Child nutrition programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program forWomen, Infants, and Children (the WIC program) provide cash, commodity, and otherassistance (including nutrition services and food packages in the WIC program) under threemajor federal laws: the National School Lunch Act (originally enacted in 1946 and renamedthe Richard B. Russell National School Lunch in 1999), the Child Nutrition Act (originallyenacted in 1966), and Section 32 of the act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c). (1) The AgricultureDepartment's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) administers the programs at the federal level;most funding is included in the annual Agriculture Department appropriations laws; andcongressional jurisdiction is exercised by the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and ForestryCommittee, the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and, to a limited extent(relating to commodity assistance and Section 32), the House Agriculture Committee. The most recent major amendments to the laws affecting child nutrition and WICprograms were made in the 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act ( P.L.108-265 ; enacted June 30, 2004) and a number of laws enacted in the 106th and 107thCongresses -- most notably as part of larger measures not specifically targeted at childnutrition or WIC programs (e.g., P.L. 106-224 and P.L. 107-171 ). The next generalreauthorization of child nutrition and WIC authorities is scheduled for 2009. Child nutrition and WIC programs are operated by a variety of local public andprivate nonprofit providers, and the degree of direct state involvement varies by program andstate -- e.g., in the WIC program, state health agencies exercise substantial control; in theschool meal programs, local educational agencies (LEAs), and local "school food authorities"most often have the major role; in a very few instances, the federal government (FNS) takesthe place of state agencies (for example, where a state has chosen not to operate a specificprogram or where there is a state prohibition on aiding private schools). At the state level,education, health, social services, and agriculture departments all have roles; at a minimum,they are responsible for approving and overseeing local providers such as schools, summerprogram sponsors, and child care centers, as well as making sure they receive the federalsupport they are due. At the local level, program benefits are provided to more than 39million children and infants, and some 2 million lower-income pregnant and postpartumwomen, through just over 100,000 public and private schools and residential child careinstitutions, about 200,000 child care centers and family day care homes, approximately30,000 summer program sites, and, in the case of the WIC program, some 10,000 local healthcare clinics/sites operated by nearly 2,000 health agencies. All programs are available in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Virtually alloperate in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, and there are no restrictions oneligibility related to citizenship or legal residence status. American Samoa gets assistancefor school lunch and WIC operations, and the Northern Marianas receive school lunchsupport. In addition, WIC-like benefits are available for overseas military personnel, andDefense Department overseas dependents' schools participate in the School Lunch andBreakfast programs. In the meal service programs like the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs,summer programs, and assistance for child care centers and day care homes, federal aid is inthe form of legislatively set subsidies paid for each meal/snack served that meets federalnutrition guidelines. Most subsidies are cash payments to schools and other providers, butabout 10% of the total value of assistance is in the form of federally donated foodcommodities. While all meals/snacks served are subsidized, those served free or at a reducedprice to lower-income children are supported at higher rates. All federal meal/snack subsidyrates are indexed annually for inflation, (2) as are the income standards of eligibility for free andreduced-price meals/snacks. (3) However, federal subsidies do not necessarily cover the fullcost of the meals and snacks offered by participating providers, and states and localitiescontribute significantly to cover program costs -- as do children's families (by paying chargesfor nonfree or reduced-price meals and snacks). Required nonfederal cost-sharing (matching)is relatively minimal -- states must expend at least an amount totaling just over $200 milliona year nationally in order to receive federal school lunch funds. Federal per-meal/snack childnutrition subsidies may cover local providers' administrative costs, but separate federalpayments for administrative expenses are limited to administrative expense grants to stateoversight agencies, a small set-aside of funds for state audits of child care sponsors, andspecial administrative payments to sponsors of summer programs and family day care homes. Under the WIC program, federal appropriations pay the cost of specifically tailored foodpackages and include specific amounts for related nutrition services and administration. The basic goals of the federal child nutrition programs are to improve children'snutrition, increase lower-income children's access to nutritious meals and snacks, and helpsupport the agricultural economy. Child nutrition programs are treated as entitlements: federal funding and commodity support is "guaranteed" to schools and other providers basedon the number of meals/snacks/half-pints of milk served, who is served (e.g., freemeals/snacks to poor children get higher subsidies), and legislatively set andinflation-indexed per-meal/snack subsidy rates. On the other hand, the WIC program is a discretionary grant program. WIC agencies serve as many applicants as possible with themoney available from federal grants (and, in some cases, voluntary state subsidies), but notnecessarily all eligible applicants. Extensive information about child nutrition programs and the WIC program may befound at the Agriculture Department's Food and Nutrition Service website: http://www.fns.usda.gov . This website provides information on all of the followingprograms -- for applicants/recipients, governments, researchers, program operators, and thoseinterested in child nutrition legislation, regulations, and guidelines -- as well as recent newsreleases, announcements, and regulatory action. Public and private nonprofit schools and residential child care institutions(RCCIs) -- including Defense Department overseas dependents' schools -- choosingto participate in the School Lunch program receive per-meal federal cash subsidiesand federally donated commodities for all lunches they serve to schoolchildren. While similar aid (primarily, federally donated commodities) for school meals wasprovided as early as the mid-1930s, the basic School Lunch program as it operatestoday dates to the enactment of the 1946 National School Lunch Act and majorchanges to the law in the early 1960s and early 1970s. Subsidized meals must meet federal nutrition standards based onRecommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) and the Dietary Guidelines forAmericans and certain food safety requirements. Participating schools/RCCIs alsomust guarantee to offer free/reduced-price meals to lower-income children, adhere tofederally set administrative standards (under state oversight), and follow "BuyAmerican" rules. (4) However, there is only minimal federal regulationof foods offered separately from subsidized school meals -- "competitive foods" suchas a la carte items and food sold from vending machines. Cash subsidies are set by federal school lunch law (and indexed annually,each July, for inflation), and the amount of federal aid is not dependent on providers'costs. These cash subsidies (also called "reimbursement rates") differ depending onwhether the lunch is served free, at a reduced price (no more than 40 cents), or at"full price" ("paid" meals for which a participating school or RCCI may charge as itsees fit). Free lunch cash subsidies are paid for meals served to those who apply, andare judged eligible claiming annual family cash income below 130% of theinflation-indexed federal poverty guidelines -- e.g., $21,580 for a family of three or$26,000 for a four-person family in the 2006-2007 school year. Free lunch eligibilityalso is extended automatically to children who are "directly certified" eligible aspublic assistance (e.g., food stamp) recipients, migrant and homeless children, andthose served under federal runaway and homeless youth grant programs. For the2006-2007 school year, these basic free-lunch subsidies are $2.40 a lunch. Reduced-price lunch subsidies are paid for meals served to those who applywith family income between 130% and 185% of the inflation-indexed povertyguidelines -- e.g., between $21,580 and $30,710 for a family of three or between$26,000 and $37,000 for a four-person family in the 2006-2007 school year. For the2006-2007 school year, these basic reduced-price subsidies are $2.00 a lunch. Subsidies for full-price ("paid") lunches are paid for meals served to childrenwith family income above 185% of the poverty guidelines -- e.g., above $30,710 fora family of three or $37,000 for a four-person family in the 2006-2007 school year -- or whose families do not apply for free or reduced-price lunches. For the2006-2007 school year, these subsidies are 23 cents a lunch. All of the above rates are increased by a flat 2 cents a lunch for schools/RCCIswith very high (60%+) free and reduced-price participation (about half of all lunchesare subsidized with this added 2 cents).