IB 
Union Calendar No. 258
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3873
[Report No. 108–445] 
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 pro-
grams, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 2, 2004
Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. BOEHNER, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. UPTON, Mr. 
EHLERS, Mr. KELLER, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. PORTER, Mr. 
CARTER, Mr. CASE, Mr. PEARCE, Mr. SIMMONS, Ms. WATSON, Mr. PE-
TERSON of Minnesota, and Ms. KILPATRICK) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Work-
force 
MARCH 23, 2004
Additional sponsors: Mr. OSBORNE, Ms. MAJETTE, Mr. HASTINGS of Wash-
ington, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FILNER, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. 
PLATTS, Mr. MARSHALL, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. 
NORWOOD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. VAN 
HOLLEN, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. JEFFERSON, Ms. NORTON, Ms. LOFGREN, 
Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PETRI, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. KIND, 
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. HOLT, Mrs. MCCAR-
THY of New York, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 
MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, and Ms. 
LEE 
MARCH 23, 2004
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 2, 2004] 
A BILL 
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.
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 ‘‘Child Nutrition Im-
provement and Integrity Act’’. 
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
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 community child nutrition program pilot. 
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. 
TITLE IV—IMPROVING THE WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN 
PROGRAM 
Sec. 401. Definition of nutrition education. 
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.
TITLE I—ENSURING ACCESS TO 
CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS 
SEC. 101. EXCLUSION OF MILITARY HOUSING ALLOWANCES. 
Section 9(b)(7) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2002’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘the amount’’ and inserting ‘‘The amount’’. 
SEC. 102. HOMELESS CHILDREN, RUNAWAY YOUTH, AND MI-
GRATORY CHILD ELIGIBILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b)(6)(A) of the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(b)(6)(A)) is amended—
(1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or’’; 
(2) in clause (iii), by striking the period and in-
serting a semicolon; and 
(3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: 
‘‘(iv) a homeless child or youth (as defined in 
section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As-
sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a)); 
‘‘(v) a youth served by programs under the Run-
away and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et 
seq.); or 
‘‘(vi) a migratory child, as such term is defined 
in section 1309(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399(2)).’’. 
(b) DOCUMENTATION.—Section 9(d)(2) of the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(d)(2)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’;
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) documentation has been provided to the ap-
propriate local educational agency showing that the 
child meets the criteria specified in clauses (iv) or (v) 
of subsection (b)(6); or
‘‘(E) documentation has been provided to the ap-
propriate local educational agency showing the child’s 
status as a migratory child, as such term is defined 
in section 1309(2) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399(2)).’’. 
SEC. 103. ELIGIBILITY FOR SEVERE NEED ASSISTANCE. 
Section 4(d) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1773(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking the heading and all that follows 
through paragraph (1), and inserting: 
‘‘(d) SEVERE NEED ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State educational 
agency shall provide additional assistance to schools 
in severe need, which shall include only those schools 
(having a breakfast program or desiring to initiate a 
breakfast program) in which, during the most recent 
second preceding school year for which lunches were
served, 40 percent or more of the lunches served to 
students at the school were served free or at a reduced 
price (or those new schools drawing their attendance 
from schools receiving severe need assistance).’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘100 percent’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘food, or’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, whichever is less’’. 
SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF SUMMER FOOD PRO-
GRAMS. 
(a) SUMMER FOOD PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 18(f) 
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1769(f)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) 
as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL STATES ELIGIBLE.—In addi-
tion to the States meeting the criteria set forth in 
paragraph (1), the 3 States with the highest percent-
age of households that are determined to be food inse-
cure with hunger, as determined annually by the Sec-
retary, shall be ‘eligible States’ for purposes of this 
subsection.’’;
(3) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘September 
30, 2008’’; and 
(4) in paragraph (4) (as so redesignated), by 
striking ‘‘(other than a service institution described in 
section 13(a)(7))’’ both places it appears. 
