I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7542 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make 
lunches free for all children and to reimburse school meal delinquent 
debt, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 12, 2026 
Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act to make lunches free for all children and to reim-
burse school meal delinquent debt, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Kids Need Lunch Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Effective date. 
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TITLE I—FREE LUNCHES 
Sec. 101. Apportionment to States. 
Sec. 102. Nutritional and other program requirements. 
Sec. 103. Price for a paid lunch. 
TITLE II—ADDRESSING SCHOOL MEAL DEBT 
Sec. 201. Reimbursement of school meal delinquent debt program. 
Sec. 202. No collection of debt. 
SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Unless otherwise provided, this Act, and the amend-
ments made by this Act, shall take effect 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
TITLE I—FREE LUNCHES 
SEC. 101. APPORTIONMENT TO STATES. 
Section 4(b) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1753(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The national average 
payment for each free lunch shall be $4.86, ad-
justed annually for inflation in accordance with 
subparagraph (B) and rounded in accordance 
with subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(B) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The annual infla-
tion adjustment under subparagraph (A) 
shall reflect changes in the cost of oper-
ating the free lunch program under this 
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Act, as indicated by the change in the Con-
sumer Price Index for food away from 
home for all urban consumers. 
‘‘(ii) BASIS.—Each annual inflation 
adjustment under subparagraph (A) shall 
reflect the changes in the Consumer Price 
Index for food away from home for the 
most recent 12-month period for which 
that data is available. 
‘‘(C) ROUNDING.—On July 1, 2027, and 
annually thereafter, the national average pay-
ment rate for free lunch shall be— 
‘‘(i) adjusted to the nearest lower-cent 
increment; and 
‘‘(ii) based on the unrounded amounts 
for the preceding 12-month period.’’; and 
(2) by striking paragraph (3). 
SEC. 102. NUTRITIONAL AND OTHER PROGRAM REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
(a) ELIMINATION OF FREE LUNCH ELIGIBILITY RE-
QUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1758(b)) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(b) FREE LUNCHES.—All children enrolled in a 
school that participates in the school lunch program under 
this Act shall be eligible to receive free lunch under this 
Act.’’. 
(2) PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO FREE AND RE-
DUCED PRICE BREAKFASTS.—In the case of free or 
reduced price school breakfasts under the Child Nu-
trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771), subsection (b) 
of section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758), as in effect on 
the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, 
shall apply. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is amend-
ed— 
(A) in subsection (c), in the third sentence, 
by striking ‘‘or at a reduced cost’’; and 
(B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘, re-
duced price,’’. 
(2) Paragraph (2) of section 11(a) of the Rich-
ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1759a(a)) is repealed. 
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(3) Clauses (i) and (ii) of section 11(a)(3)(A) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(3)(A)) are repealed. 
(4) Section 28 of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769i) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking subsection (b); and 
(B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub-
section (b). 
SEC. 103. PRICE FOR A PAID LUNCH. 
Section 12 of the Richard B. Russell National School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (l)(4)— 
(A) by striking subparagraph (D); and 
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 
through (M) as subparagraphs (D) through 
(L), respectively; 
(2) by striking subsection (p); and 
(3) by redesignating subsections (q) and (r) as 
subsections (p) and (q), respectively. 
TITLE II—ADDRESSING SCHOOL 
MEAL DEBT 
SEC. 201. REIMBURSEMENT OF SCHOOL MEAL DELIN-
QUENT DEBT PROGRAM. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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(1) DELINQUENT DEBT.—The term ‘‘delinquent 
debt’’ means the debt owed by a parent or guardian 
of a child to a school— 
(A) as of the effective date specified in sec-
tion 2; and 
(B) for meals served by the school under 
the school lunch program established under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 
(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 
the program established under subsection (b)(1). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(b) REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 
after the effective date specified in section 2, the 
Secretary shall establish a program under which the 
Secretary shall reimburse each school participating 
in the school lunch program established under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) for all delinquent debt. 
(2) FORM FOR REIMBURSEMENT.—To carry out 
the program, the Secretary shall design and dis-
tribute a form to State agencies to collect data on 
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