The Senate Agriculture Committee chairman said he does not plan any increase in spending as part of re-authorizing child nutrition programs that range from school lunch to WIC. Kansas Republican Pat Roberts postponed indefinitely a bill-drafting session, originally scheduled for Thursday, while awaiting Congressional Budget Office estimates of the cost of potential elements of the bill.
“I am continuing negotiations with [top-ranking Democrat Debbie] Stabenow to get a bipartisan, budget-neutral agreement to move forward with child nutrition re-authorization. We’re nearly at the finish line,” Roberts said in a statement. He said the mark-up session would be rescheduled soon.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week that he hoped the five-year reauthorization would allow an expansion of school breakfast and of a program that provides meals to school-age children during the summer. The administration has given high priority to a continued rollout of school food improvements that were part of the 2010 child nutrition law. Some Republican lawmakers want a pause in rules that call for more whole grains and less salt in meals.
“My goals remain the same – craft a reauthorization package that is bipartisan, increases efficiency and effectiveness, has flexibility so all schools may achieve success in their meal programs, and addresses program integrity, high error rates, and improper payments within the programs,” said Roberts.
A Stabenow spokesman said the Michigan Democrat “is hopeful that the committee can still produce a bill that is bipartisan and balanced. Senator Stabenow will continue to work toward common-sense priorities that help families and children, like strengthening after-school and summer meals, expanding opportunities for kids to have healthy, local foods, and protecting critical assistance to pregnant mothers and babies through WIC.”
In place of a mark-up of child nutrition, the Agriculture Committee will vote on Thursdayon bills to re-authorize federal inspection of grain exports, mandatory reporting of the sales price of livestock, and the National Forest Foundation. The House already has passed its versions of the three bills.
In a letter to lawmakers, the School Nutrition Association, which represents food directors, asked for an increase in reimbursement rates for meals and for “common-sense flexibility” in cafeteria operations.
The House Education Committee has yet to release a draft of its child nutrition bill or schedule a markup of it. The package of programs costs more than $21 billion a year. The 2010 nutrition bill expires on Sept. 30.