I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8534 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow direct 
certification of children in households of active duty members of the 
Armed Forces for certain Federal school meal programs, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 6, 2020 
Mrs. DAVIS of California (for herself and Mr. LEVIN of California) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act to allow direct certification of children in households 
of active duty members of the Armed Forces for certain 
Federal school meal 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 ‘‘Military Dependents 
School Meal Eligibility Act of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR DEPENDENT CHIL-
DREN OF ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS OF THE 
ARMED FORCES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Richard B. Rus-
sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (5)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘CERTIFICATION.— 
Subject’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘CER-
TIFICATION.— 
‘‘(A) FREE LUNCHES OR BREAKFASTS.— 
Subject’’; 
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(A) through (D) as clauses (i) through (iv) 
and adjusting the margins accordingly; 
(iii) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 
(iv) by inserting after clause (iv), as 
so redesignated, the following: 
‘‘(v) a member of a household in 
which a child is a dependent of an active 
duty member of the Armed Forces and 
such active duty member has a military in-
come (as defined in paragraph (16)(C)) 
that does not exceed 130 percent of the 
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poverty line (as defined by the Office of 
Management and Budget).’’; 
(v) in subparagraph (E)— 
(I) by redesignating such sub-
paragraph as clause (vi) and adjusting 
the margins accordingly; and 
(II) by redesignating clauses (i) 
and (ii) of such subparagraph as sub-
clauses (I) and (II) and adjusting the 
margins accordingly; and 
(vi) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) 
REDUCED
PRICE
LUNCHES
OR 
BREAKFASTS.—Subject to paragraph (6), any 
local educational agency may certify any child 
who is not eligible for free school lunch or 
breakfast as eligible for reduced price lunches 
or breakfasts, without further application, by 
directly communicating with the appropriate 
State or local agency to obtain documentation 
of the status of the child as a member of a 
household in which a child is a dependent of an 
active duty member of the Armed Forces and 
such active duty member has a military income 
(as defined in paragraph (16)(C)) that does not 
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exceed 185 percent of the poverty line (as de-
fined by the Office of Management and Budg-
et).’’; 
(B) in paragraph (6)(A)— 
(i) in clause (iv)(II), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in clause (v), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(vi) a person directly connected with 
the administration or enforcement of the 
Department of Defense Integrated Per-
sonnel and Pay System.’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(16) DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR DEPENDENT 
CHILDREN
OF
ACTIVE
DUTY
MEMBERS
OF
THE 
ARMED FORCES.— 
‘‘(A) AGREEMENT.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—For purposes of 
making eligibility determinations with re-
spect to certifying children under subpara-
graph (A)(v) or (B) of paragraph (5), a 
State agency shall enter into an agreement 
with the Secretary of Defense. 
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‘‘(ii) WITHOUT
FURTHER
APPLICA-
TION.—Subject to paragraph (6), the 
agreement described in clause (i) shall es-
tablish procedures for certifying children 
under subparagraph (A)(v) or (B) of para-
graph (5), without further application (as 
defined in paragraph (4)(G)). 
‘‘(B) ACCESS TO DATA.—For purposes of 
carrying out this paragraph and subparagraph 
(A)(v) or (B) of paragraph (5), the Secretary of 
Defense shall provide the Secretary with access 
to non-classified income information as may be 
necessary to determine the military income of 
an active duty member of the Armed Forces. 
‘‘(C) MILITARY INCOME.— 
‘‘(i) MILITARY
INCOME
DEFINED.— 
For purposes of this subsection, the term 
‘military income’ means, with respect to an 
active duty member of the Armed Forces, 
the basic pay, basic allowance for subsist-
ence, basic allowance for housing (or appli-
cable cash equivalent), overseas housing al-
lowance, bonuses, and special and incentive 
payments of such member, as reported by 
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the Department of Defense Integrated Per-
sonnel and Pay System. 
‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—In the case of a 
child who is the dependent of one or more 
active duty members of the Armed Forces, 
the Secretary, in determining eligibility 
under subparagraph (A)(v) or (B) of para-
graph (5), shall use the lesser of the mili-
tary incomes of such members.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking 
the ‘‘or’’ at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(H) documentation has been provided to 
the appropriate local educational agency show-
ing the status of the child as a member of a 
household described in subparagraph (A)(v) or 
(B) of subsection (b)(5).’’. 
(b) CLARIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
provide a process for a parent or guardian whose child 
is directly certified under subparagraph (A)(v) or (B) of 
section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
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Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)), as added by this section, 
to remove such certification. 
Æ 
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