additional

9 State agencies that were not included

10 in the alliance as of October 1, 2003,

11 other than as provided in subclause

12 (II); and

13 ‘‘(II) any State agency serving

14 fewer than 5,000 infant participants

15 as of October 2003, or any Indian

16 Tribal Organization, may request to

17 join any State alliance.’’.

18 SEC. 413. LIMITS ON EXPENDITURES.

19 Section 17(i)(3)(A)(ii)(I) of the Child Nutrition Act

20 of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(i)(3)(A)(ii)(I)) is amended by

21 striking ‘‘1 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘3 percent’’.
94

•HR 3873 EH

1 SEC. 414. MIGRANT AND COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

2 INITIATIVE.

3 Section 17(j) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42

4 U.S.C. 1786(j)) is amended by striking paragraph (4) and

5 redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (4).

6 SEC. 415. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.

7 (a) CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 1966.—Section 17 of

8 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) is

9 amended by striking subsection (r).

10 (b) NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT.—Section 12 of

11 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

12 U.S.C. 1760) is amended by striking subsection (p).

13 SEC. 416. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—Section 17(g)

15 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(g))

16 is amended by striking ‘‘(g)(1) There are authorized’’ and

17 all that follows through ‘‘through 2003.’’ in paragraph (1)

18 and inserting the following:

19 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be

21 appropriated to carry out this section such sums as

22 are necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 through

23 2008.’’.

24 (b) NUTRITION SERVICES AND ADMINISTRATION

25 FUNDS.—Section 17(h) of the Child Nutrition Act of

26 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)) is amended—
95

•HR 3873 EH

1 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘1995

2 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2004 through 2008’’;

3 and

4 (2) in paragraph (10)(A), by striking ‘‘1995

5 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2004 through 2008’’.

6 (c) FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PROGRAM.—Sec7 tion 17(m)(9)(A)(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966

8 (42 U.S.C. 1786(m)(9)) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA10 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro11 priated to carry out this subsection such

12 sums as are necessary for each of fiscal

13 years 2004 through 2008.’’.

14 TITLE V—REAUTHORIZATION,

15 MISCELLANEOUS PROVI16 SIONS, AND EFFECTIVE DATE

17 SEC. 501. TRAINING, TECHNICAL, AND OTHER ASSISTANCE.

18 Section 21(a) of the Richard B. Russell National

19 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b–1(a)) is amended—

20 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol21 lows:

22 ‘‘(1) subject to the availability of and from

23 amounts appropriated pursuant to subsection (g)(1),

24 shall provide—
96

•HR 3873 EH

1 ‘‘(A) training and technical assistance to

2 improve the skills of individuals employed in

3 food service programs carried out under this

4 Act, section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of

5 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), and, as appropriate,

6 other federally assisted feeding programs;

7 ‘‘(B) training and technical assistance to

8 States, State agencies, schools, and school food

9 authorities in the procurement of goods and

10 services for programs under this Act and the

11 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et

12 seq.), including training and technical assist13 ance to ensure compliance with section 12(n) of

14 this Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(n));

15 ‘‘(C) assistance, on a competitive basis, to

16 State agencies for the purpose of aiding schools

17 and school food authorities with at least 50 per18 cent of enrolled children certified to receive free

19 or reduced price meals, and, if there are any re20 maining funds, other schools and school food

21 authorities in meeting the cost of acquiring or

22 upgrading technology and information manage23 ment systems for use in food service programs

24 carried out under this Act and section 4 of the

25 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773)
97

•HR 3873 EH

1 if the school or school food authority submits to

2 the State agency an infrastructure development

3 plan that addresses the cost savings and im4 provements in program integrity and operations

5 that would result from the use of new or up6 graded technology in—

7 ‘‘(i) methods to ensure that there

8 shall not be any overt identification of any

9 such child by special tokens or tickets, an10 nounced or published list of names, or by

11 any other means;

12 ‘‘(ii) processing and verifying applica13 tions for free and reduced price school

14 meals;

15 ‘‘(iii) integrating menu planning, pro16 duction, and serving data to monitor com17 pliance with section 9(f)(1); and

18 ‘‘(iv) establishing compatibility with

19 statewide reporting systems;

20 ‘‘(D) assistance, on a competitive basis, to

21 State agencies with low proportions of schools

22 or students that participate in the school break23 fast program under section 4 of the Child Nu24 trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) and that

25 demonstrate the greatest need, for the purpose
98

•HR 3873 EH

1 of aiding schools in meeting costs associated

2 with initiating or expanding a school breakfast

3 program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition

4 Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773), including out5 reach and informational activities; and’’; and

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘subsection

7 (e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (g)(2).’’

