I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3886 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to improve 
the child and adult care food program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2015 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself and Ms. STEFANIK) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act to improve the child and adult care food program, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Early Childhood Nutri-
tion Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION CRITERIA FOR PRO-
PRIETARY CHILD CARE CENTERS. 
Section 17(a)(6) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(a)(6)) is amended— 
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(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(G) in the case of an institution described 
in paragraph (2)(B), the eligibility determina-
tion shall be in effect for 6 months after the 
date such institution is approved by the State 
under section 17(d).’’. 
SEC. 3. REVIEW OF SERIOUS DEFICIENCY PROCESS. 
Section 17(d)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(d)(5)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(F) SERIOUS DEFICIENCY PROCESS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this 
subparagraph, the Secretary shall review 
and issue guidance and, as appropriate, 
regulations regarding the serious deficiency 
process for the program under this section. 
‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—In carrying out clause 
(i), the Secretary shall review, at a min-
imum, the processes for, and those in-
volved in— 
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‘‘(I) determining when there is a 
serious deficiency, including— 
‘‘(aa) what measures auto-
matically result in a finding of 
serious deficiency; and 
‘‘(bb) how differentiation is 
being made between— 
‘‘(AA) 
a 
reasonable 
margin of human error and 
systematic 
or 
intentional 
noncompliance; and 
‘‘(BB) State-specific re-
quirements and Federal reg-
ulations; 
‘‘(II) appealing and mediating a 
finding of serious deficiency, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(aa) findings related to 
State-specific requirements; and 
‘‘(bb) processes for ensuring 
officials involved in appeals and 
mediation are fair and impartial; 
‘‘(III) 
determining 
the 
cir-
cumstances under which a corrective 
action plan is acceptable; and 
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‘‘(IV) termination and disquali-
fication, including maintenance of the 
list under subparagraph (E). 
‘‘(iii) 
GUIDANCE
AND
REGULA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—After con-
ducting the review under clause (ii), 
the Secretary shall make findings 
from the information collected and 
issue guidance and, as appropriate, 
regulations from such findings that 
will assist sponsoring organizations, 
State agencies, and the Food and Nu-
trition Service in ensuring a fair, uni-
form, and effective administration of 
the serious deficiency process, while 
retaining program integrity. 
‘‘(II) SCOPE.—Such guidance or, 
as appropriate, regulations shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(aa) clarity on the different 
measures for noncompliance; 
‘‘(bb) appeals process for a 
finding of serious deficiency or a 
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determination that a corrective 
action plan is inadequate; and 
‘‘(cc) adequate timeframes 
under a corrective action plan for 
compliance that are consistent 
for all types of institutions, in-
cluding family or group day care 
homes.’’. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF REIMBURSEMENTS FOR ADDI-
TIONAL MEAL OR SNACK. 
Section 17(f)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(2)(A) Subject to subparagraph 
(B) of this paragraph’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) DISBURSEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B)’’; and 
(2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(B) 
LIMITATION.—No 
reimbursement 
may be made to any institution under this para-
graph, or to family or group day care home 
sponsoring organizations under paragraph (3), 
for more than— 
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‘‘(i) 2 meals and 1 supplement or 1 
meal and 2 supplements per day per child; 
or 
‘‘(ii) 3 meals and 1 supplement or 2 
meals and 2 supplements per day per 
child, for each child that is maintained in 
a child care setting for more than 8 hours 
per day.’’. 
SEC. 5. ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PAPERWORK REDUC-
TION. 
Section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(v) ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON PAPERWORK REDUC-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, the Secretary shall establish an advisory 
committee (hereafter in this subsection referred to 
as the ‘Advisory Committee’) to carry out the duties 
described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The duties of the Advisory 
Committee shall be to— 
‘‘(A) examine the feasibility of reducing 
unnecessary or duplicative paperwork resulting 
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from regulations and recordkeeping require-
ments, including paperwork resulting from ad-
ditional State requirements, for those partici-
pating or seeking to participate in the program 
under this section including State agencies, 
family child care homes, child care centers, and 
sponsoring organizations; and 
‘‘(B) provide recommendations to reduce 
such paperwork for participants in the program 
under this section while ensuring that proper 
accountability and program integrity are main-
tained. 
‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee 
shall be composed of 1 member representing each of 
the following entities and such other members as the 
Secretary determines to be appropriate: 
‘‘(A) A public nonprofit center. 
‘‘(B) A private nonprofit center. 
‘‘(C) A family or group day care home. 
‘‘(D) A Head Start center. 
‘‘(E) A for-profit center. 
‘‘(F) An emergency shelter. 
‘‘(G) An adult day care center. 
‘‘(H) A State agency. 
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‘‘(I) Sponsoring organizations for centers 
and family or group day care homes. 
‘‘(J) An anti-hunger advocacy organiza-
tion. 
‘‘(K) An at-risk, after school program. 
‘‘(L) A child care advocacy organization. 
‘‘(4) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the rec-
ommendations described in paragraph (2), the Advi-
sory Committee shall consider— 
‘‘(A) information, recommendations, and 
reports from the Paperwork Reduction Work 
Group established by the Food and Nutrition 
Service pursuant to section 119(i) of the Child 
Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 
2004 (Public Law 108–265; 118 Stat. 755); 
and 
‘‘(B) the use of electronic systems and rec-
ordkeeping technologies to reduce paperwork 
for program participants. 
‘‘(5) GUIDANCE AND REGULATIONS.—Not later 
than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, the Secretary shall issue guidance and, 
as appropriate, regulations based on the rec-
ommendations described in paragraph (2) for 
streamlined and consolidated paperwork and record-
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keeping requirements for the program, including rec-
ommendations for reducing paperwork for applica-
tions and monitoring and auditing requirements. 
‘‘(6) REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 
days after issuing the guidance and regulations 
described in paragraph (5), the Secretary shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 
and the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce of the House of Representatives con-
taining the information described in subpara-
graph (B). 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub-
paragraph (A) shall contain the following: 
‘‘(i) In each case in which the Sec-
retary did not implement a recommenda-
tion of the Advisory Committee, an expla-
nation of why such recommendation was 
not implemented. 
‘‘(ii) Recommendations for legislative 
action that may further strengthen and 
streamline the program application and 
monitoring process and reduce administra-
tive burdens on grantees, program partici-
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pants, and local, State, and Federal gov-
ernments.’’. 
Æ 
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