I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1504 
To prohibit regulations establishing certain limits for the school lunch 
program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 19, 2015 
Mrs. NOEM (for herself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. THOMPSON of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. WOMACK, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. COL-
LINS of New York, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. 
JONES, Mr. ZELDIN, Mr. ROE
of Tennessee, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. 
CRAWFORD, Mr. BARR, Mr. GROTHMAN, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. BYRNE, and 
Mr. SALMON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To prohibit regulations establishing certain limits for the 
school lunch 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 ‘‘Reducing Federal 
Mandates on School Lunch Act’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:54 Mar 27, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION OF REGULATIONS ESTABLISHING 
CERTAIN LIMITS FOR THE SCHOOL LUNCH 
PROGRAM. 
Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and 
until the date of enactment of a law that extends by not 
less than 5 fiscal years the authorization or duration of 
1 or more programs under the Richard B. Russell School 
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child Nutrition 
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall not— 
(1) implement, administer, or enforce part 210 
of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as such part 
relates to the establishment of a maximum calorie 
limit and a maximum quantity of grains, meat, or 
meat alternatives for the school lunch program), as 
amended by the final regulations published by the 
Department of Agriculture in the Federal Register 
on January 26, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 et seq.); 
or 
(2) promulgate or enforce any new rule or regu-
lation that establishes a maximum calorie limit or 
maximum quantity of grains, meat, or meat alter-
natives for the school lunch program established 
under the Richard B. Russell School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:54 Mar 27, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 3. SODIUM TARGET LEVELS; WHOLE GRAIN REQUIRE-
MENT. 
Section 9(f) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(f)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) 
SODIUM
TARGET
LEVELS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 
shall not implement any regulation under this Act, 
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et 
seq.), the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 
(Public Law 111–296), or any other law that would 
require a reduction in the quantity of sodium con-
tained in federally reimbursed meals, foods, and 
snacks sold in schools below Target 1 (as described 
in section 220.8(f)(3) of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or successor regulations)). 
‘‘(6) WHOLE GRAIN REQUIREMENT.—Notwith-
standing the final rule of the Secretary entitled ‘Nu-
trition Standards in the National School Lunch and 
School Breakfast Programs’ (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 
(January 26, 2012)) or any other provision of law— 
‘‘(A) the Secretary shall only require that 
half of all grains in federally reimbursed meals, 
foods, and snacks sold in schools are whole 
grain-rich; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:54 Mar 27, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) school food authorities shall comply 
with the applicable grain component or stand-
ard with respect to the school lunch or school 
breakfast program that was in effect prior to 
July 1, 2014.’’. 
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION OF OTHER NUTRITION REGULATIONS 
FOR CERTAIN SCHOOL FOOD AUTHORITIES. 
(a) PROHIBITION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of en-
actment of this Act and until the date of enactment 
of a law that extends by not less than 5 fiscal years 
the authorization or duration of 1 or more programs 
under the Richard B. Russell School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), the Secretary of Ag-
riculture shall not implement, administer, or enforce 
the rules or regulations described in subsection (b) 
with respect to any school food authority that cer-
tifies to the State in which the school food authority 
is located that the school food authority— 
(A) has calculated the costs of complying 
with such rules and regulations; and 
(B) has determined, in a manner con-
sistent with school district operational proce-
dures, that the school food authority is not ca-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:54 Mar 27, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
pable of operating a food service program with-
out increased costs as a result of complying 
with any or all of such rules and regulations. 
(2) PROHIBITION
ON
DEFINING
COSTS.—For 
purposes of this subsection, the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall not— 
(A) define the phrase ‘‘costs of com-
plying’’; or 
(B) establish or suggest how a school food 
authority shall calculate the costs of complying 
under paragraph (1)(A) or increased costs 
under paragraph (1)(B). 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The rules and regulations de-
scribed in subsection (a)(1) are the following: 
(1) The rule entitled ‘‘National School Lunch 
Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition 
Standards for All Foods Sold in School as Required 
by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010’’ 
published by the Department of Agriculture in the 
Federal Register on June 28, 2013 (78 Fed. Reg. 
39068 et seq.), or any new rule with respect to foods 
sold in schools other than those foods provided 
under the Richard B. Russell School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.). 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:54 Mar 27, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(2) Part 210 of title 7, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (as amended by the interim regulations pub-
lished by the Department of Agriculture in the Fed-
eral Register on June 17, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 
35301 et seq.)), as such part relates to school lunch 
price increases, or any new rule or regulation with 
respect to increasing the price of school lunches 
under the Richard B. Russell School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 
(3) Part 220 of title 7, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (as amended by the final regulations published 
by the Department of Agriculture in the Federal 
Register on January 26, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 4088 
et seq.)), as such part relates to establishing new 
food-based meal patterns, nutrition standards, and 
meal planning approaches for the school breakfast 
program, or any new rule or regulation which estab-
lishes new food-based meal patterns, nutrition stand-
ards, or meal planning approaches for the school 
breakfast program established under the Child Nu-
trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.). 
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
Nothing in this Act prohibits the Secretary of Agri-
culture from implementing, administering, or enforcing— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:59 Mar 28, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) any rules or regulations not described in 
this Act; or 
(2) parts 210 and 220 of title 7, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations, as such parts were in effect on the 
day before the effective dates of the amendments 
made to such parts described in paragraphs (2) and 
(3) of section 4(b), respectively. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
04:54 Mar 27, 2015
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1504.IH
H1504
smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS