The government-wide funding bill being assembled in private on Capitol Hill would scale back school lunch reforms approved in 2010 and “curtail some clean-water regulations,” says the New York Times. “Policy prescriptions, including those to ease standards on school lunch content and the Environmental Protection Agency’s jurisdiction over some bodies of water, have been more contentious than the negotiations over money.”
The Times said lawmakers wanted to soften requirements for schools to reduce salt in meals and to use more whole grains. North Dakota Sen John Hoeven was a leading proponent of flexibility on whole grains. He has argued it is hard for schools to find enough products made of whole grains to meet USDA standards.
Roll Call said “a bevy of EPA riders” were among the unresolved issues on Monday. Republicans are looking to constrain the agency through a number of provisions,” it said.
Leaders wanted to unveil the funding bill on Monday, to allow the House and Senate to vote by Thursday, when a short-term spending bill expires. But the disagreements over the bill put that timeline in doubt.