(b) SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHIL-
DREN.—Section 13(q) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(q)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘March 31, 2004’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2008’’. 
SEC. 105. CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY
OF PRIVATE CHILD CARE CEN-
TERS.—Section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)(2)(B)(i), by striking ‘‘dur-
ing the period’’ and all that follows through ‘‘March 
31, 2004’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (p). 
(b) DURATION OF DETERMINATION AS TIER 1 FAMILY 
OR GROUP DAY CARE HOME.—Section 17(f)(3)(E)(iii) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1766(f)(3)(E)(iii)) is amended by striking ‘‘3 years’’ 
and inserting ‘‘5 years’’.
(c) DURATION OF AGREEMENTS.—Section 17(j) of the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1766(j)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(j) AGREEMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue reg-
ulations directing States to develop and provide for 
the use of a standard form of agreement between each 
family or group day care sponsoring organization 
and the family or group day care homes partici-
pating in the program under such organization, for 
the purpose of specifying the rights and responsibil-
ities of each party. 
‘‘(2) DURATION.—An agreement under para-
graph (1) shall remain in effect until terminated by 
either party to the agreement.’’. 
(d) MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE.—Sec-
tion 17(q)(3) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(q)(3)) is amended by striking 
‘‘1999 through 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2005 and 2006’’. 
(e) AUDITS.—Section 17(i) of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766(i)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(i) AUDITS.—
‘‘(1) FUNDS FOR AUDITS.—The Secretary shall 
make available for each fiscal year to a State admin-
istering the child and adult care food program, for the 
purpose of conducting audits of participating institu-
tions, an amount up to 1.5 percent (except in the case 
of fiscal years 2005 through 2007, 1 percent) of the 
funds used by the State in the program under this 
section during the second preceding fiscal year. 
‘‘(2) AUDIT PROCEDURES.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), in conducting management evalua-
tions, reviews, or audits of the program under 
this subsection, the Secretary or a State agency 
may disregard any overpayment to an institu-
tion if the total overpayment for any fiscal year 
does not exceed an amount, consistent with the 
disregards allowed in other programs under this 
Act, which recognizes the cost of collecting small 
claims. 
‘‘(B) CRIMINAL OR FRAUD VIOLATIONS.—In 
carrying out this subsection, the Secretary and a 
State agency shall not disregard any overpay-
ment for which there is evidence of a violation 
of a criminal law or civil fraud law.’’. 
(f) EMERGENCY SHELTERS.—Section 17(t)(5)(A)(i) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1766(t)(5)(A)(i) is amended—
(1) in subclause (I)—
(A) by striking ‘‘12’’ and inserting ‘‘18’’; 
and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 
and 
(2) by striking subclause (II) and redesignating 
subclause (III) as subclause (II). 
(g) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture, in conjunction with States and participating insti-
tutions, shall examine the feasibility of reducing paper work 
resulting from regulations and record-keeping requirements 
for State agencies, family child care homes, child care cen-
ters, and sponsoring organizations participating in the 
child and adult care food program established under section 
17 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1766). 
SEC. 106. REVIEW OF BEST PRACTICES IN THE BREAKFAST 
PROGRAM. 
(a) REVIEW.—Subject to the availability of funds, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into an agreement with 
a research organization to collect and disseminate a review 
of best practices to assist schools in addressing existing im-
pediments at the State and local level that hinder the 
growth of the school breakfast program under section 4 of 
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). The re-
view shall describe model breakfast programs and offer rec-
ommendations for schools to overcome obstacles, such as: 
(1) the length of the school day; 
(2) bus schedules; and 
(3) potential increases in costs at the State and 
local level. 
(b) DISSEMINATION.—Not later than 12 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make 
the review required under subsection (a) available to local 
educational agencies via the Internet, including rec-
ommendations to improve participation in the school break-
fast program. Not later than 12 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the review shall also be transmitted 
to the Committee on Education of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Agriculture of the Senate. 
