Title: American Food for American Schools Act of 2017
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
American Food for American Schools Act of 2017
This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require school food authorities (SFAs) to request a waiver from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to purchase foreign commodities or products for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). SFAs may purchase foreign commodities or products without a waiver if the commodities or products are not produced or available domestically.
(Under current law, Buy American provisions require SFAs to purchase, to the maximum extent practicable, domestic commodities or products for the NSLP. There are limited exceptions which permit the purchase of foreign products in circumstances when using domestic products is truly not practicable. If an SFA uses an exception, there is no requirement to request a waiver to purchase a foreign product or commodity, but the SFA must keep documentation justifying the exception.)
USDA may not grant a waiver for an SFA to purchase foreign commodities or products unless: (1) the commodities or products are not produced domestically in sufficient amounts or of satisfactory quality, (2) the domestic commodities or products would be significantly higher in price than foreign commodities or products, and (3) the SFA agrees to make the waiver publicly available on its website and email a notification of the waiver to parents or guardians of students who will be served the foreign commodity or product purchased pursuant to the waiver.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1241 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1241

To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require a 
school food authority to make publicly available any waiver of the Buy 
             American requirement, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2017

Mr. LaMalfa (for himself, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Jones, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. 
  Duffy, Mr. Panetta, and Ms. Kaptur) 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 require a 
school food authority to make publicly available any waiver of the Buy 
             American requirement, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Food for American Schools 
Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER TO PURCHASE FOREIGN COMMODITIES OR PRODUCTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 12(n)(2) of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(n)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subparagraph (B)'' 
        and inserting ``subparagraphs (B) and (C)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Waiver.--
                            ``(i) Waiver request.--Except as provided 
                        in clause (ii), a school food authority shall 
                        request from the Secretary a waiver of 
                        subparagraph (A) to purchase foreign 
                        commodities or products.
                            ``(ii) Exception.--A school food authority 
                        may purchase foreign commodities or products 
                        without a waiver under clause (i) if such 
                        commodities or products are not--
                                    ``(I) produced domestically; or
                                    ``(II) available domestically.
                            ``(iii) Requirements.--The Secretary may 
                        not grant a waiver to purchase foreign 
                        commodities or products under clause (i) 
                        unless--
                                    ``(I) such commodities or 
                                products--
                                            ``(aa) are not produced 
                                        domestically in sufficient 
                                        amounts or of satisfactory 
                                        quality; and
                                            ``(bb) if purchased 
                                        domestically, would be 
                                        significantly higher in price 
                                        than such foreign commodities 
                                        or products; and
                                    ``(II) the school enters into an 
                                agreement under clause (iv).
                            ``(iv) Agreement.--The Secretary may not 
                        grant a waiver under clause (i) unless the 
                        school food authority requesting such waiver 
                        agrees to--
                                    ``(I) make the waiver publicly 
                                available on the website of the school 
                                food authority; and
                                    ``(II) email a notification of the 
                                waiver to parents or guardians of 
                                students who will be served the foreign 
                                commodity or product purchased pursuant 
                                to such waiver.''.
    (b) Definition of Foreign Commodity.--Section 12(n)(1) of the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(n)(1)) is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Domestic commodity or product.--The term 
                `domestic commodity or product' means--
                            ``(i) an agricultural commodity that is 
                        produced in the United States; and
                            ``(ii) a food product that is processed in 
                        the United States substantially using 
                        agricultural commodities that are produced in 
                        the United States.
                    ``(B) Foreign commodity or product.--The term 
                `foreign commodity or product' means a commodity or 
                product other than a domestic commodity or product.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--Section 12(n) of the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(n)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``Paragraph (2)(A)'' and 
        inserting ``Subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph (2)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``Paragraph (2)(A)'' and 
        inserting ``Subparagraphs (A) and (C) of paragraph (2)''.
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