Title: MEALS Act
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Maintaining Essential Access to Lunch for Students Act or the MEALS Act
This bill modifies food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture to allow certain waivers to requirements for the school meal programs, including waivers that increase federal costs during a school closure related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Such waivers must be requested by a state or service provider and be for purposes of providing meals and snacks during such a closure.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6187 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6187

 To allow the Secretary of Agriculture to grant certain waivers under 
  the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to address school 
           closures due to COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2020

Ms. Omar (for herself, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Morelle, Mr. Courtney, Mr. Trone, 
Mr. Sablan, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Takano, Ms. 
Wild, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Smith of Washington, Ms. 
Adams, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Pressley, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To allow the Secretary of Agriculture to grant certain waivers under 
  the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to address school 
           closures due to COVID-19, 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 ``Maintaining Essential Access to 
Lunch for Students Act'' or the ``MEALS Act''.

SEC. 2. WAIVER EXCEPTION FOR SCHOOL CLOSURES DUE TO COVID-19.

    (a) In General.--The requirements under section 12(l)(1)(A)(iii) of 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
1760(l)(1)(A)(iii)) shall not apply to a qualified COVID-19 waiver.
    (b) Allowable Increase in Federal Costs.--Notwithstanding paragraph 
(4) of section 12(l) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1760(l)), the Secretary of Agriculture may grant a 
qualified COVID-19 waiver that increases Federal costs.
    (c) Termination After Periodic Review.--The requirements under 
section 12(l)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1760(l)(5)) shall not apply to a qualified COVID-19 waiver.
    (d) Qualified COVID-19 Waiver.--In this section, the term 
``qualified COVID-19 waiver'' means a waiver--
            (1) requested by a State (as defined in section 12(d)(8) of 
        the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1760(d)(8))) or eligible service provider under section 12(l) 
        of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1760(l)); and
            (2) to waive any requirement under such Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 
        et seq.) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et 
        seq.), or any regulation issued under either such Act, for 
        purposes of providing meals and meal supplements under such 
        Acts during a school closure due to COVID-19.
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