SEC. 107. AREA ELIGIBILITY DEMONSTRATION. 
Section 13 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(r) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall 
support a demonstration program in rural areas of the 
State of Pennsylvania under the same terms and conditions 
as contained in this section, except that the threshold for 
determining ‘areas in which poor economic conditions exist’ 
under subsection (a)(1)(C) for such program shall be 40 per-
cent of children enrolled are eligible for free or reduced price 
school meals and the State agency shall report to the Sec-
retary on the effect of the demonstration on program par-
ticipation in rural areas.’’. 
SEC. 108. SEAMLESS SUMMER ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) SEAMLESS SUMMER WAIVER.—Section 13(a) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1761(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph 
(7) the following: 
‘‘(8) Service institutions that are public or pri-
vate nonprofit school food authorities may administer 
summer or school vacation food service under the pro-
visions of the school lunch program established under 
this Act and the school breakfast program established 
under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1771 et seq.), except as determined by the Secretary.’’. 
(b) PAYMENTS.—Section 13(b)(1) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(b)(1)) 
is amended by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(D) Service institutions described in para-
graph (a)(8) of this section shall be reimbursed 
for meals and meal supplements in accordance 
with the applicable provisions under this Act 
(other than subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of
this paragraph) and the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), as determined by 
the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 109. YEAR ROUND COMMUNITY CHILD NUTRITION 
PROGRAM PILOT. 
Section 13(a) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act is further amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(9) YEAR ROUND COMMUNITY CHILD NUTRITION 
PROGRAM PILOT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A service institution as 
defined in paragraph (7) may be reimbursed for 
up to 3 meals and 2 supplements for any day 
for which services are being offered at such insti-
tution. Such service institution shall be reim-
bursed for costs consistent with section 13(b). 
‘‘(B) MAXIMUM REIMBURSEMENT.—No re-
imbursement may be made to any institution 
under this paragraph for more than 3 meals and 
2 supplements per child per day. 
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall 
limit reimbursement under this paragraph for 
meals and supplements served under a program 
to service institutions defined paragraph (7) lo-
cated in California.’’.
TITLE II—IMPROVING PROGRAM 
QUALITY AND INTEGRITY 
SEC. 201. ELIGIBILITY AND CERTIFICATION FOR FREE AND 
REDUCED PRICE LUNCHES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Rus-
sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘(b)(1)(A) Not later’’ and all that follows 
through paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE 
LUNCHES.—
‘‘(1) INCOME GUIDELINES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 1 
of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall prescribe 
income guidelines for determining eligibility for 
free and reduced price lunches during the 12-
month period beginning July 1 of such fiscal 
year and ending June 30 of the following fiscal 
year. The income guidelines for determining eli-
gibility for free lunches shall be 130 percent of 
the applicable family size income levels con-
tained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines 
issued by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, as adjusted annually in accordance 
with subparagraph (B). The income guidelines 
for determining eligibility for reduced price
lunches for any school year shall be 185 percent 
of the applicable family size income levels con-
tained in the nonfarm income poverty guidelines 
issued by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, as adjusted annually in accordance 
with subparagraph (B). Such guidelines shall be 
revised at annual intervals, or at any shorter in-
terval deemed feasible and desirable. 
‘‘(B) FORMULA FOR REVISION.—The revi-
sion required by subparagraph (A) of this para-
graph shall be made by multiplying—
‘‘(i) the official poverty line (as defined 
by the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services); by 
‘‘(ii) the percentage change in the Con-
sumer Price Index during the annual or 
other interval immediately preceding the 
time at which the adjustment is made. 
