II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 540 

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

the Secretary of Agriculture to make loan guarantees and grants to 

finance certain improvements to school lunch facilities, to train school 

food service personnel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2015 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. HEITKAMP) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture to make 

loan guarantees and grants to finance certain improvements to school lunch facilities, to train school food 

service personnel, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘School Food Mod5 ernization Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LOAN GUARANTEES AND GRANTS TO FINANCE CER2 TAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL LUNCH FA3 CILITIES. 

4 The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

5 is amended by inserting after section 26 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1769g) the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 27. LOAN GUARANTEES AND GRANTS TO FINANCE 

8 CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS TO SCHOOL 

9 LUNCH FACILITIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) DURABLE EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘dura12 ble equipment’ means durable food preparation, han13 dling, cooking, serving, and storage equipment great14 er than $500 in value. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en16 tity’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a local educational agency or a school 

18 food authority administering or operating a 

19 school lunch program; 

20 ‘‘(B) a tribal organization; or 

21 ‘‘(C) a consortium that includes a local 

22 educational agency or school food authority de23 scribed in subparagraph (A), a tribal organiza24 tion, or both. 

25 ‘‘(3) INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term ‘infrastruc26 ture’ means a food storage facility, kitchen, food 


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1 service facility, cafeteria, dining room, or food prepa2 ration facility. 

3 ‘‘(4) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term 

4 ‘local educational agency’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

7 ‘‘(5) SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITY.—The term 

8 ‘school food authority’ has the meaning given the 

9 term in section 210.2 of title 7, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations (or a successor regulation). 

11 ‘‘(6) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘tribal 

12 organization’ has the meaning given the term in sec13 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu14 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

15 ‘‘(b) LOAN GUARANTEES FOR ASSISTANCE TO

16 SCHOOLS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS AND

17 DURABLE EQUIPMENT NECESSARY TO PROVIDE

18 HEALTHY MEALS THROUGH SCHOOL LUNCH PRO19 GRAMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO GUARANTEE LOANS.—The 

21 Secretary shall issue a loan guarantee to an eligible 

22 entity for purposes of financing the construction, re23 modeling, or expansion of infrastructure or the pur24 chase of durable equipment that the Secretary deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Feb 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S540.IS S540

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1 mines will assist the eligible entity in providing 

2 healthy meals through a school lunch program. 

3 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—Subject to para4 graph (3), the Secretary shall select eligible entities 

5 to receive a loan guarantee under this subsection on 

6 a competitive basis. 

7 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCES.—In issuing a loan guar8 antee under this subsection, the Secretary shall give 

9 a preference to an eligible entity that, as compared 

10 with other eligible entities seeking a loan guarantee 

11 under this subsection, the Secretary determines 

12 demonstrates substantial or disproportionate— 

13 ‘‘(A) need for infrastructure improvement; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) durable equipment need or impair16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(4) OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary shall estab18 lish procedures to enable the Secretary to oversee 

19 the construction, remodeling, or expansion of infra20 structure or the purchase of durable equipment for 

21 which a loan guarantee is issued under this sub22 section. 

23 ‘‘(5) GUARANTEE AMOUNT.—A loan guarantee 

24 issued under this subsection may not guarantee 


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1 more than 80 percent of the principal amount of the 

2 loan. 

3 ‘‘(6) FEES.—The Secretary shall establish fees 

4 with respect to loan guarantees under this sub5 section that, as determined by the Secretary— 

6 ‘‘(A) are sufficient to cover all the adminis7 trative costs to the Federal Government for the 

8 operation of the program; 

9 ‘‘(B) may be in the form of an application 

10 or transaction fee, or interest rate adjustment; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(C) may be based on the risk premium 

13 associated with the loan or loan guarantee, tak14 ing into consideration— 

15 ‘‘(i) the price of Treasury obligations 

16 of a similar maturity; 

17 ‘‘(ii) prevailing market conditions; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the ability of the eligible infra19 structure project to support the loan guar20 antee; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) the total amount of the loan 

22 guarantee. 

23 ‘‘(7) FUNDING.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To provide loan guar25 antees under this subsection, the Secretary 


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1 shall reserve $300,000,000 of the loan guar2 antee authority remaining and unobligated as of 

3 the date of enactment of the School Food Mod4 ernization Act under the program of community 

5 facility guaranteed loans under section 306(a) 

6 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop7 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)). 

8 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec9 retary may use not more than 5 percent of the 

10 amount made available to carry out this sub11 section for each fiscal year to provide technical 

12 assistance to applicants and prospective appli13 cants in preparing applications and creating fi14 nancing packages that leverage a mix of public 

15 and private funding sources. 

16 ‘‘(c) EQUIPMENT GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—Begin18 ning in fiscal year 2016 and subject to the avail19 ability of appropriations, the Secretary shall make 

20 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to 

21 assist the eligible entities in purchasing the durable 

22 equipment and infrastructure needed to serve 

23 healthier meals and improve food safety. 