8 SEC. 502. NOTICE OF IRRADIATED FOOD.

9 Section 14 of the Richard B. Russell National School

10 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1762a) is amended by adding at

11 the end the following:

12 ‘‘(h) NOTICE OF IRRADIATED FOOD.—The Secretary

13 shall develop policy and establish procedures for the pur14 chase and distribution of irradiated food products in Fed15 eral school meals programs. The policies and procedures

16 shall ensure at a minimum that—

17 ‘‘(1) irradiated food products are made avail18 able only at the request of States and school food

19 authorities;

20 ‘‘(2) reimbursements to schools for irradiated

21 food products are equal to reimbursements to

22 schools for non-irradiated products;

23 ‘‘(3) States and school food service authorities

24 are provided factual information on the science and

25 evidence regarding irradiation technology, including
99

•HR 3873 EH

1 notice that irradiation is not a substitute for safe

2 food handling techniques and any such other infor3 mation necessary to promote food safety in school

4 meal programs;

5 ‘‘(4) States and school food service authorities

6 are provided model procedures for providing factual

7 information on the science and evidence regarding

8 irradiation technology and any such other informa9 tion necessary to promote food safety in school

10 meals to school food service authorities, parents, and

11 students regarding irradiation technology;

12 ‘‘(5) irradiated food products distributed to the

13 Federal school meals program are labeled with a

14 symbol or other printed notice indicating that the

15 product was treated with irradiation and is promi16 nently displayed in a clear and understandable for17 mat on the container;

18 ‘‘(6) irradiated products are not commingled

19 with non-irradiated products in containers; and

20 ‘‘(7) encourages schools that offer irradiated

21 foods to offer alternatives to irradiated food prod22 ucts as part of the meal plan used by schools.’’.
100

•HR 3873 EH

1 SEC. 503. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

2 Section 12 of the Richard B. Russell National School

3 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) is further amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(p) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con6 gress that Federal resources provided under this Act and

7 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 dedicated to child nutri8 tion should support the most effective programs within the

9 Federal agency that is most capable of assisting children

10 in nutritional need. Congress encourages the elimination

11 of initiatives that are duplicative of other Federal efforts,

12 particularly those that are duplicative of programs con13 ducted under this Act and the Child Nutrition Act of

14 1966.’’.

15 SEC. 504. REAUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAMS.

16 (a) STATE ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Section

17 7(i) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

18 1776(g)) (as amended by this Act) is amended by striking

19 ‘‘2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2008’’.

20 (b) COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM.—

21 (1) Section 14(a) of the Richard B. Russell Na22 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1762a(a)) is

23 amended by striking ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘September 30, 2008’’.

25 (2) Section 15(e) of the Commodity Distribu26 tion Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987 (7
101

•HR 3873 EH

1 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 100–237) is amended

2 by striking ‘‘April 1, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘October

3 1, 2008’’.

4 (c) PURCHASES OF LOCALLY PRODUCED FOODS.—

5 Section 9(j)(2)(A) of the Richard B. Russell National

6 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 758(j)(2)(A)) is amended

7 by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2008’’.

8 (d) TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND FOOD

9 SERVICE MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE.—Section 21(g)(1) of

10 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42

11 U.S.C. 1769b-1(e)(1)) (as amended by this Act) is further

12 amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 1992

13 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 2004, and

14 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2005

15 through 2008’’.

16 (e) COMPLIANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.—Section

17 22(d) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 1769c(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘2003’’

19 and inserting ‘‘2008’’.

20 SEC. 505. EFFECTIVE DATES.

21 The amendments made by sections 101, 104, 105(a),

22 202, 410, 416, and 504 shall take effect on the date of

23 enactment of this Act. The amendments made by sections

24 201 and 208(c) shall take effect on July 1, 2005. All other
102

•HR 3873 EH

1 amendments made by this Act shall take effect October

2 1, 2004.

Passed the House of Representatives March 24,

2004.

Attest:

Clerk.