Revisions under this subparagraph shall be made 
not more than 30 days after the date on which 
the Consumer Price Index data required to com-
pute the adjustment becomes available. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(A) ANNOUNCEMENT
BY
STATE
EDU-
CATIONAL
AGENCY.—Following the determina-
tion by the Secretary under paragraph (1) of 
this subsection of the income eligibility guide-
lines for each school year, each State educational 
agency shall announce the income eligibility 
guidelines, by family size, to be used by schools 
in the State in making determinations of eligi-
bility for free and reduced price lunches. Local 
educational agencies shall, each year, publicly 
announce the income eligibility guidelines for 
free and reduced price lunches on or before the 
opening of school.
‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Applications for 
free and reduced price lunches, in such form 
as the Secretary may prescribe or approve, 
and any descriptive material, in an under-
standable and uniform format, and to the 
extent practicable, in a language that par-
ents can understand, shall be distributed at 
least annually to the parents or guardians 
of children in attendance at the school. 
‘‘(ii) INCOME
LEVELS.—Applications 
and descriptive material shall contain only 
the family size income eligibility guidelines 
for reduced price meal eligibility, with the
explanation that households with incomes 
less than or equal to these values would be 
eligible for free or reduced price lunches. 
Such applications and descriptive material 
may not contain the income eligibility 
guidelines for free lunches. 
‘‘(iii) NOTIFICATION.—Descriptive ma-
terials shall contain a notification that par-
ticipants in the Special Supplemental Nu-
trition Program for Women, Infants, and 
Children authorized under Section 17 of the 
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1771 et seq.), the food stamp program estab-
lished under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), the Food Distribution 
Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) 
authorized under section 4(b) of the Food 
Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)), or 
a State program funded under part A of 
title IV of the Social Security Act (if the 
Secretary determines the State program 
complies with standards established by the 
Secretary that ensure that the standards 
under the State program are comparable to 
or more restrictive than those in effect on
June 1, 1995) are eligible for free or re-
duced price lunches. Such descriptive mate-
rials shall also contain a notice to parents 
that documentation may be requested for 
verification. 
‘‘(iv) ELECTRONIC
AVAILABILITY.—In 
addition to the distribution of such applica-
tions and descriptive material in paper 
form as provided for in this paragraph, 
such applications and material may be 
made available electronically via the Inter-
net. 
‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(i) HOUSEHOLD APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—If an eligi-
bility determination for a child is not 
made under clause (ii) or (iii), an eli-
gibility determination shall be made 
on the basis of a complete household 
application executed by an adult mem-
ber of the household, or in accordance 
with other guidance issued by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(II) ADDITIONAL BASES.—Eligi-
bility may be determined by the local
educational agency on the basis of a 
complete application executed by an 
adult member of the household, or in 
accordance with other guidance issued 
by the Secretary, including an elec-
tronic signature when the application 
is submitted electronically, and if the 
application filing system meets con-
fidentiality standards established by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(III) 
CHILDREN
IN
HOUSE-
HOLD.—
‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—The ap-
plication shall identify the names 
of each child in the household for 
whom meal benefits are requested. 
‘‘(bb) 
SEPARATE
APPLICA-
TIONS.—A 
State 
educational 
agency or local educational agen-
cy may not request a separate ap-
plication for each child in the 
household. 
‘‘(IV) VERIFICATION.—The Sec-
retary, State, or local educational 
agency may verify any data contained
in such application. In accordance 
with guidance issued by the Secretary, 
each local educational agency shall 
verify a sample of approved free and 
reduced price applications and shall 
make appropriate changes in the eligi-
bility determination with respect to 
such applications on the basis of such 
verification. The sample selected for 
verification shall be as follows: 
‘‘(aa) For local educational 
agencies 
able 
to 
obtain 
verification information for at 
least 75 percent of all applica-
tions selected for verification in 
the prior year, or local edu-
cational agencies receiving more 
than 20,000 applications and that 
in 
the 
prior 
year 
had 
a 
verification non-response rate that 
was 
percent 
below 
the 
verification non-response rate of 
the second prior year, the sample 
selected shall be either—