24 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

25 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) eligible entities in States that have 

2 enacted comparable statutory grant funding 

3 mechanisms or that have otherwise appro4 priated funds to assist eligible entities in pur5 chasing the durable equipment and infrastruc6 ture needed to serve healthier meals and im7 prove food safety, as determined by the Sec8 retary; and 

9 ‘‘(B) eligible entities that have identified 

10 and are reasonably expected to meet an unmet 

11 local or community need, including through— 

12 ‘‘(i) a public-private partnership or 

13 partnership with a food pantry or other 

14 low-income assistance agency; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the provision for or allowance of 

16 kitchen or cafeteria usage by related or 

17 outside community organizations. 

18 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of 

20 costs for assistance funded through a grant 

21 awarded under this subsection shall not exceed 

22 80 percent of the total cost of the durable 

23 equipment or infrastructure. 

24 ‘‘(B) MATCHING.—As a condition on re25 ceiving a grant under this subsection, an eligiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Feb 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S540.IS S540

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1 ble entity shall provide matching support in the 

2 form of cash or in-kind contributions. 

3 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

4 or vary the requirements of subparagraphs (A) 

5 and (B) if the Secretary determines that undue 

6 hardship or effective exclusion from participa7 tion in the grant program under this subsection 

8 would otherwise result. 

9 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized 

11 to be appropriated such sums as may be nec12 essary to carry out this subsection for fiscal 

13 year 2016 and each subsequent fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec15 retary may use not more than 5 percent of the 

16 amount made available to carry out this sub17 section for each fiscal year to provide technical 

18 assistance to applicants and prospective appli19 cants in preparing applications and creating fi20 nancing packages that leverage a mix of public 

21 and private funding sources.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

2 SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE PERSONNEL. 

3 The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

4 is amended by inserting after section 21 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1769b–1) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 21A. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

7 SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE PERSONNEL. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

9 grant program under which the Secretary shall award 

10 grants, on a competitive basis, to provide support to eligi11 ble third-party training institutions described in sub12 section (b) to develop and administer training and tech13 nical assistance for school food service personnel to meet 

14 nutrition standards under section 4(b)(3) and improve ef15 ficacy and efficiency of the school lunch program under 

16 this Act and the school breakfast program established by 

17 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

18 1773). 

19 ‘‘(b) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBLE THIRD-PARTY INSTI20 TUTIONS.—The Secretary shall establish specific criteria 

21 that eligible third-party training institutions shall meet to 

22 qualify to receive grants under this section, which shall 

23 include— 

24 ‘‘(1) a demonstrated capacity to administer ef25 fective training and technical assistance program26 ming to school food service personnel; 


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1 ‘‘(2) prior, successful experience in providing or 

2 engaging in training and technical assistance pro3 gramming or applied research activities involving eli4 gible entities, school food service administrators, or 

5 directors; 

6 ‘‘(3) prior, successful experience in developing 

7 relevant educational training tools or course mate8 rials or curricula on topics addressing child and 

9 school nutrition or the updated nutrition standards 

10 under section 4(b)(3); and 

11 ‘‘(4) the ability to deliver effective and cost-effi12 cient training and technical assistance programming 

13 to school food service personnel— 

14 ‘‘(A) at training sites that are located 

15 within a proximate geographic distance to 

16 schools, central kitchens, or other worksites; or 

17 ‘‘(B) through an online training and assist18 ance program on topics that do not require in19 person attendance. 

20 ‘‘(c) PROGRAM ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall as21 sist the institutions receiving grants under this section in 

22 publicizing and disseminating training and other project 

23 materials and online tools to the maximum extent prac24 ticable. 

25 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of costs 

2 for training and technical assistance funded through 

3 a grant awarded under this section shall not exceed 

4 80 percent of the total cost of the training and tech5 nical assistance. 

6 ‘‘(2) MATCHING.—As a condition of receiving a 

7 grant under this section, the eligible third-party 

8 training institution shall provide matching support 

9 in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. 

10 ‘‘(e) OVERSIGHT.—The Secretary shall establish pro11 cedures to enable the Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(1) to oversee the administration and oper13 ation of training and technical assistance funded 

14 through grants awarded under this section; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to ensure that the training and assistance 

16 is operated consistent with the goals and require17 ments of this Act. 

18 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

20 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to 

21 carry out this section for fiscal year 2016 and each 

22 subsequent fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

24 may use not more than 5 percent of the amount 

25 made available to carry out this section for each fisVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:36 Feb 27, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S540.IS S540

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1 cal year to provide technical assistance to applicants 

2 and prospective applicants in preparing applications 

3 and creating financing packages that leverage a mix 

4 of public and private funding sources.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

6 Not later than 1 year after funds are made available 

7 to carry out the amendments made by this Act, and annu8 ally thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

9 to Congress a report on the progress of the Secretary in 

10 implementing the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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